Priceline Hotel: 5 Star Hotel Sept 20-24

[KatGoddess]

We are planning our honeymoon and I need advice. Will I get a reasonable rate at a 5 star hotel and/or will the current rates for the Venetian and Bellagio go down for these dates? My travel agent said she could get me the Venetian king suite for $1500 inlcuding airfare, or the Bellagio King (not view) for $1348 including airfare. I've already found airfare for $189 round trip through Alaskan, so I'm thinking maybe it's better to book seperately(I want nonstop only).

So my question is should I book through the hotel and the airline? Will it be possible to get these lower rates I hear about ($99/115) at that time?Also I notice that if you want to "see the hotels' and pick the price, the Bellagio shows up, but I haven't seen anyone win a bid on the Bellagio.. does this every happen?

Thanks, any other(random) advice would be helpful, too.

[thenewbie]

If you went to the hotel's website, you'd see that the Venetian is $299 per night for your dates. With a rate this high, you won't get a priceline win around $100. The Bellagio has their deluxe room for $199 per night.

Does the airfare for $189 include taxes and fees? If so, you can try to see if you can get a 5* room on priceline for less than $250. This would put you under the $1500 quoted by your agent. I'd suggest starting under $200 and increase your bid as needed using "free rebids" (see the Tips section if unfamiliar). Just remember that PL is non-refundable, so no refunds or changes once booked.

[KatGoddess]

Hmm I tried to reply and it disappeared, so I'll try again. Yes the $189 includes all taxes and fees. Total is $378.80 for 2 RT tickets. Also, if we DO pick the Bellagio and book through their website now, it would be $1377.04 for the whole trip. That is our dillemma--can't decide between the Venetian and the Bellagio. It seems if we prefer the Venetian, priceline might be the best way to go. Thanks for the response.

[thereuare]

I think you'll be happy with either the Bellagio or the Venetian, so it comes down to price, and your travel agent is not in the ballpark for either (of course if the agent does provide value to you then s/he deserves your business anyway).

I would buy the air tickets on your own, then book the BELLAGIO thru their website (please use this link if you do) as it's cancellable up until 48 hours before check-in date.

You can then monitor rates at the Venetian to see if rates drop and you can have success with Priceline or HOTWIRE... as you get closer you can check for a great deal at the Venetian or stick with what you have. If rates go up, you'll already locked in the best deal that you can currently get.

[KatGoddess]

Thank you very much! I booked the airlilne tickets with alaskan airline for $190 (didn't want to pricline or hotwire as we only want nonstop and we want specific times). Coming from Seattle, I've gotten better deals, but not much, and I don't want to take any chance having the rates skyrocket with gas prices continuously increasing.

Then I booked the Bellagio with the lakeside view at the current rate of $250(which is still less than the current rate of the Venetian). Altogether, we are still paying less than the rate our travel agent could get for the package deal at the Venetian. So if we don't get a better rate later on down the road, I'm happy. Thanks for the advice!