New Year's Eve Hotel Rates

New Year's Eve is four weeks from today, which got me wondering about hotel rates for one of the biggest nights in Vegas.

The best deals can usually be found by using players cards, comps, etc. but for this discussion I will be looking at Expedia rack rates. If you don't see a hotel listed below it is most likely sold out.

I noticed that very few hotels allow you to book for only one night, most require a 2 or 3 night booking for the weekend. With that in mind here is a list of rates for many of the major hotels in Las Vegas - per night based on a 3 night stay (Thursday-Sunday):

Sahara - $132
Circus Circus - $133
South Point - $137
Green Valley Ranch - $148
Red Rock - $149
Riviera - $152
Stratosphere - $162
Hooters - $176
Las Vegas Hilton - $180
Fitzgeralds - $189
Luxor - $190
Excalibur - $192
Orleans - $192
Tropicana - $193
Imperial Palace - $198
Hard Rock - $207
Golden Nugget - $216
Four Queens - $225
Bally's - $232
Flamingo - $232
Harrah's - $235
Treasure Island - $235
Bills - $253
Palms - $276
Monte Carlo - $279
Planet Hollywood - $279
Paris - $283
MGM Grand - $297
Mirage - $318
Vdara - $348
Venetian - $352
Palazzo - $352
Aria - $362
Four Seasons - $372
Caesars - $386
Wynn - $419
Bellagio - $466
Encore - $472

Tropicana looks like the best deal on the strip. For less than the price of Imperial Palace you can get a newly remodeled room at the Trop.

For the ultra-cheap bargain rooms on the Strip, I would probably pick Sahara over Circus Circus and Riviera. The Riv's rooms are nicer but Sahara is $20 a night cheaper and has monorail access.

Mid-range properties Luxor and Excalibur don't look too bad at $190 a night, although the aforementioned Tropicana might be a better deal for essentially the same price. For a center strip location you could go with Flamingo, Bally's, Harrah's or TI for around $235, or Planet Hollywood for slightly more at $279.

Most of the high end properties seem to be generally in the same price range, so personal preference would be the deciding factor. If you are staying at one of the high end places a $50 price difference probably isn't going to influence your decision.

For the young hip crowd, Hard Rock at $207 seems like a better deal than Palms at $276.

Downtown I think I would go with Golden Nugget. It is generally considered the best property downtown and for NYE it's roughly in the same price range as the other downtown hotels.

If you have a car and want to stay away from the chaos on the Strip, bargains can be had. Red Rock, Green Valley Ranch and South Point are all under $150. Las Vegas Hilton also looks appealing at $180 with monorail access.

Steve Wynn Engaged

King of Las Vegas Steve Wynn has reportedly proposed to girlfriend Andrea Hissom.

According to Robin Leach, Wynn proposed at Sinatra restaurant at Encore:

"Andrea was thrilled when Steve proposed and that slid the ring on her finger in an old-fashioned way. They’d just finished an intimate candlelight dinner in a private room that the hotel mogul had planned in advance at Sinatra in his Encore. Frank’s music was even playing when he asked the British beauty for her hand in marriage."

Source: Robin Leach / Las Vegas Weekly.

Parabounce coming to Las Vegas in 2011

Parabounce is a concept that allows people to bounce and fly around using their own individual helium balloons. Las Vegas seems like the perfect place for an attraction like this, and so the Parabounce people are planning on opening a "100,000 square foot “bubble style” dome where up to 20 flyers can simultaneously float, soar and bounce in individual, 22-foot, Parabounce helium balloons."




Source: Business Wire and Parabounce.

Steakhouse 46 at Flamingo Closes

Flamingo's Steakhouse 46 (named after the year Flamingo opened) has closed.

Steakhouse 46 was probably Flamingo's most expensive and nicest restaurant. Without it Flamingo's dining options are becoming even more limited.

Let's take a look at the current food offerings at Flamingo:

Beach Club
Burger Joint
Hamada of Japan
Pink Bean
Margaritaville
Paradise Garden Buffet
Promenade Food Court
Sin City Brewing Company
Tropical Breeze Cafe

Plenty of fast and casual places to grab a bite, but not much on the higher end. Fortunately there are plenty of steakhouses on the Strip so I doubt 46 will be missed that much, but losing its top restaurant will further hurt Flamingo's dining reputation.

Harrah's Entertainment is now Caesars Entertainment

The Harrah's Entertainment name change to Caesars Entertainment is now complete. Harrahs.com is now redirected to Caesars.com with a short message about the name change. Other than that the website looks pretty much the same.



For more information check out the Caesars Entertainment corporate site.