Where to Stay during DLV2015

[Bev]

I’m still debating where to stay this year for DLV2015. For the past several years I have stayed at Harrah's and Imperial Palace/The Quad/The Linq. I like being on the strip because so much of our activities take place there and it’s more convenient. With the new policies in parking at some of the hotels (Harrah’s and The Linq for sure), it’s difficult to drive from someplace else and use their parking lots... They won’t let you in if you are not staying there. So that means cabs and extra expenses.

So if I don’t stay at Harrah’s or The Linq this year, my choices seem to be Flamingo (Pro’s: on the strip, close by a lot of the activities, $76/night; Con’s: $20 resort fees on top), Riviera (Pro’s: fairly close to strip action, reasonable cost $54 + $15 resort fee; Con’s: dealing with cabs or parking issues, nothing close by to do), Stratosphere (same as Riviera), or downtown 4 Queens (Pro’s: cheaper, lower fees, fun area, easy parking, close to downtown activities on Sunday night; Con’s: drive time or cabbing to all other activities). Other possibilities downtown would be Golden Nugget and The D (formerly Fitzgerald’s). I haven’t checked out their room rates yet.

Best case would be that the rates on the strip will come down closer to our event. Still some time to decide but I like to have facts in front of me when making these decisions. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Bev

[annie]

> I’m still debating where to stay this year for DLV2015.

I am debating it too. Unless things change I'll probably end up somewhere in the center or south Strip area.

> For the past several years I have stayed at Harrah's and Imperial
> Palace/The Quad/The Linq.

I've also been staying mostly at center Strip CET places. My only complaint about any of them is the slowness of the elevators at the IP/Linq, which supposedly is still an issue.

> With the new policies in parking at some of the hotels (Harrah’s
> and The Linq for sure),

I'm unaware of this. On a recent trip I used the valet parking at the new north entrance to the Linq and I was not staying there. No hassle, no formality. I also used the Flamingo garage with no issues.

I do know that at times, such as busy weekends, several of the hotels will station a security person at the lot entrance who will allow hotel guests only, but I've never seen this during the day or on weekday evenings. I know the ElCo downtown does this regularly as well.

> Flamingo (Pro’s: on the strip, close by a lot of the activities,

Flamingo gets regularly skewered on the LV travel boards, but I've never had any issues there. The only negative I can think of is the higher prices at their brew pub, which used to be more reasonable.

> Riviera (Pro’s: fairly close to strip action, reasonable cost

Property is badly in need of maintenance, according to many reports. They (and Circus) are really hurting with the closure of a few of the long-standing north Strip properties.

> Stratosphere (same as Riviera), or

I've never stayed there, but we've had DLVers there for years with no major complaints or issues. It's in walking distance of the Monorail, assuming you like to walk and you aren't afraid of the dark.

> 4 Queens (Pro’s: cheaper, lower fees, fun area, easy parking,

They had two "very satisfied" write-in evals on our last survey.

> Golden Nugget

LOL, for the same price I would prefer the Strip.

> The D (formerly Fitzgerald’s).

Reports of major elevator issues. Worse than the IP/Linq. They supposedly just installed a system by which you indicate your floor and then it tells you which elevator will be quickest, but there are still complaints of elevator slowness.

> I would love to hear your thoughts.

You just did.

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Robin Gazza
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I always stay at Bally's, for a few reasons. It is easy to get in and
out of by going down Flamingo Road, avoiding the Strip. Many of our
activities are off Flamingo Rd. There is always parking, although I
usually use the valet. It is attached to the Paris, so I can just shoot
up to bed after dancing. I usually win there. I like the cafi, and the
buffet in the Paris. Room rates are cheap, especially if you have a
Total Rewards gaming card. I usually get some of my nights comped. The
rooms are a little dated, but clean. All the staff treat me wonderful
as a lady. I have used the nail salon there and was treated very
nicely. They have a nice spacious pool area to get away to. Not sure
how things will be this year, last year they were starting a lot of new
construction during Diva Las Vegas. It might be worth checking out.

Robin


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(This posting was entered by Robin Gazza, an external user of MyDLV.)

[annie]

> I always stay at Bally's, for a few reasons.

I stayed at Bally's last DLV. It was very nice as usual except for the construction cluster-f-bomb out front.

This year their prices are just totally out of line. More expensive than several others in the neighborhood.

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Robin Gazza
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I checked price at Bally's last night, and my cost would be around
$41.00 per night.

Robin


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(This posting was entered by Robin Gazza, an external user of MyDLV.)

[annie]

> I checked price at Bally's last night, and my cost would be
> around $41.00 per night.

Where are you getting that rate? Does that include resort fees?

If you're signed in to CET/TR when you see that rate you're obviously giving them more play than I am. The rate i see for Bally's, when signed in, is about twice that for the weekdays and quite a bit higher for the weekends.

I am getting semi-decent rates for Harrahs/Quad/Flamingo/Rio/Cromwell but Bally's and Paris are much higher and Planet Ho and Caesars are outrageous, even for so-called player rates. (For some reason, Cromwell is outrageously high on one night and Caesars is obscene on the Tuesday of DLV.) I checked corporate rates for Ballys a few weeks ago and they are not very enticing either.

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Delaney
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In general, it looks like resort fee are moving up. I've been randomly
checking for the past month or so, and most seem to be up $5-10 from a
year ago. $20-25 is beginning to look like the "norm"


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(This posting was entered by Delaney, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Robin Gazza
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I signed in with my Total rewards platinum card, and that was the
average nightly rate for me.

Robin


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(This posting was entered by Robin Gazza, an external user of MyDLV.)

[Michelle V]

And this is why I might not make it this year. I was pricing hotels for Pink Fest and gave up with the high prices. Now it's just as bad for Diva. I would think a group of this size would have some purchasing power and could get a good price if we all stayed together.

External Poster wrote :
> This posting is from: Delaney
> ----------
>
> In general, it looks like resort fee are moving up. I've been randomly
> checking for the past month or so, and most seem to be up $5-10 from a
> year ago. $20-25 is beginning to look like the "norm"
>
>
> ----------
> (This posting was entered by Delaney, an external user of MyDLV.)

[annie]

> I signed in with my Total rewards platinum card, and that was the
> average nightly rate for me.

Yes, you certainly give them more play than I do.

> I would think a group of this size would have some purchasing
> power and could get a good price if we all stayed together.

If you (or anyone) wants to reach out to any hotel sales or management types, be my guest, or in this case I'll be your guest. You don't need permission to do so, just keep in mind that we don't have any funds for advance deposits and we can't guarantee any number of rooms sold since we can't require our people to stay anywhere in particular.

Several times in our history we've been teased by "special group rates" that could easily be beaten with a cold call or a few mouse clicks, but twice we've actually been able to get some rates that did offer a meaningful discount. Once was several years ago at the San Tropez, thanks to Nora, and again a few years back at the Artisan thanks to Cynthia.

If anyone feels like volunteering to give this a shot, please feel free to do so.