If hotel rooms in Glitter Gulch seem outrageously expensive, we have only ourselves to blame.
We just can't get enough of Las Vegas. Last year, it had a record 38.6 million visitors, and Sin City is on track to better that mark this year. That's good news for Vegas.
For those who want to come here to play, that's really, really bad news, because finding an affordable room is about as likely as hitting a royal flush at video poker.
Which isn't to say it can't be done, because we did it.
The "we" in this case is the staff of the Los Angeles Times' Travel section.
Our quest for a good night's rest for less than $200 yielded some impressive results as well as at least one so-so one and one that was so bad we chose not to write about it. As is always the case with Vegas, some caveats apply to our selections.
First, you won't be staying in the Bellagio or the Wynn on that kind of budget (unless you're such a high roller that you're comped).
Second, you won't have a view of the Strip from the 58th floor. The places we stayed in don't have a 58th floor.
Third, our choices aren't always the most convenient to the Strip.
Those of us who stayed downtown, though, found a $5 day pass on the Deuce bus a good and economical solution.
To those caveats, we add one more: Depending on when you go, your hotel room will either mirror the city's average daily rate of $119 or so far exceed it that you'll wonder whether we were out of our minds.
We weren't.
The city ordinarily enjoys more than 90 percent occupancy rates, which can make rooms pricey. But when there's a big convention in town - such as last week's Consumer Electronics Show that was expected to attract 150,000 people - you're going to feel the pinch. And it's going to hurt.
Our advice: Visit Vegas in mid-December or July, which tend to be quiet times. Or come midweek, when rates are lower. Or, best of all, follow our suggestions on the road to savings.
ARTISAN HOTEL & SPA
1501 W. Sahara Ave., 800-554-4092,
theartisanhotel.com
Coming in out of the midday sun, we blinked repeatedly. It was dark, very dark, in the Artisan Hotel lobby. Candles flickered on tables. From her easel near the entrance, the Mona Lisa smiled enigmatically. Or was she laughing?
The family-owned 64-room Artisan, which calls itself Las Vegas' first "small, luxurious, nongaming boutique hotel," is bizarre. For starters, there's the wall-to-ceiling art. Even the ceilings display reproductions of The Masters.
Through a pair of iron gates was the dining room, even at lunchtime dimly illuminated by candles, the tables set with black cloths. Each table had a brown-at-the-edges lily in a vase.
