Wednesday, July 9, 1997 | 10 a.m.
Las Vegas is the country's best-value destination, according to a survey released today of more than 12,000 frequent travelers.
The fifth Zagat Survey of U.S. Resorts, Hotels and Spas rated the Rio Suite hotel-casino as the best overall hotel in Las Vegas; four other local resorts were tabbed as excellent values; and Nevada was ranked the fifth top vacation spot in the United States.
Rio just edged out The Mirage, Caesars Palace and Monte Carlo hotel-casinos, all of which posted overall "23" ratings in the survey.
Zagat ratings of 20 to 25 are "very good to excellent," topped only by 26 to 30, which is "extraordinary to excellent," according to Tim Zagat.
The Hard Rock hotel-casino scored a "22." The Monte Carlo was also rated the best hotel value in the city.
The survey found that record occupancy rates prompted a nationwide room-rate increase of 24 percent in the past two years. In Las Vegas, room rates jumped 38 percent, trailing only Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Miami, where rates jumped 41 and 40 percents, respectively.
The findings varied dramatically from two years ago, Zagat said.
"The low hotel room rates of the past were a result of the building boom in the 1980s, when hotels were faced with a high inventory of empty rooms.
"Now that demand has increased and the building boom has leveled off, hotels have been able to raise rates substantially."
That trend has been reversed in Las Vegas so far this summer, however, as an increase in the number of available rooms and flat visitor volume has prompted most hotels to cut room rates sharply, especially midweek.
The survey, which included polling of more than 1,500 travel agents, rated airlines, car-rental agencies and 2,100 hotels, resorts, spas, inns and hotel chains.
Cities recognized for having the best hotels in the country were Phoenix-Scottsdale, San Antonio, San Diego, Seattle and Palm Springs, Calif.
Dallas' Mansion on Turtle Creek was rated the nation's best hotel, coming "as close to perfection as you can get," said Zagat.
The Bel-Air in Los Angeles was rated second, and the Windsor Court in New Orleans third, he said.
Hawaii boasted the two best resorts -- the Lodge at Koele and the Four Seasons Maui -- while the Golden Door in Escondido, Calif., was rated the best spa.
The survey ranked San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles as the three cities travelers most wanted to visit.
Midwest Express, Alaska Airlines and American Airlines were tabbed the top three domestic air carriers, while Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Swissair were named the top three international airlines.
Hertz, Avis and National were ranked one, two and three among car-rental companies.
The new Zagat survey will be available in bookstores on Friday.
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