Frommer's Las Vegas 2001

Frommer's Las Vegas 2006 offers everything you want to know about Las Vegas - both good and bad. Having been there before, and having read a previous edition of Frommers Las Vegas, it is useful to get an updated perspective of the 'old' and 'new' hotels, attractions, dining, gambling and so much more. Frommers is the best guide on Las Vegas I have come across.

Look, everything about going to Vegas is a gamble, but Frommers helped us cut the odds with every part or our trip. With the prices of shows there it was invaluable to have this guide help us pick. The author was absolutely right about "Blue Man Group" -- both the kids and adults loved them. And the only time we went against a Frommer's recommendation (choosing a buffet purely for convenience) was the only time we were disappointed. It was our own fault!

All travel guides have the same problem: how to give the visitor(and sometimes even a resident) up to date information such as phone numbers and opening times, while offering useful maps and general advice, and wrapping it all up in a package that is worth reading. In other words, how to be both a book and a bulletin board. I think Mary Herczog has done a very impressive job here. The book is marvelously written, a book so funny and informative that you might enjoy reading it even if you live in Vegas or have no intention of ever setting foot there. That is important, because some of Frommer's guides have lots of numbers, but no narrative skills to tie them together.I should point out that two of the negative reviews of this book by other reviewers refer to a previous edition that I have not seen. This book does discuss the new(ish) Aladdin and other topics those reviewers said they could not find.The book spends about two thirds of its length on the Strip and its offerings, and the rest on non-resort offerings around town, which seemed about the right mix for me. Please note that not all hotels are covered, just a selection of the more prominent resorts.I personally would have preferred a general overview of the major casinos; instead the accomodations are reviewed in one section, the shows in another, the restaurants in yet another. All authors must make decisions, though. It's not all Mirage and Mandalay Bay, either: bookstores, strippers, and gay clubs get their own sections, and much else. All in a book so well written that you won't want to throw it out in 2003....

This book was exactly what I was looking for. So many of the tour books out there just list information. This one has critical content and seems to honestly evaluate properties for the things that matter to me. Cleanliness, room size, noise levels, and comparisons to similar or nearby properties.Like the former reviewer, I also wished for greater descriptions of the swimming pool areas.I would take the price information with a grain of salt -- room rates vary so much depending on promotions and availability, it seems worthless to try and even ballpark a figure.One thing I would like to see is, for each hotel, a description of each of the hotel's different room types, using the lingo of that hotel. For example, the MGM Grand has several different types of studios -- a description of the differences between each type of room would be VERY helpful. The author did do this some, but not as thoroughly as I would find useful.Overall though this guide was absolutely way better than others I have seen and well well worth the price.

Ms. Herczog is a wonderful writer who manages to make her guide entertaining as well as helpful. The guide is well organized and managed to save me quite a bit of cash in the first few pages...by planning around the major convention dates she listed, we got much better room rates. However, it does seem there are some areas where she is a bit less than objective. She raves about a restaurant, the Enigma Cafe, without letting us know that it's in a decidedly seedy little neighborhood where you don't feel quite safe (it also appears to have closed in 2000...but those things do happen all the time). She is perhaps a little too enamored of the Mirage...a great place for sure, but you do get to wonder if she's got an ownership stake it it. She has great tips on getting around and shows...though quite a few of the prices have raised since press time. I would have like to see a bit more info on the hotel pools...finding out which ones were heated would have been worth its weight in gold in March (from what I could see...the strip's best pools are at the Mandalay Bay...heated, beautiful, include "beach" and wave pool...and the rooms are fantastic, too)...however, since the Mandalay is so new, we can forgive the author for slighting this gem...the pools probably weren't open as of press time. In any event, keeping in mind that the book might be a little too subjective here and there, it's definitely worth the investment...you'll definitely get a lot more out of your trip if you read this guide first...and bring it with you.