Over my summer as I mentioned previously in my review, I flew to America and Canada for a travelling summer. On one of my stops on the west coast I visited Las Vegas. I went here for my birthday but one of the hardest things I found while staying here was trying to decide on which hotel to stay at because without having been here it is difficult to see the greatness of each hotel for yourself. The majority of the hotels on The Strip are very high standard so you are looking at quite high prices which is why I had to keep to a steady budget and didn't want to spend too much. I had looked at The Venetian and it looked like my kind of thing but the prices were too steep for what I had in mind. I then had the option of The Excalibur and Circus Circus but eliminated these for the reason that the Excalibur was having building work done and Circus was more of a children's hotel.

The Stratosphere is at the North end of the strip so is further away it is near Fremont Street compared to the like of the Luxor and Mandalay Bay which are very south near the McCarran Intl airport. There are many ways to make your way up the Strip one being the Deuce bus which for $5 gives you unlimited travel up the Strip so the Stratosphere location is not too bad. I did walk the whole strip once it does seem quick when your going into the hotels as the city is so lively anyway. The Stratosphere is considered downtown when getting a taxi from the airport though so will cost you about $16 for a return which is still not that bad. The hotel is near lots of souvenir shops and I suppose in a way it is good because not being right in the busiest part of the Strip you get a bit of peace at night.

The staff are all very helpful here in guiding you how to get about and about what shows are good. Also when I mentioned it was my birthday I was given many VIP free entry passes to the clubs which saves you about $20 to get in which even if it isn't your birthday you should enquire about. The casino floor is so big sometimes when you just want to get to places quickly from your room say to use payphones or go to the shops. Once getting to the lifts there are 24 floors but luckily I was on the 10th. I checked in late and my room was still not ready so I had to have a smoking room which I wasn't happy about but I let it go as I was so tired. The rooms are ok depending on how many you have per room. I had a twin room and it was nicely air conditioned and clean. There were clean towels but the sink was outside of the bathroom which I didn't like. You also have a menu if you want to order to your room, a TV and an iron.

The first night I ate at Roxy's Diner which is like an old fashioned diner from the 50's and serves burgers, sandwiches, shakes and the classic kind of foods. The food was very nice here and the staff all sing and keep the entertainment up. It was very reasonable priced probably about $12 for the meals with a shake which is really good. Other dining options are McDonalds at the shop area, Naga the Chinese restaurant which I never got to eat in as it has late opening hours. Of course they have the Top of the World restaurant which is right at the top of the tower that overlooks the Strip and this is a la carte so is probably about $75 per person upwards to dine here. I had made a reservation but then decided to cancel as I went to the Bellagio for their dinner buffet which I recommend and this is better priced with great food.