Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2013

neobis

Wizbit82 wrote: »

Well we have cracked....after saying we weren't going away this year due to buying our first house, we have spent the last fortnight researching Florida before thinking s*d it last night and booking Vegas flights :beer:

Normally go direct with Virgin but had some Thomas Cook vouchers left from the engagement years ago and were nervous of keeping them in case they go under so have booked 2 direct flights flying with Thomas Cook in early July. Not cheap by old standards, however they are a means to an end, and that end is VEGAS BABY!!!!

So excited I couldn't sleep last night :-( We have previously stayed in Wynn/Encore/Mandarin but as we are on a much stricter budget this year (planned to do 3 or 4 weeks in Vegas next year) we are looking at cheaper places. We have 4 free nights at the Staybridge Suites (yes I know, but we love it) so are looking at 10 nights elsewhere. We are flexible in terms of staying in one place or moving around.....on the list at the moment (purely due to price) is:

Monte Carlo
Hard Rock Hotel
Flamingo
Trop
MGM

Basically need it as cheap as possible - dates are 7th-21st July but we are very open to suite hotels or off strip if we have to

Having been to Vegas a few times before and getting married there in 2011 we have 'done' all of the sights but need to go back for our fix!:j:j:j

Help please regulars :T:T:T - we are two mid 30's northerners who love our food, I don't drink (hubby does) and we barely gamble. Will have a car to do all outlets/Walmart/Target/In&Out/Hot&Juicy etc. Budget no more than £60 per night for 10 nights:(

Flamingo - Good location and probably the cheapest hotel out of the list you provided.

luci

Thanks Lesley, much appreciated.

So Strip North Zone 2 is the one to select for Wynn / Encore / Palazzo / Venetian?

Good luck with your bidding and keep us posted on your progress.

I have been looking for a 5* for 6 May, but the prices are crazy.

I found my email for my successful Priceline bid, but there is no information on it, just a link to your winning bid.

jammerr

where's the best place for hire cars in terms of everything included, price you see is price you pay, etc

thanks

secretmachines

neobis wrote: »

It has always been my understanding the the resort fee is mandatory. The only get out is if you book via a 3rd party and it is stated/included in your total bill.

same here... without trawling back through the posts, where did the non-mandatory idea come from?

The only other 'get out' from resort fees I've heard of is people raising the issue at check-out that they've not used any of inclusive features of the resort fee (gym, papers, etc, etc.) - even then success in having the fee waived is hit-and-miss.

ferf1223

Just came across this -not sure if they are still doing them but at Cosmo in October at the players club booth my hubby was chatting with one of the staff and she gave him one of these.

http://www.flexibleinnovations.com/gallery/promo/digiclean-micro-fiber-screen-cleaner/The-Cosmopolitan-Las-Vegas-DigiClean

and I went and asked for one a bit later and got a couple...very handy for cleaning tablet and phone screens...it's sticky on the back and sticks to your finger and you rub it over the screen...very handy...and hey, free!

secretmachines - the no resort fees thing came from a reply from lowcostusa.

think this was the original post

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/59143785#Comment_59143785

then this one

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/59143785#Comment_59143785

but subsequently told different from Cosmo.

martmonk

Ferf, spot on summary. Only addition would be to say I also now have a PDF from them clearly stating that the resort fee is non mandatory so they presumably are also misleading others.

I'm not going to worry about it. It's the cheapest quote I had so booking elsewhere would additionally cost me tax and resort fees. I'll pay what I need to on check out and make sure I do all I can to get lowcostusa to foot the bill when we get home.

Those digiclean things are great. We picked up a couple in April last year, lasted a couple of months on the back of my phone.

vegasvisitor

luci wrote: »

Thanks Lesley, much appreciated.

So Strip North Zone 2 is the one to select for Wynn / Encore / Palazzo / Venetian?

Good luck with your bidding and keep us posted on your progress.

I have been looking for a 5* for 6 May, but the prices are crazy.

I found my email for my successful Priceline bid, but there is no information on it, just a link to your winning bid.

No, other way about. Zone 2 is the one with just Trump in it. 7 is Wynn/Palazzo/Venetian. Not sure if Encore was included, but it's not likely to be a problem if anyone got Encore I don't imagine. I believe Encore has some nightclub noise though.

Will keep you posted. I may not get anywhere, but it may be of interest to anyone hoping to try their own bidding strategy. Unfortunately if prices are crazy for 6th May there's probably a reason for it and you're possibly not going to have much luck with bidding. Always worth a try though! Have you tried Hotwire? I've had great success on there for other US cities and also for Paris. I just love a bargain! :rotfl:

luci

Thanks Lesley. I just read your post again and see that I got it back to front.

6 May is the Monday after a fight weekend so I don't know if that's having a bearing. It doesn't have to be that date so I will play around with some others.

I've never used Hotwire, but will have a look.

nvh

martmonk wrote: »

I also now have a PDF from them clearly stating that the resort fee is non mandatory

In an attempt to save the hassle of chasing LowCostUSA on your return, it may be worth taking a printout of this with you... it wouldn't be the first time a hotel has waived a resort fee, and the class of the hotel we're talking about may mean that they're willing to make alterations to save their reputation (even though it's no fault of their own.)

You don't necessarily have to make a fuss of it but it may just be worth pointing out and showing them you have documentation saying the resort fee is optional - if you look slightly disgruntely though, they may at least give you a good room

just a thought

vegasvisitor

luci wrote: »

Thanks Lesley. I just read your post again and see that I got it back to front.

6 May is the Monday after a fight weekend so I don't know if that's having a bearing. It doesn't have to be that date so I will play around with some others.

I've never used Hotwire, but will have a look.

No worries Luci. You can get help with hotwire also on betterbidding.com If you have any specific questions or if you want me to try to identify hotels on there feel free to drop me a pm.

Another that I've not really heard of being used in Vegas - Lastminute Secret Hotels. I wonder if anyone has had any success with that. I'm going to check that out too.