blonde poker forum

Hi

Planning a trip to Vegas in June.  Can anyone recommend a hotel on the strip - needs to be near the poker MTT action (Venetian, Caesars etc) but can't afford these 2 hotels. 

Also, can anyone recommend a nice restaurant (high-ish end but not Picasso's!) for a wedding anniversary night out whilst we're there?  Like Italian, Steak etc.

Thanks

Budget?

Harrah's is a bit cheaper I think, and bang in the middle of those two.  If you want cheaper still, Imperial Palace is also close by.

Matt and I had a steak dinner at Carnevino in the Palazzo - food was lovely (although we ordered too much!) and staff friendly and attentive - was around $250 I think (but Matt doesn't drink).  Would also recommend the Stirling buffet at the Steakhouse in Bally's on Sunday :)up

about $75 - $100 per night inc tax?

about $100 per head for the meal inc tax and wine!!!

Carnevino sounds lovely - mouth is watering just reading your post!

Thanks for the advice, will take a look.

webby here with menu etc http://www.carnevino.com/

http://www.smartervegas.com/hotels/mirage/promotionalcodes.aspx (http://www.smartervegas.com/hotels/mirage/promotionalcodes.aspx)

$58 pn here - direct opposite venetian and a short waklk (via forum shops) into Caesars, nice pool too.

Steak - Prime at Bellagio, dessert afterwards on patio watching fountain show good choice for wedding anniv.  If too lumpy, StripHouse @ PH, Craftsteak @ MGM, N9ne @ Palms good choices, also as a wildcard, Hugos @ 4Queens for old fashioned Vegas charm and value.

Italian, Venetian has Zefferinos/Canalettos/Valentinos, or Palazzo has Carnevino which is an Italian Steakhouse, maybe best of both worlds.  Maggianos on the end of Fashion Mall is a good Italian, wish I'd tried it years before I got round to it.

Look through here

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/travel-deals/704925/?start=2180

But I'd say (from the rooms I've seen) in that location the ones to look at are in this approx order depending on the price you can get are

-Treasure Island
- Mirage
- Flamingo 'go' Rooms
-Harrah's, Flamingo normal rooms
-Ballys
-Bills Gambling Hall

Don't bother with Imperial palace with your other half, its not great.

Flamingo is a good, cheap(ish) hotel. The rooms are fine, but nothing fancy. It also has a nice pool.

More upscale (but not Venetian, CP posh/cost) options are Treasure Island (TI) and Mirage. Mirage has a nice pool and a great poker room (although the action has been declining the past couple of years I've visited).

One final place to consider is MGM Grand, its not in the centre of the strip, but it does have a great poker room. It also has rooms from $50 per night: http://www.earlyvegas.com/mgm_grand_promo_codes.html. We've just got four nights in August (weeknights) for $224! They also have a couple of high scale restaurants, but they are definitely high, not high-ish.

Restaurant recommendation - Restaurant at the Top of World, Stratosphere. The hotel/casino itself is pretty bad, but the top of the tower is well worth seeing. Great view (it's a rotating restaurant), very tranquil ambience and very nice food, if slightly overpriced. (Actually if you go at lunch time, it's great value).

The 'GO' rooms are pretty nice but obv more expensive.

Slightly off strip but look at the Platinum, 10 mins walk to ballys ( tbh quicker than from room in Bellagio ) and great rates for a huge suite

for Steak Del Friscos wins hands down

ballys south tower - perfect location

The Steak House in TI, does a fantastic 32oz Rib Eye chop to share for $90, it is out of this world.

The potato bread starter and the hot and spicy house fries are awesome too.

Meal for two with drinks will be around $150, can highly recommend.

play on player

fyp

The rooms are pretty "tired" and threadbare though, even the nicer ones.

Well they were last October.

Hugo's is great - the sommelier is from Leeds, he'll get you a great bottle of wine within your budget.

Hugos used to be great but has lost the plot in last couple of years IMO

Hugos.

http://www.hugoscellar.com/ (http://www.hugoscellar.com/)

Pretty much the only place to eat downtown, (Nugget excepted) unless you have an absolutely cast iron constitution.  It may have slipped a little bit, but by no means as much as the rest of downtown.  Hugos is pretty much the only reason to go down there now imo.  To get to it you have to walk through 4queens, such an unpleasant experience in itself that your expectations are lowered to the point that Hugos can only impress from there.  Back in the Binions WSOP days, this place was packed with poker players all the time. 

For the value hunters, a big steak in there competes with the quality and price of a steakhouse on the strip, but included in the price of Hugos you get: A rose for the ladies (she won't need flowers for the rest of the year) free bottled water, sorbet, tableside salad, veg and spuds, choccy dipped fruit.  So the bill is a lot less.

For wine afficianados, the best euro wine list in Vegas, with a reasonable mark up.  The Pommard usually gets a hammering if I have had anything like a decent trip.  English sommelier is good value, eccentric, been there since the 70's.

For anyone just wanting a blast of old-style las vegas, this is probably the place to do it.  You can get a lot cheaper downtown, but you pays yer money, yer takes yer chance.

For the restaurant, I'd recommend Aquanox in the Venetian.  Good lobster, fish, steak and cavier is that is your bag, and a lot cheaper than the equivilant in London.  Very good staff as well, although that is true of many places in Vegas.

Thanks to everyone who replied, much appreciated.  Think we're gunna go for the Mirage and we'll check out the restaurants mentioned when we get there.

Cheers

Craft Steak at MGM is wonderful - best green beans anywhere. Also Joel Roubichon at MGM - v expensive and swanky. Has a MichelinStar, staff often have fake French accents to impress the guests and lots of edible gold leaf on the food.

For views and romance I would reccommend the Picasso restaurant at the Bellagio. Two Michelin stars. Ask for a table overlooking the fountains. Food excellent, sommelier wonderful at gently pointing you towards the most expensive bottle on the menu etc etc. But the service is second to none, food very very good, it's a romantic and muted atmosphere after all the hubbub of the casino outside and it's one of the places in vegas where a jacket is required. I loved it.

You don't have to spend a lot of money for a wonderful evening but when you want to spend some money I would say that your money will be well spent here.

One thing though - wherever you go - if your other half is getting dressed up make sure she takes a shawl with her. For women wearing strappy little numbers the air conditioning in these places can be brutal.

Sorry - just re read op - anything but not Picassos! Sorry!

Not sure if you share the same taste as Antonio Esfandiari, but he's written an article in Bluff magazine this month on some Vegas reccomendations, especially on hotels, nightclubs and restaurants. Doesn't give you too much info on prices, but it's probably worth a read if you're a newbie in Vegas.

A friend has won an all expenses paid trip to Vegas for two. He's taking me (brag obv). Anyway, if you could choose any hotel in Vegas which would it be?

mbn!

Dunno about hotels, sorry.

For great value, excellent rooms and fab location, it's gotta be the Mirage!

I was booked in to stay at Mirage last November. Stayed one night.
If you could pick any hotel go for Encore imo.

bellagio is kinda cool with nice buffet.     also near to ceasars .   middle of strip

What happened?

Wynn or Venetian. Don't bother with the Mirage unless your budget won't stretch to the other two.

I would stay at the Venetian as it's nicest looking hotel and has best cardroom imo

FYP

Bellagio.
Easy.

This.

Nice casino, shit hotel.

I saw the room.

This

Palazzo FTW

LOL

this site is going to be so nice when open fully.

http://www.citycenter.com/

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/aug/24/seduction-room-rate/