Helen,

Two great sites are http://www.travelzoo.com (use the American site, not the british one)

The other great site is Fat Wallet - http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/travel-deals/704925?newest=1#last

It's worth checking both regularly

TC

http://www.smartervegas.com is another good one.

luci

The MGM Grand has made a move. INB253 is coming out at $90 for our dates, $5 upgrade (yes, it really is classed as an upgrade) to a West Wing room, $25 Bungalow Suite and $30 Celebrity Spa Suite.

Still not totally doing a dance over that rate although there are signs that things are looking up (or should that be down if we are talking about hotel prices...). Personally, and I'm not being greedy here I would like something around $70 and that might clinch the MGM again for a third time.

There are a couple of other September deals for the NYNY and Monte Carlo with lots of great 2 for 1 offers but the dates stop on the 13th September, the day before we arrive.

Not so bad for weeknights at MGM, but my w/e nights are $199 or $249 for the Celeb Spa!!

Eeek Lesley. What a pain weekends are in Vegas eh? You work all week in the UK and look forward to weekends but in Vegas you want to totally avoid them...but then again I guess every day is a weekend day in Vegas!!!!!

I paid $140 for a Celebrity Spa Suite weekends in September 07 for my Wife's 30th. I thought that was a good deal until I saw the August rates kicking around for the same room last year. Personally, as much as I loved the Spa Suite I would always opt for a Tower Room now unless the Spa Suite is below $100. The Tower Rooms at the MGM are excellent, lovely and spacious and whilst obviously the Spa room is much bigger, we just tended to mess it up more. I do seriously rate the bathrooms in the Celebrity though, one of, if not the best we have ever had anywhere in the world.

$249 for the Celebrity Spa Suite is way too high though. Even $90 weekday for a Tower Room is high, but at least there are signs that the MGM might still be an option during that period of September.

Ju -
You're out there the same time as me I travel out out on the 14th Sept but fly to LA. Am gonna stay in LA overnight and drive to Vegas about 5am on the 15th so we'll be going for the same deals by the looks of it!

TC

Hi TC,
Yes, those are our dates IF we stick to our original plan of 10 nights in Washington State and Oregon, and then finishing up with 4 nights in Vegas. Things are a little up in the air at the moment (work, need new kitchen/bathroom etc), but I am really hoping we can do this trip. If not, we may well end up with just a week somewhere and that could well be Vegas. To be honest, as much as I want to go to Seattle, but with the home improvements we need to do, when you see hotel rates at $200+ a night it does really make you think twice. I know that Vegas hotel rates are going to be around the $60-$80 a night midweek, obviously more at weekends so my theory is that if we can't do a 2 weeker as planned, we can still do Vegas justice for upto a week if accommodation is going to be that cheap....if not, there's always the Motel 6!!!!
In fact it would be very similar to 2007, where we had 6 nights. That time we flew in and out of LAX with Virgin because Vegas direct was horrendous in comparison. It might be something to look into again, but I don't want to completely give up on that Seattle/Oregon/Vegas holiday just yet.

Sorry for the nature to the post, but I guess it's still Vegas related.

Lol Ju - aren't you the guy who wan't going to vegas this year???

That's addiction for you. You thought you could give it up, but you cant!

I'm still undecided. No mention of charges for adult pool at Excalibur...I wonder how much the cabanas are...I searched tripadvisor but can't find anything.

I did some more priceline bids last week, but all I got was the following counter offers:-
£88 5* north (Venetian, Palazzo or Trump probably)
£67 4* north (TI likely)
£66 4* south (could be Luxor, PH, Westin...so def not worth it since I can get Luxor cheaper!)
My bids were £50, £38 and £30 in the above order, so I wasn't really close. I thought it was worth a try with the Venetian deal being out. I also tried my weekend nights only and got a c/o £114 for 5*North.

I'm hoping for a better deal, I'm sort of tempted to switch to Excal w/s room just now though...

Yep, thats me Lesley. I think the August Vegas sun and heat must have got to me.

Just had a look on Hotwire for 14-18th September. Obviously there are stacks of offers, some of the 5* options are good value (5* central Venetian? $119, 5* condo which is the Trump $119).

There is a 4* South Strip for $79 which has the tennis symbol so that should be the MGM. That is certainly the cheapest I've seen for the MGM during those dates. Another 4* central this time is $75, but I think that is T.I.
The 4* options for Vegas on Hotwire are excellent, you know you are likely to get either NYNY or MGM on the South Strip. Central is between T.I., PH and Paris, so again you wouldn't worry if you got any of those. It helps that the likes of the Luxor and Monte Carlo are listed as 3.5*, although of course this can always change.

There is some serious budget value to be had North Strip. If you want to take your chances you can have a 3* North for $25. I haven't checked this, but I'm guessing it's likely to be the Sahara, Strat or Riviera. I think Circus Circus has been relegated to a 2* if I remember rightly. Ok, maybe not for us but if you really wanted to keep costs down, that option is going to be better than going with a Motel 6 or Travelodge.

$79 MGM non cancellable through Hotwire........I'm guessing that isn't to go anywhere, so if the deals don't come through for the MGM over the next few months, that might be an option.
I am definitely on a high with Hotwire at the moment. I managed to bag a London HI Express (with breakfast) for 2 nights to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary for $39 a night. Also, last years effort in Santa Fe (Holiday Inn $39) was excellent.

Lots to ponder still....(if we go )

well we are debating on going Aug 17th for 10 nights. We decided last year we aere going back then said we could not afford it and now with all the doom and gloom decided we should go back lol.

Virgin PE flights £1000
Luxor $480

spending money ?

We will be on a budget this year so I am going to look at coupons for food etc and deals on shows. Its the flights that kill me really, I have over 30k in airmiles and want to fly PE I hate economy . I looked at alternates with other airlines flying economy but there is nothing under £500 so I thought I may as well go the whole hog and go PE for a grand lol.

Havent booked it yet as I am waiting Virgin to reply to my email about upgrades etc as the webidte is not clear

Vegasone,

You could always do what I've done this year, I wanted to go PE but couldn't get below around £1200 each so we are flying into LA with Virgin in PE and got it for £730. We'll stay overnight in LA and drive to Vegas early the next morning (car hire + gas is £56) so you can save a fair bit of money

TC

Hi Ju

I have never used hotwire, but I'm liking the sound of that. I've only used priceline in the past, and got some good deals with that. I notice though that the better bidding website has lots of info on both of these, so I should be able to investigate. I might get back to you for advice too!

Do you know there's a $139 direct with Venetian too? $119 is better though! I like the way the hotel splits are sounding. I daren't choose the 3* north option...I really don't want to stay at Strat or Riviera, but the TI/PH/Paris grouping is a good one! I'm off to investigate...

What are people's thoughts on Trump? I think it looks nice, but hubby think's it's too far up (and out since it's set back a bit too). I really liked Platinum, so I'm curious about Trump since it might be similar. It was great to have a washing machine halfway through our 13 day trip last year!

well I have found a solution. I have over 30k miles so if I buy an L seat economy I then upgrade it to PE total cost £846 what a bargain.

Vegasone, not sure if your prices are per person or not.

Our flights were cheaper than any previous year we've been to Vegas, seems they are cheap this year.

Out of curiosity, have you tried AA economy - they've got decent legroom compared to some others. Just in case maybe you could handle economy dependant on legroom.

Also, have you seen this special?
https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=LUX&host=promo&code=PZOO36&kbid=1162904&sub=246123

I did have a slightly cheaper offer, but I can't find it now...maybe it has expired. I can see a lot of expired offers for Luxor, but unfortunately the current ones aren't so good (so don't be too hasty...a better offer will probably appear soon!).

Vegasone....are you interested at all in MGM for August. Just found this deal with lots of August nights for $50. Unfortunately not for September Ju and Teecee! It is making me think the deals will improve though..

https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=001&host=promo&code=MGM021&kbid=1162904&sub=246123

Here's the rates for Aug...just watch the dates/rates have gone out of synch so don't go by the number beside the rate, the date is on the line above.

1

$180
2

$50 3

$50 4

$50 5

$50 6

$50 7

$160 8

$160
9

$50 10

$50 11

$50 12

$50 13

$50 14

$99 15

$99
16

$55 17

$55 18

$55 19

$55 20

$55 21

$89 22

$89
23

$50 24

$50 25

$50 26

$50 27

$50 28

$99 29

$99
30

$50 31

$50

Lesley,
Vegas is a totally different kettle of fish on Hotwire to most other US cities but you probably appreciate that from Priceline. The areas are more easily defined, I mean a 4* South Strip is going to be just that isn't it? The only time I have been let down by Hotwire was Savannah, when I was 95% sure I was getting a Courtyard by Marriott in the Historic District and ended up with an independent hotel which had never featured on Hotwire before, and therefore Betterbidding were not aware of it. It didn't help that the hotel was going through exhaustive renovations also, so I binned the Hotwire booking (lost the money) and stayed somewhere else. As it turned out, the hotel was ok when we walked past it, so I was doubly gutted.

You won't have that problem in Vegas though. It seems the MGM does appear quite a bit according to the Betterbidding website.

Thanks Ju. The 4* one just isn't quite at the right price for me to take it right now. Who knows what offers could still appear...

I'm tempted by the Excalibur one just now. Did you ever book Monte Carlo, or did you decide to wait for now until you finally decide on your vacation plans?

I've really got my other holiday to think about first, but Vegas thoughts are just too exciting!!!

Almost booked a hotel for our second week today!! The Orleans is down to £23 a night weekdays from the 21st Sept. It averages out at £37 a night for 7 nights including the weekend. I had entered all my details and was ready to click on 'book it' when I thought about what it would cost to get a cab back from the Strip every night (shuttle has stopped by the time we go back) and if I reckon on just £10, it makes it £47 average a night and there are hotels like Monte Carlo, Excalibur and Flamingo that are pretty much the same price so I didn't book. (Flamingo have announced a new deal that looks very good, it was around $63 a night weekdays - I quite liked the Flamingo although the pool is FREEZING)!!
TC

TeeCee

I thought you were saying the Orleans shuttle was off permanently there

We will probably need to go back after 12pm on occasion, but the time we have the car is at Orleans, so we will either be out in the car, or we won't really be having late boozy nights anyway for those days.

On hotwire they've got Desert Rose (well looks like Desert Rose) for $49 per night for our dates - 2 w/e and 4 weeknights. I'm starting to seriously consider it. Extra benefits are free breakfast and also free beer wine and soft drinks at the managers reception - around tea time weeknights only. So basically that's some brekkies and pre-dinner drinks if we want them. I know the breakfast will be basic, but means we could have a snack for b/fast then maybe have a lunch buffet. If we have a b'fast buffet we don't normally eat lunch. Hubby's not keen because of the small pool. I have concerns too about the fact that we're taking newbies and they might want to stay in a big strip hotel - however they are leaving everything to us, and I get the feeling that 2 of them have cost concerns.

Ok, so I still don't know what to do!