Last Updated on May 30, 2024 by Christine Kaaloa
VIDEO: Surviving a Budget Hotel in Las Vegas (watch my 2-minute reality style-video review )
What does the term “budget travel” mean to you?
Do you have a positive or negative impression of it?
Budget Airlines and why some of them make” a bad choice”
Table of Contents: Wild Wild West Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas: Are Las Vegas Budget Hotels Worth it?
- 0.1 Budget Airlines and why some of them make” a bad choice”
- 0.2 Taking a Shuttle Van in Las Vegas
- 0.3 Surviving a budget hotel in Las Vegas
- 0.4 Travel Survival Tip #2: How to find a budget hotel in Las Vegas?
- 1
- 2 How to Find a Budget Hotel in Las Vegas
- 3 Las Vegas Hotel Tips
- 4 My Favorite Hotel Search Engines:
- 5 Check Travel Reviews
- 6 Check how well the hotel matches your needs
- 7 Do your research
Allegiant Airlines. How I never want to have to fly with them again. The prices are cheap because everything else from the most standard (a cup of water and a blanket) entails a credit card swipe. And with the seats, there really is no comfort.
Water?
– Sorry, you can only buy it bottled, as there are no complimentary drinks. Swipe.
Want to use a blanket because the AC is on too high?
– Sorry, pillows and blanket are only available to buy. Swipe.
A carry-on suitcase?
– Nope, no luggage is free. You’re only allowed a purse! Swipe.
Reserve your seats in advance?
– Not without a… Swipe.
Advice: With budget airlines, always make sure you read the travel luggage allowances first. Sometimes, they tag it on during your booking, sometimes, not. Also, budget just usually equates “buy a sandwich or meal at your casino or home, before boarding a flight.” I’d also bring an empty water bottle (or a collapsible water bottle) to fill up at the water fountain at the airport. As far as warmth, there’s no way of gauging how cold they’ll keep it. It might be a subtle ploy to coax you into buying a blanket (which are no longer free with certain carriers). You can always ask the stewardess if they can turn the AC down, but this still may not be enough. So I always pack a light-weight jacket as well as, leg warmers or something easy to slip on and slip off. I’ve seen some travelers take their own blankets too.
Read my guide on how to pack for carryon luggage
Taking a Shuttle Van in Las Vegas
When I got off the plane in Las Vegas’ Mc Carren Airport, my knees felt rickety and cramped. I just wanted to get to my hotel where I could rest.
I bought a round trip ticket with BellTrans ( $7/single or $13/roundtrip) and stepped aboard the shuttle to go to my hotel.
The shuttle dropped folks off at their perspective hotels, so I got a tour of some of the glitzy lavishness of Las Vegas casinos. It’s Vegas, baby… and everything Vegas is done with style and glam. Everything Vegas is lit up brightly and in lights…
Or is it?
Surviving a budget hotel in Las Vegas
Welcome to the Days Inn Wild Wild West Casino and Hotel.
My Las Vegas budget ho… No wait… “motel”.
In my internet research, I found a Days Inn hotel for under $30 and it included in-room wifi. That’s an amazing deal for hotels in Las Vegas near the Strip. Even better, the listing said the location of the hotel was behind the New York New York Casino, just two blocks away…
But when I arrived at my hotel, I wasn’t quite ready for the initial shock I felt.
The hotel was more like a motel and two blocks away entailed a long hike over a freeway. But then with all the competitive prices in Las Vegas and the oodles of places to stay, some budget hotels may just surprise you by offering cheap to free wifi and “extras” or freebies to make it worth your while.
Watch my video above, you’ll also see how it wasn’t so bad and how budget hotels can occasionally rock.
Read my 50 Hotel Hacks and Tips
Travel Survival Tip #2: How to find a budget hotel in Las Vegas?
Want to know how I found the above hotel? Give this 2 minute video a watch.
How to Find a Budget Hotel in Las Vegas
Las Vegas Hotel Tips
Las Vegas is a particular beast, when it comes to watching for hotel deals. You can get deals depending on season and time of the week and those deals aren’t necessarily only budget hotels. They can be at nice hotels on the strip too. My hotel worked for me because I was planning at the very last minute and I don’t mind walking to the strip. I’m open to experiencing unique adventures. However, if you’re more into status quo, you can stilll get deals with lesser risk than what I incurred.
The weekdays are generally cheaper than weekends because Las Vegas turns into a party city on weekends. So hotels are usually looking for ways to draw customers on the weekdays. Some say gambling-wise, the tables run slower on weekdays too. I’m not a gambler, so I woudn’t know.
If you belong to a point cards awards with any of the hotel casinos, you probably get emails from them about jaw-dropping deals on hotel rates.
My Favorite Hotel Search Engines:
Booking.com – Allows you free cancellations. Has a good amount of listings and a review/rating system that I find helpful. There’s a map and a breakdown of the facilities and service.
Expedia – I use this when I’m searching for all-inclusive vacation package deals of flight, hotel and maybe car rental.
Agoda.com
A good search engine which pulls both, budget and higher end hotels as well. Occasionally, also shows hostels and guesthouses. Mostly good for Asia.
Check Travel Reviews
I 99.9% check the travel reviews, either on the hotel booking sites (above) or on Tripadvisor. Travelers can be brutally honest if things didn’t go down well at the hotel. Bad customer service, shady dealings, unhelpful staff, unkept rooms, bed bugs... I take a grain of salt to other peoples’ opinions but enough rants about the same signals a red flag.
Check how well the hotel matches your needs
What’s important for you? Location, pool, being on The Strip, having access to a convenience store, WiFI, low resort fees?…
For Las Vegas in particular, my uh-huh is WiFi. I’m a travel blogger so WIFI is a monumental deal to me.
Few Las Vegas hotels offer WIFI for free and I’m not always desperate enough to hunt them down. Scratch that. I am desperate, but I prefer to use the wifi from my hotel room if possible.
Location is another big deal to me. I don’t have to be on The Strip. I don’t mind walking or using public transportation as a way to explore more of what a place has to offer. But I need to know I at least, have some access to The Strip.
Other things are resort fees. Many big hotels (especially ones will swimming pools) will tag anywhere from a $5-25 fee onto the room bill. This is like a service tax on your bill and it’s billed whether or not you use the faciliities.
Do your research
If a budget hotel deal looks too good to be true, there might be a reason. The answer is in the tweak of a word in the hotel ad. So do your research and check travel reviews.
If it’s not on The Strip, then mapquest your location to see how far it is from the strip. Once you get off the strip, you’ll need transportation~ bus, walking, taxi. If your hotel is far from The Strip, see if it has a free shuttle service. I stayed at The Orleans with my family and that hotel, along with some others nearby, offer free shuttle onto the strip. That’s worthwhile to have.
