I had to travel to Las Vegas for some work meetings, which required me to stay overnight. Many bloggers would choose to stay at aspirational hotels or would look to take advantage of Hyatt’s new reciprocal relationship with M-Life to earn Hyatt points. For me, I wanted something off The Strip and had certain amenities. For one, in case you hadn’t heard, Las Vegas is in the desert, so it gets kinda hot. (112* during the day and cooled off to about 95* at night.) Because of this, having a pool would be awesome. Additionally, since I knew I’d be in a time crunch for morning meetings, I wanted free breakfast included. The Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center fit the bill perfectly.
One bonus reason for selecting a Marriott-brand hotel is their current promotion called Marriott Unexpected Bonus that gives you a free night stay in a Category 1-5 hotel for every 2 stays between May 15 and September 2, 2013 (up to a maximum of 2 free nights). I already earned 1 free night for my stays in June, so now I’m working on my 2nd free night.
In This Post
Booking the Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center for Miles, Points, and Cash
When booking a hotel reservation, I NEVER go directly to the corporate site, unless I’m using points to make the reservation or if I’m doing research on the hotel amenities. There are SO many better ways now to book a reservation that will provide cash back or airlines miles in addition to the hotel miles, that you’re leaving money on the table if you don’t take advantage of them!!!
To earn additional airline miles, use a site like PointsHound or RocketMiles.
PointsHound had a promotion (that expired June 30th) where you would receive an additional 500 United miles per trip, so I booked with them. PointsHound provides links to most of the major hotel chains in the city you are looking for. If you use my link, you and I will BOTH earn 250 additional miles.
RocketMiles has a current promotion where you’ll earn 3,000 Virgin Elevate points for your first stay when you book by July 15th. RocketMiles partners with select hotels in each city in order to bring you great prices and killer mileage earnings. If you use my link, you and I will BOTH earn 1,000 additional miles.
To earn cash back on your reservations for Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center, use a site like MrRebates or Ebates.
New members of MrRebates get a $7.50 sign-up bonus and 3% cash back when booking through their site.
while Ebates gives a $5 sign-up bonus and a 3% rebate when booking through their site.
How I Booked the Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center
I went the link at PointsHound to earn the extra 500 United miles on top of the miles and points earned for the reservation.
So, I did a filter for “Residence”
and up came several choices. I clicked on the Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center since it was closest to where I had meetings the following morning. Where possible, you want to pick hotels that offer to “Double Up” so that you get airline miles AND hotel points AND stay credits!
When you click “Select” and go through to booking, you are presented with more options to earn more miles or to earn miles AND hotel rewards. In this case, I went with the miles AND points because I would have only earned 50 more miles and missed out on hotel points and a stay credit towards the Buy 2, Get 1 Marriott Unexpected Bonus promotion if I had not doubled up.
Even better, the rates available for the Double Up option were better. Using my AAA discount, I got the room for $98 + 200 United Miles + Marriott points + Unexpected Bonus stay credit with the Double Up option. If I used the Standard rate, I would have paid $109 for 250 miles. $11 more for less benefits. No thanks!
and this rate is the exact same AAA rate if you went to the Marriott website, meaning you get 200 United miles for free. Why wouldn’t you use PointsHound?
Why Pick the Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center?
I knew I wanted to stay at the Residence Inn for the pool…
the great FREE breakfast of waffles, french toast, eggs, sausage, cold cereal, bagels, toast, orange juice, and coffee…
and the ability to get some late night snacks at The Market. When I checked in, the gave me a scratcher. I scratched away the grey, and won the ability to get any item I wanted within their market. Very nice surprise at 10pm… Snickers Ice Cream bar, here I come…
The common areas are nice, but how is the room?
My Room at the Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center
Another reason I selected this hotel is that I like space. So many hotel room are so crowded and tiny, but not brands like the Residence Inn.
You get a full kitchen, which saves so much money when staying a few days… plus, an integrated desk space for doing some work…
and when you want to watch some TV, rather than have to sit in bed, you can relax on the couch…
before heading to a comfy bed for a good night’s sleep…
If you’re headed to Las Vegas, consider these books…
Unleash Your Hidden Poker Memory: How to Win at Texas Hold’em
When the Mob Ran Vegas: Stories of Money, Mayhem and Murder
In Conclusion
I enjoyed my stay at the Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center, and I will strongly consider booking here the next time I visit. I have a 2 year old son, so having extra room for him to play, free breakfast for us to eat, a fridge for his milk and other goodies, and a pool (that isn’t the standard crazy Vegas party pool) for us to swim is important as a family. And, if it’s just me for business, having a couch to relax on after a day a meetings, a desk to handle last minute emails, free WiFi for work and play, and a fridge to keep some frosty beverages cold, this location also fits my needs. To be able to get extra miles and points for booking through PointsHound just makes it that much sweeter!
For these reasons, the Residence Inn Las Vegas Convention Center gets 4 Razors. It’s not a top of the line hotel, but it provides top of the line value for my money. I completely recommend it for both personal and business trips to Las Vegas.
(For some links in this post and on this site, I do receive referral credit. I appreciate you using these links if you find value in the information I’ve provided.)
