Rankings can be based on whatever criteria you so desire. Feel free to explain your rankings. I am looking for something that is good value, affordable, on the strip, nice rooms and good access to other vegas casino’s and attractions. Thanks.
Aladdin
Excalibur
Flamingo
Harrah’s
Tropicana.
Aladdin
Flamingo
Tropicana
Excalibur
Best to worst. Harrah’s may fall anywhere on this list, it’s the one I have no knowledge of.
Well, letsseee…In order of best to worst, here’s my opinion with explanation to follow:
Aladdin
Flamingo
Harrah’s
Tropicana
Excalibur
I despise the Excalibur now, not because it’s truly that trashy, but because it’s owned by (was Mandalay Bay Resorts) now MGM. (I should say pwned?) The MGM resorts have gotten progressively more run down and light on customer service in the last few years. The most noticeable decline being the Luxor. MGM are bastards when it comes to customer service, mainly because they’re a big name that people automatically gravitate towards, and they do not need to cater to regulars as much or try to retain a consistent customer base. I will not patronize them any longer. The suckitude in that place rolls downhill big time. What’s the worst about that, is back when I was poor, and we got to go to Vegas for one big weekend trip per year, the Excalibur is where we stayed because they treated us like gold. They were owned by someone else at the time…but the point is, that the attitude after the first management change to Mandalay Bay resorts was abrupt and almost tangible. I miss playing poker there back before they embiggened the room there, too. The intimacy is gone, and so are all the great dealers I made friends with.
The Aladdin, on the other hand, at the top of the list is where I stay as a rule. They treat me wonderfully, and are decently priced. The only complaint I’ve ever had about them is that they don’t carry Stoli in the floor bar, but they’ve recently remedied that as they’ve changed over to the Planet Hollywood. I reccommend them, but if things start going sideways there with the way the joint is run, I will be going to the Venetian.
The three in the middle are older resorts, and the only thing I can think of to say about them, since I’ve never actually STAYED there, but have passed through a million times is that there’s an old smell to them, and a different feel. Since I’m a part time smoker, the smoke doesn’t bother me, but there seems to be an abundance of that in all three middle places. These places are great for room deals, and I’ve never heard anything terribly disparaging about them.
All of these properties have decent access to other places, especially so if you’re willing to put out a few bucks here and there for cab rides from one end of the strip to the other. On a normal weekend night, a cab right might cost around ten bucks to go pretty far. The cab drivers that are worth a shit know how to avoid a lot of traffic, and therefore should get a bigger than average tip. Hell, I’ve had cab drivers take routes that pretty much consisted of other properties’ parking lots! It’s almost a game to some of them.
If you’ve gotten this far, thanks! I’m a little bored today. 
Of those listed, I concur with Faruiza’s rankings. We stay at the Imperial Palace, which beats all of those listed. Cheaper, closer to the center of the Strip. Older and due to get torn down next year, but still better than Excalibur or the Tropicana.
The only of those that I’ve stayed at was the Flamingo. What a dump. Pink and purple decor; stains on the carpet; peeling wallpaper.
We checked out early and moved to the Venetian; I felt like I had moved from a 3rd world country to Beverly Hills.
I stayed in the Flamingo just two weeks ago and was blown away by how nice it was. My room was obviously newly decorated and gorgeous. The bathroom was exquisite. Suite was huge. I ha d a 42" plasma TV with a hookup for my iPod. Without fail the service throughout the hotel was first rate. I paid $70 a night. It was ten times better than I had expected. When I ordered room service, it was fast and delicious.
At the same time my parents were staying at Treasure Island for twice the price. Nothing about the room was as nice as mine.
I’d stay at the Flamingo again in a heartbeat.
RickJay did it smell like cigarette smoke as suggested by Faruiza? That could be a huge drawback for my GF, she hates the stuff. I guess Vegas isn’t non-smoking? Ontario has been non-smoking for a while now, and I don’t even think about smelling smoke anymore.
I think every hotel room in Nevada is designated as either smoking or non-smoking. So you shouldn’t run into a smelly room, unless you want to.
From my experience at the Luxor about 7-8 years ago, all I can say is “They got worse? HOW?” That sloping roof makes for cramped rooms and back then the overall decor was tired and falling apart. We were simply passing through and Vegas was a convenient place to sleep for one night. But still, the place felt like a Motel 6.
My smoking comment above applies only to hotel rooms. Nevada casinos generally allow smoking, with the exception of a very small number of no-smoking blackjack tables. So expect to encounter smoke in the casino.
I know. Boggles the mind, dunnit? I actually really liked the place once upon a time. When we found ourselves sufficiently middle class enough to move up from the Excalibur, it was where we went…they were great, and I loved the spa.
The last time we set foot in the place, though, there were massive water leaks that nobody seemed to be doing anything about in the middle of the casino, the food at the cafe was barely palatable, there were these random phones in the cafe next to some of the booths, that had the ringer turned up to 11 that nobody would answer, and then they had the nerve to give me stink eye when I’d had enough after about three or four minutes of nonstop ringing in the middle of my meal that I answered it.
The other thing that pissed me off when MGM took over Mandalay Bay was that they cut the bellstaff and housekeeping departments by a third. They were requiring the maids to do waaay more work than was fair or even healthy (ridiculous quotas) and the bellstaff could not keep up with the baggage handling. We found out why later.
The last trip we took, we stayed there because we hadn’t found another place we liked yet, so I called up VIP services, made the reservation, had my card charged, showed up about an hour later, and was informed that I was shit out of luck because they had no rooms, and VIP services was at fault, and OH WELL!
After trying to straighten them out for an hour and making them find a room for me, (exactly what I’d made reservations for, gee, imagine that!) I informed the management that I would never darken their doorstep with my cash again. He didn’t care.
Gawd, I’m on again, aren’t I? I guess when a place pisses me off enough to make me stay away forever, I can go on forever.
Alright, so Excalibur is off the list. While the “Imperial” may be nice (as suggested by silenus) the website that I am using (and so far has shown the cheapest price) www.vegas.com (anybody have any other suggestions for a good website with Vegas deals?), it is rarely if ever on the hotel+air deal, hence my list above. The “Flamingo” seems to vary the greatest in price, from $1300 down to $400 and the “Aladdin” is around $420 or so (again it varies). Thanks for the rankings all.
Not in my room, no. My room was immaculate and plush. I’ve stayed in rooms at more than twice the price that weren’t as nice.
No, Vegas is not non smoking. All Vegas casinos, to one extent or another, have a cigarette smell to them in the casino area. The non smoking rooms shouldn’t, of course.
Aladdin - undergoing renovation, good buffet and restaurants
Flamingo - good location, not a big fan of pink theme all over the place.
Harrah’s - i just think its fits right in the middle considereing the choices.
Tropicana - Old, tired, but quite reasonable.
Excalibur - Unanimous choice for El Dumpo Grande de Las Vegas
Just got back from Vegas this morning. The interior renovations to the Aladdin casino look pretty sharp. You will have some pretty significant scaffolding all around the front of the place while they continue work. But next to the Flamingo, its got the best location mid-strip. That’s a personal preference since I like breakfast at Paris and dinner at the Aladdin.
Personally I like the Barbary Coast which is next door to the Falmingo. The prices are great considering the location. But since you noted an aversion to cigarette smoke, I might advise against it since the casino floor is not well ventilated.
I’m watching this thread with interest, as I’m planning to go to Vegas in late April. I’d tentatively identified the Golden Palace, as I’ve stayed there before and it’s not horrible. I prefer the older Fremont Street strip. I’ve stayed in the newer hotels a few times, but this time is going to be about the kitsch.
Any opinions on that one? I’d like to keep my five nights under a grand.
I just went to the site the **Queuing ** recommended, and it seems that the Stratosphere is less. How’s that one? I know it’s on the new strip, but if it’s cheaper, I’ll be fine with throwing my intentions out the window. I just don’t want to go the Motel 6 route, not in Vegas.
Never, ever, ever, ever, ever stay at the Strat. It sucketh greatly.
For downtown, the best hotels, IMO, are Main Street Station and the Plaza. For real retro kitsch, stay at the Golden Gate, which was the first hotel in Vegas. Small rooms and $.99 shrimp cocktails.
I mention those hotels on my website (see my sig line), but of those mentioned, I would pick Aladdin (soon to be Planet Hollywood).
That said, today I had cause to go to the Westin Hotel - a small place located behind Barbary Coast on Flamingo and it was surprisingly clean, neat and newly renovated. It used to be the old Maxim hotel. It has a small casino area and I couldn’t go see the rooms (they were booked solid, this being Superbowl weekend), but to be honest, the location is great and if you got a good deal there, it looked to be a decent place to stay. Again, I haven’t seen the rooms but the desk clerk told me they have all been recently renovated. Just a thought in case you are looking for someplace inexpensive.