Hotwire Hotel: First ever post - Las Vegas Strip Area

[wetorrisi]

Hello there! Please excuse me if I'm not posting in the right area etc, I have somehow made it 36 years without ever posting in any forum.?

 

I am looking to be in Las Vegas from 16th January to 19th January 2017. I have 2 adults and 4 children (ages 1, 8, 11, 13) to accomodate.

 

I'm not too picky where we stay, but want to give the kids a bit of the "Las Vegas experience " so have been looking at casino hotels rather than chains like best western etc. Off the strip is fine if there is some sort of shuttle or way to get to the strip, it is actually preferable as I  have family in the area and they'd be able to visit and park more easily if we aren't ON the strip.  The Orleans looks great, but I can't seem to book for 6 and the rates for those dates seem crazy expensive. 

 

I guess my main problem is this- I'm very interested in the "mystery hotel" deals, but how do I book for 6? Is this possible?  So far i can only seem to input max 4 persons, when i found a drop down menu that allowed me to select 3 children (still 1 person shy of what I need), the results list was blank and said "max occupants exceeded".

 

Does anyone know a way around this? I don't want to turn up at the hotel only to be told that I have too many people, I've had this once before and the person in question was only a few days old.? Are the hotels strict about occupancy,  or is it only if you're asking for extra bedding and cribs?

 

Thank you very much for any help,  I am so sorry this is so long!! 

[thereuare]

Welcome to BetterBidding! (we're honored that the information that can be received here has prompted you to stake your claim on the internet with your first post!)

 

Few issues/comments:

-most standard hotel rooms (Vegas or otherwise) are designed for a maximum of quad occupancy, anything more than this you will often need to get an 'upgraded room'

-all PRICELINE reservations are for double occupancy... HOTWIRE allows you to search for up to quad occupancy.  Anything more than this thru either service you're taking a chance that there will not be enough sleeping accommodations for your true occupancy and/or that the hotel insists on additional payment for an upgraded room (assuming one is available that can accommodate the needs of your family... which may or may not be possible given the demand issue which i've highlighted in my next point below)

-you're seeing high rates as there are a few large conventions during your dates:

1/17/2017-1/20/2017 60K attendees

1/17/2017-1/20/2017 65K attendees

1/18/2017-1/20/2017 25K attendees

1/18/2017-1/21/2017 25K attendees

so starting the 2nd nite of your stay there is an additional 125K people that need hotel rooms, and for the next nite nearly 175K that needs rooms... that is a LOT of people even for Vegas, but all of this extra demand translates to higher prices

 

What is your expected budget for this trip? (per nite before taxes/fees)

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[wetorrisi]

Ah, that makes so much sense! I even tried to search what conventions/expos might be on during that week after noticing the increase in room rates, but only came up with some sort of concreting trade show. I couldn't believe just that could account for the availability issue, so thank you for that info!

 

Budget- if it's possible,  I'd like to sneak in around $150/night as that puts me at a couple hundred per night AUD.  But I can only work with what's available, so if it's a great deal (on a higher rated property, for instance) then I've got to take that into account.

 

If I booked two rooms, is there any way of knowing whether hotels might have adjoining rooms I could try to persuade them to put us in?

 

What would you be inclined to do?

 

Thank you for your reply and your help!!

 

 

[wetorrisi]

Perhaps I should add - I'm not too worried about bedding configuration as my kids will be happy to "camp out" anywhere or share beds etc. My main concern is just that the hotel doesn't deny my reservation because I have too many people.?

[AaronJB]

If you do try to have 6 in a room and it becomes apparent to the hotel, they could possibly deny a reservation or request that you get another room or pay for an upgrade in order to make sure that occupancy limits are not exceeded.

 

When I search for 2 rooms via PRICELINE EXPRESS (make sure that the correct dates/# of rooms are showing on the landing page after clicking the links below) for these dates I'm seeing:

 

4* Las Vegas Strip South for $71
Free Parking
Business Center
Indoor or Outdoor Pool
Casino
Fitness Center
No Smoking Rooms/Facilities

>>> This would be a possible match for the Tropicana.

 

3.5* Las Vegas Strip North for $75
Free Parking
Business Center
Restaurant
Free Internet
Indoor or Outdoor Pool
Casino
Fitness Center
No Smoking Rooms/Facilities

>>> This would be a  possible match for the Stratosphere.

 

At $71/$75 per room this would keep you at about $150 per night for two rooms (and then taxes/fees + resort fees are additional.). If you are looking for a budget with $150 per room/per night, please let us know and we would be happy to research and discuss options at that price level.

 

Please also let us know if you have any questions before booking and thanks for keeping us updated on what you decide.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[thereuare]

Fortunately most Las Vegas Casino hotels are large, have big lobbies, and lots of non-hotel guests coming in/out of the hotel at any given time, so if you're going to try to exceed the occupancy of your reservation, it is somewhat easy to only have two people (one adult and your oldest child... or if you book for quad occupancy have one adult and 3 children) go to the front desk upon check-in while the others are 'exploring' another area of the hotel, checking out the pool, etc.

 

Even if you get past the front desk without any issue, keep in mind that six in one room is a LOT more work for housekeeping, so that is another place where you could have an issue (ie- if the housekeeping complains to her supervisor that she is behind because one room has six people in it) so i would try to keep the room as tidy as possible when you leave in the morning to make the job a little easier on the person cleaning your room, move luggage/bags to the closet so they have an easy path to do their job, and leave them a nice tip each day.

 

Personally i would go for two rooms, but not only does that double your room cost, but there are then also two resort fees to deal with as well.  If you do decide to go for one room, i would use HOTWIRE and search for 2adults/2children, since then you are technically only one child over the limit, since HOTWIRE defines 'child' as 2-17 years old, so you don't need to include your 1 year old in the search (although this is a technicality and while easy to do when searching for 2adults and not including a child under 2 years old... it's obviously more problematic when the child you're not including brings the occupancy to six (vs. three/four).

 

As far as a room with a connecting door, it really depends upon how many connecting rooms the hotel has, occupancy rates for your dates, what is available when you check-in, etc, etc... although once you win a hotel you could call the hotel and request rooms with a connecting door. (some hotels will block a connecting room for you, others will make a request note on the reservation, some won't do anything at all and tell you to ask at check-in).

 

Lastly, although this is more the exception than the rule (in other words i'd say a small chance of success, but worth a try, especially in Vegas where hotels have more 'upgraded' rooms than in the average city) is that if you do book two rooms, you could ask the hotel if they would be able to change your two rooms to one upgraded suite... as this leaves them an extra room to sell to any 'walk-in' business they may get.

 

Let us know your thoughts on the above, as well as the two options suggested above by AaronJB, and we'll take it from there.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

 

PS- see all the great info you've missed out on by not posting on message boards!

[wetorrisi]

First of all, THANK YOU both AaronJB and thereuare for your time and insights, I really do appreciate it!!

 

AaronJB, thank you for putting together those suggestions. And yes, I'm hoping to spend $150 per night rather than per room, although I'm sure I'd like that room.?

 

I'm actually hoping to stay OFF the strip but still in a Vegas-y themed casino hotel (picky much?). A Vegas family member recommended the Orleans based on ease of access and parking when they all come visit, hopefully cheaper rates off strip, but still a nice place with amenities on site and a free shuttle to the strip. However I called them and they don't have adjoining rooms, I haven't decided how I feel about completely separate rooms yet..... apparently their rooms are larger than average, though.

 

Next question - when you see on HOTWIRE "book soon, the last person got xxxxxxx hotel", is that a fairly accurate guess of where you might be booking? There's one that I saw referring to the Orleans. I will see if i can find it and copy the details.

 

I'm really up in the air with what to do at the moment, but I will keep thinking about it.

 

Ok, I'm back to browsing again. Thank you again so very much for your help.

 

[wetorrisi]

5 Star Condo in Center Strip - Fountains Area 

I searched 2 adults and 2 children,  16th January to 19th January 

 

75% recommended 129 reviews

 

$141usd/ night

 

 

Free Internet Free parking

Amenities

Business center Fitness center Pet friendly Restaurant(s) Smoke-free rooms Suite

 

Any idea what hotel this might be?

 

I have been searching for something completely different  ?(off strip, casino hotel) but then this popped up as a suite within my budget and caught my interest. 

 

Thank you!!!

[AaronJB]

I think there may be more amenities than you have included above. If you repeat your search using our BiddingHelper tool and look in the EASY VIEW TAB, do you see additional amenities beyond those listed above? If so, please confirm the full amenity set and we would be happy to take a look.

 

If you see: Free parking, Free Internet, Suite, Pet friendly, Smoke-free rooms, Fitness center, Restaurant(s), Business center, Internet access, Spa services, Kitchenette

>>>My guess would be Jet Luxury at the Vdara, which is a separate service/company that rents out privately owned rooms at the property. It is not the same as booking directly with the Vdara.

 

On HOTWIRE, the "last person booked" notes are showing the last hotel someone booked at that star rating in general, not necessarily the underlying listing. Sometimes it does show the underlying hotel, but it is not something that should be relied upon.

 

Are connected rooms a must or can they be next door? What areas would be of interest? I see what appears to be the Golden Nugget within your budget.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.

[wetorrisi]

Hello again, 

 

Just wanted to update you and thank you again for your help. 

 

I ended up booking rooms in the boring, old fashioned way. 😁 I really wanted to try a mystery hotel,  but at the end of the day I needed a suite or two rooms for 6 people. Since 4 of those people are children,  I needed to be certain that those rooms would be connected. 

 

I think this site is a great resource and wanted to say thank you so much for all the help and advice you gave me. If I ever get a chance to book for 4 people or less, I will be back! 😊

[thereuare]

We're happy to have helped.

Glad you found something that would work for your needs this trip, and thank you for closing this thread with your decision.

 

Please remember to return to BetterBidding and use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases... or thru our sister site MAPSandHOTELS.com for your regular rate purchases.