Newbie Question

Hi,

I'm not sure where to post this. So please feel free to move this if this is not in the right location....

We are going to Vegas for our 2nd trip. Our first trip was a trip we won, where they sent us to Circus Circus (back in 2007). We are definitely wanting to be in the center strip area. On top of that, we are paying for our friends to come with us. So we will be purchasing 4 plane tickets and 2 rooms.

FYI: this trip will be around May of next year (2012)...so we wouldn't book this for a while. Would it be beneficial to go with a travel agent?

The best price I could come up for May/June online (via allegiantair.com), just to get an idea in how much it would cost....came to a total of about $2,300 at Paris for 7 nights/8 days package deal (flight + hotel). I know I can get cheaper at other hotels...but is that about the best I should expect for this long of a trip and 2 rooms without any comps? We live in Montana, and so the plane tickets aren't super cheap by themselves.

PS: These forums and this website have been tremendously helpful!

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Personally, I book air and hotel individually, thru the airline/hotel's websites. Granted that's partially because I'm usually using freq flier miles.

Weekend nights of course are more expensive than weekday nights. For some fun, snarky reviews of the hotels check out cheapovegas .com site.

Oh, with such a long lead time, you should find a good deal.

First try the online travel sites like Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc. next try the individual airline and hotel sites online. Cahnces are you'll find a better deal paying separately for each. It takes a little while to leanr to sue such sites, but you've got time.

You may also want to read some of the reviews posted by the Wizard and others on this site. There should be several for center-Strip hotels.

Personally I wouldn't go to a travel agent. He may have access to certain rates you don't, but chances are any savings will be taken up by his comission, fee or however he makes a living. Last time I used a travel agent was in 1990!

Quote: chrisroane

We are definitely wanting to be in the center strip area. On top of that, we are paying for our friends to come with us. So we will be purchasing 4 plane tickets and 2 rooms. FYI: this trip will be around May of next year (2012).

The best price I could come up for May/June online (via allegiantair.com), just to get an idea in how much it would cost....came to a total of about $2,300 at Paris for 7 nights/8 days package deal (flight + hotel). I know I can get cheaper at other hotels...but is that about the best I should expect for this long of a trip and 2 rooms without any comps? We live in Montana, and so the plane tickets aren't super cheap by themselves.

Just getting ideas for now is fine, but your trip is so far into the future that the hotel you pick may be boarded up by then.

If I understand you correctly, you got 4 RT airfares originating in Montana and 14 nights total at Paris in the month of May, with no comps, for $2300 out the door? Sounds like a cheap starting point to me.

Another great place to find cheap air fare is cheapoair.com Every time I have compared it to the other big names like expedia etc. it comes up with cheaper flights.

I've priced out all of the major travel sites (Travelocity, Expedia, Orbitz, etc...) and the problem I have with them is #1. They are more expensive than what I can get through allegiantair.com and #2. They are not non stop flights like allegiant air is to Vegas.

With that said, I do like not having to pay for all of the rooms up front and having the flexibility in changing hotels/rooms without cancellation fees.

Quote: chrisroane

With that said, I do like not having to pay for all of the rooms up front and having the flexibility in changing hotels/rooms without cancellation fees.

Most hotel websites will quote a fee for the full stay (often this does not include resort fees), but will charge you only one night in advance. The rest is payabl when you check out. If you cancel the reservation wiht enough lead time, usually over 24 hours, you get a refund on your card for the advance charge. No cancellation fees as far as I know.

It is your choice and I can not say that one way is necessarily right or wrong, but be advised.

Often a direct airline booking is about five or ten dollars cheaper than going through the big travel aggregator sites such as Orbitz or Travelocity.

Often a direct booking with the hotel has an advantage in that if you book thru the airline, then the casino has no way to ever comp your for your hotel room. IF you think your gambling will impress the hotel enough to have them pick up the room tab for you, then you have to have booked the hotel directly and not thru Travelocity or the like.

I'd aim a bit high in your hotel selection, you can always lower your aim for your next trip if want to.

Kayak will let you see trends in airline ticket prices.

Note: Read up on the various hotel rooms also. Decide what you value. Some people would give anything for a coffee maker in the room, some don't even drink the stuff. Some people want a view, some never open the drapes. Some people focus on size of the room other on features such as flatscreen tvs and large showers.

Remember: extra socks and shoes. You will be walking more than you think. Also remember to drink water when you are in Las Vegas. Do it before you start feeling thirsty. Its important to stay hydrated.

Quote: chrisroane

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Here is my $.02 on it all.

If you can get a travel agent to quote you a price free, let them quote it. The days of travel agents getting better airfare are over as airlines no longer pay them a comission, but you never know. You may not be able top book airfare earlier than 180 days out. Consider flight freequency as well as price. An airline that cancels your flight and miss a day is no bargain.

Book flight and hotel seperate. And look at sites like Hotels.com and the individual hotel site for price. Vegas is like no other city as far as hotel shopping goes. My advice is go for mostly location as you will not be in the room much and you should explore more than the resort you stay in. My choice for value is Flamingo-great location and reasonable price. How many other hotels have a monument to a mafia leader right on site?

But that is me, there are all kinds of values there.

Lastly my advice is taken from the State Dept--KNOW BEFORE YOU GO. IOW, you do not have to plan every minute, but make a list of most of what you want to hit and see. If you do not all morning you will discuss all you can do. By the time you decide half the day will be gone.

Like Fleastiff, I also suggest Kayak. Haven't booked anything through it in a while, but it's usually my first stop for checking airline prices.

Since you are going for a full week, you may want to consider a mid week to mid week trip, as it'll cost less.

Alos, check out Virtualtourist.com. They have a decent section on Vegas with lots of posts by regulars and locals too. I use that site for getting background info on all my vacation destinations.

I just booked few nights at the Monte Carlo and they were offering a 25% off coupon for signing up for some mailing list, and seeing as the hotel's website had the best rates anyway, it made my rate about 30% less than the travel sites. I'm sure other hotels make similar offerings from time to time. Also, unlike the travel sites, if you book through the hotel you have a chance of getting the room comped, provided you are that type of player.

Can I be your friend, too? If there are any charters that fly you directly to Vegas instead of transfering I would only look into those unless they were significantly more expensive. If those are unavailable fromn where you live I would search out, without a travel agent, the best airfares. Once you have ascertained what the best fares you can get via the internet sites like expedia, you also must go to individual sites that don't always allow those airlines to be sold by expedia, like Southwest airlines, for example. Now you know the best price you can get via that method. Now, if you want, you can call a travel agent and give them a shot. As long as it is an agent that only charges you if you book with them it is worth a shot, if you have to pay them a fee upfront, I would avoid them. Once you have the price from your own search you can also try priceline.com. Remember if you do do priceline you pay right then and there for your non refundable tickets. If you are absolutely sure about your dates and availability (I believe people overestimate their level of 'sureness') then enter a price, say, 20% less than your lowest price you found. You can do this up to once a day. So assuming you were rejected do 19% less on day 2, 18% less on day 3, etc... Exactly when you stop is up to you.
As far as the rooms, first figure out what are acceptable choices- you may say that it has to be at least as nice as Harrah's but can't cost more than $200 per day. So that might eliminate Imperial Palace on the low end, and Bellagio on the high end. Also, as others have stated, book with the hotel directly just in case you get some comps there. You will likely at least get a discount of some degree from even modest playing.

Thanks everyone for the tips!

In most other cases, I would use priceline, expedia, etc....but they will make me have 1-2 stops at other airports before getting to vegas for the flight. For example, I can get 2 rooms in TI for about $490/person for 7 nights through allegiant air. For the same dates from Orbitz, it will cost me $821/person....plus I have more stops on my flight.

On an interesting note, I just priced out things separately. I went to Allegiant Air and priced out just the plane tickets. I then went the specific hotel websites and priced out different things. On Allegiant, they said I would have to call the hotel because they aren't sure what is available for those dates (for Pairs). On the paris hotel website, I got quoted a price of $860 for one room/7 nights. On Orbitz, I priced out the same dates for Paris, and it was $630 for one room/7 nights. On top of that, Orbitz has their price assurance, which is nice.

I'm starting to think the best strategy is to do the following:

1. When it is about 6-8 months from the trip, get a quote from a travel agent to see if they can save me money.

2. If it is confirmed that the travel agent will not get me the lowest rate with what I can find on my own, make a spreadsheet with the different bundled and separate options to see what will save the moree money.

I think buying the airline tickets through Allegiant Air and then buying the hotel tickets separately is going to get me the best price.


As for hotels are concerned, I've probably spent close to 40 hours reading reviews for all of the hotels. Our biggest thing this time around is that we don't want to be in a dump and we would like semi-comfortable beds. We figure we can't go wrong with one of the 4-star hotels in the center of the strip (Paris, Planet Hollywood, Monte Carlo) or maybe MGM or TI.

When I was looking at prices, Planet Hollywood would consistently come up cheaper than Paris.

What I really like about Paris is the atmosphere of the casino and the hotel, and that it is in a central location (I have walked near the Eiffel Tower, and have not gone inside the casino or the hotel). But PH is also in a central location, and their casino has a poker room. Do you think saving $10-$20 a night by going to PH would be worth it over Paris? I think my wife would prefer Paris over PH, but I don't know if Paris is worth it. What do you think?

I would not write off a Travel Agent so quickly. Will you be doing other things besides gambling? One week in Las Vegas can be a loooong time if you bust your gaming budget on day two. It is better to have an itinerary of other non-gambling activities to take advantage of the other things to see and do. A travel agent can suggest and package these things. Helicopter tours, the Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, even outlet shopping...

Have you considered forgoing the air and making a road trip out of it?

I just booked a visit to Planet Hollywood. I've never stayed there before. It's a guys' trip for me, so the young, modern, sexy theme of the hotel/casino appeals to me. I also like the fact that there are a LOT of dining/drinking options at PH, including the Miracle Mile shops.

The rooms are nice at Paris. More of a romantic vibe, so I nixed it for the guys' trip. But I'd spend the difference to please a girlfriend or wife. One thing I don't like about Paris is the limited casual eating options. You're going to have a 90 minute wait if you want to get a bite for breakfast at 9am. No food court, just a few options. I frequently wait 'til the overpriced burger joint opens for lunch.

If ambiance is not terribly important to you, you can usually stay much cheaper at Bally's than either PH or Paris. Bally's is connected to Paris, so you have reasonable access to all the same stuff. The rooms are not glamorous, but I don't remember them being in anyway unpleasant or uncomfortable. I just picked a random week next month and came up with the following quotes for a weeklong stay: Paris $116/nt, PH $96/nt, Bally's $83/nt. If all I wanted was a comfortable room in a great center-strip location for the best price, I'd pick Bally's hands down.

If your wife prefers Paris, choose Paris. It's not worth the difference to upset your wife.

PS: In my opinion, the poker room at PH sucks. So does Bally's. Do NOT get into a tournament at Bally's. Whichever hotel you choose, walk across the street to Aria or Caesar's to play poker. I'm sure the poker room at Bellagio is very nice too, but their tournaments are out of my league.

Our only plans, at this point, is to go to a bunch of shows and go a time or two downtown.

The dining options was one of the things I didn't like about Paris. But it is right next to PH and I figured it would be easy to go over there if we wanted to eat a cheaper meal. Is this not a good idea?

Thanks for the tips on the poker tables. I'm not sure if Caesar's will be out of our league. I guess you would consider us casual poker players....but we will be playing a lot of poker on this trip.

Caesar's has tournaments for $80-120 that are structured to last about 5-6 hours. Bally's has a tournament for $75 that's structured to last about 45 minutes. You can't afford not to play at Caesar's. For cash games, all rooms offer the same 1-2 or 1-3 no limit hold 'em with similar rakes, so you might as well play at a comfortable room that's well managed.

When you go downtown, I recommend the tournaments at Binions. $100 gets you into an 8 hour tourney.

Yes, from any of the center strip hotels you have access to all of their dining options. I'm particularly thinking about grabbing a cup of coffee and a pastry while you wait for your wife to get ready in the morning, or something like that. You don't really want to travel. Or getting a snack before turning in at night. Paris has always disappointed me in this regard.

Quote: miles

if you book through the hotel you have a chance of getting the room comped, provided you are that type of player.

Even if you are not normally a player whose action is that impressive to the casino that they would comp your room for you, it is at least possible that you will be very lucky and do well in your gambling. If you do better than you thought you would, but have already booked through a travel site, its too late to try for a room comp for that trip.

Monte Carlo styles itself as a boutique resort. Small, quality rooms and restaurants, quality shops, ... it pretends its a private European gambling salon. Sure sometimes it disappoints but overall most people like the place. Unfortunately, it follows American rules, not French rules, at the roulette table. Or at least it used to awhile ago. I have no idea what it does now.

PapaChubby: Thanks for the valuable poker information! This is making me take another look at Caesar's as a possible option for the hotel. If anything, we'll definitely do some tourney's there.

The guy that is going with us really liked the MGM poker room when he was in vegas (but he didn't go anywhere else, from my understanding). I've read all of the reviews on the wizard site, but how would you compare their tourney's/room to caesar's?

I honestly had Bally's at the top of my list for a while, because it seemed like such a great value for the price and location. But seeing a lot of people complain about the comfort of the beds turned me off...and considering our bad experience with Circus Circus last time, I don't want to regret the hotel selection this time around. Also, I did come across some prices at other hotels that were at or below the cost of Baily's (but this was not typical). If I was going on a guys only trip, I would definitely consider Bally's or PH.

Since we are staying for such a long time, I'm really considering just booking the hotel through their website (or on the phone)....just in case we do get lucky and I can get it comped (but I would have to be a big winner/loser to get $1200 worth of rooms comped). If I come out even, I will be very happy!

I have never played at MGM Grand. It seems to be well-reviewed, but I've never gotten a good vibe from it as I approached. I can't recall exactly what my problem was. Perhaps I couldn't get a good feel for the games and waits and tourneys from the information available at the front desk. Or I could see the queues, and there seemed to be too long of a wait. For whatever reason, I've gone to play there on a few occasions and always turned away.

You probably shouldn't consider me to be too much of a poker expert, as I've only played in Vegas a dozen times or so. On the other hand, I expect this means my perspective is similar to yours. I'm a casual, recreational player, and I look for a room that is inviting and entertaining, that offers good value. I've had good experiences at Mandalay Bay, Aria, Caesars, Venetian, Binions and I suppose even Harrahs. I've had unpleasant experiences at Monte Carlo, Ballys, Rio and Planet Hollywood. I was intimidated by Bellagio and Mirage, and maybe thats a bit of my problem with MGM Grand as well.

In any event, I wouldn't select a hotel based on poker. I'd plan to play in a variety of locations over the week. You don't get much comps, if any, for poker, so that shouldn't be a consideration. As long as you get a location in the center of the strip, you can easily get to 4 or 5 good poker rooms. Other than that, it seems like you have a pretty good handle on the comfort/ambiance/price tradeoffs.

You can't get cheaper than Allegiant Air. That is basically the most convenient and cheapest airline. You may want to consider Treasure Island. I think it is as good as Paris, and is often cheaper. The location is just as good.

Since you are staying for so long, purchase discount cards for Lettuce Entertain You which has some of the best restaurants in Vegas. There are two at Paris.

allvegaspoker.com is very good about listing poker tournament info (including daily tournaments)

My next trip in June will be my 20th :)

All great info! Thanks for sharing.

I have looked at TI. But I prefer other hotels for a more central location. With that said, when I can't find a great deal for some other hotels, this one usually has a good deal.

Quote: chrisroane

All great info! Thanks for sharing.

I have looked at TI. But I prefer other hotels for a more central location. With that said, when I can't find a great deal for some other hotels, this one usually has a good deal.

Fair enough. Food costs can be quite high in Vegas. As you are staying for seven days, you may want to purchase Harrah's Buffet of Buffets for $45 (with loyalty card) on at least two of those days. It gives you unlimited access to 7 buffets for a 24 hour period. It is less of a bargain than when it started out at $30.

The Ceasars Entertainment Inc. properties are all grouped together in the center strip.

Quote: pacomartin

Fair enough. Food costs can be quite high in Vegas. As you are staying for seven days, you may want to purchase Harrah's Buffet of Buffets for $45 (with loyalty card) on at least two of those days. It gives you unlimited access to 7 buffets for a 24 hour period. It is less of a bargain than when it started out at $30.

This looks like a fairly decent deal if you like a variety of food as I do. I'd suggest using it late at Sunday Brunch, then for dinner, then early breakfast (fewer lines) monday morning.

And I say stick to Rio, Planet Hollywood and Paris in that order, and maybe Harrahs and Flamingo, but stay away from IP and Caesars.