Here are some thoughts regarding rooms, and this first part is said with the DLV organizer's hat on.
One thing we want to proactively avoid this year is having any of our people get left out of things either as a direct effect or a side effect of where they are staying!
An unfortunate example of this happened last year, from an after-the-fact report to the organizers. A couple attending DLV booked a room which appeared to be a bargain, but was located miles away from where most of the DLVers were staying. This couple did not have a vehicle nor did they pre-arrange any shared rides. Since they were miles away from the center of the action, they were faced with very expensive taxi rides to anything they wanted to do with the group. Therefore they missed a lot of DLV!
Please, gang, don't be "penny wise and pound foolish" and consider the "total cost of ownership", including transportation costs, when selecting your hotel room. In particular, if you won't have a vehicle and wish to share rides, please stay at least within easy walking distance of our suggested hotels.
This next item is also said with the DLV organizer's hat on.
DO NOT PROCRASTINATE! If you haven't booked your hotel yet, you need to book it NOW! (As in do a few mouse clicks now and lock in that rate even thought it may be a bit more than you really want to spend.) Reports are coming in that rates for at least one of our suggested hotels are on the rise.
Now some personal hotel thoughts, all said with the DLV organizer's hat off, and based on 17 years experience staying in hotels for DLV. Remember that what works for me may not work for you. All of us have different needs, likes, and dislikes.
I personally prefer a midscale casino-hotel (at least one step up from the bottom-dollar places) with the expected facilities and amenities. I'm just fine with a ROTH ("run of the house") room and I don't need a mint on the pillow or a mini-bar. Such things as a nice view and a walk-out balcony are nice, but I don't really need them. I prefer to room alone. ("It's not you, it's me!")
It's my vacation and I enjoy having time when I am not working around somebody else's schedule.
I enjoy playing in the casino occasionally (sometimes more than occasionally)
in particular at night before going to bed and in the morning after (usually a late) breakfast. I prefer a place with a semi-decent breakfast buffet and a 24 hour coffee shop. I'll sometimes do a very early breakfast before crashing.
I've found that I enjoy DLV better without having a vehicle. The savings of the cost of a rental car can very easily pay for a few taxi rides each day, and staying in the vicinity of other DLVers will often give me someone "going my way" at the end of various activities. Besides, I can freely enjoy some adult beverages (insert wise@$$ Galiano [sic] comment here) without risking a DUI summons.
Along with no vehicle, I've found that I enjoy staying in the vicinity of the "four corners" Flamingo-Strip intersection best for DLV. In early DLV years I usually stayed on the North Strip (Riviera-Stardust-Sahara) but I definitely enjoy mid-Strip better.
Those are a few of my thoughts.