Las Vegas guide and MSE thread 2013

vegasvisitor

Ok, here's my Priceline update for the evening. Many of you will know you can only bid every 24 hours (although you can get 'free rebids' by changing zones, ratings etc. These can also be used sneakily to get a free rebid which is effectively the same as your previous bid. For example my £30 bid below, I added North Vicinity, knowing that there's only 5* Trump in there and I wasn't going to get that for £30, although I might have got TI.

Last night was - £70 5* North, £26 4* North, £30 4* North with North Vicinity added. No luck.

Tonight, went straight in at £75 5* North. Maybe I should have used smaller increments but I'm delighted because we got Palazzo. This is for 2-6th September. The $ equivalent is $117 (according to the email confirmation which quotes the prices in USD).

So, I would say Priceline worked for me this time for Vegas. I know there's also a resort fee, but I don't think I've seen Venetian for that sort of price in September for a long time. We got it for $109 years ago. So I'm well chuffed.

We now have 1 night Orleans, 4 nights Palazzo, 8 nights Platinum. :rotfl: Roll on September.

vegasvisitor

Oh, and by the way, just checked the hotel list. Luxor is 3.5*, Excal is 3* so you wouldn't get those on a 4* bid after all. Monte Carlo is probably the one some might not want.

Las Vegas (Strip South)
5* Aria
5* Cosmopolitan
5* Vdara
4* Monte Carlo-- (previously 3.5*)
4* MGM Grand
4* NYNY
4* Paris
4* PH Towers Westgate
4* Planet Hollywood
4* TheHotel at Mandalay Bay-- (previously 5*)
4* Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino
4* Tropicana (previously 3.5*)
3.5* Flamingo
3.5* Luxor (previously 4*)--
3* Bills Gamblin' Hall Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino (closed?)
3* Excalibur
2.5* Hooters Casino Hotel (previously 3*)
2* Crestwood Suites Las Vegas Blvd

vegasvisitor

ferf1223 wrote: »

that's so important - and while I think that the lists compiled by betterbidding are really good they do say that the list is not exhaustive - another hotel could pop up.

The times I have used Priceline (not for Vegas) I have done sooo much research on betterbidding and various review websites in order to know as close to 100% certain I will be happy with the outcome if my bid is accepted... and even then there's that period where you're waiting to see the answer and my heart always starts pounding thinking 'have I missed something and will I regret this?' So far have always been pleased and some excellent deals to be had but you read so often of people who didn't understand and are now stuck with what they got.

I have seen posts on betterbidding and elsewhere about people being quite mad about what they get. I think in the lower ratings there could be some quite random ones added from time to time. Also perhaps in the East 4* something like Renaissance could come up (not on the lists but would fit the zone and rating). Not the worst hotel in the world but apparently has quite a small shaded pool, so I wouldn't be happy with that. The risk in some categories is less than others.

We used Hotwire last year for LA. We were aiming for a particular Hotel in Culver City, and everything was pointing at it and I was so sure but we got the Doubletree. While it was very close and had the same facilities obviously, we were a bit disappointed because the reviews were worse. We knew it was likely to be fine though, and it was.

Cracking deals to be had, just have to be very careful (and brave!!). :beer:

ferf1223

lesley74 wrote: »

4* TheHotel at Mandalay Bay-- (previously 5*)

that surprises me.

And I totally agree that there's more risk in certain * ratings than others...sounds like you got a good deal - very excited for you!

Wendell_Pierce

lesley74 wrote: »

So, I would say Priceline worked for me this time for Vegas. I know there's also a resort fee, but I don't think I've seen Venetian for that sort of price in September for a long time.

I know this is separate to the ongoing Cosmo resort fee theme,
and have no clue whether it applies to Priceline bookings, but the following from The Venetian indicates the resort fee is optional there for you, so thats a really good rate.


The Resort Fee


The Resort Fee is a bundle of valuable services that is applied on a daily basis to your room bill.

The Resort Fee includes:

• Access for two to the fitness facility within the Canyon Ranch SpaClub®.
• In-suite internet access (WiFi or Ethernet)
• Free boarding pass printing
• Unlimited local and toll=free calls
• A complimentary daily newspaper
• Coffee or tea at Caf! Presse (one time for two people)
• One two-for-one drink coupon for well drinks, domestic beer or wine at any casino bar excluding The Burbon
  Room (must be 21 or older to redeem drink coupon)

The Resort Fee is not reflected in the grand total quoted on your reservation. You may decline the Resort Fee and the services included in the fee at check-in or check-out. If you decide to decline the Resort Fee, the services included in the fee are charged whenever you use them at regular prices

nvh

You beat me to it Wendell - my understanding was Venetian / Palazzo was optional (can't remember where I read that but your quote seems to reflect that)

This is what confuses me about Priceline (etc), in that IMO, the resort fee's have to be (in principal) optional, or included in the bidded price... otherwise you're bidding with a set budget in mind, but you're then forced in to hidden extras that you had no idea of at the time of bidding.

Ie. what if somewhere has a resort fee of $80 (Extreme and unlikely, but you get the point)!

vegasvisitor

Thanks for that listing. Did you get it on their website or somewhere else? I expect it will be the same for Palazzo but just wanted to check.

neobis

Wendell_Pierce wrote: »

I know this is separate to the ongoing Cosmo resort fee theme,
and have no clue whether it applies to Priceline bookings, but the following from The Venetian indicates the resort fee is optional there for you, so thats a really good rate.


The Resort Fee


The Resort Fee is a bundle of valuable services that is applied on a daily basis to your room bill.

The Resort Fee includes:

• Access for two to the fitness facility within the Canyon Ranch SpaClub®.
• In-suite internet access (WiFi or Ethernet)
• Free boarding pass printing
• Unlimited local and toll=free calls
• A complimentary daily newspaper
• Coffee or tea at Caf! Presse (one time for two people)
• One two-for-one drink coupon for well drinks, domestic beer or wine at any casino bar excluding The Burbon
  Room (must be 21 or older to redeem drink coupon)

The Resort Fee is not reflected in the grand total quoted on your reservation. You may decline the Resort Fee and the services included in the fee at check-in or check-out. If you decide to decline the Resort Fee, the services included in the fee are charged whenever you use them at regular prices

Hi,

Do you have a link for the above?

I can only see the offer here: http://www.venetian.com/Las-Vegas-Casino/Poker-Room/Special-Rates/

That above offer is a special offer/casino marketing.

It also states it does not apply to 3rd party bookings. "(no third party booking such as Travelocity)"

Wendell_Pierce

lesley74 wrote: »

Thanks for that listing. Did you get it on their website or somewhere else? I expect it will be the same for Palazzo but just wanted to check.

The Palazzo is a slightly different listing, I posted The Venetian as you mentioned it, this is from The Palazzo.
I think the bundle of things will vary depending on what offer is booked, but the point about the resort fee seems to stand to the best of my knowledge, with all the e-mails from them ( Grazie / Non-Grazie ).

These two lists are both on the official Venetian / Palazzo websites under OFFERS.
The Resort Fee

The Resort Fee is a bundle of valuable services that is applied on a daily basis to your room bill.
The Resort Fee includes:

• Access for two to the fitness facility within the Canyon Ranch SpaClub®.
• In-suite internet access (WiFi or Ethernet)
• Free boarding pass printing
• Unlimited local and toll=free calls
• A complimentary daily newspaper
• Coffee or tea at Caf! Presse (one time for two people)
• One two-for-one drink coupon for well drinks, domestic beer or wine at any casino bar excluding The Burbon
  Room (must be 21 or older to redeem drink coupon)

The Resort Fee is not reflected in the grand total quoted on your reservation. You may decline the Resort Fee and the services included in the fee at check-in or check-out. If you decide to decline the Resort Fee, the services included in the fee are charged whenever you use them at regular prices.

ferf1223

nvh wrote: »

This is what confuses me about Priceline (etc), in that IMO, the resort fee's have to be (in principal) optional, or included in the bidded price... otherwise you're bidding with a set budget in mind, but you're then forced in to hidden extras that you had no idea of at the time of bidding.

I think it's in the standard T&Cs - just like parking, where there may be a charge at some hotels but not all...so something else that users have to consider when placing bids.

It's here:

The reservation holder must present a valid photo ID and credit card at check-in. The credit card is required for any additional hotel specific service fees or incidental charges or fees that may be charged by the hotel to the customer at checkout. These charges (link below) may be mandatory (e.g., resort fees) or optional (parking, phone calls or minibar charges) and are not included in your offer price.

http://www.priceline.com/customerservice/faq/showHelp.asp?faq=ext%28HOTEL_CHARGES%29&jsk=4663010a5064010a20130213212123a3f011634003&plf=PLUK

Charges


Depending on the property you stay at, you may also be charged (i) certain per person, per room or percentage based mandatory hotel specific service fees, for example, resort fees (which typically apply to resort type destinations and, if applicable, may range from $10 to $40 per day), energy surcharges, newspaper delivery fees, in-room safe fees, tourism fees, or housekeeping fees and/or (ii) certain optional incidental fees, for example, parking charges, minibar charges, phone calls, room service and movie rentals, etc. These charges, if applicable, will be payable by you to the hotel directly at checkout and are not included in your offer price. Please contact the hotel directly as to whether and which charges or service fees apply.