Super last-minute Labor Day travel options in San Diego, Arizona, Las Vegas & Los Angeles

I got calls from two different sets of friends yesterday who woke up and realized two things: one, that it was Labor Day this weekend (Sept. 4-7) and, two,  that they hadn’t made any plans or booked any travel. They were calling me because they wanted to know what their options were this late in the week and whether they could still get a deal. My answer — sure. Believe it or not, there are quite a few last-minute Labor Day deals still available for this weekend in Arizona, San Diego, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Arizona — The Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa (pictured) has an amazing offer of $79 per room Labor Day Weekend. I tested the deal and there were indeed rooms available Sept. 4-7. Even better, you could get a suite with a private patio for only $99 per night and a 600-square-foot guest room that overlooks the Oasis Courtyard Pool for only $109 per night. The cost of flights for two people between Los Angeles (LAX) and Phoenix (PHX) will probably end up costing more than the room. I found fares for $142 each way, pre-tax, on Southwest. How good of a sale is this? I tested dates two weeks later and weekend traditional room rates started at $149. The Oasis Terrace room was $179.

San Diego — If you’re looking to splurge, the chic and modern Sè San Diego (pictured), in the historic Gaslamp Quarter, right next to House of Blues, is marked down to $172 per night from $313 per night on Hotels.com.

Paradise Point — A fun-filled family escape on the bay has rooms 30% off starting at $139 a night when you stay three nights (via Expedia’s Labor Day Sale). When I tested it, I found one night for $139 and the two other nights for more, so the average nightly rate over three nights (Sept. 5-8) came to $174, pre-tax. The same rate was available on the hotel’s website.

Las Vegas — Despite Vegas offering some uber cheap rooms lately, booking a hotel for this weekend is not cheap. Weekends rarely are — especially holiday weekends booked at the last minute. I checked Vegas.com for Sept. 4-7 and found most of the swankest hotels on the Strip for $250 and more a night, pre-tax. Wynn and Encore were more than $300 per night, as was Bellagio and THEhotel. Caesars was more than $450 per night. So I was excited to find Red Rock Resort priced at only $155 per night. It’s off the Strip, but it’s a lot of casino for your money. There is a movie theater, bowling alley, great pool, spa and the rooms are clean and modern. They even have airport service and a shuttle to and from the Strip.

Also off the Strip but much closer to L.A. is the new M Resort. Stay two nights and get the third night free. With this deal, Vegas.com has M Resort priced at $93 per night.

Los Angeles — If you want to get out of your house but don’t feel like leaving town altogether, Last Minute Tablet has rooms at the Palihouse Holloway in West Hollywood marked down from $400 per night to $164 per night Saturday - Tuesday.

Travelzoo also has a 4-star hotel in Beverly Hills on sale this weekend. The Crescent has rooms starting at $119 per night Sept. 4-7. Use the promo code “TRVLZOO” when you book. Don’t worry if you can’t make it this weekend; the deal is good through Dec. 31.

— Jen Leo, Los Angeles Times Travel & Deal blogger

[Photo: Top:Courtesy of the Wigwam Golf Resort & Spa; Bottom: Sè Hotel]

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 3, 2009 at 9:12 am by Jen Leo and is filed under Arizona, Deals, Hotels, Las Vegas, Last Minute, News, Tips & Advice, San Diego, Summer, Weekend Getaways. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.