VegasChatter

Check-In:

We assumed that for $72 (when booking via Caesars direct would have cost $180) would get us a crappy room. We also knew that the good rooms were in the Augustus Tower. So at check-in, we smiled our winningest smile, told the lady behind the desk we liked her nail polish, and asked whether we could go in the Augustus.

The answer? Not unless you want to pay $50 extra. Seeing as those rooms only cost $60 more than the basic ones anyway, we declined. We then complimented her hairdo and asked for a Strip view. She told us the only Strip views were in the Augustus Tower, and packed us off, hearts in mouths, to the Roman Tower.

Room Reaction:

The first thing that hit us on getting to the landing was the smell. As we tweeted, it was a mix of stale air, cleaning fluids and stuff that normally gets flushed away. The room was slightly better but it was still a bit stinky, and had no way of airing it.

Although the room itself wasn’t exactly skanky, it was incredibly tired and one of the most boring we’ve been in for a while. The TV was a hulking thing we predict was installed in 1988, the net curtains probably hadn’t been cleaned much more recently, and the only attempt at jazzing things up were two faux Roman, faux marble pictures on the wall (note to hotels: jazzing up with colorless artwork = jazzing up fail). It was the kind of room that makes you yawn on entry (although maybe that’s the lack of fresh air).

The bathroom was nicer – we liked the marble sink area with the mini TV, and the Caesars logo reminded us where we were staying. Our least favorite thing – the wardrobe. Make that “wardrobe” – because it was just a rack with some hangers slapped against the wall of the bathroom. WTF? For a start, we like a wardrobe to have a door when we’re in a 4.5 star hotel. For another, we expect it to be located outside the bathroom so our pretty dresses don’t get skanked up by the steam and the splashing water and any stray aromas. Even the Stratosphere has the grace to stick its shelf-wardrobes in the bedroom, so we were highly unimpressed by this.

Amenity Madness:

Caesars tat hunters will appreciate the amount of logoed stuff in the rooms. We appropriated pens, notepads, headed paper and envelopes, and some Gilchrist and Soame-produced Caesars toiletries (a bag of which sells for $20 in the shop downstairs). Even the hygiene lids that go on the top of glasses have an imperial head on them. Shame that, because they were sat on the safe, in the toilet-wardrobe, we didn’t touch them.

Internet Connect:

WiFi costs $14.99 per computer. Even though we appreciate the fact that Harrah’s doesn’t have resort fees, stinging you per computer is ridiculous – it meant that, as we and our friend both had work to do, we paid $30 more for the room. Also, that price only stands if you use the WiFi in-room. If you want to take it on the move, it’s $24.95 a head.

What We Liked:

The little TV in the bathroom (although we disliked not seeing Matt Goss performing on there). And the view – despite it being a bit whatevs in the daytime, it really came into its own at night, with the Flamingo’s plume sparkling away. We’re not quite sure why the woman at check-in told us the only place we could get a Strip view was the Augustus Tower. Was she being nice, and not counting this as a Strip view because of the acres of roof in your vision before you hit the Strip? Or was she trying to get us to fork over $50? Your guess is as good as ours.

What We Didn’t Like:

The wardrobe in the bathroom. The threadbare towels that belonged in a cheap motel. The stained bath handle (see the video). The fact that we found one of those 8-inch size labels that they stick on the front of t-shirts and shirts stuck on the wall by the bathroom mirror (size XXL, FYI) which the maid had missed. The smell. The overwhelming feel of blah that we felt in entering the room. The fact that we’d been dreaming of staying at Caesars ever since we bought our Tom Jones Live at Caesars LP and that our dream came to this.

Bottom Line:

For $72, we’re not going to grouch too much - $72, after all, is a good price for the Strip, and it was worth it for the location, the cachet of staying at Caesars, and waking up to Donny and Marie’s grins in the morning. But for $180, which is what we should have paid if we’d booked direct? Nah. For $575, as the bottom rate is for later this month? Not on your life.