Randomest

Thanks for the reply. I probably was a bit vague in my post, but that's what I meant by it being in the "VP list". I was hoping for a "well, there are no other 3 stars downtown with a pool, so it has to be the Fitz" or something, since I believe they always are going to add some subpar hotel to try and confuse people. In your experience has the vacation package list for vegas pretty much been the extent of what they offer opaquely? BTW, I did end up going with my old standby of Vegas Club for $26/night through your Hotels.com link. Let me know if you can spare any of that upgrade luck you gave me for my Parc 55 stay in SF-- that was an amazing upgrade (multi-room suite). -R

:) Hello everyone, I am planning to stay in las vegas from 6/13-6/15. I like to stay away from the strip unless I'm in an extremely nice room, so generally favor downtown or places like the Rio. I've actually had very pleasent stays at Vegas Club (currently listing at $26.25/nt at Hotels.com) which is my normal go-to. BUT, if anyone can help me identify the 3 -star hotel below, that will help me make my final decision. Right now it's close between Golden Nugget, the mystery 3-star below, and Vegas Club via Hotels.com. HOTWIRE lists: 2-star hotel in Downtown Las Vegas $25/nt Casino, Restaurant ... Golden Gate according to list. If so not worth it. Place is NOT 2*, but a 1* "boutique" with twin beds. 3-star hotel in Downtown Las Vegas $32/nt Casino, Pool, Restaurant ... Mystery: Probably Fitzgeralds b/c on VP list and has pool? Stayed here once, and remember liking the view but cannot remember anything else. 4-star hotel in Downtown Las Vegas $59/nt Matches Golden Nugget exactly. Only $69 on site with $25 food voucher, though.

Somehow got upgraded even higher than last time! I think it was your luck-wishing that did it. -R

I forgot to use the HOTWIRE link from the site! Grr. Everyone else, please remember that handy link which I believe helps support this great site. Parc 55 Hotel 6/8 - 6/9 $94/night Business Center, Internet, Restaurant 1 room(s) @ $94.00 per night x 1 night(s) Taxes And Fees:$21.11 Total:$115.11 June Early Bird Special Advertised on their website is $182/night. They've upgraded me to a good room before, so I turned around and returned the favor by using their restaurants and going for extra amenities. -Randomest

Yeah, I presume the 4.5* is Le Pavillion. I was going to grab it, but if the 3* is something decent, I figure, why not save $60. But you know what? I'm just going to book the 4.5*. It's my birthday, damn it, and since it marks another decade, why not enjoy life? The only thing about Le Pavillion is that there is somewhat of a consensus on Tripadvisor that they hold their worst rooms for Priceline/Hotwire customers. Of course the worst rooms at Le Pavillion are likely still awesome. ( : I'm still interested in the 3* hotel as an intellectual curiosity, though. If it turns out to be Park Plaza, that's not a BAD deal. It seems like a place that people either love or hate. I've never seen so many people have completely opposite experiences on tripadvisor for the same time period. -J

Hotwire listed 4* with amenities matching the list for Intercontinental at $65/night, which it turned out to be. Fantastic deal! What a great way to celebrate my birthday. Someone in Priceline section of this site found the same hotel for $55/night but not including New Year's Eve (12/28-12/31). I tried to get priceline accept similar prices for a range of dates including 12/31/06 and failed. I need to find a hotel for 1/1/07 to 1/3/07 because I'm going to hopefully watch a certain bowl game (speaking of which, Michigan totally got robbed!), and Hotwire reports a $49 3* hotel which doesn't really match anything on the list- it matches Queen and Cresent's amenities except it has a restaurant. Any ideas? -Randomest

Dear thereuare, Thanks for writing back. I think your solution is presently the best one. When hotwire had Westin for $74/night from 12/28 - 12/31, I think it would have been overall the best deal, since it HAD the night of the 30th for less. I shouldn't have passed that one up, but hopefully someone else who reads this forum did get that deal. But now it seems some combination including the Golden Nugget would be the smartest. Plus, I generally prefer the Golden Nugget anyway (to most properties in Vegas). [Part of me is wanting to start to refocusing this holiday to New Orleans or Hawaii, with the thought that I might have more fun.] -Randomest

Hello, It seems my best luck would be a $74/night for 12/28/07 through 12/31/07 at what looks like the Westin, and it's a tossup for what would be good for new year's eve, but it looks including the new year's eve date disproporitionately increases the price. Westin's a decent location and not a bad walk, although, I kind of prefer to stay downtown (I seemed to have missed Golden Nugget at $92/night earlier this week, and which is suddenly $160/night on Hotwire), but it's hard to justify paying $80/night to stay at Vegas Club when you can stay at Westin for $72. Can anyone thing of a good plan involving the westin's cheap rates and staying somewhere else for New Year's eve? Or can anyone come up with a good Downtown deal for some or all of those dates? Thanks so much in advance. -Randomest

Excalibur - "Customer Favorite" Amenities (UPDATE!): Casino, Restaurant, Pool, Fitness Center, Golf Nearby, Tennis Nearby, Spa Services With these amenities, I had figured this would be the Flamingo (which I would have preferred) but apparently excalibur "grew" new amenities since last I checked. But I guess Excalibur for two nights at $150 isn't terrible. However, I only ended up saving $10, because it was $79.95 for those nights on the Excalibur.com website. However, Excalibur is next to Luxor (decent dance club) and across from New York New York (good coffee shop, reasonable prices). And I mostly wanted a place to sleep. It's also across from Tropicana, which is noteworthy only if you need a deck of free cards (vouchers given at entrances) or want to see acrobats perform over slot machines. But behind Tropicana is San Remo which has decent prime rib, typically around $6 and cheap breakfast. -Randomest

Hawthorn Suites (Best Value): Hotwire Amenitites: Airport Shuttle, Pool, Fitness Center, Complimentary Breakfast. Kitchenette. Tennis. Laundry Facilities Hotwire defines its Downtown Sacramento region so broadly that it includes this "northwest" pocket that goes away from characteristic tight street grid of downtown. I was a little disappointed to get a hotel that is about 2 miles from the Convention Center--since I was hoping to walk. However, they do have a free shuttle. In fact this hotel has quite a bit more amenities that most hotels do downtown, even the fancy ones. And plus, it is a suite. Guess you have to compensate for location. Travelaxe and sidestep listed this hotel for approximately $110/night on those dates at the lowest price, so I feel I got a good deal. Also nice is that their free breakfast is a hot breakfast buffet and they have some kind of free food in the evening too. We'll see how it goes. Here's what I found about the hotel from Orbitz.com -Randomest

I'm not sure why, but apparently yahoo's spam filter has decided that www.betterbidding.com 's validation e-mail for new users has enough "spam characteristics" to automatically put it in my 'bulk folder.' I looked at the message and I don't really see anything that makes it look particularly "spam"ish. But maybe there should be a caveat in the screen after completing the new user info that says, "be sure to check your all your incoming mail folders-- note that some e-mail providers mistakenly identify our verification e-mail as junk mail." Just a thought. -Randomest