For a first time visit I would suggest the Bellagio for location with Venetian second. MB is at the far south of the strip and you will spend a lot of time and/or money getting to centre strip where most of the hotels are located.

Be aware that Vegas hotel rates typically double or more for Friday and Saturday night, but lastminute.com may charge the same all week.

When are you thinking of going? It's a long way to go for a long weekend and if you are travelling on the first and last day then you would only have 2 full days there which isn't really worth it.

luci

We have used http://www.papillon.com/ for helicoptor tour to grand canyon a couple of times and found them brilliant, I would book before you go as the tours are really popular.

Mandalay is beautiful hotel but is a bit of a walk to main strip, they do a lavish buffet in there! The Venetian and Bellagio are both gorgeous too and more centrally located, if the Mandalay Bay is a much cheaper price and you don't mind walking then you wouldn't be disappointed, all 3 hotels are lush.

I agree with Luci, you need 4 days minimum IN Vegas, it's too far to travel for anything less than that.

Helicopter companies - Both Papillon and Maverick are highly rated, just price both up for when you want to go and book the cheapest!

In my experience, lastminute aren't great for Vegas hotel deals. You should be able to get a much better price by looking independently. Plenty of us on this site can give you some pointers on where to look, in fact, just search on this site for 'Vegas' and you'll see loads of tips and suggestions.

Cheers,

TC

thanx for all your comments