Customer Reviews

The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas 2009 (Unofficial Guides)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've been a fan of Bob Sehlinger, the author, ever since I first discovered his other book, The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World 2009 (Unofficial Guides). Since I was planning a trip to Las Vegas, I decided to buy this guidebook even though I'd been to the city many times before. Partly I was curious to see if this would live up to his WDW book, and partly because I wanted input on planning which shows to see, which restaurants to visit, etc. I've broken my comments on each major section of the book into separate paragraphs below.

Hotels: This section is kind of an odd grab bag of information. The author has an extensive list of covered hotels and offers a write-up of each one. Yet the information covered is often more of a general description than a true critique that would help the average traveler. For example, the Wynn Las Vegas receives three full pages of text but in all of that, there is virtually nothing said about the rooms. When reading these entries, it's more similar to how a novelist would set a scene than how I would expect a travel writer to critique a hotel. There is a chart that shows an overall rating for the hotel as well as a room rating, but no details are offered.

Restaurants: There are far too many restaurants in Las Vegas for any guide to review them all in depth but the author does a good job of breaking down your options at the major hotels. Beginning with summarized lists that show favorites by category, coverage then shifts to more detailed write-ups for each location in alphabetical order. Each restaurant receives ratings for quality, value, and an overall score. In addition, there are helpful comments. This section is very helpful.

Entertainment: There is a chart that ranks all shows in order of entertainment value followed by detailed write-ups of each show with ratings broken down by age group. This is by far the best coverage of shows that I've seen in any of the Las Vegas guides. Given the cost of tickets to these extravaganzas, this section alone is worth the price of the book as it can steer you to a great experience or help you avoid a less worthy show that you might have been considering.

Nightclubs: This section is not as comprehensive as those listed above, but it is still quite good. There are no ratings, but there are detailed reviews and tips for each of the major clubs. I don't spend a lot of time on this because I'm not a clubber, but this is at least as much coverage, and probably more, as I've seen in the other guides.

Gambling: This is the only Las Vegas guidebook that I have seen with a whole section devoted to teaching the basics of gambling. I'm not sure how seriously to take the advice since I definitely feel they overstate the difficulty of playing blackjack. Overall, it's nice that they included this, but it's no substitute for a good book on the subject.

Other: The Unofficial Guide does a decent job of covering all the miscellaneous bases. Attractions such as the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton get solid reviews that will help you decide whether it's your cup of tea or not. The Liberace Museum, however, is almost buried in the back with a single paragraph of coverage. All in all, I would say that these items are covered better in the Frommer's guide and if they are a big priority to you, it will be something of a black mark against this book.

Overall, it's easy for me to recommend this book. I spent quite a bit of time going through Frommer's Las Vegas 2009 (Frommer's Complete) and Fodor's Las Vegas 2009 (Fodor's Gold Guides) and this is much more comprehensive. It does have some weaknesses, however, and they are worth considering. The worst flaw is the nature of the hotel coverage. While a good many pages are devoted to it, detail on rooms gets short shrift. Still, this is Las Vegas and people generally don't come here to spend a lot of time inside their rooms so maybe you really do care more about the casino, lobby, etc. on which a lot of the author's prose focuses. A more minor quibble is the coverage of miscellaneous attractions but this is still pretty solid for the most part. If The Unofficial Guide to Las Vegas isn't quite up to the level of the author's Walt Disney World guide, that's not really a crime. The key is how well it stacks up to other Vegas guides and the answer is very well indeed. I give it four stars and a strong recommendation. I'll hold the fifth star for the edition where hotel coverage is strengthened a notch.

This was a great resource for me, and I am a return visitor to Las Vegas. I am not an avid gambler, but this guide also helped me to understand the basics of all the table games and I had the confidence to play a few this time. Great restaurant guides, good hotel overviews, good night life guides. Vegas has so many places to visit, and this guide does a good job of covering as much as possible, without being too overwhelming. I would highly reccomend!

I think this is the best Las Vegas guide because of the range of topics & the length of time it has been a sucessful product - revised annually for more than a decade. I have bever been disappointed in any of its recommendations.

I was going to Vegas on business. I had not been there in several years and wanted a good guidebook with recommendations on restaurants and shows. I ordered two books based on customer reviews on the Amazon web site. This book was exactly what I was looking for - extremely comprehensive, up-to-date, and very useful tips on how to spend my time and money wisely. The reviews in the other book by comparison could have been written by the providers themselves and were comparable to what one finds in a free city guide.

Las Vegas is overwhelming and ever changing. This book is great for a first-time visitor or someone who visits every few years. The book is updated annually. I found the commentary and recommendations to be right on.

A Las Vegas regular would likely have their own preferences and find the information somewhat superficial. For example, the book has an excellent survey of casino games. This survey is excellent for the novice, but it would likely be overly simplified for a true gambler. With so many hotels, the information cannot be as comprehensive with as many different opinions as one can find on the travel web sites. Nevertheless, the authors make the best use of the space available.

I highly recommend this book for anyone trying to get a handle on the great range of options that Las Vegas offers. It was the perfect book for me and exactly what I was looking for.

I was going to Vegas for the second time. The first time Iwas in total awe of the lights and activities but this time I really wanted to take advantage of every second. So I decided to purchase this book to help with the organization process. Whoa! This book has so much information that it actually overwhelms you. This 2009 version is a must have for anyone traveling to vegas for the first time or even if your a regular to Sin-City.. It has prices, maps, convention dates, rental car reviews and even the history of vegas! Virtually every bar and nightclubs is reviewed with hints on which spots to get in. The book pays for itslef several times over..

Don't hesitate... and most importantly.. good luck!

Anyone entertaining in Las Vegas or vacationing in Las Vegas would greatly benefit in grabbing a copy of "The Unofficial Guide To Las Vegas". I live in Las Vegas and have found it to be the authoritative travel guide for everyone visiting me. I buy a book each time I have a guest a give it as a gift which helps my guest and frees up a little of my time. The book isn't big on images but is filled with real reviews and tips. Before you leave buy this book I'm sure you will be happy with the savings alone that you get out of the book!

Very helpful ! So much info it's a little overwhelming but at least Las Vegas won't overwhelm me now. Easy to follow sections and reviews. So glad I bought this.

The book was good for an introduction to Las Vegas but should contain more about the shows.

We studied the Unofficial Guide before our Las Vegas trip. It was a good read and very helpful. We bought a pair of tickets to "O" ($360!) before our trip, based on word of mouth and internet reviews, but we should have listened to Bob Sehlinger because he was right. "O" was a good show, but it didn't knock our socks off like "Love" or Bette Midler's show. Next time, we'll follow his recommendation and get tickets for Mystere. The errors? After shlepping down to the Hilton, we learned that The Star Trek exhibit had been closed for a year and a half. My bad for not confirming this exhibit online myself. Also, the monorail map shows a non-existent station at the Sands convention center. I would definitely use Bob's guides again, but I'll be sure to double-check the exhibit listings.

I buy new ones every year although there aren't much changes. It's so handy and so up to date. When I come back from my trip, I give it away to next friend/client who is heading to Vegas.