VegasChatter

Room Reaction
The first room we were assigned at check in - number 3-20-03 – was pretty grim. It was a corner room, so it was cramped, dark, and had just one window tucked round the corner from the bed, so there was barely any natural light feeding into the room. We went straight back down to reception, asked for another and were shifted to one along the corridor, next to the lift (3-20-22).

This was a bit bigger and quite a lot lighter because the (still small) window wasn’t stuffed round the corner. And although it won’t be making it onto our list of great hotel rooms, for the price, it was fine. There was a rail along one of the walls to act as wardrobe, a sink in the corner of the bedroom, and a small bathroom with a toilet, shower over the bath, and annoyingly flickering light. (NB, in fairness to the hotel, we didn’t point this out to them, cos we were a bit unnerved by our stuff being nicked at the MGM Grand the day before and didn’t want to summon people into our room unnecessarily. Maybe if we had done, they’d have sorted it.)

What We Liked
The price – although we got a whopping discount by booking through Hotwire, it was still a lot cheaper than hotels further down the Strip, and when we asked how much we’d have to pay if we wanted to stay another night, we were quoted just $43 (for a Sunday night). We also loved the free access to the 1149ft Tower that being a hotel guest nabs you – this saves you $13.95 on normal entry.

What We Didn’t Like
As far as we were concerned, we had paid our total upfront, but on arrival we were stung an extra $7.50 each night for a “resort fee”. We were told, this was for “amenities” like “the room” (which we’d already paid for), and “internet access”, which we were charged $14.95 a day for. Hmm.

Our room was pretty noisy too. Not only was there a thunderous old air con unit huffing about, but there was a noise like a train rolling along that came around every minute or so from what seemed like above us. It sounded like there was a rollercoaster on the roof, although it could have been the lift shaft. Whatever. It disturbed us.

Finally, the location. Not only is it right at the top of the Strip, but it’s in a dodge hood – our check in lady told us that “single girls like us shouldn’t walk around at night, if you know what I mean.” Er, yus. So when you’re marvelling at the rates, factor in either taxi fares ($15ish to the Central Strip) or a monorail pass ($12 per day, though it stops at 2am or 3am on weekends).

Public Spaces
You can definitely tell it’s a cheaper hotel just by wandering around the place, but the slot machines are like any others further down the Strip, and there’s a good range of food available. And although the bar (Back Alley) is a bit sticky, we dug the band playing there this weekend (Graffiti – check them, and their natty little waistcoats, out).

Best of all though is the Tower. Even if you don’t stay here, it’s fabulous. And if you are staying here, you should probably go up a couple of times. Looking out over the town (and checking out whether the pools below us were of the fully clothed variety) made our stay here.

Bottom Line
We wouldn’t choose to stay here for the rooms alone, and to be honest, we’d be willing to spend up to about $30 more to stay further down the Strip, what with taxi and monorail costs/DUI guilt. But if, as it was this weekend, it’s about $80 less than staying down town, we’d go for it again. Just remember, you gets what you pays for.