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Booking a trip - Fanciest place for 5 nights with package under $1600?

Discussion in 'LV Strip Hotels' started by letired, Dec 3, 2014.

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  1. letired

    letired Tourist

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    Hi Everybody,

    My Girlfriend (I guess now fiance!) are headed back to Vegas from Sun, March 1st thru Fr, March 6th.

    We previously stayed in the Venetian and loved it. We had a high floor strip view with just a standard king "suite" - the normal room at the Venetian. I used a sandwich to get it, and I plan on doing the same no matter where I go, especially because we will be checking in on a Sunday.

    I want to impress her with a fancy room, but want to keep the budget under $1600 for flight + hotel combo (for me, just one flight). I'm looking for "bang-for-buck" here, for example, is a corner suite at the Aria WAY more impressive than a Palazzo room?

    Do I go for a more "budget" hotel option and get a suite/big room, or do I go for more upscale properties like Encore/Wynn or Venetian/Palazzo?

    So far I've found the following package deals direct through the hotel's websites (most of these airfare/hotel packages are actually cheaper than booking the hotel room alone directly!) -

    MGM Grand Tower Spa Suite - $848
    Encore Resort Suite King - $1044
    Palazzo Luxury King Suite - $1047
    Palazzo Fortuna King Suite - $1533
    Mirage One Bedroom Tower Suite - $1566
    Aria Corner Suite - $1571

    Right now, it seems like I might be better off just getting the "basic room" at the Palazzo or Encore - it's large and will be impressive, and a $20 sandwich might get me into a nice view/nicer room. Suggestions?
     
  2. letired

    letired Tourist

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    Just checked out Vdara, forgot about that one.

    Vdara City Corner Suite for $1038
    Vdara Panoramic Suite for $1257
     
  3. ams722

    ams722 Side Bet Shunner

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    Have you looked at Cosmo?

    Since I have no standing there, whenever I have stayed there I always did a flight + hotel package and always got a great deal on a room.
     
  4. lotso-bear

    lotso-bear VIP Whale

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    Where are you flying from? Do you plan on having breakfast every morning? What do you plan on doing while you're in Vegas?
     
  5. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    That's what I'd do - nice rooms at great properties for very reasonable money. Though, if you go the Wynncore route, the $20 trick probably won't get you anything. Ask nicely for a view or high floor and you might get lucky. If you do, then tip the twenty.

    The Aria corner suites are nice, but certainly not $500 nicer than Wynncore or V/P, IMO.
     
  6. heatherlovesvegas

    heatherlovesvegas VIP Whale

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    Vdara would be my choice most likely from that list. Those rooms are amazing. The location is great. I think that would impress her, also for 5 nights, it would be nice to have a suite.. a little more space, and those rooms have kitchens and laundry, large soaker bathtubs. The rooms there are just as good if not better than Aria's, and it's literally steps away, not that inconvenient. City Corner room is fine, you don't need the panoramic upgrade. Or just ask when you get there. The views are panoramic in the City Corner suite anyways!

    I would also be very happy with Palazzo or Encore. It's nice that they have all the amenities on site. Lose the last 3 options, not worth the extra money. Spend it on a nice dinner instead! My vegas motto is "What is the best deal I can get out of all the similar properties"
     
  7. hbc07

    hbc07 Newbie

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    If you're a Costco member, be sure to check out their vacation packages. They're pretty reasonable and usually throw in some perks.
     
  8. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    I am following your vintage trip report and I think you should go Cosmo, terrace studio minimum and if you really want to wow her, see if you can upgrade to a wraparound terrace suite. The terrace gives Cosmo the edge for me over even Wynncore or V/P.
     
  9. letired

    letired Tourist

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    I'm flying in from Seattle, she'll be meeting me in Vegas after a conference in SF.

    We did the convenience store/snack route last time for breakfast and I was totally satisfied. I don't eat breakfast normally in real life, but she's always starving right when she wakes up, so we usually have to compromise (aka, don't wake me up, go eat some snacks in the corner).

    We want to relax, party, gamble, in that order. We're scummy low-rollers who like to stay in fancy rooms, then game at the shitty casinos where they have $5 minimums and good VP paytables.
     
  10. letired

    letired Tourist

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    Thank you! Vdara does seem to be where I'm leaning, though I have not yet looked at Cosmo! Breanna is mentioning a terrace studio, let's check that out...!
     
  11. letired

    letired Tourist

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    (And by scummy low-rollers I mean late twenties jerks who can't drop $5k a night at the tables and shrug it off. :wink2:
     
  12. Hobofrank

    Hobofrank Prime Minister of Idiocracy

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    dude Vdara City Corner all the way
     
  13. lotso-bear

    lotso-bear VIP Whale

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    Do you have an AMEX Platinum card? If not, you can book a regular room at Aria for $962 (including taxes and resort fees) through Classic Travel (a Virtuoso-affiliated company). By booking with them you get a comp. one category upgrade, daily breakfast credit of $25 per person, one $25 resort credit, and two complimentary spa passes per room. Maybe mention that it's your honeymoon and if they have any upgrades available at check-in. Personally, I wouldn't pay an extra $130 per night for the Corner Suites, I'd rather use that money (roughly $650) towards some fantastic meals.
     
  14. letired

    letired Tourist

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    Yeah, I'm really leaning towards this. The only downside I can think of is the fact that we had tons of fun playing at Casino Royale, and that's RIGHT next to the Palazzo/Venetian.
     
  15. Bommen

    Bommen High-Roller

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    I have stayed in all of these rooms except Mirage 1 Bedroom Tower Suite. For me the Encore would be the obvious choice and since the next contender Aria Corner Suite is 500 more it would make it a no brainer. I also see you were interested in staying in Vdara and i have stayed in the city corner suite but not the Panoramic. I would say Vdara(city corner) over Arias (corner suite) because of the layout unless pool is important then i would go with Aria. Either way i would go with the real luxury of Encore and use the extra money you save towards a nice spa day or fancy meals etc.

    I dont know if you found some good deals on Cosmo but as mentioned by another poster that would be worth an extra 500 if you can score a Wraparound or a Terrace Suite. Remember that Cosmo probably has the best views in town so the fountain view is worth every penny and although all Terrace Suites has fountain views you will probably have to pay extra for the wraparound. If you only find deals on Terrace Studio or the 1 bedroom i would probably stick with Encore but on the other hand that view is pretty impressive especially staying there for the first time.
     
  16. letired

    letired Tourist

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    Yeah, I've been totally unable to find deals on the Cosmo. They don't offer an air/hotel package on their site, and the big package bookers (expedia, travelocity, orbitz) all put the price at ~$1250 for a simple "deluxe" room. Terrace studios put it up to $1600+, and that's not the Wraparound or a suite.

    Pool isn't important really, it will probably still be cold when we're there the first week of March. The City Corner package at Vdara for ~$1050 is really seeming like the best deal, but we may still do Encore...
     
  17. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    A couple if comments:

    Do you want a nice room or a fake suite or a real suite? (fake suite is just a larger room)
    Where will you be spending most of your time - eating ,drinking, playing, etc.

    Once you answer those two questions, you will have some better answers.
     
  18. RM777

    RM777 Low-Roller

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    Based on your trip report, I would definitely go for the Vdara. I find Vdara to offer great value when comparing their rooms to other properties that you listed.

    Congrats on the engagement!
     
  19. letired

    letired Tourist

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    I want a fancy room that will impress my fiance, the details are irrelevant. (Ideally this would be a huge suite on the top floor of a fancy property with an incredible view, but I'm not a millionaire, so probably not). We previously have stayed at the Venetian with a great strip view (she loved it) a comped corner room I talked the front desk into on the top floor at TI (she thought it was cool, but obviously not as nice as Venetian), and a studio suite at the Palms Place (nice room, but she thought it was too far from the action).

    I'm fine with a "fake" suite. We've typically gambled off-strip other than at the Casino Royale, because $15 table minimums are too high at most places for us. We both love Video Poker.
     
  20. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    So many good choices and suggestions here, and all save your option at MGM should do the trick. I was going to toss FourSeasons into the mix, but after looking at your dates you won't be able to move past a standard room given the budget. Now standard is still nice at 4S, but they're not a studio or a suite and the basic views, while all from on high, aren't prime. We love 4S when we travel. You just can't beat the service. And it's attached to Mandalay so you still have Vegas. Plus, it's not Vegas fauxfancy ever at 4S.

    Have a great trip.
     
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