Caesar's / Bally's, MB and OTHER questions

I am going with my husband for a quick weekend in December for Garth Brooks' opening weekend. We have stayed at Bally's exclusively for several years but generally only because we have had people going with us and needed extra rooms. I could get one, hubbie could get one, and an extra one I always got at casino rate. I also love that location. But I have found that I have been very bored in their casino as of late. Not too much new, and I know where everything is. Nothing really excited me any more there. So this trip, I took HET up an offer for Caesars with some Gucci shopping $. So many people on this board recommend this place over Bally's. I just don't know much about it there. So give me some tips. Where is a good meeting up bar? Restaurants, etc? Recommended rooms?

I also have an offer for one free night at MB, which I think I am going to take them up on since it comes with some free play and dining credits. I already have a restaurant.com cert for Aureole which we have always wanted to go to. And I want to try the ice bar. My question is, will they automatically check me out the next day? I probably won't have time to actually go there and check out. Unless we end up going to Lets Make a Deal, which I am hemming and hawwing on. It sounds like fun and it is free. I already have tickets. This is a very low budget trip, so it makes sense money wise. We could even win money! But, the small print says we will probably be there five hours! That is a very long time to be in Vegas, not drinking and not gambling. Especially since we are there for only two nights.

I also would like dinner suggestions before the show at Encore. We want to eat at Wynn or Encore. Somewhere nice with a view. Suggestions?

Thanks so much!

Originally Posted by kel3420

I am going with my husband for a quick weekend in December for Garth Brooks' opening weekend. We have stayed at Bally's exclusively for several years but generally only because we have had people going with us and needed extra rooms. I could get one, hubbie could get one, and an extra one I always got at casino rate. I also love that location. But I have found that I have been very bored in their casino as of late. Not too much new, and I know where everything is. Nothing really excited me any more there. So this trip, I took HET up an offer for Caesars with some Gucci shopping $. So many people on this board recommend this place over Bally's. I just don't know much about it there. So give me some tips. Where is a good meeting up bar? Restaurants, etc? Recommended rooms?

We almost always stay at Bally's and I completely understand what you are saying - I am a bit bored with the casino too...I do like the rooms though - we're so used to the big rooms that trying other places makes me worry that we'll feel cramped.

We did stay at Caesars for a few nights summer 2008. We were only there 3 nights and Caesars came up comped and we jumped on it. We had a Forum Tower Deluxe room booked - these have recently been renovated. We asked about complimentary upgrades at check-in and got a Palace Tower Deluxe room. It was really nice - we liked it a lot. The Augustus Tower is (I think) still the 'nicest' tower. Avoid the Classic and Roman Tower rooms from what I've read.

Even though we liked Caesars, we've been back to Vegas 3x since our stay there and have opted for Bally's each time - last trip we could actually have had 9 nights between us comped at Caesars, but we went with Bally's. While I'm bored of the casino, I like the overall property and how it's not too far to anything. Caesars is (as I'm sure you know) a bit of a maze and it takes awhile to learn your way around. And it always felt like it was such a haul to get to the edge of Caesars property when we wanted to go somewhere else.

I'm not suggesting you don't try it - not at all. Our room was very, very nice - really big, bright and comfortable (moreso than the rooms at Bally's)...just that somehow we feel a bit more at home at Bally's...but we liked our stay at Caesars.

We didn't eat on property that much - we did eat at the food court once - something we never do...the food from the fish & chips shop in the food court was really good - and the Chinese place wasn't bad (and I normally don't eat food court Chinese).

Im 7stars and automatically booked into the Augustus tower... but to be honest, I really like the "petite suite" in the palace tower that has his/hers bathrooms which are joined by a common shower in the middle of the two. this offers the most counter space, a really large nice shower, and the room is very spacious. during the summer it is closest to the pool. also closer to the forum shops, and if you play in the forum casino closer to that than the augustus tower.

Im not putting down the augustus tower at all, but spouses would really like that petite suite in the palace.

my wife hasnt been going to vegas with me, and usually its me and my son. so we've been in the augustus and "roughing it" with one bathroom.

but when the lady needs space and time, you can't beat that second bathroom for "her."

and to the original poster: I hope you got a NICE Gucci shopping offer. My offer was 2250 and they used to be 2500 but my host told me that they are "cutting back." my son who is daimond didnt get any offer, nor did my wife who is also diamond. very suspicious.

WOW - You sure are "cramming" a lot of stuff in for a Weekend trip. I am very jealous that you are going to get to see Garth - I think he is absolutely going to be so awesome live in that setting.

Sometimes a casino can get "stale", by that I mean that you have played all the machines you like so often you want a change of scenery.

Having said that, Ceasars is a totally different "vibe" and "dynamic" than Bally's. Obviously much more upscale in every way.

As far as Accommodations - you will be pleasantly surprised at both the size and quality of the room and if you are able to get an Augustus tower room that overlooks the Bellagio fountain (and South Strip) the view is absolutely amazing - the one "negative" if you will is the layout of the casino does require you to do a substantial amount of walking (you will get lost many times your first day or 2 but you will quickly figure it out) I personally do not mind the walking, however, for some it can be a challenge.

Having the Food court and Forum shops attached is also nice as it offers a diversion from gaming as well.

Oh, and the other major difference would be walking to other casino's - because the casino is set pretty far back from the strip if you want to walk to other casino's it is a fairly long hike and almost always involves stairs - Bellagio is the preferred walking destination.

Hope this helps you a little bit and Have a great time!

Well I can guarantee you that Platinum did not get any GUCCI offers LOL!!!

I actually have liked that Bally's has had some of my favorite games consistently. My local casino manages to pull the ones we like the best and then put in banks and banks of the SAME machine over and over. So it's kind of nice to have the machines you like right where you know they will be.

I do like Ceasar's but I hate the size. At some point maybe next year I will actually break down and give it a shot, but I normally stay at Paris, Ballys or Flamingo where I can be from my room door to a food outlet (or the casino floor) in about 2 minutes tops. The overall size of Ceasars to me is just not fun. Takes 15 minutes to get out to the strip and you can't really go somewhere on impulse.

I do however like their food court because it gives you a variety of food choices to pick from.

I am Platinum and got a Gucci offer, NOTHING like the previous poster, but enough that I hope to get a small purse or something for my daughter for Christmas. Since this is a last minute trip that is not in our budget, at least this will force us to not gamble and go to the Forum Shops. I haven't been in there in over ten years.

Thanks for all the replies. I will let you know how it goes at Caesars. I think we decided not to do Lets Make a deal since the fine print says expect to be there 5-6 hours. I don't think so!!! Hubbie also refused to dress up, lol.

I did score a restaurant.com gift cert ( $50 for $4) for Aureole at MB, so with the dining credit I am getting, it actually makes it affordable for us. We plan to hit the ice bar after that.

I have done the double bookings with Bellagio before, never even went to the room, and didn't have a problem with auto check out the next morning. Can I assume that Mandalay does the same thing?