@jr8719 your thread is so popular! Perhaps everyone is living vicariously through you... or planning their own trip out loud. Our poker club is heading to Vegas in a couple of months and will be staying at Bellagio. They gave us a killer group rate, and we're there for the poker. You can even hold it way in advance with no money down. My cousin used to be hotel manager at Bellagio, so my family and friends have stayed in some of their nicest suites. I must admit, its pretty fun when a celebrity wants to know who you are because they get off the floor before you do LOL!!!). Hard not to enjoy that! But I've also stayed at many other places that I enjoyed (of 15 or 20 different hotels in Vegas over the years). IMO staying in a clean, non-smoking nice room/hotel that's contemporary and aesthetically pleasing is one of the best things about going to Vegas. I also don't want to be too far away from the action, but I still want to sleep well and not be right up in it either. Spoiler.... Vegas is isnane! Pricing varies wildly, so if you want to go to the best places for the money or are on any kind of budget, look at rates over time and compare. You might be amazed that you can pay $99 or $750 for the exact same room, so price is not always a valid measure of quality. I have found that the offshoot properties, like MGM Signature (MGM Grand), Palazzo (Venetian) tend to be newer, cleaner, all-suite, condo hotels that have some the best value $99 rooms around if you can go at the right time... comparable even to some of the $500+ rooms I have enjoyed there. Consider paying a marginal fee to upgrade your room. Wherever you end up, I think a view of the strip is a must when it's your first visit (or you don't get to Vegas often). I also love Encore (offshoot of Wynn). My wife's favorite is VDara (which no one else seems to have mentioned). Vdara is next to Aria and Cosmo in the City Center district but cutoff enough from the craziness to allow a non-degenerate (the wifey, rather than me) to escape somewhat the shenanigans of Vegas. And although I have never stayed at Cosmo, I feel certain I eventually will. It's a cool place. BTW one of my favorite steaks ever was there at STK. It's like chop house meets Vegas night club. The smell of truffle butter fills the room! Consider going there whether or not you end up staying at Cosmo. Cosmo does have a bit higher baseline price than other hotels, but it seems like a top notch, trendy spot. Anyway... I can't recall from the last three pages of discussion when you plan this trip to occur, what else you're looking to get out of your trip (shows like La Reve or Cirque du Soleil - Mystere, Ka and O; variety shows like Absenthe or V the Variety Show; magic acts, etc.), or what kind of budget you want to stay within, but I'm sure this thread can more than double in length if you want any more direction. Either way, I hope you enjoy your Vegas trip! I'm sure it will be legendary.
