Yup, I'm the same as you Ju, Virgin wanted over £1100 to go direct in Sept. So we booked an LA flight in Premium for £730, saved a packet. Driving from LA to Vegas, not sure what we'll do on the way back, I'm thinking we'll probably fly back with SW airlines, spend a couple of extra hours in Vegas!!
TC

New Excalibur deal

Standard Tower Room (7th September, 8 nights) $27, $24, $24, $27, $65, $65, $35 and $35
Widescreen Room $42, $39, $39, $42, $80, $80, $50, $50

14/9-18/9 Standard $35, Widescreen $50

Annoying 10% resort fee on top of course.

I stayed in the standard Tower room in 2006, plenty good enough. Nothing special at all, but for a base its perfectly acceptable and I must admit I am slightly tempted.

Do you have a link Ju?

luci

Here's the Excalibur deal link. https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=EXC&host=offer&code=CSMHR

This is the same price I've had for a while 11-17th Sept. I'm still tempted by this offer but I can't make my mind up. I'd still quite like to do the MGM deal for 13-17th, with the buffet it's $120 for a celeb spa suite. I'd also like to try Desert Rose, and I can get it for about $52 per night for my nights....however the weekend nights you don't get the free wine at 5pm-ish and then the weekend nights at MGM are way more than $120 for some reason - they're over $200.

Thanks for the link Lesley. Might be useful to someone.

Be aware that a Mayweather fight has just been announced at the MGM on 19 September so that will hike prices that weekend and possibly a few days before.

luci

Also, The Killers are playing Mandalay Bay on the 19th as well. I really would like to be over there for that because you can't beat seeing them in the USA (far too popular, and too bigger venues in the UK), but it looks as though the period we are looking at is between 4th - 18th September (miss by a day). It's a Saturday night also, and now with a boxing match the same night its not going to even be worth looking at hotels for the 19th and before....well, maybe a Red Roof Inn in Bakersfield!!!!

Lesley, I noticed the Widescreens are still $50 for your dates (and my originally planned dates), but with me looking at the week before as well, those prices seem very tempting. I mean if we really did want to do it on the cheap (might be the only option) I would happily go with the standard Tower at rates in the mid $20's and $65 Fri/Sat. I really do want to stay in a new property, but it would be foolish to discount the Excalibur, especially as we only had 3 nights there in 2006. Also, loosest slots experience as well.

Well we've had a slight change of mind now......before, we were flying into LA and staying overnight before driving to Vegas on the 15th - We've now booked flights with Southwest (return flights £75 each), so we land in LAX at 18:45 on the 14th and we have onward flights at 21:30 to Vegas now. We've booked the Excalibur for the first night for $35 before moving on to Rio for the next 6 nights (the Rio wanted $120 for the night of the 14th so we decided to do it cheap by staying at Excalibur).
We'll book a hire car for the morning of the 15th so we can move to the Rio easily and we'll probably do a bit of shopping that day to make use of the car and save time later in the holiday. Will keep the car for a couple more days to go Jetskiing on Lake Mead on the Wednesday....can't wait!!

TC

So, Teecee by my reckoning thats:-

1 night in the Excalibur, 6 nights in the Rio and 7 nights in the Monte Carlo? Sounds very good that. I think I would probably rather get to Vegas the same day rather than staying overnight near LAX, and with so many Southwest flights to Vegas each day, it should always be doable.

I do wonder why the Rio are looking for $120 for the 14th September though which is a Monday???

I am surprised about the Rio price on the monday, I had a comp for that night - I had sun-thur of that week free at Ballys, Rio, Harrah's or IP and Im a super low roller.

Have you tried logging into total rewards and then selecting 'hot deals' from the top of the screen?

Yup, that was a hot deal, I was very surprised they wanted that much as well.

Ju, yup, that's our plan for Vegas this year. I wasn't bothered about driving at all, in fact I enjoy it but the missus wanted to fly in so seeing as the return flights with Southwest are such a good price I thought we'd go for it.

I can't change our Rio booking as it's through a third party company but we've booked direct with Monte Carlo so we can change that if we want to, I'll probably only change it now if MGM do a good deal on the Spa suites.

Cheers,

TC

Well, we've done our booking now too...so that only leaves you Ju!!

Ok, we had 5 nights at Orleans already 6-11th included in expedia package. Car 7-11th to include our move to.....

Platinum for 2 nights $109 solitiare 2 rooms for the in-laws, then we're having a princess suite strip view at $139. Deal includes a bottle of wine per room. I really really love this hotel! Link for offer:-
https://reservations.ihotelier.com/istay.cfm?hotelid=15019&rateplanid=525415

Then 13th for 4 nights is at MGM Grand. In laws have Grand Tower Rooms, we will have Celebrity Spa Room at $120. This is on the buffet included offer which expires tomorrow I believe.
https://reservations.mgmmirage.com/bookingengine.aspx?pid=001&host=promo&code=MKT264&kbid=1162904&sub=246123

I'm dead excited now...how am I going to sleep now!

All you lot are rotters!!!!!
Its going to be at least three more weeks before we are able to make a decision whether its going to be a) Viva Las Vegas b) Sunny Greece or similar or c) Glorious Great Yarmouth. My Wife will find out about her job then, which is looking safer by the day to be honest (fingers crossed). We have two weeks booked off, 4th September - 20th September inclusive, so the hope is that we can go somewhere. Time is running out though, so it may have to be a cheapo Greece in September and then hopefully Vegas in November.

I did try and convince my Wife that it was worth booking the hotel in Vegas on a cancellable rate, but I think she is worried it might jinx things. Typically, some decent rates are appearing for 7th-10th September, including the Excalibur one mentioned above and also the first three nights on the buffet deal at the MGM. I am still going to try and convince her to book the first night somewhere though, I mean the Excalibur is only $24 for that night. It's not as though we've got to find a Saturday night rate deposit is it???

Glad everybody is getting their plans sorted now. It was mid/late July when I booked Vegas in 2007, so I am hoping that the same thing will happen this year and we will be over there again. I really didn't think I was going to be up for Vegas again this year but I've just got 5 guidebooks out from the Library, which is probably a good indicator as to how much I want to go back.

Will keep you updated!
Ju

Aw Ju, sorry didn't realise there was more important things like a job at stake for your decision. Hope all is ok for your wife's job, will keep my fingers crossed.

As for jinxing yourself - do you really believe that you can jinx yourself? I think if you are seeing a good cancellable deal you should go for it!

I am really happy with my booking, and I bet TeeCee is too. I hope you are in our shoes in the coming weeks Ju! It is the sensible thing to do to make sure the job is ok first before spending on a holiday!

Thanks Lesley.

After a heart to heart last night we both think that September is going to come around too soon for Vegas. We have had other priorities this year on finance, and to be honest we haven't saved anything for a holiday so far. Even allowing for a couple of pay days (with hopefully good news on my Wife's job front), I still don't think we would be able to save enough to get to the US. It's a shame because I do like September in Vegas, but its looking like a cheap Greece holiday for a week will do us, and then............

Vegas in November for my birthday!!!!

I have never been to Vegas any later than September so I am interested to see how the weather compares. It looks like from reading various posts/forums on November weather that it could be any temperature? I'm liking the thought of temperatures around 70c though, but I'm also sure my Wife would be disappointed if she couldn't get out and swim a bit.

Anyway, the Excalibur deal is kicking everything into touch at that time and I would add at this point, I am very grateful that Thanksgiving is the 26th November this year!!!

So fly out Sunday 15th November for 8 nights (provisionally 8 nights, I doubt it would be longer), Excalibur is coming out at:-

Standard Tower room $22, $22, $22, $22, $22, $43, $43, $22
Widescreen add $14 to the above, so every day apart from Friday/Saturday is $36, Friday/Saturday $57

Flights are similar prices to September, i.e. a US Airways cheapie @ £340, Continental £390 (both indirect) and Virgin hovering around the £500 direct (which isn't like September prices to be honest).

So there you have it. I just need to convince my Wife that booking one night cancellable isn't going to jinx anything......and at $22 a night for the first night, it's hardly going to break the bank. Will keep you updated.
Ju

Hope you have a great birthday out there in November.
I checked the BA direct flights for you for your dates and its coming out about the same as Virgin (ie. £510 per person).
I am booked to go out there next Easter and cannot wait!!

Yeah good luck for November Ju, I hope you get to Vegas for your B'day!

I always like it when it's a matter of weeks to Vegas.....even if it's 11 weeks!....it's the start of the countdown eh Lesley

TC

Thanks Jenny/Teecee.

It is very much fingers crossed for November. It would be the first time since 2001 if we don't make it to the USA this year, but in the current climate, I guess we should be grateful for anything....although two weeks in Hemsby doesn't really appeal as an alternative!!!

Will keep you posted on developments.

Ju

p.s. Teecee, please stop with the countdowns...talk about rubbing it in!!!!

Great Ju, glad you finally have a plan in your head, and great rates too! Lol at Hemsby. I know you said Great Yarmouth before...well I went to Hemsby a few times when I was a young kid (while back now )...we went to this place with loads of chalets and I used to play old fashioned 2p one-arm bandits! I'd have a pound of change and it would last me for days! Lol! So there is some sort of similarity to Vegas

TeeCee, I'm sure you arrive around when I'm leaving so I think you're 11 weeks is an overestimate... .. you will be glad to hear that. We were 9 weeks past Sunday, and we're the 6th. I think you'll find you're maybe only 10 weeks away! We're going to really hate Ju though later in the year when we've been and it's his turn!

Well we've made a start for November, my Wife has booked w/c 16th November off work!!! Obviously if everything falls into place, I would think we will probably head out on the Saturday before, which is the 14th and have a week in Vegas. Only issue with that is we would then fly Saturday, arrive home Sunday, which doesn't allow for a great deal of rest before back to work on the Monday. Maybe we can both have that day off also.

Clearly, by going in November this should allow us to save up more so we can pick where we went to stay instead of trying to do it too much on a budget. As I have mentioned before, it really would be nice to stay in a different hotel, so fingers crossed some good deals come kicking around in the next few months.

It is looking like Greece (or at least a Med type resort) AI in September. I found a good deal yesterday for £259pp AI in Crete, so there are some decent deals out there, but I will hold booking until later this month. The less we spend in September, the more we have for Vegas.

As for Hemsby and Great Yarmouth.........well, I think its the fact we live 20 miles away and you can go down there anytime which makes any form of longer stay unappealing. People who live in Dorset would probably say the same, yet we both agreed we really enjoyed our week down there earlier this year.

Roll on September, but more so November.