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A Very British Scandal At The Bellagio, And How To Avoid Your Own

Where: 3600 Las Vegas Blvd S [map], 89109
November 12, 2009 at 11:57 AM | by juliab | 8 Comments

Slight scandal doing the rounds across the pond at the moment. It was revealed by the Guardian today that the Head of the BBC, Director General Mark Thompson, dropped £647.50 ($1072) of expenses on two nights at the Bellagio earlier this year.

$1072? How odd. Because we’re looking at the website now, and we can see rooms available for $129. Also, a friend of ours is, right now, shacked up in said Bellagio, having paid the princely sum of £500 ($828) for five nights and flights from London, all in.

So what we’re thinking is, someone either got a bad, bad deal, or someone booked a nice, nice room. Possibly a penthouse suite (from $359) or even a two-bed penthouse suite (from $699). Wonder which it is, Mr Thompson?

It’s a particularly big deal, of course, because the BBC is taxpayer funded. But in times like these, even if you work for the flashiest of private companies, you might not want to risk rising those hackles by going all out at the Bellagio. We’re not suggesting you slum it at Hooters, obvs. But, if you’re in desperate need of a suite, you can get one for way less than what he paid.

For a start, we at VegasChatter can personally testify (on two counts) to the ease of upgrades at Planet Hollywood. Then there are the pretty affordable suites at Trump Las Vegas. You could even try your luck in the soon to be opened Hard Rock Tower Suites.

Or if you really want to live a little, just book up through Hotwire. If there’s one place that’s made for taking a chance and blind booking, we think it’s this one.

In the meantime, we’re hoping Mark Thompson was more impressed by the Bellagio than we were when sister site HotelChatter went round a while back. Else he’ll have got in trouble for nothing.

[Photo: Guardian/AFP]

8 Comments

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Return to » A Very British Scandal At The Bellagio, And How To Avoid Your Own

  1. phoenixarcade

    VegasChatter Member

    huh?

    How can this site be taken seriously with trashy written articles like this?

    Book a  standard room at Bellagio on the weekend and see what the rate is and report back.

    fwiw, Ive never seen a Penthouse suite rate for $359.

    How about some real stories in here. Sheesh.

    November 12, 2009 at 2:07 PM
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  1. juliab

    VegasChatter Editor

    rates

    Sorry but I have to differ - those rates came straight off the Bellagio's website. Yes, they're midweek rates (that's why I said "from" $359), but they're available on and off until the end of the yeat, and then go up $10 in January (which, incidentally, is when Mark Thompson stayed). Re standard rooms on weekends, it has a few in December for $169, which doesn't seem that exorbitant..
    November 12, 2009 at 4:12 PM
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  1. phoenixarcade

    VegasChatter Member

    poorly written article-boo

    I differ with you. I just checked their online calendar and couldnt find a Penthouse suite for $359 or anywhere near that. Now you're referencing dates in Dec and Jan where your piece says he stayed there earlier this year. You need to do some journalistic research and find out the dates and if they were midweek. Also figure in the nearly 12% room tax. It would have been better if you had just sent a direct link to the story in the Guardian rather than print this trash. Sorry, I call it like I see it.
    November 13, 2009 at 12:08 PM
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  1. VegasChatter

    VegasChatter Editor

    Other options on the Strip

    The main focus of this article was that there were cheaper options on the strip for a BBC employee to use taxpayers money. Julia gave several options for that.

    as always, rates in Vegas (and anywhere else) fluctuate based on availability. certainly, your chances of getting the suites for less happen during midweek and the off-season.

    usually, we do include the dates that you can get a certain room rate but in this instance, we just used "from" to indicate the rate start point.

    from now on, we'll be very careful about what dates you can get what rates.

    sorry that you feel this is trash. but there were some helpful tips in there for people looking at other options than the bellagio.

    if you have any of your own booking tips/secrets, that you'd like to share, please let us know. Tips@VegasChatter.com

    November 13, 2009 at 12:33 PM
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  1. phoenixarcade

    VegasChatter Member

    seriously?

    Good tips? There are dozens of nice places on and around the Strip that would be cheaper than Bellagio. Everyone knows this and who doesnt know about hotwire, orbitz and travelocity? Sorry, I disagree. I have now read the entire article at the Guardian and your writer left out what Erik Huggers spent at Bellagio and singled out Thompson. The next time I want a Penthouse suite at Bellagio for $359 I hope she can get me the rate.
    November 13, 2009 at 12:41 PM
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  1. phoenixarcade

    VegasChatter Member

    feel free to delete my comments

    November 13, 2009 at 12:54 PM
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  1. VegasChatter

    VegasChatter Editor

    We found a $359 rate on 11/24

    If you're interested, you could book yourself in a penthouse suite on 11/24 for $359. We took a screengrab of the reservations page from Bellagio.com. You can see it here..

    November 13, 2009 at 6:55 PM
    #Permalink

  1. phoenixarcade

    VegasChatter Member

    Impress me more

    How many people fly or drive into Vegas for one night? When Im at my home in Phoenix we drive in. When Im at my home in Indiana (30mins outside Chicago) I fly in. Most of the time it's for 3 night weekend stay. Not in the soft week of Thanksgiving when many shows are also dark.

    To compare apples with apples, I pulled up a Jan 7th 2010 rate, which also happens to be a Thursday night Thompson stayed on and couldnt even get a rate for a Penthouse suite. So here is the rate for the next highest room:

    Arriving: Thu Jan 07, 2010 2 Guests  
    Departing: Fri Jan 08, 2010  

    1 Bellagio Suite 1 night $575.00
    Taxes:  $69.00
    Total:  $644.00

       Deposit Due: $644.00

    November 14, 2009 at 10:39 AM
    #Permalink

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