Last time I stayed in Vegas, it was at the NYNY. The room was crap…not quite bad enough to leave, but the average Best Western or Motel-6 would have been better.
I’ve stayed in an off-strip casino hotel in Vegas. The room was large, clean, safe, and cost $30 a night, and it was right across from a nice restaurant.
Did I mention the room cost $30 a night?
My brother gambles as a hobby. When he was doing blackjack, he always went to a downtown hotel. Better odds, cheaper rooms, better comps for his level. In those days when people thought they could count jobs, the downtown hotels played with one deck, not multiple decks like the ones on the strip, to attract counters.
The last time we went we stayed with friends who had a timeshare. We went off-strip because the surrounding casinos have more cheap machines. You can also park there - the strip is now a 24 hour traffic jam, I’d hate to even think about driving in. Strip hotels are fine as a theme park, and in allowing walking or monorail, but they have their downside.
Marriott has casinos. I think the JW has one. The Ritz Carlton in Lake Las Vegas had a casino attached as well. Most Marriott’s are franchises anyway. So if a hotel/casino owner wants a Marriott franchise, they could work something out.
I work in an off strip casino/hotel. I am an I.T. guy. I don’t deal with the guests all that much but we get lots of weddings, people who want to come but don’t like staying on the strip, conventions (smaller ones) and some who just stay at our hotel the whole time.
Our room rates can get really cheap and they are really nice rooms. It is a fairly new hotel and the property is nice. You don’t have the crowds like on the strip.
Also, many of the off strip casinos pay outs are way higher than on the strip. I went to the strip a couple days ago for the first time in ages. I was really shocked by the pay tables on the video poker machines. They sucked. Everything I looked out down there paid out way less than the place I work.
On a side note, my company runs the gaming side of a property that is owned by Marriott.
Slee
Yes you did. Trust me, it got my attention.
I would stay there if I ever went to Vegas.
For comparison: when I went to NYC, we deliberately avoided staying in Times Square. Because Times Square is really fucking loud, stupid, expensive, and trashy-touristy. We stayed in a cheap off-the-wall hostel and I feel I got a lot more out of my city experience as a result. But when I travel I prefer to try to see the place through the eyes (and mouths, smaller places are generally more delicious) of the locals, instead of a clueless starry-eyed nymph in a hawaiian shirt with a camera around my neck and a fanny pack strapped to my waist.
This seems like more of an opinion question, though.
Stay at the Western then. You might get mugged outside or a staph infection from one of the patrons. Plenty of local flavor there. In fact I think there was some local flavor in the beer there. It’s got to be dirt cheap.
You can get the old Vegas vibe at a lot of downtown joints, but you also get low ceilings and lots of cigarette smoke which turns people off.
Being on the strip just makes it easier to get around. If you want to go to a show at a strip casino, you need a car or put yourself at the mercy of a hotel shuttle. Most of the time it’s fine, but they end up being a pain in the ass when you least need it.
There are plenty of decent places to go off-strip and I have stayed at a couple. But it’s convenient to have your room on the strip, especially if you want to visit different casinos whether it’s to see a particular show or visit a certain restaurant.
If you are really cheap, get one of the motel rooms at the Imperial Palace. Then when you get tired of the Dealertainers at IP, go hang out at another casino.
I generally agree with you about rubbing elbows with the locals. However, there are a lot of vacation destinations where it is the land of haves and have nots. As a tourist, you are staying in the have area that has monopolized all of the resources of the area (Atlantic City, I’m looking at you) and when you wander off of the beaten path, you are asking to be mugged, beaten, robbed, and killed. Be careful.
We stayed off-strip when we went. Cause seriously, especially in Vegas, how long do you even spend in the hotel? You don’t even feel the night passing, and you’re up all night, wandering the strip and touring. I don’t need to pay beaucoup bucks for a really nice hotel; I can save on that and spend more on other crap.
I love Vegas. I want to go again!
Living 2 hours away, I visit Vegas on a semi-regular basis. I always stay off-strip.
Off-strip to me does not mean downtown, though. My choices are either the Orleans or the Rio, depending on how rich I am at the moment.
The Orleans sends me free room vouchers every couple months. If I wanted, I could spend two nights at the Orleans every two months. I don’t go THAT often, but it’s nice to have when I do go there.
If we aren’t at the Wynn (Strip), we are at M Resort. Beautiful place, one of the best buffets in town, great restaurants, nice rooms, a Hash House in the building…what else is there? It’s also far, far away from the tourists and the party-crowd in from LA. That latter group I actively loathe, so the farther they are from me the better.
Of course, it helps that we have never paid for a room at M. Every stay has been comped.