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Have You Booked Your Room for the Kentucky Derby Yet?

February 7, 2012 at 1:57 PM | by | Comments (0)

We know, we know. It's not even Valentine's Day and we're already talking about booking hotels for Kentucky Derby but the truth is, even though the big race is not until May 4, it's probably harder to book a last-minute room for the Derby, especially if you want to be in town, than it is to book a last-minute hotel for the Super Bowl. So if you're interested in going, we say book now.

So, what are the hotel options like right now? We hit up Expedia during the Derby weekend (Thursday, May 3-Sunday, May 6) and found a few budgety hotels like Days Inn and Ramada for under $280 a night. You might be saying "Ouch" right now and you might not be thrilled about staying on the outskirts of town but those are actually doable rates for the Derby.

Looking at the four and five-star hotels, we see that they are all sold-out. At least on Expedia. They may have availability if you book with the hotel directly or if you work with a travel agent. (See our tips for Super Bowl.) There are a few three-star hotels left like the Hyatt Place Louisville for $499 and the Holiday Inn Louisville in North Clarksville for $429 a night. The Galt House is available but at $1,500 a night. Yikes!

UPDATE: 2.9.12 As it turns out, it's cheaper to book directly with the hotel. The folks at Galt House, the official Kentucky Derby hotel by the way, pointed us to their three and four-night Derby Package which are still available. We found a three-night package for $1,050 a night which includes accommodations in the hotel's RIVUE Tower, a Thursday welcome reception featuring live entertainment and hors d'oeuvres, self-parking, use of the 360 Fitness Center, WiFi in the guestrooms and lobbies, a special gift from Galt House and the option to book additional nights for just $195 a night.

Also available is the Louisville Marriott Downtown which has put together a Kentucky Derby Package with deluxe accommodations from Thursday, May 3 until Sunday May 6; an evening lobby welcome reception with passed cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and live entertainment; nightly turndown service with morning racing programs; complimentary lilly flowers and Pink your Drink cocktails on Oaks Day (Friday); complimentary red roses on Derby morning with a complimentary souvenir photo; and passed champagne on the morning of the Oaks and Derby Racing days.

The package is $1,299 a night but as you can see, it's not a bad deal considering that a) the place has availability b) they throw in a bunch perks, drinks and ways to remember the weekend and c) it's not the Ramada on the outskirts of town. Your call.

Know of other good hotel options for the Kentucky Derby? Tell us about it in comments below!

[Photo: SouthernTabitha/Flickr]

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