Lesley,
I might be getting confused but I don't think there is a link from Excalibur to Luxor, instead you have to go to Mandalay and then come back to Luxor. I might be totally wrong? I don't think I have ever got off the monorail at Luxor, normally we get on at Excalibur get off at Mandalay and then explore and wander through to Luxor via Mandalay Place.

Bearing in mind that the Luxor was our first ever stay I actually loved the Pyramid room. It really was nothing like we've stayed in before (and since) to be honest. As I've said before, it's a Vegas must do really and the inclinators are fun also. I think it's common knowledge that the Tower rooms are bigger but it's just a block room at the end of the day. It's not everyday you can stay in a pyramid is it? I must admit the Pyramid spa suites looked a good deal last year when I was hunting around for deals. The benefit of these rooms I believe is that the spa position allows you to see out of the window (tinted, obviously) which would make for quite a treat I think.
I'm with you on the location, it's not really a big thing. It's 10 mins through to Excalibur from a room in the Luxor, another 5mins to the bridge connecting to NYNY and again to the MGM. Sure feet are going to hurt, but I think that's a given anyway?

All this talk of the Luxor is making me think it wouldn't be such a bad idea to consider the hotel for September. It will have been 7 years+ since our last stay and if the price is right, I could be tempted. I would certainly put the Luxor room above the standard Excalibur room and the NYNY room, MGM would still beat it though.

Plenty to think about.

Luci, wow that's a lot of spend on show tickets but why not? It's part of the Vegas experience. I'm not sure what we have planned for our 4 nights but we'll definitely take in a couple of shows I would think. I think we would both like to see Love and O, but prices might dictate. Le Reve is high on the list also, and we'll probably check out Goldstar for a cheap afternoon show or two.

Roll on September!!!

Can't remember if I've mentioned it before or not, but we've also booked http://www.mysteryadventureslasvegas.com They take you to 4 different locations where you have to find clues to solve the mystery. It just seems like something different to do.

luci

Ju

Ahh...you're making me think about the pyramid rooms now...help! There are 6 of us going, 2 couples (us and hubby's sister and her husband), then mother in law who is sharing with my friend who is similar ages with her. So basically 2 couples 28,30 and 34,34, and then the mother in law and friend both in their 50s. So we need to have the option of king beds and 2 doubles wherever we stay. We could I guess book different room types. We are possibly on a higher budget than SIL, she'd be happy with a standard room I think to keep costs down, we'd consider the suite. The other two might take a nice room - but it would have to have 2 beds, which can be an issue (eg Celebrity Spa suite). Would be good to have one suite though so that we could all get together there when going out anywhere, so we'd have room to sit etc. Do you happen to know if the Pyramid Spa Suites would be on the same floor as the regular rooms - ideally we'd be requesting three rooms close by. On location, I'm comparing to mid-strip rather than south strip. Even at MGM we'd anticipate a great deal of walking to see as far up as Wynn etc. I guess if we did Luxor it would mean buying a few day passes on the monorail to get up to Harrah's etc to walk further again. Or maybe the bus but it is SO SLOW!

Hi Luci

That looks like fun! Did you get another $5 off with the coupons (sorry, I'm being a bargain hunter again!!!).

Is this for May you have booked this? Would be keen to hear how you get on, might think about this for Sepetmber.

Lesley,
I'm sure that I read on TA that the Pyramid room suites are on the same levels as normal rooms (much like the Celebrity Spa Suites), so you should have no problems getting rooms close together even if you decide to go down the Spa route whilst the others stick with standard rooms. The Luxor is definitely interesting me again now.....

As for the Deuce Bus......I agree, how slow? We purposely avoided it last year and missed out on our yearly jaunt to the Golden Nugget. Going down is bearable but the queues of people waiting to come back (especially in the evening) is enough to put people off for life!!!!

Luci, is that Mystery Adventure thingy what Stephen Fry did on his Stephen Fry in America series? If so it looked good fun and if it's good enough for him, surely it's good enough for anybody?????!!!!!

Yes Lesley I did get the $5 off. That saving will cover the $10 is will cost to be picked up from the Sahara as we won't have a rental car to get there. We are going on a Sunday afternoon at the end of April. I'm looking forward to it, but hubby less so.

Not sure if it's the one Stephen Fry did.

luci

Hi Luci

You know there's a CAT bus that goes along Sahara - I think it's $1.25 or $1.50 per person. I suppose you can't guarantee times though. We used to use the bus to go to Romano's Macaroni Grill and then Palace Station across the road (this is west Sahara though rather than East Sahara. Maryland Parkway really isn't that far up at Sahara - since the strip runs at that angle and is actually beside Paradise Road at that point, so only about a mile maybe.

Do let me know how it goes. I showed hubby and he liked the sound of it.

I just got an email with the Luxor Offer too.....making me look again in case it was a cheaper offer. I'm not sure what to do....$48 is pretty good.... Right now we're $515 per room + tax for Paris for 6 nights inc 2 w/e nights. Could change to Luxor at $335+tax, or TI at $457+tax. I'm sort of thinking that TI is a bit 'young' when we've got 2 people with us in their 50s. Last time we went it was very 20s 30s.

I don't know why Lesley but I have never really loved T.I. We went for a few drinks in there before Mystere last year and found the service very hit and miss. In the big central bar, we waited for 15mins for a server to take our drinks order and just gave up in the end. She was too busy talking to the bar staff. One of the other bars (name escapes me) was better, and 2for1 as well.
I just think that T.I. feels cramped to me, certainly compared to other properties.

Changing the subject a bit I am slightly concerned with some of the "deals" that are coming up for our dates in September now. I appreciate it is ages away and hopefully closer to the time will be better but the latest Mirage deal is coming out at $109 best price. My worry is conferences that week. The ABC Kids Expo is on during our dates and although it's not in the league of some of the huge conferences that Vegas has, it is estimated to be 13,500 people attending. Add in a few smaller ones of 2,500 people and that could mean a shortage of deals

Ah well, fingers crossed eh?

See what you mean - 13-16th September for that conference. Hopefully it won't affect too much... I did notice that Paris rates on the Harrah's site are rather high for a few days around then. At least it's not in a major strip hotel, it's in the Expo Centre, which means a lot of the people will maybe stay over closer to that. Wynn and Venetian etc of course not that far away.

We're still booked for Paris, but tempted to change to Luxor. Paris is $515 + tax for our 6 nights, Luxor is $335 + tax. TI is $457 + tax.

I know what you mean about TI. However, it's very easy to navigate, quick to get to your room too. Last time I liked the room too - and they've also been renovated since, so should be even nicer. The pool is quite good, huge jacuzzi area, also loads of people drinking in the pool though. May not appeal to over 40s for example... It's definitely a 20s 30s hotel I'd say. We've only stayed there once and never since managed to find a good deal on it.

I'm keen to know what other deals there will be........!!! I don't really want to keep changing hotels because there are 6 of us going and I feel it's a bit unfair on them telling them different things all the time!

Hubby said there's something in the paper today about bargains in the US due to the economy...must read that later.

Just for your info, a law has been passed to increase room tax by 3% so it will be 12% on the strip and 13% downtown. Not certain when it takes effect, but I think it's 1 July.

luci

Can anyone advise how to go about booking venue for wedding blessing. Will be 25 year celebration for me and my hubb in april next year and we are planning to go to LV

samr wrote:

Can anyone advise how to go about booking venue for wedding blessing. Will be 25 year celebration for me and my hubb in april next year and we are planning to go to LV

Some info on renewing wedding vows HERE

A week away from the internet (spent in Dorset) hasn't really reaped any rewards on new Vegas deals. MGM has a great offer from $52 but on my dates it is $106 a night for a standard room. The only other one of note is Monte Carlo, which is a great value $55.95 a night on my dates. I'm not overly struck by the thought of staying there though.

I was talking to my Wife last night and we both agreed that we should probably get something booked for Vegas at the best rate available and then just keep looking. If prices go up, then we are covered but at the same time we can take advantage of better deals IF they come along in the months leading upto September.

With Seattle and Portland hotel prices being high, the 4 nights we stay in Vegas is a good chance to "even out" the hotel budgeting. Plenty of time for it all to happen yet.....

Hi Ju

Out of curiosity, for your Portland and Seattle hotels have you looked at Priceline? Good way to cut costs in major cities.

I did try priceline a while back for our September trip, but it was too early and I didn't have any luck. I was just doing silly low bids though! I'm wondering if I did a really low bid for 4* south strip I might end up with Luxor...might consider the average nightly rate I can get it for and think about a lower bid. The offer on Luxor is good though, so not sure I'd do any better. Also, I'd quite like the pyramid spa room if I did stay there.

Have you chosen a provisional choice yet then?

Lesley,
Good call on Priceline. I have used Hotwire with some success in recent years and I think that may well be the way we will go with Seattle and Portland. The only thing with Hotwire (and Priceline I presume) is paying up front for accommodation, something we are not in a position to do until we have some savings together. For our dates in Seattle I was offered a 3.5* Downtown Pike Place Market which according to Betterbidding is the Crowne Plaza....that was $129 a night. Serious savings against standard rates offered on Expedia ($200+). Similarly for Portland, I was offered 5* Downtown Portland for $109 which turns out to be (probably) the Nines Hotel, which is seriously good value for a property of that standard (the highest Starwood level I believe).

Never looked at Vegas because of the great deals direct, but it might be an option. My one bugbear with Hotwire is that we are often allocated two double or queen beds as opposed to one king. Not handy for two 6ft+ people. Still that's normally a minor issue as there is serious value to be had.

As for Vegas direct booking, my Wife was actually very impressed with the Monte Carlo deal so that might be the one we go with provisionally, or Luxor....or whatever else comes up in the next few days. I honestly think we need to get something booked on a cancellable rate with that semi large conference in town.

All good fun.

Would that be the MCTIER2 deal at Monte Carlo? It's $77 for weekend, about $50 weeknights? If so, it may be uncancellable?? Just went to see what the Monte Carlo deal might be, and that's what I found. Do let me know if it's something better. Probably by then they'll only be doing indoor work at City Centre - do you think?

It is that code Lesley but after following the booking procedure through it is a one night deposit with the option to cancel with 48 hours notice prior to arrival date as per the norm.

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=MCH&host=promo&code=MCTIER2

Still getting $55.96 per night 14-18 September midweek. The Friday and Saturday rates are $97.96 and $111.96 respectively for the 18th and 19th.

There is a new Mirage code as well (30discount) which is supposedly valid May 1st - Dec 30th expires Dec 30th with rates from $60 and available to all. However, when I put in the 14th September for 4 nights it throws up an error stating a promotional date has to be selected. My guess is that this code is still cutting off at 10th September like a number of other codes that are on the Fat Wallet thread. Hopefully someone will suss this and amend the cut off date to the 30th December as the deal states. Currently the best Mirage deal I can get for my dates is $109.65 a night, surely that can be bettered??

The only others that are still showing some value are NYNY @ $69.99 a night (TZBRG) and the T.I. deal which is $55, $76, $76 and $55 on my dates although you can't get a refund on your deposit. Excalibur is $51 for a standard Tower room which I don't mind or $71 for a Widescreen although I'm sure I've seen better. You also get some extra perks with this deal.

I'm tempted to book that Monte Carlo deal and see what happens nearer the time.

I see. I assumed because it was one of those 'x amount of days in advance - %' offers that it might be non-cancellable but it seems not. It comes out at $377+ tax for my dates. Luxor is $335+tax, Paris is $515+tax. Mmmm....it gets more interesting. For some reason I'm not to keen on Excalibur, but may change my mind. Which of these have you stayed at? I've not stayed at MC, Luxor or Excalibur, so I'm really not sure. People did say MC was noisy and dusty because of City Center last year, but that may have improved....? The inlaws who are travelling with us are coming over later so I might ask them what they think (although they won't really know as only one of them has been and stayed at the Frontier a good few years ago, so won't have a huge opinion on rooms.).

Lesley we have stayed at the Luxor and Excalibur out of the three. Our friends stayed at the Monte Carlo as part of their USA honeymoon in 2007 and liked it, but they had nothing else to compare against as it was their first time in the USA.

The Luxor stay was very memorable as it was our first visit and I loved the inclinators and the quirky rooms, however they are smaller than the Tower rooms and certainly aren't as big as the MGM standard rooms. I still think they are bigger than the rooms in the NYNY but it's close. I'm not totally convinced by the rebranding of the Luxor though. It's a Pyramid, the Pyramids are in Egypt so why try and get away from that theme? Strange, but the need to keep up with competitors is obviously a tough one in Vegas. In 2008 it was my first visit to the Luxor that I really didn't enjoy and we didn't hang around for long. Still, at the prices available it's still a Vegas must do...certainly the Pyramid anyway.

Excalibur was in 2006 and at the tail end of our round the world trip. The standard Tower room was fine for us back then, and I'm sure I could be persuaded to stay in a similar room again if the price was right, but obviously the remodelled Widescreen rooms are attracting favourable reviews. It felt very busy (this was October) and there were a lot of children kicking around. I quite like the themeing in Excalibur, it's so typically Vegas and for me thats a big part of a stay. We also had our best ever slot wins in the Excalibur, a $350 one night followed by a couple of $200+ which meant we actually left Vegas up (for once) and I did find the slots looser than elsewhere (certainly compared to the MGM for example).

Price shouldn't dictate all the time but with so little to choose between properties it probably will. I would always go with the MGM over the Luxor and Excalibur if prices are close, but that doesn't seem to be the case in September at the moment. As I said, I would like to stay in a new property this time so that Monte Carlo deal is looking favourite at the moment with a view on keeping an eye out on other properties in the coming months.

I have to say that the best room we've stayed in was at Platinum (last year - but they don't exactly do deals!), this is followed by Bellagio and Venetian (comparable), then maybe Aladdin, Paris. Our worst was Quality Inn Key Largo, thankfully closed now - used to be opposite Terrible's out at Paradise Road. Second worst would be Best Western Mardi Gras also out there, but it wasn't too bad at all. I really like Orleans out of the value bunch, but as we have 5 nights booked there already (still to book car), we need something on the strip for the other 6.

I must say, Monte Carlo is a good bit cheaper than Paris that I have booked so it is a bit tempting. I also like TI, but we have 2 in their late 50s in our group, so not sure it is suited to them. I'd like to see a good rate on Mirage maybe. I also enjoyed Aladdin/PH in the past, but haven't seen good deals there for a while.

The inlaws didn't have much opinion on things. We have sussed out that SIL and BIL and hubby will go to Penn & Teller, and MIL, friend and I will go somewhere else that night. Not sure what, maybe Phantom or maybe even just Legends or something like that.

Do keep me posted if you see anything else. We are 11-17th, so I think we're around the same time, but we're the weekend of 11th whereas you're running into the following weekend.