Am planning my first trip to Vegas this winter--where is the best place to stay?

I've been twice and both times my group picked a hotel that was somewhere near the middle of the strip so that it wasn't too far to walk or too pricey for a cab.

Anywhere on the middle of the strip is fine. Just go online and get the best price for dates you are looking at. Sunday through Thursdays are the best priced days. Unless you have a special show that you want to see I would wait until I get here. Once here you will find deals or promotions they only give when they know what the attendance will be. There are half price ticket agencies along the strip. Take advantage of them. There are coupons everywhere here. Use them. Anytime you buy online ahead of time you will pay full price.

Be careful with restaurants. Vegas now has some of the highest price restaurants around. The buffets of old where you could eat for cheap are hard to find on the strip. Now they are high priced and you would never be able to eat what you pay. Take advantage of the 24 hour coffee shops at the casinos. They have good food at a good price.

Tours are usually discounted with coupons you will find everywhere. Again, never book a tour online unless you absolutely want and are not flexible. You would be surprise how much money you could save with these coupons. Come and have fun.

I've only stayed at Treasure Island and MGM Grand, both were perfect. The beds were the comfiest I've ever slept in. As for places to eat, I did not have 1 bad dining experience. Everything was fantastic! I esp. loved the food at The House of Blues. Also enjoyed the Harley Davidson Club. The steak house in T.I was the best steak I ever had and I'm from Iowa! I don't think they serve bad food in Vegas! As for show tickets, I got mine online beforehand. Didn't do any tours, but did rent a car (so much cheaper than cabs) to drive out to Lake Mead & Hoover Dam. There is sooo many things to do in Las Vegas! Have a great time!

It really depends on your budget. There are a myriad of hotels that range from $25- $500/night, most of them falling in the $50- $125 range, based on a weeknight stay. On the weekends the hotels sometimes triple their rates, so it's best if you can try and avoid a Friday or Saturday night stay. Here are some options.

<$50

Tropicana- from $45/night

Harrah's- from $45/night

$50- $100

Excalibur- from $51/night

Luxor- from $55/night

Treasure Island- from $59/night

MGM Grand- from $69/night

$100 and more

Mandalay Bay- from $100/night

Caesar's Palace- from $125/night

Bellagio- from $159/night

You can find these rates at http://smartervegas.com/

As far as shows, any Cirque Du Soleil show will be awesome, and I definitely recommend buying the tickets in advance. We missed out on a show one year because it was sold out for the dates we were there. This last time, we booked our show a couple months in advance and got 2nd row center seats at a 35% discount. You can find other discounts like these on this site http://smartervegas.com/shows.aspx They have some great specials on KA and Zumanity right now. They update it regularly, though, so more will show up.

You should definitely try the buffets at Rio and Planet Hollywood. They are voted the best in Vegas for a reason! I never miss them when I visit, and they run about $17 for lunch and $23 for dinner. Rio is off-strip, but there is a free shuttle right between Paris and Planet Hollywood to take you there.

http://www.vegas.com/lounge/map.html

Here is a map of the strip. You are better off to stay anywhere between Mandalay Bay and Treasure Island. Everything else is a little far away from the center of the action.

Vegas all depends on your budget...this town can be very cheap or very very expensive!

If you want to stay on the strip you have tons of options!! I would stay inbetween Tropicana and Spring Mountian Rd. on Las Vegas Blvd (check it out on mapquest) if you go further north of Spring Mountian it starts to get a little scarier...South Las Vegas Blvd. isn't as bad...Some of the hotels people like are Mandalay Bay, Excaliber, New York New York, MGM, Cesars, Planet Hollywood, Bally's those are all going to be a little pricer but are on the strip...If you have a car and want something cheaper but still close to the strip...check out the Rio, The Orleans, Golden Nugget, and the South Point...they have cheaper rooms...are still nice and still pretty close to the strip...but you'll need a car.

There are TON's of places to eat but like some of the other's said it can get pricy...my fav's are the returants at Mandalay Bay...but your looking at $65-$100 per person...Fremont Street (don't try to walk there from the strip it's too far!!!) is kind of old vegas and thats where you can find the cheap food everyone talks about. If you want anything else anywhere off the strip you'll find major chain resturants and normal life haha.

Just be sure to wear good shoes while wondering the strip your feet definatly hurt!!! The locals always wear flip flops...lol

good shows will be sold out on the weekends. check the hotel/casino website, but not usually during the week in winter. check out the 1/2 price ticket booths daily. too many great restaurants and depends on type and price. I love Emeril's Fish House at the MGM, Top of the World at Stratosphere, Bally's Steak House (especially their Sunday Sterling Brunch), Seafood Buffet at The Rio, also the buffets at the Mirage and Bellagio. As for hotel, stay in the middle of the strip for your first trip. Imperial Palace is cheap and in the middle of everything. Mirage, Harrah's, Flamingo are a little more expensive or do Planet Hollywood, Bellagio, Caesar's for the higher end in the middle of the strip. Remember you only shower and sleep in your room, so save money for the fun stuff

I think you should stay at Planet Hollywood, but for all the best prices you should checkout Best Of Vegas at http://www.bestofvegas.com/ have fun!