Las Vegas Trip in October (1 Viewer)

[Atomic Punk]

I’m thinking of planning a Las Vegas trip this October and looking for advice on hotels, food anything else you want to offer. Rough plan so far has my wife and I arriving October 21st and going to the Scorpions/Whitesnake concert that same evening and then the Raider/Texans game on Sunday October 23rd.

I have not been in 20 years, so not sure what the Mandalay is like as a concert venue and what the hotel is like. Or if there is anything decent near it. Same goes for the new stadium and what hotels might be good for easy travelling to the game.

Tailgating, restaurants, other music or pubs. Any advice and recommendations welcome!

 

[eoMMan]

Read through the Vegas thread.

How long will you be there?

I would definitely recommend checking out some of the parks /outdoor activities away from the strip. Something like Red Rock Canyon is only 35 minutes away from the Strip and is really cool to check out.

 

[Softballguy]

Good advice to read through the Vegas thread. Though there haven't been as many posts post covid (I don't think, anyway), so things may be a bit outdated. Another good idea would be to join a Vegas Facebook group. Tons of info there that will get you caught up in plenty of time before October.

As far as hotels go, if you stay at Mandalay Bay you'll be on the correct end of the strip for the football game, and it's a nice hotel/resort. However, you will be at the very south end, so if you see yourself moving from casino to casino, you may want to consider something more central. Considering you haven't been to Vegas in 20 years, exploring the strip (and downtown... you'll love downtown's newest resort, Circa) is probably something you'll enjoy.

Where you stay and what you do really depends on a ton of factors - your age, the amount you're comfortable spending, interests (though you're going to Vegas to see Scorpions and Whitesnake, so I can tell you're pretty awesome), etc. Vegas has a something for everyone; it's parsing through the billion things to do to find what's best for you that's the trick. 

 

[Atomic Punk]

Read through the Vegas thread.

How long will you be there?

I would definitely recommend checking out some of the parks /outdoor activities away from the strip. Something like Red Rock Canyon is only 35 minutes away from the Strip and is really cool to check out.

Ugh, I swear to God I searched Vegas in the search function and only got the Raider thread and another about the mass murder spree. I’ll check it out.

 

[3 hour lunch]

Depends what you are looking for, of course. 
I would pick something like drinks at Chandalier, to see “O” and have dinner at SW. 

Others would say that’s a snooty overpriced waste of money and to hit up Yardbird, check out Area 15 and head to Fremont Street (all awesome too)

Since you haven’t been in a while, you’ll have plenty to do wandering through properties/casinos you’ve never seen, checking out downtown, etc

I have plenty of restaurant recommendations based on what you are looking for….
 

 

[Atomic Punk]

Depends what you are looking for, of course. 
I would pick something like drinks at Chandalier, to see “O” and have dinner at SW. 

Others would say that’s a snooty overpriced waste of money and to hit up Yardbird, check out Area 15 and head to Fremont Street (all awesome too)

Since you haven’t been in a while, you’ll have plenty to do wandering through properties/casinos you’ve never seen, checking out downtown, etc

I have plenty of restaurant recommendations based on what you are looking for….
 

Awesome, thanks. I did find the Vegas thread and found a few more suggestions. I’ll hit you up closer to departure.

 

[Desert_Power]

If you haven't been for 20 years, Cosmo or Aria is best to be the in the middle of it all as long as you can stomach the cost. Mandalay is solid though. Great location for your two main events and plenty to do on property. Probably going to be too late in the season to enjoy the pools. Just going to be a ride or a hike to anywhere else decent.

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Depends what you are looking for, of course. 
I would pick something like drinks at Chandalier, to see “O” and have dinner at SW. 

Others would say that’s a snooty overpriced waste of money and to hit up Yardbird, check out Area 15 and head to Fremont Street (all awesome too)

Since you haven’t been in a while, you’ll have plenty to do wandering through properties/casinos you’ve never seen, checking out downtown, etc

I have plenty of restaurant recommendations based on what you are looking for….
 

have you been to e' - the Jose Andres place?

 

[Atomic Punk]

If you haven't been for 20 years, Cosmo or Aria is best to be the in the middle of it all as long as you can stomach the cost. Mandalay is solid though. Great location for your two main events and plenty to do on property. Probably going to be too late in the season to enjoy the pools. Just going to be a ride or a hike to anywhere else decent.

I was just looking at a map and it doesn’t look too far from Mandalay to the core. Is it farther than it looks? My preferences is to walk and soak things up, so maybe I need to rethink location.

 

[Harry Frogfish]

If you want to sit in a lounge chair by some nice pools, in what will be perfect weather in October, and perv on hot chicks all day, while also getting served by hot chicks all day, while watching football games on massive big screens, with the sports book right underneath the whole thing, might I recommend Stadium Swim?

You won't have to walk more than 100 feet total, once you're there, for all of it.  Hard to beat that.

 

[3 hour lunch]

have you been to e' - the Jose Andres place?

I have not eaten at e, actually. Looks decent though 

 

[3 hour lunch]

If you want to sit in a lounge chair by some nice pools, in what will be perfect weather in October, and perv on hot chicks all day, while also getting served by hot chicks all day, while watching football games on massive big screens, with the sports book right underneath the whole thing, might I recommend Stadium Swim?

You won't have to walk more than 100 feet total, once you're there, for all of it.  Hard to beat that.

Super cool place for sure. Mandalay does have a really nice pool area though too. Late October is kind of a shoulder season there- might have 50s, might have 80s….

 

[Desert_Power]

I was just looking at a map and it doesn’t look too far from Mandalay to the core. Is it farther than it looks? My preferences is to walk and soak things up, so maybe I need to rethink location.

Everything in Vegas is further than it looks because of the circuitous paths the casinos make you take. I've actually walked the length of the Strip before when I stayed in Mandalay, so you YMMV.  There is a tram from Mandalay to Excaliber that helps a bit. 

While that are interesting things to do in almost all casinos on the Strip, I always find the area between Aria and Mirage most enjoyable for strolling (both sides). Busiest part of the Strip with more sights to see.

 

[Judge Smails]

Go to Absinthe on Saturday night. I assume it’s still going. Or O if you’ve never seen it. Then line up some good restaurants and you’re set 

 

[DA RAIDERS]

MB is perfect for the game. 

 

[bryhamm]

MB is perfect for the game. 

This.  Reasonable walk across the highway from MB.

 

[CGRdrJoe]

plus from mandalay you can walk to the mgm and take the monorail down the strip instead of walking; and then hop out and walk back while casino hopping. 

 

[massraider]

Don't change hotels.

Mandalay right next to the stadium. And the concert is there?

Stay at Mandalay. Book it asap. You can always cancel. Call to book the room, ask what choices you have, get a nice room on a floor you like, get the strip view maybe. 

You can catch a tram to walk the core, and I assure you, one lap on the strip will be enough. 

 

[Atomic Punk]

Don't change hotels.

Mandalay right next to the stadium. And the concert is there?

Stay at Mandalay. Book it asap. You can always cancel. Call to book the room, ask what choices you have, get a nice room on a floor you like, get the strip view maybe. 

You can catch a tram to walk the core, and I assure you, one lap on the strip will be enough. 

Thanks mass (and others). Concert is at MB, so it really makes sense as long as it is a decent place. Taking the tram on the one off night sounds like the way to go.

Anyone done the stadium tour? I’m thinking I may try to squeeze that in.

 

[Desert_Power]

Thanks mass (and others). Concert is at MB, so it really makes sense as long as it is a decent place. Taking the tram on the one off night sounds like the way to go.

Anyone done the stadium tour? I’m thinking I may try to squeeze that in.

Mandalay Bay definitely is nice in my book. Probably one of the best stand-alones too, if it’s warm enough to enjoy the pool complex. I enjoy the sports book too as it is large and open. 
 

if you do end up taking the tram and monorail, just make sure to study how to find the monorail beforehand. MGM Grand is one of the more difficult casinos to navigate, which is saying something. 

 

[Lehigh98]

if you do end up taking the tram and monorail, just make sure to study how to find the monorail beforehand. MGM Grand is one of the more difficult casinos to navigate, which is saying something. 

It's such a pain to walk all the way back from the strip to the monorail station (MGM or just about any of them) that its just easier to lyft/uber/taxi if you don't want to walk.  Plus the monorail is like $5 one way per person (cheaper for multiday, etc).

Just make sure you're not somewhere else and trying to lyft/uber on game day, pricing gets crazy.

 

[=Smackdown=]

I’m thinking of planning a Las Vegas trip this October and looking for advice on hotels, food anything else you want to offer. Rough plan so far has my wife and I arriving October 21st and going to the Scorpions/Whitesnake concert that same evening and then the Raider/Texans game on Sunday October 23rd.

I have not been in 20 years, so not sure what the Mandalay is like as a concert venue and what the hotel is like. Or if there is anything decent near it. Same goes for the new stadium and what hotels might be good for easy travelling to the game.

Tailgating, restaurants, other music or pubs. Any advice and recommendations welcome!

Did you wind up staying at Mandalay? If so, how was it?

Group of friends planning a weekend trip to Vegas for the 10/5/24 Iron Maiden show and maybe a Raiders game Sunday - depending on who they playing.

Also - searched for the Las Vegas mega thread and couldn’t find it.

Thanks.

 

[Osaurus]

I’m thinking of planning a Las Vegas trip this October and looking for advice on hotels, food anything else you want to offer. Rough plan so far has my wife and I arriving October 21st and going to the Scorpions/Whitesnake concert that same evening and then the Raider/Texans game on Sunday October 23rd.

I have not been in 20 years, so not sure what the Mandalay is like as a concert venue and what the hotel is like. Or if there is anything decent near it. Same goes for the new stadium and what hotels might be good for easy travelling to the game.

Tailgating, restaurants, other music or pubs. Any advice and recommendations welcome!

Did you wind up staying at Mandalay? If so, how was it?

Group of friends planning a weekend trip to Vegas for the 10/5/24 Iron Maiden show and maybe a Raiders game Sunday - depending on who they playing.

Also - searched for the Las Vegas mega thread and couldn’t find it.

Thanks.

Vegas

My wife and I and couple of her family members are going to be in Vegas for 3 days in August, so I've been bookmarking some of the Vegas threads I've seen on here over the last few months. I was going through them today and just started cutting and pasting all the suggestions. I kept doing it...

forums.footballguys.com

 

[jvdesigns2002]

I’m thinking of planning a Las Vegas trip this October and looking for advice on hotels, food anything else you want to offer. Rough plan so far has my wife and I arriving October 21st and going to the Scorpions/Whitesnake concert that same evening and then the Raider/Texans game on Sunday October 23rd.

I have not been in 20 years, so not sure what the Mandalay is like as a concert venue and what the hotel is like. Or if there is anything decent near it. Same goes for the new stadium and what hotels might be good for easy travelling to the game.

Tailgating, restaurants, other music or pubs. Any advice and recommendations welcome!

Did you wind up staying at Mandalay? If so, how was it?

Group of friends planning a weekend trip to Vegas for the 10/5/24 Iron Maiden show and maybe a Raiders game Sunday - depending on who they playing.

Also - searched for the Las Vegas mega thread and couldn’t find it.

Thanks.

I was there this past Halloween and I would not stay at Mandalay Bay in October of 2024. It has nothing to do with the actual hotel or its amenities. It has to do with the location. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is to take place in November of 2024. For several weeks ahead of that, they will be heavily working on the roads, putting up grand stands—-and getting around the city is a nightmare. I had to deal with it when I was just there—and thankfully—I was close to center strip to where I could find my way around by walking. Also—the monorail is your friend when it comes to working around Grand Prix traffic. If you stay at Mandalay Bay—you are effectively at the southern most part of the strip. Unless you plan on staying there the vast majority of the time—I would pick a hotel with a more central location or with direct monorail access. From Mandalay Bay—you’d have to walk or take the free tram down to the Excalibur. From there—you’d have to take a pedestrian bridge across to Tropicana, and then another pedestrian bridge from the Tropicana to the MGM Grand to get to the nearest monorail station. Staying at the Mandalay at that time of the year is going to cumulatively cost you a lot of travel time to get around Imo.

 

[Softballguy]

I’m thinking of planning a Las Vegas trip this October and looking for advice on hotels, food anything else you want to offer. Rough plan so far has my wife and I arriving October 21st and going to the Scorpions/Whitesnake concert that same evening and then the Raider/Texans game on Sunday October 23rd.

I have not been in 20 years, so not sure what the Mandalay is like as a concert venue and what the hotel is like. Or if there is anything decent near it. Same goes for the new stadium and what hotels might be good for easy travelling to the game.

Tailgating, restaurants, other music or pubs. Any advice and recommendations welcome!

Did you wind up staying at Mandalay? If so, how was it?

Group of friends planning a weekend trip to Vegas for the 10/5/24 Iron Maiden show and maybe a Raiders game Sunday - depending on who they playing.

Also - searched for the Las Vegas mega thread and couldn’t find it.

Thanks.

I was there this past Halloween and I would not stay at Mandalay Bay in October of 2024. It has nothing to do with the actual hotel or its amenities. It has to do with the location. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is to take place in November of 2024. For several weeks ahead of that, they will be heavily working on the roads, putting up grand stands—-and getting around the city is a nightmare. I had to deal with it when I was just there—and thankfully—I was close to center strip to where I could find my way around by walking. Also—the monorail is your friend when it comes to working around Grand Prix traffic. If you stay at Mandalay Bay—you are effectively at the southern most part of the strip. Unless you plan on staying there the vast majority of the time—I would pick a hotel with a more central location or with direct monorail access. From Mandalay Bay—you’d have to walk or take the free tram down to the Excalibur. From there—you’d have to take a pedestrian bridge across to Tropicana, and then another pedestrian bridge from the Tropicana to the MGM Grand to get to the nearest monorail station. Staying at the Mandalay at that time of the year is going to cumulatively cost you a lot of travel time to get around Imo.

Good call - Grand Prix is a definite consideration if you're going in October. It may not be in November again though (already talk of October, which could add a huge wrinkle in the plans), and setup will definitely be more streamline than it was this past year. Having said that, I stayed at Mandalay Bay in early August and traffic was already messed up heading north.

Grand Prix or not, location is always the rub with MB. The resort itself is one of the best, nice rooms, great bars and lounges, the food options are very good, live music every night... really a great place. But you'll be doing a lot of walking if you want to hit other resort/casinos. Personally, I don't mind the walk through Luxor and Excalibur, and then you're at NYNY (whose casino floor has a very underrated vibe) which puts you in easy walking distance of most of the strip. But I get why many won't consider MB because of that.

 

[=Smackdown=]

I’m thinking of planning a Las Vegas trip this October and looking for advice on hotels, food anything else you want to offer. Rough plan so far has my wife and I arriving October 21st and going to the Scorpions/Whitesnake concert that same evening and then the Raider/Texans game on Sunday October 23rd.

I have not been in 20 years, so not sure what the Mandalay is like as a concert venue and what the hotel is like. Or if there is anything decent near it. Same goes for the new stadium and what hotels might be good for easy travelling to the game.

Tailgating, restaurants, other music or pubs. Any advice and recommendations welcome!

Did you wind up staying at Mandalay? If so, how was it?

Group of friends planning a weekend trip to Vegas for the 10/5/24 Iron Maiden show and maybe a Raiders game Sunday - depending on who they playing.

Also - searched for the Las Vegas mega thread and couldn’t find it.

Thanks.

I was there this past Halloween and I would not stay at Mandalay Bay in October of 2024. It has nothing to do with the actual hotel or its amenities. It has to do with the location. The Las Vegas Grand Prix is to take place in November of 2024. For several weeks ahead of that, they will be heavily working on the roads, putting up grand stands—-and getting around the city is a nightmare. I had to deal with it when I was just there—and thankfully—I was close to center strip to where I could find my way around by walking. Also—the monorail is your friend when it comes to working around Grand Prix traffic. If you stay at Mandalay Bay—you are effectively at the southern most part of the strip. Unless you plan on staying there the vast majority of the time—I would pick a hotel with a more central location or with direct monorail access. From Mandalay Bay—you’d have to walk or take the free tram down to the Excalibur. From there—you’d have to take a pedestrian bridge across to Tropicana, and then another pedestrian bridge from the Tropicana to the MGM Grand to get to the nearest monorail station. Staying at the Mandalay at that time of the year is going to cumulatively cost you a lot of travel time to get around Imo.

Appreciate the response - thank you. Didn’t know about the Grand Prix taking place a month later.

For our purposes - concert at MB Sat nite and Raiders game Sunday being walking distance from MB - leaning towards MB right now.

Don’t know if we’ll be walking the entire strip to see other casino’s? Still open to other suggestion if anyone has anything else.

 

[massraider]

For our purposes - concert at MB Sat nite and Raiders game Sunday being walking distance from MB - leaning towards MB right now.

Yes.

If the question is, is Mandalay a decent place to stay, then the answer is yes. It's decent.

The Trop and Excalibur are both close by and convenient as well, and they are, IMO, not decent. I would not recommend.

Mandalay is on a level with MGM Grand, Caesar's, Mirage. It's totally fine to stay at.

We went out and stayed at Aria for the Raiders game, but that's because I got a deal. I would have been fine staying at Mandalay. For reference, I would NOT stay at Luxor, Excalibur, Trop, Bally's, Harrah's, etc.

 

[Atomic Punk]

I’m thinking of planning a Las Vegas trip this October and looking for advice on hotels, food anything else you want to offer. Rough plan so far has my wife and I arriving October 21st and going to the Scorpions/Whitesnake concert that same evening and then the Raider/Texans game on Sunday October 23rd.

I have not been in 20 years, so not sure what the Mandalay is like as a concert venue and what the hotel is like. Or if there is anything decent near it. Same goes for the new stadium and what hotels might be good for easy travelling to the game.

Tailgating, restaurants, other music or pubs. Any advice and recommendations welcome!

Did you wind up staying at Mandalay? If so, how was it?

Group of friends planning a weekend trip to Vegas for the 10/5/24 Iron Maiden show and maybe a Raiders game Sunday - depending on who they playing.

Also - searched for the Las Vegas mega thread and couldn’t find it.

Thanks.

We ended up staying at the Luxor due to proximity. It was fine, nothing special but not bad either … just fine.

 

[massraider]

For our purposes - concert at MB Sat nite and Raiders game Sunday being walking distance from MB - leaning towards MB right now.

I actually just checked on MGM site. I wasn't able to book a room for those dates. November is closed. Probably opens December 1.

I cannot believe the room prices I am seeing for next fall. They doubled

 

[=Smackdown=]

For our purposes - concert at MB Sat nite and Raiders game Sunday being walking distance from MB - leaning towards MB right now.

I actually just checked on MGM site. I wasn't able to book a room for those dates. November is closed. Probably opens December 1.

I cannot believe the room prices I am seeing for next fall. They doubled

Yep - close to $300 a night for early October ‘24 @ MB. Airfare not cheap either.

 

[massraider]

For our purposes - concert at MB Sat nite and Raiders game Sunday being walking distance from MB - leaning towards MB right now.

I actually just checked on MGM site. I wasn't able to book a room for those dates. November is closed. Probably opens December 1.

I cannot believe the room prices I am seeing for next fall. They doubled

Yep - close to $300 a night for early October ‘24 @ MB. Airfare not cheap either.

If there is a Raiders game there, those prices will jump up. It's a coin flip if there is, obviously.

We did last November, and paid 170 at Aria

 

[CGRdrJoe]

For our purposes - concert at MB Sat nite and Raiders game Sunday being walking distance from MB - leaning towards MB right now.

Yes.

If the question is, is Mandalay a decent place to stay, then the answer is yes. It's decent.

The Trop and Excalibur are both close by and convenient as well, and they are, IMO, not decent. I would not recommend.

Mandalay is on a level with MGM Grand, Caesar's, Mirage. It's totally fine to stay at.

We went out and stayed at Aria for the Raiders game, but that's because I got a deal. I would have been fine staying at Mandalay. For reference, I would NOT stay at Luxor, Excalibur, Trop, Bally's, Harrah's, etc.

I stayed at the Flamingo and had no issues snagging an uber over to mandalay, now maybe it's because it was a 5pm game and we rolled over at 10 but we had no issues with traffic. (9/24/23)

 

[massraider]

I stayed at the Flamingo and had no issues snagging an uber over to mandalay, now maybe it's because it was a 5pm game and we rolled over at 10 but we had no issues with traffic. (9/24/23)

Yeah, the getting around thing, I would not worry too much about it. Being at Mandalay, you ARE away from the center of the strip, but that also means you can hop the highway, and get downtown or elsewhere rather than have to go through the strip.

If it was a complete F1 traffic mayhem on the strip, then it's easier to avoid it being on the end of the strip.

If the traffic WAS a nightmare, and prices were that insane, one can always stay at a very nice hotel downtown, party there all weekend, and take an Uber to the concert.