Hotel Review Thread
Since there are so many questions about hotels, I was thinking it would be useful for people to post the hotels they have stayed along with reviews of the rooms, service, restaurants, poker rooms, etc. There are of course tons of sites on the internet with this info, but this will hopefully be poker and food-centric in keeping with the 2+2 demographic.
My experiences as follows:
Cosmopolitan: Rooms are, IMO, the best in Vegas. If at all possible get a fountain view room, they all have balconies and the views are tremendous. Wraparound suites are super sick but pretty expensive. Everything is very modern so if you're into the traditional look this place is not for you.
Restaurants are terrific. Wide range of options. Pricey but not totally outrageous. STK, the steak place, has a club-type vibe and is loud. The buffet is small plates, very unique. Holsteins has amazing burgers. The fish place has a lunch deal that is the best in Vegas, a 3 course meal for 20 bucks. I have not eaten at the other places but have heard from several people that Jaleo (tapas) is excellent. Would like to hear others' opinion of Blue Ribbon, the sushi place.
No poker, table gaming is pretty meh. This is a party spot more than a gambling mecca.
Bellagio: Solid all around. Rooms were getting dated and have been / are being redone - I haven't been in the new ones. The amount of tourists has always annoyed me here for some reason. Always dumb people blocking the walkways and taking pictures and ****. Tons of Eurotrash.
Restaurants seem fine but are overpriced (Yellowtail, Fix). Haven't done Picasso yet, everyone loves it. The snack bar is right next to the poker room and the food is pretty good and fairly quick as long as you don't go at lunch.
Poker room is very nice but floor and staff are terrible. They are condescending and blatantly favor regular players for lists and rulings. If you grease them you can skip lists. Action generally good and has good mid-limit NL holdem.
Wynn/Encore: Very nice hotel. Incredibly clean and well-managed. Have always received exceptional service here - once had them coordinate an in-room birthday meal / dessert / cocktail for my wife and it was perfect.
Much like Bellagio, restaurants are good but significantly overpriced. Their deli next to the poker room has an incredible $15 reuben sandwich that I get at least once a trip.
For some reason their poker room seems to be dying. It caters to nits I think, which drives away action players. Also they don't seem to be as player-friendly as Venetian and Aria.
Venetian: Rooms are enormous and very nice, but too expensive IMO. I have found the service here to be weak. Have had to wait like 30 minutes for bags to show up, was placed in a double beds room after confirming a king, etc.
Restaurant selection is second to none with reasonable prices. I have always loved Delmonico, Emeril's steakhouse. Get the mushrooms. Wow.
Poker room is huge and excellent. Good tournaments and exceptional customer service. Smoking hot drink girls and fast service. Competent dealers.
Only negative is that this whole casino smells like Vanilla ****. I hate it.
Aria: Have not stayed here but I'm sure the rooms are nice. Only ate at the buffet and it was awful.
Poker room is great. Best drink service in Vegas, good service, competent floor, good tournaments, really hot cocktail girls.
Mandalay Bay: I don't usually like pools but this place has the best pool I've been to in Vegas. Really fun spot. Anyway, rooms are surprisingly nice and there are lots of fun food/party options.
Poker room is small and poorly run. Only 1-2 nl I think.
MGM: Rooms are getting old, think they are being redone. Craftsteak is nice for steak. OK service generally.
Poker room is big but in a horrible spot with annoying noises all the time. They might be moving it?
Mirage: Rooms are meh. Pool is meh. Restaurants are meh, though BLT Burger is awesome. This whole place is meh. Including their meh poker room.
I think those are the only places I've stayed. Would love for others to share their opinions and experiences.
Yeah, I'm dreading the changeover to MGM Rewards from Identity. I took my first trip to Vegas about a year and a half ago. I stayed at Planet Hollywood which was fine, but I looked across the street at Cosmo and said I want to stay there next time. I did just that in December and loved it. The rooms, staff, restaurants, and ease of access to everything are great. I was home for only about two weeks and was offered three free nights and some free play which I used in March. I got home from that trip and got another offer of the same which I used in June. I got home from that trip and got the same offer which I'm using in November. I'm fearing those will dry up with the switch.
Identity gives you offers the day after your stay. I am guessing that will stop on 7/30.
EDIT: I only have free offers up until the middle of September, so your November offers are nice! I do have F1 offers, but I think I will decline spending that kind of money.
Anyone have recent experience of staying in a studio at MGM Signature please?
Currently booked into the Orleans but can cancel up until day before arrival and MGM Signature coming up "just" £200 more expensive.
Opinions welcome.
Anyone have recent experience of staying in a studio at MGM Signature please?
Currently booked into the Orleans but can cancel up until day before arrival and MGM Signature coming up "just" £200 more expensive.
Opinions welcome.
Not recently, but Orleans and Signature are in different worlds. The thing about Signature is you're sort of marooned out in the back 40. You'll be walking a lot. Supposedly PHo is almost as close as the MGM if you're staying in the third tower.
I talked to Cosmo yesterday. Identity benefits are still good as long as you book before the end of the month. I'm booking my airport transportation today.
Just called today to confirm my airport transportation as I didn't receive an email. "We no longer send out emails for that." MGM can ead and I am likely out.
The only good thing that MGM has done is to open the boulevard penthouses to the public.
Anyone have recent experience of staying in a studio at MGM Signature please?
Currently booked into the Orleans but can cancel up until day before arrival and MGM Signature coming up "just" £200 more expensive.
Opinions welcome.
I stayed at the MGM signature recently.
I stayed in a "DELUXE BALCONY SUITE". The room was spacious and the balcony was simple but nice (and the only one I know of aside from the Cosmopolitan). The place needs renovation/updating but was clean & fine. I have no complaints except that I underestimated the geographical inconvenience. I t wasn't horrible but was kind of a pain.
Paris just opened some balcony rooms.
The first balcony rooms at a Las Vegas Strip hotel in nearly 15 years just opened for bookings, presenting a rare opportunity for outdoor views from your own room. Thanks to the renovation of its new Versailles Tower, Paris Las Vegas now offers 38 rooms with balconies.
The 55-square-foot balconies have “unmatched views” of the Strip, Paris’ website states. The rooms also feature a king or two queen beds, a marble-accented bathroom and sofa. Prices are high right now since the rooms just launched: A two-night stay with check-in on Monday, July 29 will set you back $520 a night for the king balcony room. In October, the price goes down to $369 a night for a weekday stay. Those prices include a $50 daily resort fee.
Did they use Porter's pic from the Cosmo for that?
Thanks to lunkwill and pig4bill for the replies re: Signature.
Much appreciated.
I probably know the answer to this...
...but is there a type of hotel room with 2 beds in separate rooms that is not an expensive suite? Strip and off strip possible. Thanks!
I probably know the answer to this...
...but is there a type of hotel room with 2 beds in separate rooms that is not an expensive suite? Strip and off strip possible. Thanks!
Try Jockey Club.
Polo Towers, Signature Suites, Hilton Elara would be others to look at. All depend on your definition of ‘expensive’
Wyndham is a block or two off strip
Ask for connecting rooms. Know for sure Golden Nugget has them, Not sure about others but probably the older hotels have them.
Some years back, then-Bally's put me in a room whose number ended in 'A'. It was connected to another room. Seems like it might've been the living area normally, with a murphy bed, IIRC.
I imagine Horseshoe still has that kind of setup, so there's someplace to look.
Thanks guys. I was kinda looking like a cost-same-as a 2queen room type thing. Oh well
pretty sure Horseshoe has them, and don't need much status to get a room comped or really cheap
Some years back, then-Bally's put me in a room whose number ended in 'A'. It was connected to another room. Seems like it might've been the living area normally, with a murphy bed, IIRC.
I imagine Horseshoe still has that kind of setup, so there's someplace to look.
So does Paris. Their cheapest suite includes both rooms, a "parlor" and a "bedroom". It's a crappy room for a "suite".
Rio has more connecting rooms than any other hotel I can think of. The rooms there are decent sized and have all the amenities the other rooms in the hotel have.
Most hotels have connecting rooms-none will be available for the price of one room unless your using comps
Due to the decline of poker at CET hotels, I may have to resort to staying at an MGM joint, or Venetian, or even Resorts World on an upcoming trip.
Just doing a quick google, the room rates are outrageous. At CET, I can get quite a discount (usually) just by logging in to check rates. Is it the same at these other places? Although I have cards for these other places because I played poker there, I'm not sure I have any online accounts. Are there any secrets to getting reasonable rates at these places?
Due to the decline of poker at CET hotels, I may have to resort to staying at an MGM joint, or Venetian, or even Resorts World on an upcoming trip.
Just doing a quick google, the room rates are outrageous. At CET, I can get quite a discount (usually) just by logging in to check rates. Is it the same at these other places? Although I have cards for these other places because I played poker there, I'm not sure I have any online accounts. Are there any secrets to getting reasonable rates at these pl
I’ve never managed to get a decent price at an MGM property and CET always far cheaper. I just always stay at MGM anyway
I’ve never managed to get a decent price at an MGM property and CET always far cheaper. I just always stay at MGM anyway
Okay. Maybe I'm spoiled by CET being somewhat cheap. Might be because they don't really have a premium property (Caesars is marginal). Staying at a so-so place is usually fine for me, but I want to step it up a little for this trip.
I probably know the answer to this...
...but is there a type of hotel room with 2 beds in separate rooms that is not an expensive suite? Strip and off strip possible. Thanks!
Most hotels have connecting rooms-none will be available for the price of one room unless your using comps
I am way late to this, but I agree that most hotels have connecting rooms. However, for whatever reason a place like Cosmo has 2 queen bed rooms that are much more expensive than a one bed room, so getting connecting rooms may not be that much more. Just saying that it might depend on the hotel for the price difference.
Okay. Maybe I'm spoiled by CET being somewhat cheap. Might be because they don't really have a premium property (Caesars is marginal). Staying at a so-so place is usually fine for me, but I want to step it up a little for this trip.
If you're used to CET prices, MGM will seem really expensive. However MGM rates arent usually by searching the standard calendar and by booking offers.
E.g. last summer just doing a calendar search on mgm was like $100/night on the standard rates
But booking my offer of 4 free nights, I got some comp nights and discounted on the rest.
Login to your mgm account and see if you have any offers.
