Beware of "Sneaky" Resort Campground Fees

Above, Circus Circus RV Park didn't charge resort fees in 2015,
 but they did in 2017. So I went elsewhere. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I must be pretty lucky.

In the 10 years of RVing since I bought my motorhome, I have never been charged with "resort" camping fees. Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas started charging resort fees, which I declined and stayed elsewhere back in 2017. I stayed there two years prior and was not charged any such fees.

According to an article in RV Travel, these "sneaky" resort fees are cropping up on travelers.

They begin the article with:

Booking a campsite used to be simple, but times have changed. Instead of kicking back by the fire, campers now have to dodge complicated rules and unexpected costs. Picking a spot for your RV is starting to feel like some kind of strategic challenge, where you need a CPA, a lawyer, and a good blood pressure monitor just to make it through the reservation page.

In the video at the end of the post, Andy from The Camping Loop is on a rant, and he has tips for what to look out for. 

 To read more, go here.

Circus Circus To Be Demolished?

The last time I stepped foot at Circus Circus in Las Vegas was in 2015 when I took my daughter Amber there so she could interview with the dolphin show at The Mirage. We stayed at the Circus Circus RV Park.

Three days ago, Las Vegas Strip - Trip Reports Facebook page posted the following:

BREAKING LAS VEGAS

While an official announcement has not yet been made, rumors are growing that Circus Cicrus Hotel in Las Vegas will be demolished and replaced with a new luxury resort by a world known brand that I cant directly say yet. I would stop in several more times if you have the chance. Circus Circus is apparently up for Sale!

Circus Circus has been a popular hotel and casino since the 1960s. It was featured the 1971 James Bond movie, Diamonds Are Forever starring Sean Connery. We stayed at the hotel tower in 1986 when I got married.

It has been a bit rundown in recent years. This has also fed to rumor mill.  

It would not come as a surprise if the rumors turn out to be true. Too bad, if so.

The Mirage Hotel Now History

Above, The Mirage's sign on Las Vegas Blvd. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas is now history.

It had been acquired by and will be transformed into the Hard Rock Las Vegas, which will be a two-year project.

Above, The Mirage in January 2016. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

According to PR Newswire:

LAS VEGAS, May 15, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Hard Rock International (HRI) today announced its plans to cease operations of The Mirage Hotel & Casino as of July 17, 2024, to begin the transformation of the property into the highly anticipated Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Guitar Hotel Las Vegas (HRHCLV).  

Hard Rock will develop a new integrated resort featuring a nearly 700 ft. guitar-shaped hotel towering prominently in the center of the famous Las Vegas Strip. 

Above, yours truly in front of The Mirage in April 2015. Photo by Amber Vaquer.

I stayed at The Mirage once, which was over New Years in 2015-16 and saw "The Beatles Love" show. I had been there once before when my daughter applied to work in the hotel's dolphin show. We stayed in the motorhome at Circus Circus RV Park on that trip, which was the first for the RV after I bought it. 

To read more, go here.

RV Travel: Prices of Resale RVs Drop For First Time In Months

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The prices of goods and services are generally governed by the law of supply & demand.

For months, prices of resale RVs have risen as the demand for them also rose. Now, it appears that prices of resale RVs have gone back to "normal" and have dropped.

According to an article in RV Travel:

For the first time in a very long time, the wholesale prices of RVs are behaving like they used to.

The new information comes from Black Book, a company that sources and integrates vehicle history report data and then analyzes millions of vehicle transactions to track valuations.

“For the first time in quite a while all of the RV market segments we track behaved in a way that would be expected in a ‘normal’ year, with the values of both motorized and towable units declining at wholesale auction as we head into winter,” said Eric Lawrence, Principal Automotive Analyst for Specialty Vehicles at Black Book. “With RV manufacturers setting new production records month after month, it’s possible that the supply of used units is finally catching up with the demand.” 

To read more, go here. 

RV Parks and Dynamic Pricing

Above, The Beast at the Circus Circus RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The latest RV Travel Newsletter arrived in my email a few minutes ago.

My attention was immediately caught by a story about "The Secret Way RV Parks Will Soon Charge You More", which is the lead story of the newsletter. 

Here's a snippet:

You’ve heard of dynamic pricing, haven’t you? Airlines, hotels and Uber drivers practice it. It means you pay for services based on supply and demand. If you book a hotel room five months in advance for a holiday weekend you will likely get a better deal than if you try to reserve it two days in advance when only a few rooms are left. Same goes for plane tickets. And, with Uber, if you want a ride at 4 a.m., it will cost you far less than a ride home from a sold-out Red Sox game – “supply and demand” at work.

So here is my preview of your RVing future. It’s scary if money is important to you. The message is this: Be prepared to pay more for a campsite in the years ahead, and be prepared to be denied a reservation for reasons you will never know…

To read the full story, go here. 

Best Free and Cheap Las Vegas Camping

Above, The Beast at RV Park Circus Circus. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Las Vegas, Nevada has several in-town RV parks. Several are connected to hotels. The problem with those is that guests will "pay through the nose" to stay in them. 

Along with the daily rate, there are also taxes and "amenities fee" charges added on, which will double the nightly cost to stay there. Those charges are tacked on whether the amenities are used or not. Forget that! I stayed at the RV Park at Circus Circus before they started tacking on "amenities fees".

There are other options for staying in a RV while in Las Vegas. Do It Yourself RV has an article that lists them. Personally, I have never stayed at any of them.

They begin with:

Las Vegas is an action-packed place to visit with round-the-clock gambling, world-class restaurants, live shows, museums, people watching on the strip, the list goes on and on!

Some RVers enjoy camping in the middle of all the hustle and bustle, others not so much and some what a bit of both. If you are in the latter two groups, let’s review options for the best free and cheap camping near Las Vegas.

To read more, go here. 

Circus Circus RV Park To Become History

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The Circus Circus RV Park at Circus Circus Resort and Casino in Las Vegas will become history thanks to the new owner.

According to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser:

Details of plans for a remake of Circus Circus Resort and Casino under new owner Phil Ruffin (who also owns Treasure Island) have been revealed. The 10-acre RV park adjacent to the resort will be replaced by a pool complex modeled after Mandalay Bay’s Beach. The Adventuredome indoor amusement park, which gets an annual 2.5 million admissions, will stay.

The Circus Circus RV Park is currently the only RV park on the Las Vegas Strip.

About a year or so ago, I was talking to an employee at Circus Circus (before it was sold to Ruffin) that the RV park makes as much money as one of the hotel towers, so it won't be removed.

Now that Phil Ruffin has bought the resort and casino, the RV park's days are numbered. I stayed there back in 2015 (the first trip with The Beast), but haven't returned due to the resort fees attached to the the daily RV park rate.

To read more, go here. 

Circus Circus and Bellagio To Be Sold

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

MGM Resorts has agreed to sell two of its Las Vegas properties: Circus Circus and Bellagio.

TravelPulse reported:

MGM Resorts International announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement to sell Circus Circus Las Vegas for $825 million to an affiliate of Treasure Island owner Phil Ruffin. 

The deal includes $662.5 million paid in cash and a $162.5 million note due 2024. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019.

MGM Resorts originally acquired Circus Circus Las Vegas in 2005 and the property features 2,300 employees, a five-acre Adventuredome indoor amusement park, a 10-acre RV park and a 37-acre festival grounds. 

In another deal announced Tuesday, MGM Resorts revealed an agreement with Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust that values the real estate of Bellagio at $4.25 billion, which represents a purchase price multiple of 17.3 times rent.

The joint venture will acquire the Bellagio real estate and lease it back to a subsidiary of MGM Resorts for an initial annual rent of $245 million.

The only questions I have concerning Circus Circus are: Will it be renovated (it looked a bit "long in the tooth" the last time I was there in 2015)? Will it be torn down? Will the RV park remain?

To read more, go here. 

RV Buying Tips On Finding The Right One

Above, The Beast at La Mesa RV.

When I bought "The Beast" (a 2015 Winnebago Minnie Winnie 22R), I already narrowed my choices down weeks before.

I decided on Winnebago as they have one of the best reputations for RV manufacturing. Plus, I chose the size and layout ahead of time. The size was easy. At the time, I had a two-vehicle parking space at my Tarzana apartment and anything longer than 23 feet wouldn't allow me to park both the motorhome and my car.

When I decided on the make, model and color scheme, I checked all the local Winnebago dealers and none had what I wanted in stock. Then I took a look online at La Mesa RV in San Diego and they had exactly what I wanted. So, after negotiating on a price, I flew down and picked it up.

Above, the "shake-down" trip to Las Vegas. The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RV Life has an article on "How To Find The Perfect RV". It depends upon what you want and what you consider to be "perfect".

They begin with:

If you have worn out a set of tires driving all over to attend RV shows, collected so many sales brochures that you had to hire a librarian to catalog them, and visited so many RV manufacturers websites that you can’t remember the difference between a Foretravel and a Forester, then you have analysis paralysis and I have a tip for you. 

There is no such thing as the perfect RV—it will always be a compromise. 

If you get one large enough to have all the features you want and storage to take everything with you, it will be too big for some campgrounds and the fuel mileage won’t be ideal. It may not fit your budget either. 

Conversely, if you get a smaller RV that’s easier to drive and park in rural campgrounds, you probably won’t be able to have the desired master bedroom suite, three 55” TVs, 100-gallon freshwater tank, and two bathrooms. 

So how do you decide which RV is right for you? Prioritize your needs into categories such as; “must haves”, “important”, “would be nice, but can survive without it”, etc.

To read more, go here. 

Resort Fees and Parking Charges Reportedy Killing Las Vegas Tourism

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Well, I can't say I'm surprised!

The Los Angeles Times reported that fewer people are visiting Las Vegas due to resort fees and parking charges.

They wrote:

Daily resort fees and parking charges are rising and spreading in Las Vegas, adding as much as $45 a day to visitors' hotel bills. The publisher of Las Vegas Advisor blames the extra charges for a recent decline in the number of visitors. 

"Everyone hates resort fees, but the parking [fee] is even worse," said Anthony Curtis of Las Vegas Advisor. "Everyone wants some kind of comp, [and] the most basic comp is free parking. That was the one comp that everyone got."

Last year, I was going to reserve a campsite at the Circus Circus RV Park on the Las Vegas Strip (I stayed there in 2015) until the reservation website tacked on a $27 resort or amenities fee that would have made the total charge around $60 per night. I was on my way to view the Great American Eclipse in Idaho. I said, "To hell with that!"

I ended up staying at a RV park on the eastern side of Las Vegas (about 3 miles from The Strip) that didn't charge any resort or amenities fee.

To read more, go here.

RVers Are Discovering Casino "Camping"

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Those who follow the Nomadic Fanatic and other RV/camping channels on YouTube have probably noticed that on occasion they will camp or park overnight in a casino's parking lot or RV park.

This is a growing trend as more casinos (Indian and otherwise) are popping up across the country.

Casino.org has posted an article on this growing trend. They call this trend "boondocking with benefits." They specifically mentioned the Circus Circus RV Park.

They begin with:

It’s a trend that RV owners are loving: regional casinos across the United States often have ample parking space to accommodate overnight motor homes and travel trailers, and retirees and vacationers are taking full advantage of that fact. 

With gambling venues now spread from the Atlantic to the Pacific, RVers traversing the country have plenty of casino destinations to take park at. With nearly every casino featuring some level of around-the-clock security (albeit not as stringent in a lot as on the tables where the money is), people staying in RVs say they feel safer in such parking lots, compared with big box store chains like Wal-Mart and Home Depot. 

According to a recent report in The Green Sheet Farm Forum’s Motor Matters section, the popularity of recreational vehicles is skyrocketing, as is the use of regional casinos for overnight parking. Many casinos are gladly welcoming the vehicles, as they believe guests will at some point come into the property to eat, shop, and gamble.

The article goes on to mention that casinos in Las Vegas are charging RVers to park their rigs. One charge that is not mentioned in the article is the amenity or resort fees on top of the nightly "camping" fees. I posted a blog about this last month concerning the aforementioned Circus Circus RV Park.

To read more, go here.

The Dreaded Las Vegas Resort Fee

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in those pre-resort fee days. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I was planning my recent trip to Idaho to view the total solar eclipse, I decided that I would spend the first night in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Two years ago, my daughter and I stayed at the Circus Circus RV Park on the Las Vegas Strip. It seemed like a reasonable place to stay (although not much to look at as it is essentially a parking lot with hook-ups), so I went about to make a night's reservation at the RV park.

They had a special going on for the night I wanted to reserve. It was listed as $31/night. That was reasonable. But then I got a bit of a shock.

At the end of the booking process, they wanted to tack on a $27 amenities (or resort) fee onto the price, making it nearly $60 for one night. I don't recall such a fee two years ago. I thought, "No thanks!" and looked elsewhere. Then I found the Riviera RV Park about 2-3 miles east of the Strip. It was only $22/night. So I booked a space. As it turned out, it was a much nicer RV park than the Circus Circus RV Park.

But what's with these amenities or resort fees?

I did some checking. It turns out that Circus Circus isn't the only hotel that's charging them. Here's a list of the Las Vegas hotels who are charging them and how much.

According to The Points Guy:

If you’ve stayed at a hotel on the Las Vegas Strip within the past few years, you’ve almost certainly been subjected to a resort fee. With tax, this daily charge ranges from $26.88 (Circus Circus) to just shy of $40 (Wynn and Encore), and includes some perks that you’d normally have to pay extra for (like water bottles and Wi-Fi), and others that you wouldn’t (such as pool towels and gym access). In almost all cases, amenities covered by a resort fee would otherwise be available free of charge to elite members, although even top customers are rarely able to get these fees waived (though there are some exceptions).

I was told that the Las Vegas resort hotels started this "resort fee" practice about two years ago.

Well, thankfully, I have a RV so I can avoid Las Vegas hotel resort fees by finding a RV park, such as the Riviera RV Park, who doesn't charge them.

To read more, go here.

Las Vegas and Dump Station

Above, today at the dump station at Malibu Creek State Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

More things got accomplished in preparation to my trip north to see the eclipse.

Last night, I was going to reserve a site at Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas for a night. The stated price was $31/night. Sounded reasonable enough. But when I went to make a reservation, it automatically tacked on a $27 daily resort fee to it. And that's not counting taxes!

Sorry, Charlie! But $58+ a night is not what I call a reasonable price. I don't remember a daily resort fee when we stayed there two years ago.

So, I found another RV park that is under $30 a night. Much better!

Today, I headed off to Malibu Creek State Park to fill the fresh water tank and to empty the black and grey water tanks. That went smoothly.

Then, on the way back home, I stopped and filled the gas tank. I won't need to get gasoline until I reach Utah.

So, I am pretty much done. I do have to get a few more groceries, but other than that, we're good to go.

Younger Generation Driving Up RV Sales

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The general conception of a typical RVer is a retired couple with grey hair. But all that is changing according to WSFA.

They posted:

WSFA/NBC -It's not just retirees hitting the road in an RV. A younger generation is driving sales with a travel trend that involves recreational vehicles.

Kyle Millard is 32 and is on his second RV. Millard grew up camping and takes his young family on the road every month in the summertime. 

Millard said, "We picked one that has a bunk house system in the back, as well as an outside kitchen, so it’s something we can grow into family-wise." 

A record 9 million U.S. households now own an RV according to the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. The industry has traditionally relied on retirees to drive growth, but now younger buyers are getting behind the wheel.

I bought my first RV at age 30. It was a Starcraft tent trailer (also called pop-up trailers).

To read more, go here. 

National Parks Near Las Vegas A Tourist Draw

Above, Circus Circus RV Park on the Las Vegas Strip. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Las Vegas, sin city itself, is fairly close to several national parks and its tour operators are taking advantage of this.

According to Gaming Today:

The “house” (in this instance we’re talking about Nevada) always has the advantage. That’s rule Number 1 in gambling and in tourism, too. 

One of the usually underemphasized ingredients in the edge Nevada and especially Las Vegas has over all other gambling jurisdictions, and any other tourist destinations for that matter, is its proximity to numerous National Parks. Las Vegas as a gambling mecca remains prominent, but the importance of wagering has diminished in recent years as the casino/resorts rely on hospitality, entertainment, retail and fine dining, supplemented by gambling, as the primary revenue sources. 

Sometimes overlooked in the amalgamation that has caused Southern Nevada to resume its unprecedented growth, the National Parks drive tourism as never before.

To read more, go here.  

Where I've Stayed In The Beast

Above, Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In the two years since I bought The Beast, I have stayed at 28 commerical, state and national park campgrounds.

To help out fellow RVers, I post reviews of the campgrounds and RV parks I stay at in RV Park Reviews, which is a "sister" site to iRV2.com. My map at RV Park Reviews is below. Each place I've stayed at is marked. The site is quite handy in determining other RVers' think of different campgrounds and RV parks.

The first campground I stayed at was Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas, Nevada in April 2015. The most recent one was the KOA Kampground in Needles, California in November 2016.

Above, Needles KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The first camping trip with be at the end of this month when I attend the spring clampout with Platrix Chapter No. 2, E Clampus Vitus in the Keene/Tehachapi area.

Traveling Solo Safely

Above, The Beast at Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

WinnebaGoLife newsletter blog has some safety tips for solo travelers.

Although the article is aimed primarily for female solo RV travelers, men can also use the tips provided.

The article starts with:

As a solo female full time RV’er, safety is the topic I am most often asked about. People are curious – do you feel safe, do you pack or carry a gun, what have you run into?

Thanks to my grandfather and dad instilling this in me, I never leave on a RV trip without having a firearm with me. A gun stored away in a box at home will not protect one while on the road.

Thanks also for the training I received when I worked armed patrol, I feel protected enough and capable in dealing with any threats that may arise. I have never had a problem while traveling solo, but as the Boy Scout Motto says, "Be Prepared!"

To read the full article, go here.

Campland On The Bay Review Posted

Above, The Beast at our site at Campland On The Bay. Mission Bay is in he background. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

While everything was fresh in mind, I posted my review of Campland On The Bay at RV Park Reviews.

My review:

I have heard about Campland On The Bay for over 20 years and this was our first visit. We only stayed one night. It is in a beautiful location on Mission Bay in San Diego. From what I saw of the campsites, I was a little disappointed. It amounted to very little more than an asphalt parking lot with hook-ups and some surrounding trees and grassy areas. For the price, I would have expected a whole lot more. But, that said, people go there to enjoy the waters of Mission Bay instead of sitting idly at camp.

Above, other sites in our section. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The only comparable campground/RV park (as far as the overall look and sites) was Circus Circus RV park. But, one thing in Circus Circus's RV Park had that Campland On The Bay didn't: space. There was more space between campsites at Circus Circus. If we had gone to Campland On The Bay during their busy season (summer), people would have been packed in like sardines. But, we had the section we were assigned pretty much all to ourselves.

At least we were able to empty our holding tanks and fill up the fresh water tank.

To read all reviews of Campland On The Bay, go here. 

All Reviews Posted At RV Park Reviews

Above, Beaver KOA. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

RV Park Reviews, a great resource for planning your RV vacations, has posted all four of my reviews on campgrounds we've stayed at this year.

They include Beaver (Utah) KOA, West Entrance KOA (Montana), Richfield (Utah) KOA and Circus Circus RV Park. Once our trip to Lake Havasu this coming week is completed, a review on the RV park there will be added.

To see them, go here.

Circus Circus and KOA

Above, RVs at the Circus Circus RV Park in Las Vegas. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I decided to go to Las Vegas with my daughter, I planned to stay at the KOA Kampground at the Circus Circus Hotel as it was right on the Las Vegas Strip. I am a KOA member. But when I went to make our reservations, I found that KOA no longer had the campground/RV park at Circus Circus. Instead, I found that KOA relocated to Sam's Town, about five miles away.

The good news was that Circus Circus still has the RV park, but it is now under their management. This all occurred last year.

The story between Circus Circus, KOA and the RV park are a bit different according to reports of last year and what I was told this week by a hotel staff member.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

In late September, the camp will lose its lease with Circus Circus, which plans to clear the land for an outdoor festival area. Casino officials say they haven't ruled out a smaller renovated RV park for the future that would open seasonally. Meanwhile, KOA, whose familiar yellow and red logo can be spotted at campgrounds across the country, is looking for a new local site. 

Many Vegas observers rue the change, criticizing this city's quick amnesia for the past. Even onetime Mayor Oscar Goodman, an indefatigable cheerleader for everything Las Vegas, finds fault with KOA's departure from the Strip. 

For 35 years — the last 14 under KOA management — the campground has lent the Strip a touch of blue-collar America, a throwback to a time when the now-imploded Dunes and Stardust anchored the wagering action.

Above, a view of the Circus Circus tower from the RV park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I arrived at Circus Circus to check-in, I spoke with a hotel staffer about the RV park and that it was rumored that it would be shutting down for some sort of hotel expansion. He said that this was not so and gave me the "straight skinny" on the RV park and their dispute with KOA.

He told me that Circus Circus plans to hold a two-week rock n' roll festival and that the festival would be held near the RV park. He said that since "not all people appreciate rock music," the hotel proposed to KOA to shut down the RV park for the two weeks so that people in the RV park would not have to endure 24-hours of rock music for that length of time. However, KOA did not want to shut down the RV park for the two weeks and allegedly threatened Circus Circus with "bad publicity" if they were forced to do so. At that, "Circus Circus terminated KOA's lease for the RV park and now are running it themselves," he said.

When I asked if the RV park would be removed for hotel expansion (as had been rumored) he said, "No, we are keeping the RV park. We get as much revenue from the RV park as we do with the hotel tower." There are 170 sites at the RV park.

He also said, "Now KOA is at Sam's Town and they have about half the number of spaces as we do."

If this story is correct, it seems like a dumb move on KOA's part to lose a lease over a two-week shut-down and an alleged "bad publicity" threat.

So, it appears that the RV park at Circus Circus Hotel is here to stay. It is just under their management.