Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
you'll spend a sizeable chunk of your vacation in line: standing in long lines to
check in, then standing in line for your coffee shop breakfast, then standing in
line for the bathrooms in the casino, then . . . you get the picture. Crowds are
inevitable, even when the town is quiet, so if you're the type of person who likes
to relax on vacation . . . well, the Strip may not be the place for you.
Reason #2:
MONEY! Not to shout, but you'll often pay far less for far nicer digs
off-Strip (not always, it will depend on the season, but we'll go into that on p. 22).
You'll always pay more, however, for the items that the Strip hotels sell beyond
beds: Meals, minibar items, toothpaste, or Tampax from the on-site convenience
store, you name it. The Strip hotels revel in the fact that their audience may be
too drunk or attached to a particular slot machine to venture far and up the price
of everything. (Don't believe me? Stroll over to that Strip casino ATM and shell
out $4.50 to make a withdrawal. Can you say “pillaged?”)
Reason #3:
Because you may be forced to rent a car. Now, this may seem like a
bizarre selling point, but the truth is many of the great attractions in Vegas can't
be reached on foot and are too pricey by taxi. With a car you're more likely to get
out of town and take in the wonders of the area, with jaunts to Red Rock Canyon
(p. 292), the Valley of Fire (p. 294), or Hoover Dam (p. 286). Whenever I've
talked with people who have visited Vegas, they mention these sights as the high-
light of their visits, not the time spent on the Strip. Wheels will also allow you to
explore eating and shopping options beyond the Strip, particularly important for
budget travelers. On the subject of eating, you'll notice that the majority of three-
star restaurants in my dining chapter are not on the Strip; I go into more depth
on this subject there, but I'm firmly convinced that you often eat better off the
Strip, especially if you're looking for top-quality, low-cost meals.
Reason #4:
It's not a kid-friendly place to stay. Most Strip hotels charge an extra
fee for children over the age of two, a fee that's not levied at properties off the
Strip. Strip hotels are also making it clearer and clearer that they don't really want
kids there. Wynn Las Vegas will not allow strollers, the Bellagio only allows kids
to enter who can prove that they're staying there, and there's not one wading pool
the length of that entire long street. I can't speak for your children, but my young
ones really didn't like the atmosphere in the big casinos. They wilted on the long
treks from the parking garage to the restaurant (or from the restaurant to the pool,
or the pool to the elevators . . .); they complained endlessly about the smoke; and,
at one point, my 7-year-old took to huffing through the casino with her fingers
in her ears to protest the incessant-jangling of the slot machines. I can't remem-
ber another trip where they've complained as much. For more on bringing kids to
Vegas, see p. 316.
Reason #5:
Having a place to call your own. This is a corollary to avoiding the
madness of the Strip. When you rent a condo or a house you have a place where
you can really kick back. Though the values aren't as great for couples and singles,
families and other groups can save a lot of money with rentals, often paying half
as much per night for three times the amount of space. An onsite kitchen allows
you to snack at will, or prepare meals at times, cutting down on the expense of
