Personally having done both places, I think it depends on what you plan to do in both cities ?

The shopping is very good in Vegas as well as NYC but there's a LOT of walking in Vegas to get around even when using the public transport, I found NY easier to get around other than on foot than Vegas.

I would probably opt for Vegas first as it's the longest portion of the flight....go direct if you can. then Vegas to NY and NY home.

bmi go direct to Vegas from Manchester, but you could do it cheaper with a connection, but it will take 17-18 hours.

I would hold off and check http://www.flybmi.com for promos either just after Xmas or just after New Year. We got a great price Aberdeen - MAN - Vegas booked on 3 January.

If you have an idea of price per night for Vegas, in dollars, then that will narrow down the hotels as there are loads to choose from.

Have a look at FAT WALLET. That will take you to the last page with the latest offers, but Page 1 is updated with what is available. You can check to see what the rate were this year for the dates you're thinking of.

When are you thinking of going?

luci

About May 16th but fairly flexible. Just phoned Airline network and they quoted about £590 for Man-NY-Vegas-Man, what does that sound like?

Not really sure as I haven't done a stopover. However I know that http://www.unitedvacations.co.uk do free stopovers so you may want to try them.

luci

Hi

We did this in June this year. Flew from Glasgow. We did 3 nights in New York, and then 8 nights in Vegas. The time difference is a killer when you fly to Vegas, so the break really helps. I prefer it this way. Whatever way you do it you will have jetlag coming home as it's an overnight flight!

I think Vegas is better for shopping to be honest, and more bargains. Maybe that's because I know where to look for what I want. If you need any info on the different malls I can provide you with lots of info (as can many other forum members on here!).

We booked our flights with continental. Was the cheapest option to book the flight with stopover on their website. Then we booked all our hotels separately. Washington Jefferson in New York (priceline.co.uk), and in Vegas Orleans (tripres.com), Westin (priceline) and Paris (Harrah's website). There are lots of good hotel deals to be had at certain times of the year.

Les, when would you reckon best time to book hotels?

Hi

We normally go in September. I try to get something firmed up by around May/June but at that time it would either need to be great, or cancellable.

Priceline did us an excellent price on Westin Casuarina £30 per night at the weekend! We were guaranteed 4* Strip vicinity and going by other bids at the time we knew we'd most likely get the Westin.

Last year we went in early June. I booked Orleans direct through them in March. Got a better deal with Tripres on 28th April. Our stay there was 7th June for 3 nights $141 including two Rick Thomas tickets ($141 is a total!).

Westin, I booked mid march. Priceline is non cancellable but this was a fab rate of $57 per night friday and saturday. Can't find the Paris confirmation in my email, but I guess around May, we had already booked Planet Hollywood for $59 per night and decided to change to Paris at $99. Stayed at Planet Ho a few times when it was Aladdin anyway.

Have a look at http://www.vegashotelspecial.com for some recent deals. You will be able to look back over the summer and check out what there was last year. You are never guaranteed the same deals but it will give you a fair idea of prices and what hotels do offers. Good idea to sign up for their emails and all offers will be emailed to you as they are put on the website!

Because of such offers, we tend to book different hotels within the one trip. We did find 3 hotels over 8 days too much though, especially after new york. 3 is fine for a Vegas only trip, or for a longer trip, but we were only there 8 days. Hired a car for 3 days too, through Airline Network. About £50.

Lesley

Do you use http://www.priceline.com or http://www.priceline.co.uk ? I'm sure I had problems when I tried the .com one, possibly because I didn't have a US address although I can't remember what the problem was.

luci

Thanks Les - great info, will start looking.

Luci

It was http://www.priceline.co.uk You are correct in saying that priceline.com does now allow non-us residents (well maybe Canadian, but not UK anyway!).

You can still use http://www.biddingfortravel.com to find out what others are winning bids for. I love priceline! Got a great deal for Intercontinental in Berlin with them too! Bidding for travel have prices in dollars, so remember to convert at current interbank rates if you want to copy someone's winning bid!

Thanks Lesley. I've only tried to use Priceline once and it wouldn't accept by bid when I was trying for the Venetian. It was wanting a lot more money than the US was going for.

luci

There is another website http://www.betterbidding.com which also includes Hotwire.

The problem with the likes of Hotwire is that new hotels are being included all the time, so if you are sure based on other peoples winning bids that you are getting a certain hotel, you could end up disappointed.

I was offered a 2.5* in Savannah for $56 a night on Hotwire which I took. The general census of opinion was that it was the Comfort Inn or Staybridge Suites but turned out to be a non chain hotel The Promenade, which doesn't tend to get good reviews at all. This was the first time ever the Promenade had been offered to anyone on Hotwire.

Still at $56 a night compared to a price on Expedia of $179 that is still some saving, and it is within the Historic District of Savannah as well. Other hotels in this area are over $200 on Expedia.

A bit of general advice I was offered by a Hotwire/Priceline regular was to keep it above 3*.

I must have a look at hotwire. I've heard of it but never investigated. Hadn't ever tried priceline till last year, and I think it's fantastic! I agree though, you have to be careful!

Lesley,

My 2nd visit to Hotwire in the space of a month (today) has been far more succesful. Basically we needed a 4 night stay in Atlanta, which could either have been Downtown, Midtown or in Buckhead.

Prices on Expedia have been $120+ for our dates to stay at the Hilton & Sheraton Downtown. More for Midtown & much more for Buckhead.

Anyway when I popped back on today I noticed a 3.5* in Downton Atlanta for $59. Yes $59! The BetterBidding website showed that the 3.5* hotels Downtown were the Hilton, Sheraton and Hyatt. Neither of which I'd be disappointed with. The confusion came from the inclusion in the description of "Customer Favourite" which was only listed on Betterbidding as being the Hyatt. The list of amenities (Restaurant, Fitness, Pool and Business Center) didn't relate totally to the Hyatt though, so it was with some trepidation I booked the $59 deal.

It was in fact the Hilton Downtown. A property I was more than happy with especially at that rate. The lowest unrestricted rate for the Hilton on Expedia or direct was $119, so in effect I have saved $60 per night by using Hotwire.

More to the point our 8 night trip into Georgia, 4 nights in Atlanta and 4 in Savannah has cost us a total of $460+tax in total. So £230 for 8 nights, £29 or so plus tax. Bargain.

It does show that Hotwire can work sometimes, but once again the recommendation to look at only 3* and above probably will pay off better.

J

p.s. Mods, sorry for hijacking this thread.

Jwhiting,

Thanks for that. You're not really hi-jacking - you're helping us find good deals on Vegas hotels (and other places in America too!).

I take it you can bid on hotwire with a UK c/card?

I need to book flights before I do any bidding though. So far I have found Orleans rates very reasonable - $120 at weekends, $60 midweek. Same as previous years really.

All I need now is for the dollar to stay weak...and I'm not convinced that will happen!

Lesley,

Yes, UK credit or debit card is accepted on Hotwire.

The thing with Vegas is that there are so many good deals out there booking direct that using Priceline/Hotwire seems a bit of an unecessary risk. Still if you look at the ratings on Betterbidding, it is pretty easy to work out which properties will come up on Hotwire.

Centre Strip

5* will be the Venetian or Wynn
4* will be Planet Hollywood, Caesars, Paris and TI

South Strip

4* will be MGM, NYNY
3.5* will be Luxor
3* will be Excalibur

Of course that is not set in stone, there may be a new property that comes on board. The way to check is to go back on Expedia and see what is available on there. Tie in the corresponding hotel ratings and you should get one of the above.

Certainly I would not be disappointed with any of the above properties, but it all depends on what type of holiday it is. For a week long 2nd holiday of the year I would go with Hotwire, but for the main holiday you really want to stay in your first choice property.

Let me know if you use Hotwire.

Travelaxe is excellent as well.

It's a free program that you can download and search for hotels in the States and it sorts them really easily too. I have ended up booking hotels through http://www.lodging.com a few times, they show some really good deals (on Travelaxe)

Cheers,

TC

This info is great, but I don't think I'm brave enough to go on priceline. I think I will make sure of dates first then try and get hotels. Do you think it's better do diy hotels or through TO such as Airline Network or Dialflight or others . With this being our 1st time in NY and Vegas, I think near Times square and near centre strip in LV will be our best bets. Do you agree ?

I prefer centre strip in Vegas although others prefer the MGM at the south.

Check the T&C's of the hotels you are thinking of booking. In Vegas when you book direct with the hotel they only take the first night's accommodation. If you see the same hotel at a lower rate, contact the hotel and they will apply the lower rate. You can cancel within 48/72 hours of arrival and get your deposit back so you could book more than one hotel and wouldn't lose out.

Offers are posted on FAT WALLET. That link takes you to the last post, but Page 1 is frequently updated so check that to get an idea of rates. You can also check back and see what the rates were this year for the dates you are going.

Some of the hotels require you to have a player's card to get the promo which you won't have if it's your first time.

Also check http://www.vegas-promotions.com/ and http://www.vegashotelspecial.com/