A few friends and I are taking a trip to Las Vegas in July. We’ll be arriving on July 11, and leaving either on the 13th or 14th – we haven’t decided. Needless to say, we’ll be needed accomodations. Thankfully, Vegas has no shortage of rooms.
Last time I went, we stayed at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino. It wasn’t shabby. Their rate calendar has some good picks – $33.00 rooms during the week, but their availability on the weekend we’ll be there is sold out. That’s ok–weekend rates were $95 or so.
We’re looking to be cheap. Basically, we want a clean place to sleep in between drinking and gambling. A shower, too. One thing we’d really like is a hotel/casino type place – that worked out quite well last time – so no Super 8’s. Oh, and if not on the Strip, we’d definitely like a place that has a shuttle to the strip.
I did find a few places that were around $60 or so per night, but I figured that since I’m not the best at searching for hotel rates, I’d come here for advice, and see if it was possible to go even cheaper.
I recently stayed atBill’s Gambling Hall and Casino and I liked it quite a bit. It is right in the heart of the strip, but very easy to get in and out of, and extremely convenient to other casinos. The steakhouse there is first rate, and there is a $0.99 margarita bar. (Just make sure you stir stir stir that thing.) Their rates are as low as $69 a night. I would stay there again.
We always stay at the Imperial Palace. Center Strip, easy access to the monorail, and quite reasonable price-wise. The elevators are the world’s slowest, and the layout can be a bit confusing, but for the price/location it can’t be beat.
I think lower Fremont street would be the place for you to save some money. They usually don’t require reservations and I’ll bet the clientelle would suit you to a tee. Don’t forget to bring lot’s of money though, Oscar Goodman our mayor, is always itching to build new homeless shelters and the like. Hey, could be your lucky day ! You could leave a millionare !
Thanks Paul, I just saw the beacon of light you shined and it took me awhile to put on my LasVegasSuperHero costume…a bit snug and hard to put on in this heat.
Good news for Vegas visitors! It was just on the local news the other day that due to the high costs of flights, and the general sucky economy, room rates here are dropping fast. They showed rates of $29 a night, mid-week, at the Plaza Hotel downtown (not all that great of a place, but for that price, I would take it) and then rates at other hotels from $39 up to some of the first class hotels on The Strip for “only” $129 - I believe even Bellagio was running some great mid-week deals! Again, these cheap rates are from Sunday through Thursday, but still…
You might also be very lucky by coming in July. Summer rates are traditionally very low as many people are wimps when it comes to weather and are in no hurry to be here when it starts hitting 110 degrees and higher. Considering they crank up the air conditioners and you will actually be freezing most of the time, it really doesn’t make all that much difference what the temp is outside. Plus at night it cools down to a brisk 95 or so.
If you are a betting man, I would book closer to the last minute…as mentioned, summer is traditionally a slow time here in Las Vegas and they might be getting desperate to fill the rooms by then. There is even talk of a “room price war” this summer. It is a risk to wait until last minute, but I seriously doubt that you will have a problem getting a room here, even if you waited until you arrived to book it. Weekends might be a bit trickier, so take that into consideration and at least call or go on-line to see what the rates are in a few places.
My website does have a quick overview of the Hotels/Casinos on the Strip in case you find a good deal but are not familiar with the place.
We stayed down at the Plaza in January. (We got a room because my sis and a bunch of people were in town, and we wanted to drink like tourists, so we just got a room there so we didn’t have to drive home.)
The rooms were clean and in good condition. The bed wasn’t too bad either.
We stayed at Mandalay Bay last year. Pricey, but freaking gorgeous and probably the plushest place I’ve ever stayed at, even more so than The W in San Francisco. The decor is awesome, the staff were helpful to a fault, the place was spotless. Everyone cruises around in their glamorous best, especially at night when the bars get music going. Plus, Mandalay Bay has a fist-full of amazing restaurants, including Aereole, a restaurant with a 3-story wine cabinet. The simpler buffet restaurants serve crab legs and have a full bar. Even the Starbucks serves gorgeous tarts overloaded with fresh fruit.
If you need something more budget, the Gold Coast was fine when we stayed there a couple years back. Not as luxurious, but not bad. On par with your typical shopping mall. Clean, but lived in. At least it’s not as creepy uncle as Excalibur.