A coworker asked me to summarize some things they should look into for their first trip to CES in Las Vegas.
Here’s the continuing thread of stuff I thought of:
Things NOT to do:
- CENTRAL HALL FOOD
Don’t eat at the Sbarro Pizza/Nathan’s Hot Dogs/Eatery just outside of the Central Hall. There’s always a massive line, it’s packed and the food is half-cooked and terrible. You’ve been warned. Your alternatives are as follows:- Hilton
There’s tons of places to eat at the Hilton and it’s worth the walk. Plan your lunch ahead of time however and go either at 11:00AM or 1:30PM to avoid the rush to Tres Rios Cantina, Paradise Café, or Superbook Deli.
http://www.lvhilton.com/Hotel/dining - Renaissance Hotel
ENVY Steakhouse is one of the best steakhouses in Las Vegas and it’s right next door to the Convention Center. Literally right next door. Open from 11AM-2PM for lunch.
http://www.envysteakhouse.com/
- Hilton
- CES END OF SHOW PARTY
If you’re interested, there’s a monster party at TAO Nightclub at the Venetian on Friday. Personally, I wouldn’t bother with the end of show party because it’s hell & you probably won’t get in anyway.
http://www.cesweb.org/events/tao-htm.htm
Other things to do:
- CES BADGE HOLDER DISCOUNTS
Review the CES badge holder discounts for dinner deals and stuff.
http://www.cesweb.org/hotelTravel/lasVegas.asp#Discounts-and-Coupons - RESERVATIONS FOR EVERYTHING
Make your show, restaurant, spa, whatever reservations way beforehand.
For restaurants, I naturally use Opentable.com like everyone else.
For shows, I personally go to Vegas.com for most of what I do because it’s the most convenient (they have a line into every show and every gig) and admittedly I’ve screwed up my reservations before and they’ve taken care of me no muss – no fuss on the phone. Worth every penny. - GET GIFT CERTIFICATES
- VEGAS.COM – Go to the COSTCO in Marina Del Rey and pick up VEGAS.COM $100 gift certificates for $80. That’s right – 20% off. Use those for your trip and save.
- SPAFINDER.COM – Go to COSTCO and purchase gift certificates for SpaFinder at 20% off. These can be used at:
- Caesar’s Palace Qua Bath & Spa – 800-634-6001
- Venetian’s Canyon Ranch Spa – 866-708-7783
- Mandarin Oriental’s Spa – 888-881-9530
- Or Luxor, Planet Hollywood, Mirage, Paris, Rio, etc.
http://www.spafinder.com/all-spas/Nevada_Las-Vegas/N=1824
- RESTAURANT.COM – Visit RESTAURANT.COM for pre-paid gift certificates for meals. (Use code SAVE to get 80% off the certificates)
http://restaurant.com
Here’s some previous posts that I made about CES:
- INFO: My CES Preparation Checklist
https://kurtsh.com/2011/12/22/info-my-ces-preparation-checklist/ - INFO: CES 2011– A day 1 summary of half of the Central Hall
https://kurtsh.com/2011/01/08/info-ces-2011-a-day-1-summary-of-half-of-the-central-hall/ - INFO: CES 2011 – A day 2 summary of the Innovation Showcase &… the other half of Central Hall (without Sony)
https://kurtsh.com/2011/01/08/info-ces-2011-a-day-2-summary-of-the-innovation-showcase-the-other-half-of-central-hall-without-sony/ - INFO: CES 2011 – A day 3 summary of the South Hall 1, 2, 3, and part of 4
https://kurtsh.com/2011/01/11/info-ces-2011-a-day-3-summary-of-the-south-hall-1-2-3-and-part-of-4/