im planning a trip to vegas. i have specific dates set as of yet. but a good timeframe would probably be sometime this fall. i have been to vegas only once before, so i am somewhat already familiar with it.

this 2nd trip, i am looking for somewhat of a budget accomdations. i dont want to stray too far away from the heart of the strip. ive heard negative things about many of the hotels in the older part of the strip: like four queens, golden nugget.

i havent heard much on circus circus, i dont know if the accomodations are good, bad or what.

during my first visit i stayed at the clarion on flamingo, about 3 blocks east of the strip, next to the tuscany.

the accomodations were average fare. nice, but not lavish. and honestly,thats all i need is just a small nice quiet room to nap in. i dont need 5,000 thread count cotton sheets to sleep on, i dont need italian wine for breakfast, or truffles hand-fed to me with filet mignon. just the basics.

but on the same token, i dont want to be grossed out either. i dont want to see rusted out furnaces, dark smokey smelley rooms. rude service, etc.

where can i guy like me get a good decent room without shelling out a whole lot of dough? i dont mind being a bit off the strip, but within walking distance.

the clarion hotel i stayed in was a bit of a walk for me, id like to stay maybe just a tad bit closer. but if push comes to shove, ill walk the extra distance if it saves me lots of money, as i can always sit down somewhere and take a break from walking.

i looked at some websites that offered promo codes for $50 a night for a room..thats pretty much what id like to pay for a room each night,..maybe even less, if you have any suggestions. $30 or $40 a room would be more suitable.

im the type of person that would hardly even be in my room..id go there to sleep, maybe watch some tv, and take a shower,then im out for the rest of the day seeing and exploring the strip.

im sorry, i meant..i do not have specific dates set..but you probably already figured that out as you read along.

cheapovegas.com

Try looking on I4VEGAS.com - usually good rates. Of course you know that the rates are considerably lower Sunday-Thursday, if you can plan your trip on those days you'll find a lot better deals than on a weekend. Also - the 4th of July is usually pretty busy so the rates go up then too.

If you're coming here Sun-Thurs try the Flamingo, Bally's, Monte Carlo, Sahara, Tropicana - I'd avoid Circus Circus and Stratosphere - just my opinion. You could also try Palace Station - it's off the strip on Sahara, but they have a shuttle to the Strip and they sometimes have great deals. Also try the Orleans - on Tropicana off the Strip, but also with a shuttle bus, or the Gold Coast on Flamingo.

Circus2 is a dump. Downtown you can get deals but then you'll have to taxi to the Strip. Really depends on what you are going for...to gamble, stay in the Old Town, you'll do better there anyway. Fewer decks in the shoe, no 00 on some roulette wheels, single-deck blackjack, etc. If you are going for shows & nightlife try some of the older &/or out of the way places. The Trop is pretty cheap & pretty '70's. Check out Hooters as well.

Seems like the Motel 6 might be your speed.

Downtown isn't that bad, really, and you do have better gambling odds there. The Golden Nugget is quite nice. I'd prefer staying there about a thousand times over staying at Circus Circus!

id stay at a cheaper place, but for food im going back to the rio's buffet!!

I wouldn't stay at Circus. I love children, but mine are adults now, and I want peace and quiet, not others' kids running around. I'll have all that when travelling with grandkids (hopefully!).

We stayed at Stratosphere, Sahara, Flamingo, Tropicana. Room-wise, Strat was the best. Location-wise - Flamingo.

Sahara was the optimal for us: still on the strip, on the bus and monorail lines, cheap and clean, good breakfast buffet, casino is not over-busy.

I love the Golden Nugget! Service was great at every level of the hotel.

try lastminutetravel.com

I'll be downtown at the Golden Nugget very soon. Others in our group will be at Main Street Station. I'm looking forward to being downtown again. Also, check out Orleans which is off strip, but an easy 5 minute drive to South Strip. It's a sister prop to the Gold Coast, also a good choice.

Trippin, I can't tell you 1) how jealous I am and 2) how hard I'm working to finagle some kind of writing trip to Vegas! I thought I could do it in time to crash your reunion, but no luck.

I just found out one of my acquaintances/colleagues is a poker shark and gets invited to play at Harrah's tournaments there like, once a month.

You would of been one welcome party crasher Melissa!

The Orleans is a good option, just off the strip, but a nice property and, usually, very good rates. Check out the review on Cheapovegas.

If you're dates are flexible, may I suggest the Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday before Thanksgiving, if thats an option for you? I've been going then for the last 4 or 5 years and the rates are about as low as they get all year. We usually get a room at either Mandalay or Bellagio in the 110-140 range, which is great for those properties, I'm sure you'd find similar savings at most casinos.

as far as cleanliness goes, I'd check out sites like tripadvisor, which has alot of tourists posting about their recent stays.

We stayed at Bill's Gambling Hall and Saloon for $50 per night and its on the strip. It was a nice place and good location.

Here is another site that has been floating around for vegas-promotions.com If your dates are flexible then this could really be of good use to you.

"ive heard negative things about many of the hotels in the older part of the strip: like four queens, golden nugget."

those places aren't even on the strip at all; you must be referring to the "downtown" area.

I'd look into some of the smaller, older hotels near the center of the strip such as Bill's and Imperial Palace. I"ve never stayed at these places so I can't recommend, but I've read lots of posts on message boards such as lvtalk.com where people rave about going to these places year after year for good prices, so they must be doing something right.

I've stayed at the Golden Nugget last year and had a blast and room rates on Expedia were $49 a night plus $75 food credit..How great is that!
I really enjoyed the Nugget and the room was nice..
To me $50 a night at a 4 star hotel is super cheap!

Check travelzoo.com for some great deals. I booked the Hard Rock thru there this past spring for half their web price, plus got a stack of coupons to use at their restaurants and bars. Also, there's a great article in this month's National Geographic Traveler on insider tips for Vegas. One of them deals with cheap hotels just off the Strip. Have fun!

www.goldcoastcasino.com

About a mile from the strip, but with free shuttle service. Its two neighbor hotels, The Rio and The Palms, also have free shuttles that you can use. With these shuttles, the Gold coast is actually easier to get to from center strip than many of the strip hotels are....because even the ones that aren't a mile away don't have shuttles...you'll be taking long hot walks or using taxis.