SoCalFlyer97 can't speak for the entire year, but later this winter, the destination I'm looking forward to the most will be a combined Business Trip and Personal Trip to LAS with a stay at one of Vegas' historic landmarks.
Usually my trips to LAS are day-trippers purchased during a sale; I fly in early in the morning from SAN, take care of my business, check out some sights if time permits, and return home in the late afternoon or evening. However this time I will be staying in LAS with a three-night stay at an inn that many people including the hotel's website itself say is "haunted"--The old and original Hotel Apache in Downtown Las Vegas that once catered to the builders of the Hover Dam.
Looking at the pictures, Apache resembles a depression-era interior design. Built in the early 1930's, the rooms are small and chances are I'm going to need to use either the room's HVAC system or my phone as white-noise to muffle out all the late-night partygoing down on Fremont Street. However, Apache's low prices combined with its rich history showed me that this place was a great deal.
During my hotel shopping, I learned that Apache proudly boasts that the place is "haunted" with anonymous quotes describing various noises and things magically getting moved. I don't believe that haunted spirits are going to move my things from one corner of the room to the other, nor are they the source of when the building creeks or groans due to settling. I often find my things in odd places simply because I was tired and forgot that I left them there.
The business portion of the trip involves a two-day, dual-convention at the LV Convention Center. That meant all of the big hotels in the area were charging huge room rates. Westgate for example is located next door to the convention center; a few weeks ago, it posted a $1,420 price tag for the three nights on Southwest Hotels which excluded taxes and $119.97 in resort fees for the stay (although those 19,000 CP-Eligible points looked very tempting). At the time of the post, Westgate was sold out.
Both at the time of reservation and at the time of this post, the "haunted" Apache hotel is still priced at $133 for all three nights with no resort fee ($150 total after taxes) with 1,000 points with a short RTC bus ride to the convention center area; 3-day bus pass is only $20 which also covers travel to/from LAS airport. Looking at the pictures and reviews, this little inn above the old Binion's has my name on their reservation list through Southwest Hotels.
For the record, I also reviewed the nearby Downtowner Boutique Hotel with similar base pricing and a modest $22.60 resort fee. That too looked like a nice little place to stay; however its location was a few blocks east of the Fremont Experience and little too far of a walk from the RTC bus route that would have fed me into the convention center. The Four Queens was my second choice at $236 total after taxes for the stay with no resort fee.
I booked the SW flight a few weeks ago during an "As low as $44" Fare Sale and locked in a $59 SAN-LAS flight each way. Amazingly enough, the fares from last week's WOW40 sale were actually priced higher than the $44 sale.
Looking forward to to this trip.