We have been going to Vegas at least once a year for the past 22 years. During my working years I used to go there for COMDEX in the 90's and CES from the 90's through 2015. We normally do not stay more than 2 nights. Hotels have daily resort fees and many charge for parking now. We happen to fall into someone's database and get regular hotel offers from the Wynn, Bellagio, Mirage, MGM Grand, Planet Hollywood for hotel, dinner and show packages. Once in a while we take them up on the offers. These are the hotels we have stayed at and how we rate them:
Southpoint (average - far away from the strip - stayed once)
Alexis Park (average - far away from the strip - stayed once)
Luxor (average - location is okay - Stayed once)
Excalibur (below average - location is okay- stayed once)
MGM Grand (Good - good location - stayed multiple times)
New York New York (good - good location - stayed once)
Planet Hollywood (good - great location - stayed multiple times)
Monte Carlo (good - good location - stayed multiple times)
Bellagio (very good - great location - stayed once)
Aria Resort (excellent - great location - stayed multiple times)
Cosmopolitan (excellent - great location - stayed once)
Vdara (excellent - great location - stayed once)
Mandarin Oriental (excellent - great location - stayed once)
Paris (very good - great location - stayed multiple times)
Planet Hollywood (good - great location - stayed multiple times)
Mirage (very good - good location - stayed multiple times)
Treasure Island (good - good location - stayed multiple times)
Wynn (very good - good location - stayed multiple times)
Flamingo (dump - good location - will never stay there again)
Stratosphere (average - north of strip - stayed multiple times)
Plaza Hotel (dump - downtown - will never stay there again)
Golden Nugget (very good - best hotel downtown - stayed multiple times)
Rio Suites (very good - off strip but shuttle available - stayed multiple times)
Our top pick from the above list would be the Aria Resort Hotel
As far as shows go, the best one's that we have seen and are still playing are:
Le Reve (Wynn).
Mystere by Cirque du Soleil (Treasure Island)
O - Cirque du Soleil (Bellagio)
Avoid Penn & Teller. The show is terrible.
We are not big fans of buffets but if you want to try one, the best in our opinion are:
The Wicked Spoon - Cosmopolitan Hotel
Village Buffet - Paris Hotel
Bellagio Buffet - Bellagio Hotel
If you want dining with spectacular views of the strip, the following are good choices:
Voodoo Cafe - Rio
Top of the World - Stratosphere
There are many great restaurants in Vegas especially in hotels such as the Aria, Bellagio, MGM Grand or Cosmopolitan hotels.