A Vegas deal? How you can save cash on hotels, shows and shopping

Clink, clink, clink ... clink, clink, clink clink ...

Anyone who's stepped off a plane at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas has been greeted by the iconic clinking of slot machines paying out (or at least sounding like they're paying out). This summer when I arrived, that whir of slot machines seemed muted. Maybe it was because my husband and I arrived at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday, but still, I was a little surprised (maybe disappointed?) even given the current state of the economy.

Would the usual vibrant hum of the Vegas strip be dimmed by the recession? Would normally busy casinos and bustling shopping areas like the Forum Shops in Caesars Palace be empty? Surprisingly, no. If anything, we saw more people in the casinos (at least playing slots), sunning at the pool and walking the strip during our four-day trip in mid-June.

For the past 10 years, my husband and I have been making almost yearly trips to the city of Lost Wages. And this is the first time that we have been inundated with sale signs almost everywhere: on most storefronts (from reasonably priced retail stores like Express and Banana Republic to high-end designer stores like Giorgio Armani in Bellagio). There also were small billboards on top of cabs, larger billboard trucks driving down the strip touting discounted shows, and ads in local Vegas entertainment magazines like M for discounts on Cirque du Soleil shows like "Love" at the Mirage and "Criss Angel Believe" at Luxor.

But one of the best places to see that Vegas is on sale is the Internet. Many of the major hotels along the strip have taken the recession by the horns by offering extremely low prices for four- and five-star hotels to draw gamblers and tourists to the desert. On hotel Web sites you can find low room prices, discounted shows and package deals, many of which include restaurant or resort credits, spa specials or deals on golf. You can even find rotating Web ads touting specials at the Wynn, Venetian, MGM Grand, Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Mirage, to name a few.

For example, we stayed at the AAA five-star Bellagio for an unheard of $89 a night on a Wednesday and Thursday and $129 on a Friday in June. In the past, we felt lucky to find rates for less than $200 a night.

How did I find this deal? E-mail promotion. Over the past few years, I've gotten a few e-mail solicitations from the MGM Mirage resort group. But in the past six months, my personal e-mail inbox has been inundated with Las Vegas hotel deals. In my search to find the lowest prices for our upcoming trip, I signed up online for promotions from hotels like the Venetian, Bellagio, MGM Grand, Caesars Palace and others.

Back in April, an e-mail popped in from the Bellagio offering the discounted rate on a deluxe room through Sept. 10 because we are Players Club members, which anyone can sign up for online. What a find! At those rates, we decided we had to make a trip out to Vegas.

Of course, such deals don't last forever, but reduced rates are available if you book far in advance.

Amenities make the difference

We stayed in a deluxe king room in the spa tower. Unfortunately, our 17th-floor mountain-view room actually gave us a better view of the parking garage and new Aria hotel being built in the City Center next door than the pool. We weren't in Vegas for an ocean view, so it didn't matter. Plus, the plush room (with blue granite and marble entryway, oversized king bed and comfortable seating area) decorated in soothing taupe and browns and spacious bathroom (with double sinks, marble floors, blue granite countertops, large soaking tub and separate glass-enclosed shower) made up for it.

Because we saved so much on the hotel rates, we decided to treat ourselves to a massage in the spa. While prices may seem a little high ($130 for a 50-minute relaxation massage) compared to what you might pay for a massage at a top salon in the Chicago area, the spa amenities make it worthwhile. A spa appointment gains you access to the spacious dressing rooms that include Jacuzzis, steam rooms, oversized showers (with a tropical rain forest feature where beads of water cascade down from the ceiling in a circular fashion), complimentary toiletries, and a luxurious bathrobe and comfortable slippers to wear.

Another hotel amenity anyone can enjoy for free is the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens located steps away from the elaborate lobby, which itself should be a tourist stop with its gorgeous Dale Chihuly blown-glass flowers dangling from the ceiling and intricate mosaic tile floor. In the gardens, take some time to wander among the artistry in flowers. On this visit, a full-scale Ferris wheel adorned with various flowers stood opposite colorful hot air balloons suspended from the ceiling and a small aviary complete with live birds.

Shows on sale

While I didn't find rock-bottom prices on flights to Vegas, I did fare better with show tickets. The two shows that interested us were "Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular" at the Venetian and Cirque du Soleil's "Love" at the Mirage.

At mirage.com, I found "Love" tickets that were 25 percent off. In M magazine, an ad for "Love" announced I could buy one full-price ticket and take a friend for $25 (this promotion also applied to other Cirque shows like "KA" and "Zumanity"). Through playersclub.com, I saw "Love" advertised for 40 percent off, but the link to order tickets online at that discount didn't work.

Venetian.com offered $25 off "Phantom" tickets for specific sections (including the best seats in the Golden Circle and Orchestra sections) if you ordered them online using the Web site promotion code. Through August, "Phantom" tickets cost $40 less per ticket if ordered online.

We decided on "Phantom" and bought $100 tickets (normally $125 each) in the side orchestra section.

Once you're there

While great hotel deals can be a draw, don't be fooled that you won't spend money while you're in Vegas, gambling aside, of course. We were looking forward to shopping in Vegas, simply because you can find such a wide variety of stores in relative proximity. And the sale signs on the storefronts didn't hurt either. We came home with a lot more purchases (many of them at marked-down prices) than we had expected. My best find was a $129 little black dress at Ann Taylor on sale for $29!

Unfortunately, we didn't find any deals on meals, but we didn't expect to. What we did find were a plethora of excellent restaurants, many by celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Bradley Ogden, Mario Batali, Michael Mina and others. We tried Flay's Mesa Grill (our favorite by far - words don't do justice to the delectable roasted corn side) in Caesars Palace, Batali and Joe Bastianich's B&B Ristorante (try the black spaghetti for a kick) in the Venetian and Todd English's Olives (the flatbread pizza was a winner) in Bellagio.

Of course, you can still find some $5.99 steak buffets off the strip, but we've found that you get what you pay for. So, if you're going to splurge, why not on a special dinner?

But, if you just want a quick, relatively inexpensive bite in between walking the strip, gambling or people-watching, try Snacks (located close to the race and sports book) in Bellagio. We had a delicious, oversized buttermilk chicken wrap that came with housemade-style chips that kept us full for hours. At $8.95, that may have been one of the best deals of the trip.

On second thought, the best deal was winning $300 off a quarter slot machine right before we left the hotel for the airport.

<p class="factboxtextbold12col"><b>Vegas deals</b></p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Here's a sampling of current Las Vegas hotel promotions:</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">@x BTO factbox text bold with rule:E-mail promotions</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Bellagio: Rates from $109 a night Sunday through Thursday and $169 Friday and Saturday through Sept. 10 (from playersclub.com); or up to 25 percent off if rooms are booked more than 60 days in advance with the promotion code BPEROF (through Jan. 31); bellagio.com</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Mandalay Bay: Rates from $89 a night (includes a $25 dining credit to the House of Blues restaurant and $20 sand dollars) through Oct. 31; save up to 30 percent when booking for November through January (promo PHOTO92); mandalaybay.com</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">MGM Grand: Rates from $79 a night (includes $35 activity credit for dining or entertainment, free Wi-Fi for 24 hours and two free inner tube rentals) through Feb 28; mgmgrand.com</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">THEHotel: Rates from $109 a night through Oct. 31 mandalaybay.com</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">The Signature at MGM Grand: Suite rates from $110 a night (includes $100 drink credit) through Aug. 31; signaturemgmgrand.com</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">@x BTO factbox text bold with rule:Internet promotions</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Caesars Palace: The Hangover package: Two nights accommodations and $50 food and beverage credit starting at $120 a night through Sept. 31; caesarspalace.com</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Treasure Island: Up to 30 percent off room rates if booked more than 90 days in advance; treasureisland.com/special_offers/</p> <p class="factboxtextbold12col">Venetian: Dive Into Summer! package: Suite rates from $159 a night Sunday through Thursday and $219 a night Friday and Saturday (includes $150 in resort credits) through Dec. 31; venetian.com</p>