One of Las Vegas' best kept secret is a place that I've stayed at almost every year for the 20 years I've been going to Vegas. Every once in a while I find a really good room price somewhere else, but I end up regretting it.
Just about a 1/2 block down Convention Center Drive, between the Convention Center and the Strip, there is a little motel called Somerset House Motel. Yes, it sounds like a half-way house rehabilitation center, and over the years at times it has even looked like one, but the rooms are always clean and the staff is friendly and helpful. Let's call it shabby-chic.
They don't have room sales, but my room price this year is $40 + tax for the 21st & 22nd and then $50 + tax for the 23rd. This place is a closer walk than getting to your room at the Hilton! And even better, it is diagonally across the street from The Beach!
Down side is no on site restaurants, but up side is that they have about 80 rooms that have kitchettes. There is a little market in the shopping center next door to the motel.
I don't know how many rooms are left right now. I booked about 2 weeks ago. Some of us have stayed there for years, and I'm only sharing this info for those who don't care about the whole Vegas experience of having to walk a mile through slots to get to your room. If you are looking for a quiet place, close to all the action, this is a great place. You can go back to your room for lunch instead of paying convention center prices, or to drop of all the stuff that is weighing you down after a morning at the convention. That's what I really miss if I stay somewhere further away. I never want to take all that time getting to my room and back - it feels like such a waste. But with the Somerset, I can walk there & back within 15-20 minutes (depending on how sunny it is out:).
Some people go to Vegas to gamble and love staying in the casinos. I find it a pain to have drunks running up and down the hall all night when I have to be at an 8am class, or to have to travel 3 miles through a casino and then up 18 floors and then down another mile of hallway each time I want to go to my room. And I'm not much of a gambler, so don't need the casino part. The Somerset isn't fancy, but it is clean and small enough that the front desk people care if you have a problem.
Somerset # is 702-735-4411 for those in to understated.
And for those coming from Portland, OR - check out Southwest and see if any of their $99 one way fares are still available. My flight + hotel is around $358 for the convention this year, and I'll only have a cab fare to the airport & back in addition + food to deal with after that.
Cindy M |