Details
So you want all the details, or maybe you want to go yourself?
Here is what you may want to know.
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Location:
New Mexico
A large state. We stayed in 2 location to cut down on drive times. Worked well.
1. Location2. Location Zoom
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Cost:
Who wants to hear about a trip if it's to expensive to go yourself? I've always hated travel shows that show you an incredible location and never mention the price, or the price mentioned doesn't include taxes or fees which can be up to 25% in some areas. Or worst of all is when you check the price for yourself you find that prices are ridiculous and only for the super rich.
This section is rather difficult for this trip because EVERYONE is playing games with prices. I'll put some details below in the relevent sections, but for comparison I'll put down both the 'list price' and the 'paid' price.
| Item | List Price | Paid Price, Item |
| Plane | $765 couple | $920 couple |
| Hotel, Lodge at Santa Fe | $430 (2 nights) | $363 (2 nights) |
| Hotel, Hyatt Regency Tamaya | $1230 (4 nights) | $680 (4 nights) |
| Rental Car | $400 (7 day rate) | $210 (weekly rate) |
Gas $100
Park Fees $30
Total List $2955
Total Paid $2303
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Planes, Hotels, and Rental Cars:
Planes:
And the "Bait and Switch" award this year goes to the airlines. United listed the round trip cost at $340 but when you got to the section where you actually selected a seat, there were no "non premium" seats available. When you add all the fees for the preium seats for all of the legs the price jumped to $500. Just to check to see if maybe I was just slow in clicking I looked again a day later and sure enought they claim to have a $350 seat. I have no idea how they are leaglly getting away with this.
Round two on the scam, at least is legal, but lets just call it "unethical". The view of the airlines is that each ticket purchased is for a single individual and independent of any other purchases. They also charge a premium for every seat expect the middle seats. In practice this means that if you want to sit next to someone you HAVE to buy at least one "premium" seat.
Listed Price
United Airlines $340 each or $680 per couple
United Airlines Bag Fees: $25+$25+$35=$85 each way per couple 3 bags
Total = 680 + 85 = $765 per couple
Price after "seat fees" = $1,200 per couple
Listed Price
American Airlines $800 per couple
American Airlines Bag Fees: $25+$25+$35=$85 each way per couple with 3 bags
Total = 835 + 85 = $920 per couple
Price after "seat fees" = $835 Per couple
American is definatley better on the seat fees. Still this is a very bothersome trend.
Hotels:
Once again, check the hotels website for the best deals. Then, check again 30 days before your trip to see if they have have changed the deals in any way. The largest problem with the Hyatt is that they would not remove the 3rd night free when getting the estimate so it was very hard to get a firm total cost in advance. And of course there is alway the pain in the as of "hotel tax" and "hotel fees" just to stick it to the traveler.
Finding the deal "with free daily breakfast" seemed nice, but we didn't realize how nice untill we got there. Breakfast buffets at the Hyatt were $24 a person, ouch! Drinks were $10-$12 for a Margarita. Sometime to check in advance next time. If you are getting a great price on the room you may be spending the money on food and drinks. Best deal at the resort? Pizzia. Your burger and fries will run you $14 and feed one person. The Medium pizzia for two just $12.
Lodge at Santa Fe
Listed at $187 per night + 15.2% tax = $215 per night = $430 for 2 nights
Going directly to the Hotel website I found they had a 15% off special
Checking back 30 days later I found they increased it to 20%, saved another $40 just by checking back the next month.
Hotel, Hyatt Regency Tamaya
Listed at $250 per night + 13.8% tax + $23 resort fee = $307 per night = $1230 for 4 nights
The Hotel website listed a stay 2 nights get the 3rd for free deal. Orbits list this in a differnt manner but also listed free breakfast and a rate of only $180. A call direclty to the hotel reservations got us the same deal plus another 10% off.
Rental Cars:
The rental car companies still have the “we choose the car for you” for rate that are not found on Expedia. Also check to confirm they don't have a 'weekly' rate that is less expensive than 4 single days. And finally remember that while Airline flights are cheapest 90 days out, rental cars are most expensive then, so wait till 60 or 30 days out.
Other Pics
1-5 Hyatt Regency Tamaya
6 Lodge at Santa Fe, Kiva Room
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