Spring Break in Vegas: Cheap Hotels in Las Vegas
By Jane Beathard.
This spring's uncertain economy is taking its toll on Vegas hotel/casinos and that's a bonus for spring breaking college students. Even the most upscale hotels on The Strip are begging for visitors. Travel packages from Eastern U.S. cities that include flight and hotel stay for three to five nights are currently going for $350 to $550 on Travelocity, Orbitz and similar sites. Even the city's most upscale hotels like Bellagio and Wynn are offering unheard-of rates for mid-week stays.
Cheap flight/hotel packages for the pickin'
These days, you might be able to score three nights at the super-luxurious Bellagio for what a single night cost three years ago. Things have come down that much!
The "Heart of The Strip" is the intersection of Las Vegas Blvd. and Tropicana Ave. Four of the city's most famous hotels sit on these four corners: New York-New York, MGM Grand, Excalibur and The Tropicana. A stay at any of these puts you in the center of spring break action! But beware of The Trop, it's showing its age and some rooms are decorated a la 1960!
The Stratosphere, the hotel with the space-needle tower, is generally one of the best values on The Strip. The hotel has decent restaurants, clean rooms and a convenient north-end location. Avoid the motel section of Circus, Circus. It's cheap, but seedy. The hotel's main tower is fine, though.
Off-strip hotels like Palace Station, Orleans,The Gold Coast and Terrible's are also cheaper, but may or may not offer free shuttles to The Strip where spring breakers tend to gather and mill. Be sure to check before you register.
Two off-strip hotels that spring breakers may find attractive are Rio and The Palms. The Rio is an all-suites hotel and several people can stay in a single room - a value added feature for cash-strapped college students. The Palms attracts a club-hopping crowd. There's a Playboy Club in the penthouse and the top-floor ghostbar with its see-through dance floor is a Britney Spears hangout.
