What Las Vegas Hotel Should I Stay At?

At this time, hopefully your flight is booked. It’s time to start trying to find a deal on a hotel room. While the process can work the same for finding a room as it does for finding a flight, you have a few more options to find a deal. The first would be to actually try to get a comped (complementary) or reduced rate from playing at a casino closer to home. If you aren’t a gambler then you can skip ahead a bit. While there are several different companies that own hotel and casinos in Las Vegas, there are three that own properties all over the country. These are MGM International, Caesars Entertainment, and Boyd Gaming. Each of these companies have over 20 properties nationwide, so odds are there could be one close to your hometown. Why does this matter? If you were to take a quick overnight or weekend trip to a local casino that is affiliated with properties in Las Vegas, sign up for their loyalty program, and gamble some on it. Then in the following month or two, you should start receiving offers based on your play. This is why I mentioned earlier that it could take some time to find the best deal. All of the major companies once you have signed up for their loyalty program you can register an account and see offers online. The amount of time it takes for offers to arrive varies from company to company but generally within a couple of months you should start to see offers come in. The offers will vary based on your play, but it's not unheard of to get your rooms comped for your Las Vegas trip this way, or at least reduced rates so the price isn’t overwhelming. 

For first time visitors, I highly suggest staying on the Las Vegas Strip. Since Boyd does not have any properties on the strip, this may exclude them from your equation on room choices, but they do have three properties on Fremont Street which is another popular destination for people to stay when they are in town. More on that later. The reason I suggest first timers stay on the Las Vegas Strip is because that’s where a lot of the iconic sights are that people go to see. Things like the Bellagio Fountains, The Eiffel Tower and the MSG Sphere. 

Hotels on the Las Vegas strip vary in budget and class. You have some lower end properties which are more affordable like Luxor, Excalibur, Flamingo and the Linq. Several mid range places such as New York New York or Paris and then higher end properties like Wynn/Encore, Bellagio and the Venetian. You’ll have to decide for yourself what fits best into your budget. Again generally you are going to find the cheapest rates, by booking directly with the property. One word of caution as you are pricing and researching properties. Opinions vary greatly on many of the review sites. What is completely acceptable to some will get horrible reviews by others so take any negative reviews you read with that in mind. And also know that some people who lose at gambling will take it out on the property in their review. Most of the major hotel/casinos on the strip are acceptable even if they are little worn. The only place I’d really say be wary of is at Circus Circus in what they call their Manor Manor rooms. A small 3 story hotel in the back of the property that I’ve heard horror stories about and wouldn’t dare stay there. Though I know people who have and they are still alive. 

A few more things to consider when you are looking at which property you would like to stay at. Again if you are a pool person check out pictures of their pools on their website and there are tons of youtube videos with reviews as well. Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and Flamingo seem to have the most popular pools. Location is another factor. Pull up a map of the strip and compare your hotel you are looking at in relation to how close it is to the Bellagio Fountains. The fountains are about as center as you can get and staying closer to them will keep you in the action as opposed to some place like The Strat that’s way up north on the strip and you’ll spend more time walking, or taking an uber or the bus to get around.

Note on AirBnB like Turo if you ask on social media, you will likely be hounded by people pushing their properties. Pro: You will have a place to yourself, likely with a kitchen and other amenities like a private pool. Con: The cleaning fees are ridiculous and considerably more than resort fees and the cost of hotel rooms. I would only suggest you consider this option if you have a large family that you need plenty of room.

Also be cautious of timeshares. While they may offer an incredible deal, be prepared to have to sit through the high pressure presentation that takes valuable time you could be enjoying your vacation. I would only consider this if I were in the market for a time share.