Vegas Hotel Questions

[Soccer Princess]

Do you get better rates at Vegas hotels when booking further in advance or closer to arrival date? What is a good time of year to go (crowds, weather..)? Is it better to call the hotel directly or book online? How many days would you say is a good amount to stay? 3-5? Thanks!

 

[DisneyPhreak]

My fave times of year are end of May/First of June...or Sept/Oct.

Weather is still normally very good and crowds arent too bad. Mid-summer its just too damn hot (even to hang out at the pools believe it or not) and in winter months it can be pretty cold. We went last Dec. for a golf trip and it was in the low 30's in the morning.

I've always had best luck and prices booking thru sites like Expedia. You can compare different hotels side by side price wise and decide. Also found that earlier the better. If you wait, conventions and large groups book there and hotels fill up and prices shoot thru the roof. I've found that 4 or 5 days is about right. 3 isnt enuff for me, and more than 5 I start to abhore the sound of slot machines. It all depends on how hard you want to hit it. When I'm there I barely sleep, rolling into bed around 6 or 7 in the morning and back out by noon. So I'm definately worn out by then. GL and have fun!!

 

[tracys2cents]

I'd stay 4 or 5 nights if you've never been. 3 just goes by too fast. The best hotel rates will be Sun through Thurs, Fri and Sat can double or triple. Mid March to mid May is considered high season with lots of conventions jacking up the room rates. Holiday weekends are tough, and Christmas-through-New-Years can be tough. Month of October is also known as a big "convention month". July and August offer great mid-week specials, but it's blazing hot. The two weeks before Christmas also offer great hotel deals because everyone's shopping and not thinking about "Vegas".

 

[woody73]

Book in advance for best rates.

We just returned after four nights in L.V. -- perfect!

Woody

 

[TravelingJen24]

Book in advance and then at the last minute call and see if they have rooms available. Sometimes they go up but other times they go down. We had a room booked for the beginning of October that we reserved months back. When I called three days before we arrived, they moved the rate down 30.00 a night. I don't know about everyone, but Caesars also takes AAA. Good luck.

 

[jlima]

Do you get better rates at Vegas hotels when booking further in advance or closer to arrival date? What is a good time of year to go (crowds, weather..)? Is it better to call the hotel directly or book online? How many days would you say is a good amount to stay? 3-5? Thanks!

If you get a good rate closer to your arrival date, then the hotel isn't as busy over those dates and they need to lower the rates to drive occupancy. Maybe a convention didn't pick up all its rooms; maybe a group cancelled, etc. Most hotels will aggressively price their rooms so they are not undercut by their wholesalers and internet partners. Most of the time their own rates will match anything you find on the internet. But always check online anyway, just to be sure. And some hotels will price rooms on their own websites a little cheaper than what the quote over the phone.

Personally, the best time to go to avoid crowds is December, the week before Christmas, or August. The best weather is October or March/April.

Length of stay depends on what you want to do. If shopping is your thing, you can easily spend several days in the malls here. If shows are your thing and you want to catch at least 3 - 4, you may need to stay 4 - 5 nights to get in everything. If tours are your thing, you can burn up a whole day doing a Hoover Dam tour.

Good Luck!!

 

[Jynohn]

I just got back from my first trip. We stayed four days, and I have to admit, it was one day too long. We had a great time, but by the 4th day I was just ready to get away from the smoke, and as someone else mentioned, the constant slot machine noise. It's the first trip I've ever been on when I couldn't wait to get home! It was a lot of fun, but I think 3 days is my limit...

Have a great trip!

 

[Andrea]

it really depends the good thing about it is, if you book through the website you can also call them if the price goes down and they will change it for you.

always sign up for the emails from the websites, you do get great deals

 

[jamie@dvcstore]

Subscribing. Thanks.
________
Lexus Cup History

 

[almacdonald]

As far as "when to book", this is what I did. First I picked a few hotels that I was interested in. Then I checked the prices, made reservations at any that were in my price range, you can cancel up to 48 (Or 72) hours in advance for a full refund. I think at 1 time I had 3 reservations! Well, sign up for the email promotions for the hotels you're interested in and keep checking back for better rates. If something comes up then jump on it, there's no charge for making changes! We're going for 5 nights (only 11 days and counting!) We started at the Monte Carlo for about $870, knocked that back to $750 when a code came out. Booked a reservation at Bally's for $615. Found a pretty good deal at MGM for $760, and got an even better deal the next night. The reservation we're actualy keeping is for MGM, $650 including $25 restaurant credit, 2 for 1 spa passes and 15% off spa services. If you can sign up for the player's club you could get a much better rate too. We started shopping around for a hotel about 5 months out, prices went down a bit then went even higher. Book early and keep checking to avoid getting ripped off (too badly anyway!)

 

[sharonrs50]

Stay off the strip for the best prices. Just driving 2 miles can save you a bunch of money. Our favorite off-strip hotel is The Orleans. There is free parking at all the casinos, so visiting the strip is very easy. We stay in August. Very cheap. It does get very hot outside, but everything inside is air conditioned. Avoid at all costs New Years Eve and Christmas week for crowds and cost. Early December is also inexpensive.

I get my best money saving ideas for Las Vegas from the "Las Vegas Advisor". They rate everything from shows to food to hotels. Lots of free information on their site. It may be worth it to subscribe, as there is a very good coupon book that comes with subscription. On a 5-day trip, we saved much more with the coupons than the cost of subscription. Check out their top 10 value list, free on website.

Sharon