Vegas Hotels

INTRODUCTION
There are over 100,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas, with quality ranging from dumpy to fabulous. Most of these hotels are part of casinos (although you can find hotels without a single slot machine on the property!). I have personally stayed in 11 different hotels in Las Vegas, and I will comment on them individually below. (I also stayed in an apartment on the corner of Rainbow and Sahara one summer, but I won’t go into that here.) Further down this page, I list the hotels in the order in which I stayed in them most often (which is not necessarily ranked by quality), and comment on their relative merit. But first, some general comments:

A BIT ABOUT VEGAS HOTELS
I used to go to Vegas a lot on business (30 times from April 1996 to April 1999), and I was mostly interested in a comfortable, clean place to sleep and relax in my room at a reasonable price (i.e., not over per diem). I also like staying in a hotel with a casino (or a casino with a hotel, if you prefer) because, if you’re bored and sitting in your room, any time of the day or night you can go down to the casino and see the "people show." Your trip might be a vacation or business, so what you want out of a hotel may be different than what I am looking for.

Whether business or pleasure, if this is your first trip to Vegas, and you are looking for a typical "Vegas Experience," you definitely want to stay on the Strip (Las Vegas Blvd). Another concentration of casino/hotels is downtown, which has more of an "old Vegas" flavor.

The good thing about staying on the strip is you can walk the entire strip (if you're up to it) and go to any casino you want. The northern end of the strip contains some of the older hotels, including the Sahara, Circus Circus, Riviera, Stardust, Desert Inn, The Frontier, etc. Mid-strip hotels include Treasure Island, Mirage, Caesar’s Palace, the Imperial Palace, Harrahs, and some of the newest casinos, including the Bellagio, the Venetian, and Paris. The South end of the strip includes some more of the newer hotels, including the Monte Carlo, NYNY, the Luxor, Mandalay Bay, etc. From the Sahara on the north to Mandalay Bay on the south, the strip is about 3 ½ miles long. (The Stratosphere is about another ½ mile further north. Drive there if you want to go.)

The Orleans
(One mile west of the Strip on Tropicana)
I have stayed at the Orleans about 8 times. The rooms are large, clean and comfortable and there is a lot of variety in the restaurants. The casino is very large, and is a great place for video poker. Also, the pool area is very nice and they have some great movie theaters. The buffet is great and very reasonably priced. The Orleans has gotten very popular lately, so the rates at the Orleans might be as high as you could get at some of the lower-priced strip hotels. Weeknight rates I usually paid were around $49/night, but I've gotten them as low as $35/night.

The Gold Coast
If money is a major factor, you might want to consider the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino on Flamingo, next to the Rio. The rate I got (just calling their 800 number myself and asking for a room with a king sized bed) was $29/night weekday and $75/night weekend. I found this hotel to also be clean and comfortable. The Orleans, Gold Coast, and Barbary Coast (located on the strip between Bally's and the Flamingo Hilton) are all owned by the same company, and they have a shuttle bus that runs between the three properties. There are two movie theaters on this property. It's also the only hotel I've ever stayed in that has a full-service liquor store right in the hotel. The rooms aren't fancy, but they are clean and comfortable and the price can't be beat.

The Holiday Inn Boardwalk
If you are looking for the same price range as the Frontier, but on the south end of the strip, check out the Holiday Inn Casino Boardwalk. I have stayed there before, and found the rooms very clean and comfortable there, too. The room was a little smaller than the Frontier, but I was by myself, so it didn't matter very much. The location simply can't be beat, within a 5 minute walk of Monte Carlo, NYNY, MGM Grand, Tropicana, etc. Summer is typically a cheap time of year, so I would expect the rooms at either the HI Boardwalk or the Frontier to be around $40 - $50 / night Sunday through Thursday and $70 - $80 on the weekend, or less.

The Luxor
The Luxor is an Egyptian-themed hotel/casino inside a hollow pyramid. (There are also rooms in the adjacent towers that some guests prefer). This hotel was very clean and interesting, and is considered one of the "luxury" type hotels. It features many on-property attractions, and has a great south strip location, between Mandalay Bay and the Excalibur. I stayed here during December (a very low-rate time of year except right around New Years) for $55/night (Monday - Thursday). Weeknight rates usually run closer to $75/night.

Also, don’t forget that parking is free at all the strip casinos. You can "self-park" or get valet parking at almost every major hotel, just tip the attendant a buck or two when he brings you back your car! (You can park free downtown, too, but you'll have to get your ticket validated at one of the casinos.)

Now the questions become how much money do you want to spend and what sort of luxury are you looking for in a hotel? Will you be spending a lot of time in the hotel, or will it just be a place to sleep and shower? Are you alone or will you be traveling with someone, and what are their tastes? The older properties can be very cheap (depending on the time of year and if any major conventions or events are in town).

The room rates are very volatile in Vegas, depending on what’s going on in town and the day of the week (Friday and Saturday night rates can be double or more the weeknight rate). Also, the same room you paid $30 for one week may be $200 the next week (e.g., Comdex week). Call ahead and choose your visit dates wisely! If money is a factor and you don't feel like you have to stay on the strip, there are several nice, new off-strip hotel/casinos you might want to consider. I have stayed in a few of them, see my comments below.

The (New) Frontier
A lot of people remember the Frontier as that hotel where the picketters were protesting for seven years. That's all over now that new owners are in. It seems that most of the bad reviews the Frontier has gotten lately are from people who stayed there before the hotel went under new management, and are disappointed with the changes made since then. I can't compare the New Frontier with the old, since I have only stayed there after the hotel was sold. I've stayed there 5 or 6 times, so you can see that I liked it there. The Frontier has an "old Vegas" flavor that you might find charming, and I found the Frontier to be clean and comfortable, and a good location. Several of my co-workers have also stayed there, and I have not heard any negative comments from them, either. The hotel is certainly showing its age, but the regular rooms, while not luxurious, are very large. The tower suites are much nicer, but at a higher price. The pool area is very nice. The Frontier is one of the better spots on the strip to find full-pay video poker. It's great north strip location makes it convenient to many Strip hot spots, including Treasure Island and the Mirage. (Don't forget, you can ride the monorail for free from the Mirage to the Bellagio!) Weeknight rates I've paid have varied from $39 to $59 per night. News Flash: The Frontier is to be demolished in Summer 2000 to make way for the "City by the Bay" :-(

The Imperial Palace
This mid-strip hotel is one of the older properties, and is very large. The rooms are clean and comfortable, but a bit on the small size. The location is excellent, across the strip from the Mirage and Caesar's Palace. The weeknight rate I got there was $55. The casino is very dark, but I'd stay there again.

The Maxim
(NOTE: This casino is now closed. I'm sorry if you clicked the hotel link I used to have here and got a porn site!)
This hotel is about a block east of center strip, on Flamingo. It was pretty cheap ($49 /weeknight), but not as nice as some of the other cheap Vegas hotels I've stayed in. The rooms were pretty small, and didn't seem as clean as some others I've stayed in. I could stay there again, but would probably stay somewhere like the Frontier instead, all things being equal. I know some other guys who've stayed there. They swear by the $4.95 prime rib dinner!

Howard Johnson's
The one I stayed at was about 1/2 mile west of the strip on Tropicana, on the other side of the interstate (don't try to walk to the strip, you'll kill yourself!). It's pretty much just a hotel, although there are a few slots/video poker. Not much to recommend it with all the other choices available, but it was clean and comfortable with a fairly large room. If you get a good rate and don't want to stay in a casino, it will do nicely.

The Fiesta
Way off the strip in North Las Vegas on Rancho, right across from the Texas hotel/casino. The hotel is o.k., clean and comfortable, but not especially large rooms. The casino specializes in video poker, claiming to be the video poker capitol of the world. I don't doubt it. I've only stayed there once, but I go there quite a bit for the video poker. Also, they have a GREAT Mexican restaurant (Garduno's) and a quite good buffet.

Budget Suites of America
This is not a hotel/casino, but rather a suite hotel designed for relatively long-term, but transient guests. I stayed there two weeks one time, for a total rate that averaged out to about $29/night. They have about 4 or 5 locations in Vegas, the one I stayed at was about a mile west of the strip on Tropicana. It was kind of strange staying there, some of the rooms I looked in (the curtains were open) looked like they had been personally decorated. Obviously, some people were there for the long haul. Each suite has a full kitchen (but bring your own dishes!), and a separate bedroom with a TV in the main room and the bedroom (bring your own remote control too). Not very exciting, but I could stay there again.

The Carriage House
The Carriage House is not a casino. It's really a time-share condo-suite kind of property, but they do also rent rooms "hotel-style." In general, the rooms at the Carriage House are very nice, and the location (walking distance off the south strip) is great. If a quiet, non-casino environment is your preference, the Carriage House may be your choice. The room types vary from one-room "suites" with a microwave and mini-fridge to true suites with separate full kitchens and bedrooms. Make it clear when you call what kind of room you expect. A number of people in my company stayed there over several years, so we always got per diem rates (about $72/night), regardless of room type. Your performance may vary. Make sure and ask for a room on the west side (facing the strip) on the third floor or higher.