Jun 27 2011
Las Vegas Hotels
Who Has the Best Las Vegas Hotel Rooms:
This obviously depends on your taste and your budget. For what it’s worth, here’s our top-8 list for Vegas hotels. In these ratings, we balance good service, quality of room, quality of casino, and the highest consideration is overall value, to arrive at the rankings. Remember that when you are in Las Vegas, you should take a bus tour to learn about the city’s history and to get the lay of the land. Las Vegas tours are very helpful. Without further delay, here’s the list…
1. Mirage Las Vegas Hotel & Casino – The Mirage Hotel Las Vegas offers one of the best values in Las Vegas. Prices are reasonable, both for rooms and for food. The casino at Mirage offers many tables, good rules, medium stakes, good music at night, and a reasonably classy clientele. The new high-stakes blackjack and baccarat room is AWESOME! The rooms aren’t anything to write home about, but they are great for the price, which is the main reason the Mirage Hotel ranks so highly on my list. Despite the fact that Siegfried & Roy are no longer performing, their animal park is still open at Mirage. Go see the dolphins and the rare cats that call Las Vegas home. Read these cases about the Mirage and Treasure Island.
2. Bellagio Las Vegas Hotel & Casino – The classiest property in Las Vegas puts the Bellagio Hotel Las Vegas near the top of the list. The service has fallen off significantly since MGM Grand took over ownership of the property from Steve Wynn, but it is still amongst the best in Las Vegas. The real issue with Bellagio is the cost. Everything from rooms to room service to blackjack is expensive here. It also frustrates me that they have replaced most of their blackjack games with automatic constant shuffle machines. I refuse to play at those, so I am limited to searching among about 14 tables, many of which have minimum bet requirements of $300 or $500 per hand. Occasionally, you can find one or two tables with a $25 or $50 minimum. The bottom line is that is that if you plan to play blackjack at Bellagio, be prepared to play with an automatic shuffle machine, or be prepared to bet a minimum of $100 per hand. The new Spa at Bellagio is fabulous, and make sure you go to see the Cirque du Soleil show, “O.”
3. Wynn Las Vegas Hotel & Casino – Steve Wynn opened his newest resort on April 28, 2005. Although it opened at our number 1 spot, it has fallen to number 3. The only reason it’s this high is that it’s new. The service is falling off severely. Many employees have quit, citing “bad management.” Blackjack by the pool, fabulous shopping, great casino game choices, and wonderful rooms are a few of the advantages that make Wynn Las Vegas an attractive option. Click here for more information about Wynn Hotel Las Vegas.
4. Paris Las Vegas – The service at this hotel has fallen off since Caesar’s Entertainment purchased Park Place Entertainment. I’m usually willing to tolerate the below average service at this hotel because it is one of the best values in Las Vegas. Beautiful, relatively new, rooms at a reasonable price, combined with great food choices and an unusual casino environnment are the reason I rank this hotel third. The casino floor has a ceiling that replicates twilight in Paris, complete with one leg of the Tour d’ Eiffel jutting down through the ceiling in the middle of the casino. If you are on a tight budget, you can stay at Bally’s next door, save a few bucks, and still enjoy all of Paris’ amenities without the upscale room and price.
5. Treasure Island Hotel & Casino– MGM Mirage Resorts has re-made Treasure Island’s image. It’s now supposed to be referred to as “TI.” The makeover’s purpose is to appeal to a younger crowd, so expect things to be a little louder and a little wilder. Even the pirate battle out front now incorporates sexy sirens battling pirates rather than the original pirates vs. merchant marines. Rooms here are nice, a little cheaper than Mirage, and the casino is lively.
6. Venetian Hotel & Casino – Many frequent Vegas-goers list Venetian as their favorite hotel. If you can afford the high price and don’t care much about the casino atmosphere, it’s a great place to stay. I love the rooms, but for some reason, the casino atmosphere doesn’t do it for me.
7. MGM Grand Hotel & Casino Las Vegas – Another value play. This place has a huge casino and lots of rooms. The best thing going for it is the reasonable prices as compared to other strip hotels. As much as I dislike the Venetian casino, I love MGM’s.
8. Luxor Hotel & Casino – Unusual hotel built like a pyramid. Instead of elevators, it has “inclinators.” The location could be better, but this is one of the better places to stay in Las Vegas.
