Las Vegas hotels slash rates during the summer, when fewer conferences are scheduled and temperatures hover around 100 degrees. This year looks particularly promising for bargains, as Vegas is reeling from a combination of fewer visitors and a recent increase in the volume of hotel rooms.
We highlight some hotel discounts below. For more options, consider blind-booking Web sites like and ; hotels can sell rooms through these sites and fill their beds without publicizing their discounts (keep in mind that reservations booked through these sites are typically not changeable or refundable).
Circus Circus, from $42 per room per night
is featuring a series of discounted hotel packages for weekend, midweek, and weeklong getaways to Las Vegas this summer—starting at $125 per room for a three-night midweek stay at . Accommodations are in a 375-square-foot standard manor room, furnished with two double beds and game tables with chairs in the seating area. Add $27 to stay three nights in a standard room at the or $203 for three nights in a luxury room at . Weekend getaways start at $194 for two nights in a standard room at the ; add $76 for two nights at the , also in a standard room, and $168 for two nights in a pyramid room at the . Weeklong vacations start from $627 for seven nights in a standard room at the ; add $69 for seven nights in a standard room at the and $405 for seven nights in a deluxe room at the .
When: June 20-22 for weekend getaways; July 22-25 for midweek trips; and Aug. 8-15, 2008, for weeklong vacations.
Details: Taxes and fees of about $25 are included. Breakfast is not included. Based on single or double occupancy. Note that if you find a lower price for a Vegas hotel online, the company's promises to give you back double the difference.
Contact: 800/851-1703, .
Mandalay Bay, from $110 per room per night
The package includes one night at , $20 in credit to be used at the beach (Sand Dollars), $10 in 'freeplay' or 'blackjack bet' to play in the Beachside Casino, a two-for-one House of Blues breakfast, and $300 in savings certificates for Mandalay Place. Perhaps the best perk is the included "fly back free" certificate good for a round-trip flight between Las Vegas and any major airport in the continental U.S. Upgrades to packages with additional perks start at $20 per room per night and include a $500 travel gift card redeemable towards both airfare and hotel costs (in place of the "fly back free" certificate); free access to Mix lounge at the top of THEhotel; a $50 discount off a cabana rental; complimentary access to Moorea Beach from Monday to Thursday; and VIP (meaning early) pool access from Sunday to Thursday. Add $50 per room per night and you'll also get two free spa and fitness passes and $100 off cabana rental Monday-Thursday. The starting rate of $100 is good for accommodations in a 550-square-foot deluxe room at the newly remodeled Mandalay Bay.
When: June 12-Sept. 4, 2008.
Details: Taxes are an additional 9 percent. Breakfast is not included. Based on single or double occupancy. The free travel certificates are received upon check-in and are valid only if the subsequent trip to Vegas is booked through Archer Travel Group for a minimum of three nights at Mandalay Bay or THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. You must redeem the certificates within three months of original stay in order to get the full value. (If redeemed within five months, travel credit will be $400; within seven months, $300; and within nine months, $200. After nine months, offer ends.)
Contact: 877/632-7800, .
The Signature at MGM Grand, from $149 per room per night
The package, which is geared towards families, includes one night at , continental breakfast for two at Delights Gourmet Delicatessen in Tower Two, a $25 entertainment credit valid at KA by Cirque du Soleil and Crazy Horse Paris, a 20 percent discount at the Signature Poolside Grill—where kids under 10 eat free with the purchase of an adult meal—and a 20 percent discount on a spa treatment. While the all-suite resort is a nonsmoking and no-gambling property, it's only steps away from MGM Grand. The starting rate features accommodations in a junior suite that sleeps four people. It has a deluxe king-size bed (with a pillow-top mattress and 300-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets) and a separate sitting area with a pullout couch. Each suite also has a fully equipped kitchen or kitchenette and an oversize marble bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub. Most suites have a private balcony with views of the Las Vegas Strip and the mountains. Other amenities include a flat-screen TV in the living room and bathroom, high-speed Internet access, and plush bathrobes. The hotel boasts a private heated pool complex complete with poolside cabanas and cocktail service, two state-of-the-art fitness centers, a lounge, and a Starbucks coffee shop. Rates start from $149 per room per night.
When: Through Aug. 31, 2008.
Details: Additional taxes are 7 percent and the resort fee is $15. Based on single or double occupancy with children (no age limit). To book, refer to code SUM011.
Contact 877/727-0007, .
Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club, from $199 per room per night
The discount Web site recently partnered with the upscale Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Country Club to offer a one-night stay from $199 per room per night—savings of as much as 50 percent compared to regular room rates, which can be as high as $400 per night in the same room category. You'll stay in a 640-square-foot suite, with floor-to-ceiling windows, a bathroom with a separate tub and shower, flat-screen TVs in both the living room and bathroom quarters, and European linens. Centrally located on the Las Vegas Strip, the resort features four heated pools with private cabanas, an 18-hole golf course designed by architect Tom Fazio, and a salon and spa. Dining and nightlife options include nine upscale and six casual restaurants, six lounge bars, and a 12,000-square-foot nightclub, Tryst. For live entertainment, check out aerial acrobatic performances at Le Reve or "Monty Python's Spamelot" performed in the Grail Theater.
When: Through Sept. 5, 2008.
Details: Additional taxes are 9 percent. Breakfast is not included. Based on single or double occupancy.
Contact: 888/321-9676, .
Getting there: According to a recent search on Kayak, the lowest round-trip fares to Las Vegas, departing in mid-July, start at $155 from L.A. (U.S. Airways), $159 from Denver (Frontier), $264 from Seattle (Alaska Airlines), $355 from New York City (Spirit), $384 from Houston (multiple carriers), and $424 from Miami (American).
New airfare option: , which has been making inroads in the U.S. market, just announced that it will begin nonstop service between New York City (JFK) and Vegas (McCarren International) on September 4. Advertised fares start at $159 each way, but we searched their Web site and actually found fares as low as $148 each way for mid-September travel.
Air/hotel package alternative: Southwest Vacations frequently has Vegas specials and currently touts a that includes airfare and a three-night stay at any of seven Harrah's Entertainment Group Las Vegas properties from $259 per person (starting rate based on flights out of Denver and a stay at the Imperial Palace). Note that you must book by June 19 for travel through October 28, and you'll save about $90.
For tips on what to do in the area, visit the of the Nevada Commission on Tourism. Read these before you book any Real Deal.