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Thread: Flamingo, Las Vegas & Helicopter rides

  1. #1

    Flamingo, Las Vegas & Helicopter rides

    Hi has anyone stayed at the Flamingo Las Vegas recently? It seems fairly reasonable but are there any better options close by..

    I would like to take a helicopter ride to Grand Canyon- anyone done this last year? Looking for approx costs and bad/good companies if anyone has experiences of this. Thanks!

  2. #2
    Master
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    What dates you thinking of going ?

    Flamingo is ok but a bit dated now. I'd stay Aria, Wynn / encore or Palazzo. Or Cosmo if you are 30 or under as it's lively.

  3. #3
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Helicopter rides?

    Maverick Aviation every time - great service, super modern fleet and decent prices.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  4. #4
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    I did Maverick helicopters a few months ago and they were excellent. Can’t remember price but it’s over $500 I think. I asked for a discount and got one. My tip (having been to Vegas 9 times so far), the first morning you always wake up incredibly early because of the time difference. We booked the first helicopter tour which was around 6.45am pick upI think which made sense as we were up at 5am. We did the skywalk and there were only a dozen of us on it. Do you research though as none of the helicopters take you to the south Canyon, they can only go as far as the west. The south is supposedly better but I’ve been to the west a couple of times and find it stunning.

    Flamingo is an older hotel, it’s fine but not one of the more upmarket ones. However it’s fine and depends on what you want. Some people purely use their hotel as a base and it’s great for that as the location is right in the middle of the strip.

    If you want any more ideas just let me know.

  5. #5
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    Stay in Palazzo every year and highly recommended. Don’t fancy the helicopter rides tbh.

  6. #6
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    I haven’t been in 15 years but I always preferred the old school hotels like the Golden Nugget on Fremont street, and in second Caesar’s Palace on the Strip.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Saint-Just View Post
    I haven’t been in 15 years but I always preferred the old school hotels like the Golden Nugget on Fremont street, and in second Caesar’s Palace on the Strip.

    You wouldn't even recognise Vegas now. I first went 15 years ago and I've been 8 times since. The change in that time is astronomical.

  8. #8
    Flamingo is central but as suggested a bit tired.

    Depends on your budget, but to be honest you are unlikely to be in your room much anyway.

    If you are prepared to drive closer to GC there are helicopter trips to South Rim and to the base. I'm sure you know Vegas is very hot in the Summer.

    Personally I love the place and go at least once a year. Enjoy

  9. #9
    Grand Master Saint-Just's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ivan Drago View Post
    You wouldn't even recognise Vegas now. I first went 15 years ago and I've been 8 times since. The change in that time is astronomical.
    But did Fremont change much? I first went to Vegas with my parents in the mid seventies, and returned regularly from the mid to late 80s to 2005 for the Cebit. I saw the Strip develop and change enormously but Fremont just got closed to traffic and got all those lights

    I just took a look on Trip Advisor and the GN is still decent apparently.

    Really, it’s proper luxury, American style instead of kitch, rhinestone and faux everything.

    Now it is quite possible that it’s completely changed from what I knew.
    'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.

  10. #10
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    We have been visiting most years since the early 1980's !, still have our various room keycards from the Desert Inn that was subsequently demolished to build the Wynn on one corner!

    Now stay off strip due to the crazy "resort fee's" imposed, plenty of high class alternative's, and we also combine some good skiing up at Brian Head, Utah with a side trip to Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK View Post
    Helicopter rides?

    Maverick Aviation every time - great service, super modern fleet and decent prices.
    +1 for Maverick. It was an unforgettable experience.
    We always book our holiday extras with Viator, even down to airport transfers.

    We stayed at the MGM and was very impressed with the whole place.

  12. #12
    Went last year and had a week in the Wynn, if budget allows it is THE best hotel in Vegas bar none!

    We had a tower suite and it was out of this world!

    If doing a HC tour ONLY use Maverick, they have the best safety record out of them all and is what the Wynn pointed us to.

    Flamingo is situated in a great place but is very tired, we went in there and it was full of, how can I say this, the older generation?

    As has been said, if you are going to be out and about all the time then it won’t matter, but if you want to make use of the facilities I would suggest looking elsewhere.

    I would also recommend having a meal at the top of the stratosphere in the rotating restaurant, Paris in the Eiffel Tower is good for the fountain view and the Chinese (Michelin star) in the Wynn is amazing!

  13. #13
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    Another vote for maverick here, use them whilst on honeymoon in October and they were fantastic. We also booked via Viator.

    We stayed in the Elara which is next to Planet Hollywood, floor to ceiling glass walls made for some incredible views over the vegas strip!

    Fremont Street was certainly an experience, very much the cheaper part of Las Vegas, I'd say it had much more of a community spirit/feel about it though. We only went to Fremont Street to do the zipline down the high street. Was a lot of fun but not sure it was worth the 2hr wait despite booking time slots!

  14. #14
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    We stayed at the Flamingo, but just used it as a base / for sleeping apart from one afternoon round the pool. Then just as we settled down to relax, an open air wedding appeared.
    We were going to take the helicopter ride, but as we wanted to see more of the Grand Canyon hired a car to make a day of it, and stop at the Hoover Dam as well.

  15. #15
    Craftsman ELD1970's Avatar
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    Used Maverick last year...from memory booked it all online over here and sure it was cheaper. Good company and nice new choppers


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  16. #16
    Craftsman Roy_Drage's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by vulcangascompany View Post
    Hi has anyone stayed at the Flamingo Las Vegas recently? It seems fairly reasonable but are there any better options close by..

    I would like to take a helicopter ride to Grand Canyon- anyone done this last year? Looking for approx costs and bad/good companies if anyone has experiences of this. Thanks!
    I can’t say if there are any better options nearby but I found the Flamingo to be spot on for our needs. My wife and I spent a week there just before Christmas.

    The room was a very good size and very comfy, we didn’t spend much time at all in the room as we left early and were out all day. The hotel is central and pretty good for the strip.

    Loads of things are in waking distance and your not too far from bus stops. The price suited our budget so we went with it and were happy.

    Good luck

  17. #17
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    My wife and daughter went at Easter 2017 and stayed at the Flamingo. She says it is very central and good location for buses, etc. Rooms were a good size, beds very comfortable and it was very clean. It doesn’t have the wow factor of the expensive hotels but suited their purposes perfectly.

    Helicopter tour was booked through Viator but she cannot remember the company involved. The photos are amazing.

    They both had a great time and added in Bonnie Springs Ranch horsetrekking which was the highlight of their trip.

  18. #18
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    Another thumbs up for Maverick Helicpters from me. They’re great and the pilots are entertaining too.

    In terms of hotels, I’ve stayed at the MGM, Venetian and Mandalay Bay recently. Preferred the Mandalay Bay personally but it’s right at one end of the strip so a bit out of the way. The Venetian was good too. Lots of swimming pools but the biggest one was a real party pool and a bit rowdy and noisy for my taste. I’ve heard good things about the Aria though, so will probably try that next time and it’s central on the strip.

    In terms of other experience, I’d recommend Battlefield Vegas too, which is a shooting range just back off the strip. I’m not really into guns, but the experience of firing off an AK47, Uzi and a few others was unforgettable. I’d also recommend booking an evening meal at Olives Restaurant in Bellagio if you get a chance. If you can sit out on the patio you get to eat in front of the Bellagio fountains which are spectacular at night.

    Also worth taking in a Cerque du Soleil show. The best one at the moment is probably “O” which is also at the Bellagio.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by nellyh View Post
    Another thumbs up for Maverick Helicpters from me. They’re great and the pilots are entertaining too.

    In terms of hotels, I’ve stayed at the MGM, Venetian and Mandalay Bay recently. Preferred the Mandalay Bay personally but it’s right at one end of the strip so a bit out of the way. The Venetian was good too. Lots of swimming pools but the biggest one was a real party pool and a bit rowdy and noisy for my taste. I’ve heard good things about the Aria though, so will probably try that next time and it’s central on the strip.

    In terms of other experience, I’d recommend Battlefield Vegas too, which is a shooting range just back off the strip. I’m not really into guns, but the experience of firing off an AK47, Uzi and a few others was unforgettable. I’d also recommend booking an evening meal at Olives Restaurant in Bellagio if you get a chance. If you can sit out on the patio you get to eat in front of the Bellagio fountains which are spectacular at night.

    Also worth taking in a Cerque du Soleil show. The best one at the moment is probably “O” which is also at the Bellagio.
    Another vote for battlefield vegas here as well! Watching my wife fire a 50cal rifle was one of the highlight of my trip haha

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