Hi TeeCee

Have you used Hotwire at all? Jwhiting mentioned it a while ago and I had a browse at it (had previously only used Priceline). Hotwire have Trump for $114 average when you include weekend nights. I saw Desert Rose on it but hubby isn't keen. Also Wynn $134. There's 3* north and I think it's the Riviera (Ju I think you had looked at thia one - it's now $29!). Amazing price, but I don't fancy the Riviera. Signature shows as 4.5* NSE so it looks to be $114 also. I think that's worth considering... My concern is that if I book then 2 members of our party may not want to pay too much or pay upfront. I think $114 average for 6 nights incl weekend is good though...

I'm tempted to change to Excalibur just now. Cabanas are $85 and include TV, mini fridge with juices and water, snack basket and pool raft. No minimum food & bev.

Because we've paid for P.E. flights, we want to keep the first 6 nights accomodation as cheap as possible (but whatever we book MUST have a good pool area) Which is why we have now counted out Excalibur as it looks like it has no shade (umbrellas) around the pool area at all - we've found all too often that we very much need some shade around midday!!
Having said we want cheap....We are quite tempted by the 'M' resort - it's as low as $74 some nights but looks really nice, although it's out of Vegas a bit....but we'll have the car anyway.
I am still tempted by the £20 a night at Stratosphere........am hoping for a second week at MGM Grand for less than £50 a night.......which I reckon will happen

Cheers,

TC

Teecee,
Have you thought about the Sahara? The general consensus of opinion when I have discussed "budget" Vegas properties with people face to face and via forums is that the Sahara wins hands down North Strip. From my experience, there is a definite old school Vegas type vibe in the Sahara (similar to what you might experience Downtown), and the property overall is better maintained (and cleaner) than a lot of the cheaper properties (Tropicanca, Riviera, Stratosphere etc etc). Add in a Monorail station, some loose slots (we won $80 on free slot play within 5mins in 2007) and you are laughing.....but only if it is dirt cheap of course!!!
The pool area looks pretty good also and there is plenty of shade (and look at those cabana prices), follow this link (give Java plenty of time):-

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/nevada/las-vegas/sahara-pools.php

I'm not in a position to overly endorse the Sahara because I've never stayed there and a lot of what I mention is through discussions over the year. I think it would be my choice at the low end though, certainly a better option than the chain hotels on the Strip and just a bit more convenient than the Statosphere (although with a car this doesn't come into it really).

I haven't really seen too much to get me excited in the past few weeks to be honest. I am hoping this is the calm before the storm in terms of Vegas deals. Definitely take a look at Hotwire, especially if you are considering the lower end market for your first week. You would have to pay up front as Lesley mentions but at those prices, just do a cheaper weekly shop in your local supermarket and that pays for it!!!!
Lesley,
Those Excalibur cabana prices are pretty good I think. As I mentioned before I actually quite liked the Excal pool area as it was so if they have improved on it (which in truth, doesn't always happen) then I am sure you will be more than happy with it. You probably need to factor in kiddie factor there though, which may or may not be a major problem?
I get your comment on paying up front on Hotwire by the way, and there are no refunds or changes allowed which doesn't always work well in Vegas unlike other cities. I suppose the one good thing to come out of Hotwire (apart from the excellent prices) is the fact that it is booked, no changes, end of. You can chill out and look forward to your holiday knowing exactly where you are staying without the need to continually look at forums/hotel websites to find the best deal. I think, like me however, you are probably semi addicted to the Vegas hotel deals chase (if you like), and are determined to get the best hotel at the best price

TeeCee,

I do hope you are right about MGM That would be good!

I did consider Signature, then realised we have 2 women sharing and it's only king beds so no good for us! Boo. Wynn is $134 on priceline, but although I'd jump at the chance, I'm supposing it is over budget for some of the others in our group.

Ju,

There is now an adult pool at Excalibur (cabanas at adult pool), so I'm thinking that solves the kiddie issue. We've also got a coupon for Dick's Last Resort for 2/1 drinks, plus some coupons for drinks etc at NYNY, so might be a good location. I also quite like NYNY but NOT to stay in - don't like the look of the rooms or the reports about the pool.

I haven't seen many pools with shade around them. We stayed at Aladdin quite a few times on our earlier visits and it had no shade. We only sunbathe a few hours so we can live with that.

Ok, to summarise, I still don't know where we're staying !!!

Ju,

Funny enough we normally stop off in the Sahara for a gamble each trip, on our way down to the Stratosphere, to eat in Roxy's Diner. Each time we go in Sahara we always say 'We're never staying here'! I really don't like it at all so it's not an option I'd consider to be honest, especially as it won't be cheaper than the £20 a night that the Strat' is at the moment. The Strat is a tad inconvenient but being a lot newer, everything is that bit nicer to be honest.
I'm getting a bit impatient with regards to booking a hotel but I know that in 6-8 weeks time there will be some really good deals for September so it's just wait I guess.....very frustrating!
I reckon MGM Grand will be available for $50 a night when we go......you wait and see

TC

Lesley,
Funnily enough the NYNY is the one hotel you can guarantee shade at the pool. Hence the dislike from many people!! DOH re: the Excalibur pool situation, of course there is the adult pool which we discussed about 2 pages back. I would be tempted by the Excalibur again I think. It certainly didn't let us down in 2006.
On the subject of Dick's Last Resort, I think drinking there is fine but eating, no way. We went to the one in San Antonio (on the Riverwalk) and it was brash Americana at it's best. Insults from the servers all meal (part of the appeal apparently), food fights (not by us, I would add) and seriously below average food. It might appeal to some, and to be honest we are always up for a good laugh, but that was a little extreme for us. Whether it is toned down to fit in a casino in Vegas I don't know, in fact knowing Vegas, it is probably even more in your face!!!! I do like their t-shirts though, "they have hooters, we have dicks" which I think is priceless.

Teecee,
We actually prefer the Sahara to the Strat but it was worth a shot. I have often seen Sahara rates about the same as the Strat but if you don't like it, it's not worth considering. I've never forgiven the Strat for taking my $5 bill in a Coke machine and not vending, or giving me any money back!!!

On the subject of our dates and because of circumstances, it now looks as though our USA trip may be off in September. There is still hope, but I'm not going to be in a position to book until much nearer the time (which isn't a problem really). It could mean a Med holiday in September, with hopefully a visit to the US in November for my birthday but it's all a bit wait and see at the moment.

I've just been reading another forum and on the subject of the MGM deal which included buffet, it literally is an all day buffet pass you get. So in theory you could have breakfast, lunch and dinner at the MGM all included in your room cost!!

Amazingly this person got the room for $49+tax. I'm sure we all agree that part of the fun of Vegas is going to different restaurants each night, but that MGM deal has to be the best I've ever seen. Absoutely amazing value.

Hi Ju

If that was the case I would have booked. However, I think there is a bit of mixed speculation on this one - I called and asked and they said a pass per person per day. The pass entitles you to ONE entry to the buffet according to the person I spoke to (who checked with her manager while I was on the phone). I would be keen to hear if anyone has actually been and found the pass to be multi-use, but I still don't believe it is. Of course if I find out for definite it is I might just book. I quite like the MGM buffet. Do you think they'd make me pay extra for the champagne at the weekend brunch?

I think it does cover B, L & D from what I have read. I think it gives you the all day dining pass that is available at the moment for $29.99.

luci

See what you mean. People on another forum have already been and are saying 'trust me I've been and it's 3 entries per day'. My weekend nights are $249 for a celeb spa suite, so just not worth it.

Here, I could sneak a third hotel in the middle for 2 nights - Desert Rose is walkable to the lobby entrance up the side of MGM....mmm. I don't think hubby is up for Desert Rose at all (with the others going with us at least). Love the pools at MGM, Lazy River is fun, I think they'd like it. I don't want to pay $249 though for the weekend, and if I stay there I want to stay in a Celeb Spa again!

Luci,
That's the pass other people were talking about. From what I remember you have to purchase it at breakfast and charge to your room and then it will come off the final bill during your stay each day. I do wish the MGM were a little clearer with their offers. It only takes a few minutes to put some extra detail of each of the benefits at the bottom of the screen after all.

In terms of value for money it has to be the best deal ever, but I'm not completely sure it would work out so well for us because we like leaving the hotel in the evening and having a meal elsewhere. Of course there is no obligation to have all the buffets each day and lets face it you have to be a bit of a pig to do breakfast, lunch and dinner but I guess you are still getting a free breakfast buffet each if you decide to do it that way (as we probably would).

The best price for September (our dates) I can find at the MGM is still $90 a night for a Grand Tower room. Not bad..... I have no idea which deal that is on though, I'm pretty sure it's not the buffet deal but I could be wrong.

Lesley,
It was tough having to slum it in a Grand Tower room last August after the Celebrity Spa Suite the year before but I would say that the Grand Tower room is so wonderful that we soon got over it. Price is obviously going to dictate though, and if the suite is $249 over the weekend I'm guessing the standard tower room isn't that cheap either????

Come on MGM, lower your prices!!

Have now seen a couple of tempting deals -

Monte Carlo - averaging £51.80 a night for our entire stay

Flamingo - averaging £53 a night for our entire stay

Luxor - averaging £50 a night for our entire stay

damn it....decisions decisions

Might look into the Flamingo deal and see if it's one that can be cancelled with no penalty.....at least something is booked then and I can feel a little better!

TC

Having just stayed at Flamingo this last weekend in a standard room, I would rate Monte Carlo far higher than a standard at Flamingo. Very noisy rooms and tiny bathrooms in comparison to MC.

Cheers Pebbles, sound advice!

Well, I've done it.............have booked my first six nights..........in the Rio, so it is a suite.

Have never stayed there before so am always keen to stay somewhere different. Their prices are quite expensive looking around the usual sites but I found one place that was doing them really cheap, have never even heard of them before - Cityandshow.com, but they are ABTA and ATOL members and I couldn't find any negative stuff searching in Google.
Have paid £55 a night for the first six nights (Tues-Sun, check out Monday), I think that's a really good deal including the weekend!

Am happy to have got something booked

Now just need that second week in the MGM Grand with an upgrade to a Celeb. Spa suite for $89..........not asking for too much am I?

TC

We're at the Rio now TeeCee. We really like the place, the rooms are great. Only downside is the pool doesn't open until 10am at the moment.

what a coincedence! Cheers Pebbles. We've visited before and liked it. I guess the pool should open a bit earlier when it's 'summer'?

Not sure if you've eaten in the hotel yet but there's a restaurant called something like 'American Bar and Grill', it looks nothing from the outside but we had a great steak in there last year, for a pretty decent price if I remember rightly.
We've also eaten in the Indian restaurant there, I think it's called 'Gaylord'.....no laughing at the back ...........was ok but wouldn't recommend it to be honest.

Cheers,

TC

If anyone finds any hotel offers can they post the links in here please so that everyone can have a look?

Thanks

luci

We've walked past it a few times and gone to TGI Fridays at the Gold Coast instead. Will have to look a bit closer. Thanks for the recommendation.

My missus used to be a manager for TGI's in the UK.

Their ribs are the best ribs in the world!! Delicious

This is the link to the site where I booked - their other prices don't look out of this world (not bad though), just the Rio stood out......http://www.cityandshow.com/

Cheers,

TC