883f31031e
Booking.com group totals for Sep 30 - Oct 3 with taxes and resort fees included; add parking column. Ranking shifts: Horseshoe rises to $1,025, SAHARA has free parking and the top rating, Option B suites now clearly undercut centre-Strip hotels. Grand Desert villa no longer available for the dates.
81 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
81 lines
6.5 KiB
Markdown
# Las Vegas — Where to Stay (shortlist)
|
||
|
||
*Candidate accommodation for the Vegas leg. Nothing booked yet.*
|
||
|
||
**Dates:** Wed Sep 30 → Sat Oct 3 (3 nights)
|
||
**Guests:** 4 adults (2 couples) → 2 hotel rooms, or one 2-bedroom suite
|
||
**Car available** — the group drives in from LA on Sep 30. KT & VT fly from LAS on Oct 3, while MS starts the drive back to San Francisco and returns the car at SFO on Oct 4. **Position on the Strip still matters, but hotel parking must now be included in every comparison.**
|
||
|
||
> **Prices below are all-in** — Booking.com totals including taxes and resort fees, for the whole group (2 rooms or 1 unit), Sep 30 – Oct 3. Booking quotes in CAD; USD converted at ~0.72.
|
||
>
|
||
> ⚠️ **Parking** still varies: free where marked; MGM/Caesars properties (Excalibur, Luxor, Horseshoe, Flamingo, Signature) charge extra per night with the fee set at the property.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Location on the Strip
|
||
|
||
| Zone | Walk to | Hotels below |
|
||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| **Center Strip** | Bellagio fountains, High Roller, Caesars, Venetian | Horseshoe, Flamingo, Casino Royale, Jockey Club |
|
||
| **South Strip** | Sphere-side attractions via tram, MGM area | Excalibur, Luxor, Signature at MGM, Desert Rose, Grand Desert |
|
||
| **North Strip** | Fewer sights; longer walks or rideshare | Circus Circus, The STRAT, SAHARA |
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Option A — two hotel rooms (classic Vegas)
|
||
|
||
*All-in group total for 2 rooms × 3 nights, taxes and resort fees included.*
|
||
|
||
| Hotel | Zone | **All-in × 2 rooms** | Parking | Rating |
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||
| [Circus Circus](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/circus-circus.html) | North | **$500** (C$694) | Free (1 spot/room) | 6.8 (16,474) |
|
||
| [The STRAT](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/stratosphere-casino.html) | North (far) | **$576** (C$800) | On site, fee TBC | 7.2 (8,794) |
|
||
| **[Excalibur](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/excalibur.html)** | South | **$637** (C$885) | Paid | 7.6 (30,951) |
|
||
| [SAHARA Las Vegas](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/sahara-lasvegas-hotel-casino.html) | North | **$934** (C$1,297) | **Free (self & valet)** | **8.4** (11,717) |
|
||
| **[Horseshoe Las Vegas](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/bally-s-las-vegas-casino.html)** | **Center** | **$1,025** (C$1,424) | Paid | 7.9 (8,180) |
|
||
| [Luxor](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/luxor.html) | South | **$1,056** (C$1,467) | Paid | 7.4 (22,988) |
|
||
| [Flamingo](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/flamingo-casino.html) | Center | **$1,274** (C$1,770) | Paid · 1 room left | 7.8 (24,171) |
|
||
| [Best Western Plus Casino Royale](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/best-western-plus-casino-royalecenter-strip.html) | Center | **$1,391** (C$1,932) | **Free** · no resort fee | 8.0 (3,579) |
|
||
|
||
**With fees included the ranking changed.** [Horseshoe](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/bally-s-las-vegas-casino.html) (centre Strip, walkable to nearly everything in [`vegas_sights.md`](vegas_sights.md)) is now **$1,025 + parking** — no longer the bargain it looked. [Excalibur](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/excalibur.html) at **$637** stays the cheapest sensible hotel (South Strip, free tram to the MGM cluster, 30,951 reviews). [SAHARA](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/sahara-lasvegas-hotel-casino.html) at **$934** has the best rating (8.4) and free self + valet parking, but sits north.
|
||
|
||
**Skip Circus Circus and The STRAT** despite the price — both sit at the far north end, where every evening ends in a rideshare. Note MGM/Caesars hotels also take a refundable deposit at check-in (e.g. Circus $200/room, STRAT $300/room).
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Option B — one suite / apartment for all four
|
||
|
||
*Whole unit, 2 bedrooms, kitchen. All-in totals, taxes and fees included.*
|
||
|
||
| Property | Layout | **All-in 3 nights** | Rating | Note |
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||
| **[Desert Rose Resort](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/desert-rose-resort.html)** | 1 bed + living room | **$598** (C$831) | **9.0 (4,724)** | **NO RESORT FEE** · free parking · by far the most reviewed |
|
||
| [Wyndham Desert Rose 2BR Apartment](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/wyndham-desert-rose-resort-2br-apartment-with-resort-access.html) | 2 bed · 2 bath · 79 m² | **$630** (C$875) | 9.0 (59) | Free parking |
|
||
| [GetAways at the Jockey Club](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/getaways-at-the-jockey-club.html) | 1 bed + living room | **$775** (C$1,076) | 9.1 (2,859) | **NO RESORT FEE** · free parking · centre Strip, next to Cosmopolitan |
|
||
| [The Signature at MGM Grand — All Suites](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/the-signature-at-mgm.html) | Suite + balcony | **$839** (C$1,166) | 8.5 (1,567) | Parking paid · non-smoking, no casino in the tower |
|
||
| ~~[Grand Desert Resort 2BR Villa](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/grand-desert-resort-2br-villa.html)~~ | 2 bed · 2 bath · 95 m² | — | 9.6 (29) | ❌ **No availability Sep 30 – Oct 3** |
|
||
|
||
**If the group would rather share one place** — the way they have all trip — [Wyndham Desert Rose 2BR](https://www.booking.com/hotel/us/wyndham-desert-rose-resort-2br-apartment-with-resort-access.html) at **$630 all-in** gives two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a kitchen for less than two rooms at any centre-Strip hotel. Desert Rose sits on Harmon Ave, a short walk east of the Strip. The Grand Desert villa dropped off — no availability for these dates any more.
|
||
|
||
The two 1-bedroom options (Desert Rose, Jockey Club) only work if one couple takes the living room — fine for three nights, worth agreeing in advance.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Not on Booking for these dates
|
||
|
||
Bellagio, Caesars Palace, The Venetian, MGM Grand, New York-New York, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Park MGM and The LINQ did not return availability on Booking.com for Sep 30 – Oct 3. Other MGM/Caesars properties did (Excalibur, Luxor, Flamingo, Horseshoe), so this is an inventory quirk rather than a sold-out Strip — **price those directly on mgmresorts.com and caesars.com** before deciding.
|
||
|
||
**Own search:** [Booking, Las Vegas Strip, 2 rooms, Sep 30 – Oct 3](https://www.booking.com/searchresults.html?ss=Las+Vegas+Strip%2C+Las+Vegas&checkin=2026-09-30&checkout=2026-10-03&group_adults=4&no_rooms=2&group_children=0&order=price)
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
## Still to sort for this leg
|
||
|
||
- **Day trips** — the through-rental is available for Hoover Dam, Red Rock and Valley of Fire (see [`vegas_sights.md`](vegas_sights.md)).
|
||
- **Shows** — Cirque residencies sell out; book before arrival.
|
||
- **Oct 3–4 return drive** — choose MS's overnight stop / endpoint and coordinate the Oct 4 SFO car return with the SFO → YVR flight.
|
||
|
||
---
|
||
|
||
*All-in prices (taxes + resort fees) re-checked Aug 31, 2026 on Booking.com for Sep 30 – Oct 3 — parking fees at MGM/Caesars properties still excluded.*
|