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.
fyi guys , you can always get a fridge sent to the room (Orleans any mgm property) ,I top 5-10 at check in and they always send me one (don't hang the DND until you get the fridge ). if you are too cheap to tip ,say it's for medicine
I asked about a fridge, it was 30 bucks, and supposed to be for medicine. I didn't ask, but assumed it was 30 a day. Not worth it for me.
I drive, so bringing my already-owned micro-fridge is a no-brainer. Unfortunately I seemed to have forgotten my brain so far on this trip.
I'm surprised they allow for you to bring your own fridge. I've seen someone getting stopped from bringing a microwave.
I think I've mentioned this, but I brought a toaster oven to Caesars in AC when we ran the half marathon. We made a long weekend out of it and had the DND sign on the whole time. The last night we came back from dinner/gambling to hotel security knocking on our door for a wellness check. Luckily I put the toaster oven in the car after the race because they searched the room. I'm curious what the penalty would be have been.
I'm surprised they allow for you to bring your own fridge. I've seen someone getting stopped from bringing a microwave.
I think I've mentioned this, but I brought a toaster oven to Caesars in AC when we ran the half marathon. We made a long weekend out of it and had the DND sign on the whole time. The last night we came back from dinner/gambling to hotel security knocking on our door for a wellness check. Luckily I put the toaster oven in the car after the race because they searched the room. I'm curious what the penalty would be have been.
It never occurred to me it wouldn't be allowed, lol. They actually SEARCHED your room? It wasn't really a wellness check then, they should've left as soon as they saw you were alive.
My micro-fridge is really small. As I mentioned, it holds a 6 pack of cans, no more. I doubt it uses a refrigerant, probably some type of Peltier mechanism.
I've seen people wheeling one of those huge coolers to the ice machine at Orleans. There are signs saying no filling ice chests, but rednecks gonna redneck.
I usually brought a toaster for pre-race toast with jelly but that one easily fits in the luggage.
I would expect that you're not allowed to bring anything that you wouldn't be allowed to use in an office setting without approval (in before sex toy joke)
I usually brought a toaster for pre-race toast with jelly but that one easily fits in the luggage.
I would expect that you're not allowed to bring anything that you wouldn't be allowed to use in an office setting without approval (in before sex toy joke)
Oh man, that's an idea! Hot bagels in the room!
It never occurred to me it wouldn't be allowed, lol. They actually SEARCHED your room? It wasn't really a wellness check then, they should've left as soon as they saw you were alive.
I think we were only there 3 nights and were confused when we saw people knocking on our door as we were coming back. It was a hotel employee (I don't remember their title) and security. We told them that we were there for the race and had a friendly conversation, but yes, they did search the room.
And I don't think they cared that we were alive if they searched the room.
Sorry for the derail. I assume a toaster oven is a much bigger risk than a mini fridge. I also didn't think the $25 charge at Caesars was per night, but I don't think I've ever had a room without one.
I wouldn't think a mini fridge is any real risk at all but I'm obviously not an expert.
I've read that the #1 "bad" personal item that should never be allowed at an office is a sandwich maker. I guess they have a higher risk of causing a short than most other appliances and stuff in there can catch fire. Also obviously the risk of boiling hot stuff dripping out and risk for personal injury but the latter at least shouldn't be an insurance problem for a hotel.
Based on that I would think that items like toaster and toaster oven are pretty high up the bad item list, too.
Based on that I would say microwave as well. Although I haven't seen Diesel complain at all about being hassled for his rice cooker.
Not to continue the derail, but an induction plate is much safer if you're looking to heat things up... and not all that big.
i can confirm aria and bellagio will bring you a free mini-fridge if you tell them it's for insulin.
Another Orleans note - they have room service! Horseshoe doesn't have room service. Paris doesn't have room service.
How sad!
Stayed in the Versaille tower at Paris for 8 nights for WSOP/tourneys. It's still for all intents and purposes a Horseshoe tower at least for now. Can't access it from Paris, can't check in at Paris.
Room was clean and generally comfortable. I had "strip view" and the noise from Drais was considerable. Luckily had brought some melatonin/CBD/THC sleep gummies. Shower recently renovated and they don't have a ledge for soap/shampoo which is incredibly incredibly stupid.
Would be extremely convenient for anyone largely playing deepstacks/megas, as was literally 2 minutes from a table in the Normandy ballroom to my room.
For $180 all in for 8 nights, definitely worth it. Hopefully they have shower ledge next time at least. Bring noise reduction/sleep aid.
Stayed in the Versaille tower at Paris for 8 nights for WSOP/tourneys. It's still for all intents and purposes a Horseshoe tower at least for now. Can't access it from Paris, can't check in at Paris.
Room was clean and generally comfortable. I had "strip view" and the noise from Drais was considerable. Luckily had brought some melatonin/CBD/THC sleep gummies. Shower recently renovated and they don't have a ledge for soap/shampoo which is incredibly incredibly stupid.
Would be extremely convenien
is Drai's every night or weekend only?
Nope, they have something called Caesars Eats, which sounds like Uber Eats. NOT brought to you on a cart, with real plates and silverware.
My Friday night Vegas ritual used to be:
don't eat anything all day to have an empty stomach
fly to Vegas
pre-game at the poker table sucking down $1 beers, which hammer me because of the empty stomach
when I can hardly stand, stumble to the cab stand and head for the strip club(s)
finish the job of getting drunk with expensive strip club beers and friendly young ladies. I don't know for sure because I often couldn't remember what happened.
get back to the room and order ROOM SERVICE because I haven't eaten since yesterday. Caesar salad, hot wings, and spaghetti. I could nibble on that cart all the next day as I nursed my hangover.
It's really a shame so many of these activities have been broken by circumstance. The best strip clubs are long gone and so is the room service. Just as well, I'm too old to enjoy these things as I used to.
Paris for the next 3 days is $800, not including resort fees of almost $150 and 10%+ room tax. That's WITH Diamond Plus status and some vp gambling recently. It's a far cry from 60 bucks room service to 300 bucks a night just for the room.
I was playing with the idea of a week in Vegas in Sept or Oct and OMG prices are high - $250 + resort for Vdara and then $300+ for the premium mgm properties and even $160ish + resort at PH or Harrahs. And they were the lowest prices I saw
I don’t have any profile so no offers but that feels $100 ish per night more than usual
Probably taking advantage of losing 3k+ rooms to stay in at the mirage and trip. Shouldn't effect higher price properties but could lead to higher pricec at low end Vegas properties.
Paris for the next 3 days is $800, not including resort fees of almost $150 and 10%+ room tax. That's WITH Diamond Plus status and some vp gambling recently. It's a far cry from 60 bucks room service to 300 bucks a night just for the room.
They are charging resort fees for Diamond members now?
ugh. Vegas is pricing out people like me.
