June 18, 2004 -- New York may claim to be capital of the world, and Washington DC is the capital of the United States, but Las Vegas may be the capital of the American soul, at least the fun-loving part of it, with everything bigger, better and in living color.
OffPeakTraveler.com, one of our many favorites in the budget travel category, has a cool package to Vegas running from July 1 through August 31, 2004. The cost of $299 per person (double occupancy) includes roundtrip daily flights from Los Angeles or San Diego and seven (!) nights at the Fairfield Grand Desert Resort Condominiums. Add-on price from the following cities is only $225: New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Buffalo, Washington DC, Tulsa, Houston and Oklahoma City. You also have to pay an additional $149 for service charges and taxes, they say. Contact them at www.offpeaktraveler.com.
United Vacations, affiliated with United Airlines, has plenty of deals to Vegas. That includes those for the top luxury hotels, such as the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, The Mirage, Treasure Island or New York-New York. If you book those through September 15, 2004, using the promotional code MGM100, you get $50 off reservations up to $499 in value, or $100 off if $500 or more is booked. Vacations at Treasure Island begin at $179 from Los Angeles, San Francisco or San Diego; $269 from Seattle or Portland OR; $299 from Denver; $359 from Chicago and $374 from New York City or Boston. That includes roundtrip airfare on United and two nights at Treasure Island, plus VIP seating at Planet Hollywood and $5 off a $10 purchase; and VIP perks at the Fashion Outlet Las Vegas (discounts on shopping and dining, free valet parking and a souvenir tote). The prices mentioned here are per person (double occupancy) and are valid on Monday departures now through August 31, 2004. There is much fine print, so be sure to ask about restrictions.United Vacations also has deals to the Imperial Palace, from as low as $164 from Los Angeles; $284 from Denver; $344 from Chicago and $364 from Washington DC. These include roundtrip air on United (or Ted), two nights at the Imperial Palace, and the amenities mentioned earlier for the Treasure Island. Contact them at www.unitedvacations.com or by phoning 888/328-6877.
On the Web
Don't forget to do your own research on the web, either. Just take the LasVegas.com site, for instance, which at time of this writing featured a Deal of the Day with the Golden Nugget, from $59 a night on what they call Firecracker Weekend in early July. Also prominent on the first page were deals at Bally's from $75 a night (deluxe room, $50 in match play coupons and a twofer cocktail); Paris Las Vegas from $115 a night (deluxe room, $50 in casino match play, $59 in dining values, plus attraction and spa discounts); the Hotel San Remo from $45 a night; the Barbary Coast and the Frontier from $34.99 a night; and the Luxor Paradise from $79 a night. The bargains change constantly, so may differ when you get around to reading the site. Check them out, in any case, at www.lasvegas.com.
