The Luxor Hotel & Casino, one of many Vegas hotels running promotions right now
As hotel mavens, we’re constantly reading about travel deals, be it on Twitter, on blogs, or right in our email in-boxes. Lately we’ve noticed that one city keeps popping up over and over again. That city?
Las Vegas.
With rock-bottom prices on flights and hotel rooms (plus plenty of buffets to boot), Sin City is our pick for where to have a cheap (and warm!) getaway right now. Shop wisely and we’ll bet you can plan a long weekend for just a few hundred dollars (okay, so that doesn’t include all the money you’re going to blow at the craps tables).
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by admin on November 16, 2009
Mediterranean vegetables layered with buffalo mozzarella at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon
It’s Monday. You’re getting hungry for Thanksgiving. Maybe the changing weather and the transition into the hectic holiday season has you hankerin’ for a foodie vacay. Or perhaps you just enjoy looking at pictures of food, regardless of whether or not the feasting season is upon us.
Slideshow
Whatever your excuse, we know you’re going to devour this slideshow of all the tasty treats we stuffed into our faces during our Las Vegas hotel reviewing process. From the simple stuff — like a bacon cheeseburger with onion rings — to this foamy shrimp concoction at Le Cirque, indulging in all this scrumptious goodness via your computer screen is totally calorie-free.
And we’re still marveling at how these little desserts came to be this color. Las Vegas magic, maybe.
by admin on October 30, 2009
Planning to be in Las Vegas for Halloween? We have two pieces of advice for you. First: whatever costume you’ve chosen, don’t skimp on the outrageousness — be sure to turn up the dial to 10; subtlety isn’t necessary.
Our other tip: hit up one of our picks for the Best Party Hotels in Las Vegas. Most of them are throwing Halloween bashes, so pick and choose which one you think suits your style. Here’s what’s going on at each one this Saturday night:
The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.
As one of the most unapologetically hedonistic hotels in Las Vegas, you’ll be sure to find something you like on All Hallows’ Eve — and have a killer story to tell your pals by sunrise. The hotel’s nightclub, Body English, is throwing a Halloween Celebration with E! Entertainment Television and Smashtime Radio, hosted by E! TV personalities and DJed by Clinton Sparks. Try your luck with the guest list here.
But the real draw at Hard Rock tomorrow night will require you to don some leather drawers. Known to many as “The Worlds Wildest Halloween Party” and “The most Adult of the Adult Halloween Events,” the world-famous Fetish and Fantasy Ball is once again going down at The Joint at the Hard Rock. The price of admission is $75 — and you’re not getting in unless you’ve got a costume on. Any sort of costume is fine, but leather, latex, and lingerie are recommended. No nudity though, kids!
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by admin on September 9, 2009
The Wynn Las Vegas
We’re not usually proponents of forking over four figures for a hotel package (or for anything, really), but this — well, this is different.
Wynn Las Vegas is collaborating with ZERO-G weightless flights — yes, folks, that’s a flight on a Boeing 727-200 that’s been modified to replicate levels of weightlessness on Mars and the moon (as well as zero-gravity)– to offer a package that includes some sexy digs, a float-y flight with ZERO-G, and a spa treatment. And listen: it’s $5,746 per seat plus tax, but don’t roll your eyes just yet. You might actually be into this.
First (and least exciting) of all, your Wynn experience is going to include a two-night stay in a Tower Suite Room and a choice of either a Custom Massage or a Classic Facial. Cool.
But the ZERO-G flight. Oh, man. You’re looking at a two-hour(ish) flight that has “15 separate weightless intervals” that are each about 30 seconds. It departs out of The Signature Terminal at McCarran on Saturday, September 19, and the whole experience includes…
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MGM Grand's Academy Pool...
And how it really looks.
We can’t blame Vegas hotels for going out of their way to make their pools look incredible. High-priced drinks, cover charges pushing $50 and day bed rentals have turned an afternoon dip into a major money mill for casinos, and at least one property is better known for its pool party than anything else.
Browsing hotel websites, you might get the sense that you’ll have that swanky pool all to yourself, particularly if you drop $250 on a “private” cabana. But with literally thousands of guests clamoring for a lounge chair, you’re more apt to see snow in the desert than an empty pool. Our reporters visited three Vegas properties where the marketing photos didn’t quite match reality. Read More »
by admin on August 28, 2009
Peek-a-boo, we see you!
If the story about the naked people (and the sexin’ people) seen in the windows of a certain New York City hotel — one that happens to, oh, we don’t know, rise above the High Line — has popped up on your Twitter and RSS feeds two (or twenty-two) too many times, we have a present for you. Well, multiple presents, actually.
First, some truth. We sauntered on over to the High Line last night and stared at The Standard Hotel, where ballsy (hehe) hotel guests are supposedly swingin’ their bits in front of big, bright windows for all to view. We stood for a good, long while. We looked up. We saw open curtains. We also saw the following:
- No naked people.
- Zero sex.
- Lots of rooms that were empty.
- Packs of tourists taking photos with their cell phones and the latest trendy hued point-and-shoot cameras.
Sound newsworthy? Not so much, huh? And now that we know the whole thing was a big ol’ PR stunt, we’re kind of annoyed at all this hype. Annoyed on a Friday, even.
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by admin on August 25, 2009
If nothing else, some of the quirkiest, most striking artwork we’ve seen so far – whether it’s a piece hand-picked to complement a lobby’s trendster vibe or a photo boldly displayed above a fluffy bed to lend a bit of wacky-coolness to a guestroom – adds personality. But, uh, we’d advise hotels to air on the side of caution when it comes to maxing out the quirk factor. Delightful and whimsical can easily become “creepy” and “hilarious” when real people have to sleep in close proximity to some of this stuff.
Observe. Today’s theme: faces.
She sees you when you're sleeping.
The Hotel: The Mondrian, South Beach
Found In: Bay View Studio Room
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by admin on August 19, 2009
Color Me Glad!
Color Me Sad. And Bad. With one D.
On the left is the image used by the California Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to promote their Deluxe King rooms. On the right is a photo of the same type of room, um, in real life.
Although we found the off-the-strip property to be clean, comfortable and quiet (appealing qualities for plenty of Sin City visitors; we know), we can’t help but feel a little bit let down by the lack of “tropical island paradise”-esque decor promised to us (seriously) by the website.
Next to the marketing photo, the real thing just looks a bit colorless – sort of like the pale New Yorkers kickin’ it shirtless with the nicely-bronzed masses in the Hard Rock’s pool. Sad.
by admin on August 18, 2009
Bellagio; Las Vegas
Ever wonder if those “romance” or “adventure” hotel packages are really giving you more bang for your buck — or if you’ve been suckered into booking a clever marketing pro’s cutesy champagne and chocolate-covered price markup? Welcome to Oyster’s Bundle Breakdowns, where we go through the painstaking process of (roughly) breaking down the costs of popular hotel bundle offerings to determine whether you’re getting a steal or getting robbed.
Today, Bundle Breakdowns visits Las Vegas to dissect the Bellagio’s fancy-schmantzy Romance Retreat package.
The Deal: One night in a Lakeview Cypress Suite; limo transportation to and from McCarran; Executive Suite Lounge check-in; one bottle of Veuve Clicquot; chocolate-covered strawberries; a 50-minute Couples Massage; prix-fixe dinner for two at Picasso or Michael Mina restaurant (no alcohol).
The Package Price: $995, plus tax
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