Las Vegas

Jon Boy

If you sit at a bar drinking then yes but it will be expensive anyway. You can drink for free in Vegas if you're in a casino gambling. Sit at a table game, slot machine etc and within minutes a valet will ask you if you want a drink. Order what you want and tip $1 a drink that's all most do! If it's a busy Saturday night you may want to tip $3-$5 per drink as you can wait a long time for a server to come to you but by tipping larger they will keep an eye on you.

Example - I arrived in vegas, dropped my bags and went down to the casino (NYNY) was gagging for a pint after the long flight. i went driect to the bar and paid $13 for a bottle of bud and a glass of coke. If i had sat down i could've got both for $2!

If you're well off then tip as much as you like, taxi driver get 10-15%, restaurants just use you nogging, if the bill is $65 then pay around $80.


As for sales tax, our prices in England include taxes but in America they dont so just use 10% as a rule of thumb so if the label on a pair of levi jeans says $40 when you get to the till it'll be closer to $45!


Have you booked your hotel yet? there's more to think about than you are selecting a hotel, pick the wrong one and you could be in for a 30-45 min walk just to get to the strip!

Jon Boy

oh and resort fees are usually wavered in the form of an upgrade. I stayed at the Encore about 5 years ago and the resort fee was going to be $300 but they said they would wave it if i paid $200 extra to upgrade my room to a strip view

sheriffwoody

yeah we have booked in to the signature at the mgm grand.

no idea if there are any resort fees or additional fees to pay as the trip was bought for my as a gift.

brumhee

I think all the hotels in Vegas add a resort fee on check in. Some you can get it waived though through a little tip on check in known as the sandwich. Slip an amount of money in the photo page of your passport and see what you can get.

When we checked in at the Venetian last year I put $20 in the passport and got upgraded from an offstrip room to a top floor strip view room in the venezia (which is supposed to be more exclusive). Was well worth the $20.

jaguar180180

Sry for the late reply Phil.we are also at the Luxor 10 nights we knew we had to pay resort fees and one of the questions I was gonna ask on here is it optional cos from what I can see all it means is you get free wifi in your room some international phone calls free a paper and a few other minor things I can't recall.just seen the boxing is gonna be on the day after we leave bad news cos I reckon the whole place is gonna be rammed with people.

Jon Boy

If you are planning a trip to vegas do lots of research on hotels! I know most of the time you'll be out of your room but cheap isn't necessarily good. Hotels are cheap in Vegas it's the flights that cost money, it's worth paying a bit extra for the right hotel.
The Luxor looks awesome in the pictures but to get to the main start area of the strip you've got easily 20m-30m walk.
Best piece of advice is to buy a daily bus pass and use it to get up and down the strip, passes cost about $8 per person for a 24hr pass and there are two bus systems in use. One system stops at every hotel and the other stops about every 5 hotels. I wouldn't use a taxi for anything other than airport runs as the strip is just too busy and has too many traffic lights. Unless of course money is no object!

DrPhil

Yeah my first time in Vegas I used taxis a lot, spent a fortune.

I'm staying in the Luxor as it's close to the MGM but cheaper.

deantown

Just make sure you avoid the buses during the rush hours.
The monorail is ok  too.

sheriffwoody

does anyone know if it is possible to make a purchase from Groupon Las Vegas when living in the UK?

Basically, we like the idea of doing some go-karting or an ATV tour out there, and they have some options on Groupon Las Vegas - but i fear it won't be possible for me to make this purchase when I live in UK?

Anyone done this before?

dfergie

As far as being away from the other part of the strip, catch the monorail at the MGM, it makes several stops all the way to the old Las Vegas Hilton ... (past the convention center)