Check the individual hotel casino's websites. Lots of "unadvertised" rates or bonus promos...usually emailed to those on their players club lists. Anyway, I recommend the New York New York Hotel and Casino or the Stratosphere over Circus Circus. I've never been there, but for family friends who ended up there for "family reasons" they said it was a complete hole. Period.

Stratosphere is not the nicest of hotels and is a little far from the rest of the hotels, BUT rooms are decent and recently "remodeled", reasonably priced AND there's the amusement park on top of the tower. For older kids who like adventure rides, this is a good place to keep them entertained. New York New York also has adventure rides for kids, BUT is going to cost more. GL to you!

I don't know if this helps but I have a mailer from the Luxor $99 midweek/$149 weekend valid 12/23-1/31. You get 2-4-1 lunch buffet, free health club admission, 2 tickets to Fantasy.

Make your reservation by caling Casino Marketing 1-800-956-0289 and mention offer code DFLS15.

Everyone is correct that it's relatively slow right before Christmas butr this year, because the 23rd and 24th are over a weekend, it's a bit more expensive. My personally recommendation is Monte Carlo. It's usually overlooked but has very nice rooms (especially compared to TI and Luxor) and you can usually book it for less than either of those properties. They had a room remodel less than a couple of years ago and upgraded their beds and linens, among other things.

TI is scheduled for a remodel next year so their rooms are getting a little tired. The good news for TI is that they are getting plasma TV's. On a side note, Mandalay Bay is scheduled for a rooms remodel in April of next year and they will also be getting plamsa TV's to try and equal the amenities that are offered at THE hotel.

Check Monte Carlo. If your choices are down to Aladdin, TI, Luxor, and Excalibur, then MC is the way to go in that group and I would bet that their rates are equal or better.

Thank you all for your help: MoreMilesPlease, gj1, AtomicLush.

So roughly what kind of rates should I be looking at? I'll most likely try to PL or Hotwire it for 4*. I can assume these are ok hotels to stay in, no?

5*
Venetian
Bellagio

4*
BAlly's
Mirage
Grand
TI
Harrah's
Aladdin
Luxor
Mandalay Bay
Golden Nugget (too far North)
Monte Carlo

Does anyone know if the 4* hotels are in the 4* category in PL? I don't want to be sprung a bad surprise..

I would wait until about a week beforehand, or even later, to bid on PL. You will get a better deal. Certainly there is little risk that you won't be able to get a room (most people in USA spend this period with their families at home).

I see.. So I'll just hold on to it then

For guidance on Bidding go to

www.betterbidding.com or www.biddingfortravel.com

Yes, thank you for the link. I've spent 2 days reading through the mountains of information, I have a rough inkling of how bidding is done.

On a side note though, how much are you all willing to pay for a room at any of these properties usually? <100? 120? 200? A guage will suffice

Again, thank you all for your kind help!

I was on a paid stay booked through a convention site by my company. The rate was $119 per night mid week. By no means was this a deal. I just wanted a room facing the strip on one of the upper floors. I was told that I would have to pay $149 per night to get this - those rooms are deluxe rooms � same size rooms with better d�cor and amenities. I told them that I was in charge of the trade show we are attending - the truth - and that we had 15 rooms booked there - could you see if you could get me there. I went back to the front desk twice to see if I could get that type of room at $119 - pure kindness on my part. Also, they walked two of our guys who had reservations. Since this situation, I have had two future trade shows moved to the Aladdin. Us trade show guys spend a lot of money on food and drinks. It's just not worth having to deal with the "trailer-trash" attitude the front desk displays. For $109 per night at the Aladdin I got a fountain view suite.

FWIW, as a SPG Platinum and Hilton Diamond, I receive better than average service when I stay at hotels. TI's front desk does not even come close. They did last year, but not anymore. I do not think this is a �bad stay,� but more the norm now.

It's definitely a shock to find that Vegas front desks are unimpressed by the usual things. But I didn't get how it was trailer trash or mistreatment. Fifteen rooms out of 2885 really isn't that much.

QL

I may not have conveyed well my point. I did not say mistreatment - although getting walked may qualify. My trailer trash comment stems in part by the attitude of the FD. But, also the people and service I saw there. This stay was a stark contrast from last year�s stay here. To me the place seems to have gone down hill. Given the plethora of options, why go to TI when they are so callus to the non-invited non-VIP? I stay in upwards of 75 hotels per year and know when good service is or is not rendered. I have cancelled stays at this property and I�m taking the entourage elsewhere from here forward. I can get a suite at the Aladdin for less than a bottom end TI room � it�s a no-brainer. So, I'm dropping the subject. BTW, you would fit right in at the TI front desk - "sir, 'Fifteen rooms out of 2885 really isn't that much,' you are a mere peon to us. Yes we have the room you want right across the hallway from the dump we put you in. However, you will need to cough up more cash."

MIKEM - 15 rooms at any major Strip property is not much, no front desk would be impressed. Also, it is harder to impress the front desk in Las Vegas because they see so much more money and volume than anywhere else you stay (being SPG Platinum and Hilton Diamond). Unless you are a player and are being tracked by the players club at the hotel, bringing 15 rooms to the hotel at $119 per night is not going to impress.

You will find in Vegas, there is a certain heirarchy of hotels and that the room rates fall in line with that. Each major hotel calls around to it's competitors and tracks everyone elses rates. That's a major part on how they set their rates. Unless a hotel has a major convention or casino event that is filling up their rooms during a certain time period, they have to stay competitive. You will find that the Aladdin is in a slightly lower end position compared to the TI by watching their rates over the long term. And if you think that TI attracts "trailer-trash", wait until the Aladdin re-brands itself as "Planet Hollywood". That ought to up the clientele level and create a high-end service environment.

I know the Sahara is not what it once was but the few reviews I did find were not all that negative. And it appears to have a monorail stop. And was very inexpensive to book a couple of months ago.

Any downsides not published in the reviews.

5 nights mid-Nov for a conference.

Happy wandering

WF

The Sahara is a very old property and has not been through a remodel in quite some time. Right now there are rumors that it is being shopped around for a buyer. The hotel is at the end of what is cosidered the Strip (Sahara Avenue) and is quite a walk from the rest of the major hotels. In addition, the area around it is not nice. Across the street is the Stratosphere (which is the only other major hotel close to Sahara) and directly behind the Stratosphere is a very low-income area with a high crime rate.

On the positive side, it does have a monorail stop and they just installed wired and wifi high-speed internet in the rooms and convention/meeting rooms.

Bottom line, do not have high expectations. I think that the reviews are generally positive because of the room rates, which can dip to $29 during the summer slow period. Value to price works in that range.

Given this list and having stayed at all but the Luxor I would put Excalibur at the bottom and MC second from the bottom - strickly on my experience of the hotel, not the price.