August 14, 2009

Lots of Hotel Deals in Vegas Right Now

I've mentioned once or twice before that I enjoy going to Vegas. There are tons of fun things to do and its an easy and relatively inexpensive vacation spot. I'm not even much of a gambler myself.

With the economy the way it is, the traffic in Vegas has gone down. As a result, many of the casinos are running pretty good deals to get more visitors in and improve their revenue. Below are a sample of some of the various deals you can get through Vegas hotels right now. I've found these over the past couple days. Keep in mind that all rates here are subject to change at any time and these are the prices that were quoted to me recently.

First of all you can get some pretty good rates through Orbitz. Here are the nightly rates including taxes on Orbitz for a 3 night stay Sept 21-24 that I found in one recent search :

Sahara = $22.55 /night
Luxor = $61.99
Riviera = $30.21
Stratosphere = $39.35
Imperial Palace = $59.99
Excalibur = $40.57
Hooters = $34.00
Harrah's = $114.35 (cheaper other days)
Bally's = $73.86
Caesars Palace = $172.45 (much cheaper other days)

These rates include the taxes but don't cover extra surcharges or 'resort fee's added by the hotels. Those resort fees are an important detail to pay attention too since they can add a surprise $3-$11/night to the bill.

Note that Sept. 21-24th is a Monday through Wednesday midweek stay. You'll get cheaper rates in Vegas hotels if you travel during mid week.

Hotel Website Prices and Promotions

Below are some deals that I found by going straight to the hotel website. Some of these deals are better than the Orbitz price and some aren't really. I make my picks for best frugal value, best 4-star price and best family hotel. I also note some negatives for hotels I've stayed at personally. I do that in the interest of full disclosure rather than to scare you off and I'd be happy to stay at any of these hotels myself.

FRUGAL PICK = Sahara

I've stayed in Sahara a few times and I like it. Its not fancy but its a good deal for the strip and I've never had a problem there. They also have a monorail stop. The Sahara the rate on their hotel website was as low as $25 a night on weekdays. Thats $28/night with tax.

Its hard to beat $28/night on the strip.

With a 2 night minimum stay and their 'Rick Thomas Package' you'll pay $50 rate ($56 with tax) but also get :

  • 2 tickets to the Rick Thomas Show
  • 2 Roller Coaster Rides
  • 4 Buffet Passes
The tickets for the Rick Thomas magic show are normally $44 each. The roller coaster rides are typically $8 each. The buffet passes are worth about $9 each. However, in my personal opinion their buffet at Sahara isn't very good. Overall though the value from this promotion is pretty good if you're interested in seeing the magic show and taking the roller coaster ride.

One oddity about Sahara is that they seem to charge extra for non-smoking rooms.

The rates on Orbitz were $1-2 cheaper than the hotel website.

BEST FOUR STAR PRICE Pick = Luxor

If you want to splurge a bit for a little more upscale hotel then Luxor is a good value. Luxor had the best price I found for 4-star level hotels. I've stayed at Luxor once or twice and its a pretty nice hotel on a great location. Noise level in the pyramid rooms was a bit high for my tastes but they quiet it down by 11pm or Midnight.

The rates on the Luxor website are as low as $55 a night ($61.60 with tax) plus a whopping $10.95 / night 'resort fee'. Their resort fee is the highest that I found among all the hotels. That brings the total to $72.55 a night with tax + fee.

The Luxury Getaway promotion includes:
One $30.00 Food Dining Credit for Tender Steak and Seafood Restaurant
• One $20.00 Spa Credit for Nurture Spa services
• One 2 for 1 admission to Nurtur
e Spa at Luxor
• $10.00 in Free Slot Play for New Player Club Members.


The promo runs about $10 extra per night. So a cheap weekday stay would cost $83.75 / night with taxes and fees.

The best deal I found for Luxor was on Orbitz for $73 / night including tax + fee and they threw in a $25 dining credit.

FAMILY BARGAIN: Excalibur

I've been to Excalibur a couple times and I've been happy enough. The hotel is a bit more family focused than most with a more kid friendly theme, games arcade and family oriented Tournament of Kings show. Overall its a decent value with a good location. However I should note that my friend had a problem with cleanliness in his room once and many of the games in the arcade frequently malfunction.

Normal room rates are as low as $31 a night or about $34.72 with tax.

Their Stay and Play promotion available on their website gives you a $25 dining credit with room rates as low as $41. Most August & September weekday nights are in the $41-$51 range. So this would give you 2 nights and $25 worth of food for about $80-$100 range.Thats a pretty good deal.

- or -

Their Family Package has a bunch of discounts:

2-FOR-1 tickets for Tournament of Kings dinner show
2-FOR-1 tickets to Adventuredome at Circus-Circus
2-FOR-1 tickets to our Magic Motion $-D movie ride
10 Free Play passes at the Fantasy Faire midway
20% Off on Bodies, the Exhibition at Luxor
20% off Titanic, the Exhibition at Luxor
Buy one, get the second admission for 50% to Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay


There are a lot of good discounts in that package. The Tournament of Kings show costs around $40 a ticket and includes dinner. The Titanic exhibition is $27 / adult. Both are good shows.

The weekday rates for the Family Package are in the $56-$66 range per night or about $63-$74 /night with taxes. There is a $5/night resort fee also.

Rates on Excalibur website are marginally lower than Orbitz.


More Good Values

Riviera

Room rates are as low as $27/night on their website. With taxes of 12% the rate comes to $30.24. They have a $3.92 / night energy surcharge. I didn't see any compelling promotional deals.

The rate at Riviera is about the same as Orbitz.

Stratosphere

Regular room rates are $38/night on their website. With 12% taxes the rate is $42.56. Their 'resort fee' of $7.50 a night is added as well.

Or with breakfast for 2 the rate goes up to $52/night or $58.24 with tax.

The plain non-promotional room rate is about $5 a night more than Orbitz.

Imperial Palace

I've stayed in Imperial Palace a couple times. Its a bit older and smaller than most major casinos but the price is fair and they have a great mid strip location. Their decor might be a little depressing and dated. They have a Three nights for $89 deal (promo code : PIF89). That comes to $99.68 with taxes. Plus a coupon book with the following deals:

· 2 for 1 Tickets to Penn & Teller, Jubilee! and Legends in Concert
· 2 FREE Admissions to the Eiffel Tower Experience
· 2 for 1 Entrees at Martorano's and other great dining discounts
· 20% of Grand Canyon Tours

The Eiffel tower tickets are normally $10 per adult so 2 free tickets is a $20 value.

The 3 night deal for $89 is a better deal than Orbitz.

Hooters Casino

You can get 2 breakfast coupons and 2 tickets to the Todd Paul show. (Promo code : AUGDEAL ) The deal is good for August 13 to Sept 3rd.

Weekly rates are as low as $20 a night ($22.40 with taxes) + $5.60 resort fee.

Rates on Hooters website are marginally lower than Orbitz.


Harrah's

You can find weekday prices as low s $45 a night ($50.40 with tax). Harrah's prices on Sept. 21-24 that I searched Orbitz for are pretty high. I am guessing they are hosting a convention or other event that week. Other days are much cheaper.

Classic summer fun package (promo code PHCSF) includes 'classic' room accommodations plus:
  • 2 complementary drinks at the pool
  • 2 for 1 tickets to Legends in Concert
  • 2 for 1 tickets to the Mac King Comedy Magic Show
  • 2 for 1 tickets to The Improv
  • $5 off your meal at Flavors The Buffet
  • Plus, many more discounts all across Las Vegas!

The price on Orbitz is cheaper than their website by a few bucks a night.

Bally's

The standard room rate on Ballys is as low as $39-$49 per night ($44-$55) on their website.

Jubilee! 28th Anniversary Package (promo code PBGGTWY) has:
  • $50 Dining Credit
  • Two Jubilee! Tickets
  • Two-for-one Spa admission
2 Night Min/7 Night Max
Offer Valid Through Mar 15, 2010

The tickets to Jubilee start at $52 each so two of them would be a $104 value. I found 3 nights for about $328.

The rates on the Bally's website are within $1 of the rate on Orbitz.


Caesars Palace

To me Caesars seems to be the quintessential Vegas hotel. I wanted to include them in the list even though the price isn't as great as the other hotels.

Standard room rates start at $90 per night ($100.80 with taxes).

Juliette promotion code: JULIETTE
  • Price starts at $119 a night.
  • Two nights Classic accommodations at Caesars Palace
  • $50 dining credit, good at any of our outstanding restaurants
  • Two Roman Rituals spa passes to Qua Baths & Spa (a $90 value)

Valid for stay February 28, 2009 - January 20, 2010. I found rooms on The Juliette promotion on Sept 1 & 2 for $279 total.

Rates on Orbitz are within $1 of the hotel website.

You can save some serious money on a fun trip to Vegas with some of the deals they are running. Just be sure to be careful with your gambling budget.

Photos by Dave Alter, chad davis and otzberg

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