Have stayed in both. Both are great. Aria is bigger and more like a one bedroom apartment with a fully separate bedroom. There's a giant pillar which is slightly annoying.

Cosmo has a balcony which is really nice to have obviously, with a sofa+ottoman. And a useable kitchenette with (I think) has a useable fridge and microwave.

You can probably find videos for both on YouTube.

I have stayed in both rooms, Cosmo balcony is amazing IF facing north but logically not the best for poker. You would have a small fridge in Aria but nothing else for cooking. There are a few different floor plans for the corner suite so we did not have a pillar.

Pretty sure with all Aria corner suites you have additional access to the corresponding lounge (Tower Suites is in the lobby by Lemongrass but most likely be the hidden lounge near the center of the casino). For me this is the deciding factor. It is nice to be able to run in the lounge for coffee/tea in the am or a snack in the afternoon, there is usually a happy hour wine/cheese spread, chocolate covered strawberries, cookies, etc.

Does the Rio rent mini-fridges, and if so, any idea what the rate is?

IIRC every room comes with a mini fridge.

I disagree with this. In my Vegas experience which is fairly extensive, most rooms these days don't have mini fridges, they have the annoying mini bar with overpriced items on sensors. Most hotels will accommodate a free mini fridge if you are diabetic. That said, I am not diabetic, but I always call ahead before checking in and indicate that I am and would appreciate a complimentary refrigerator for my insulin. They always accommodate free of charge. I believe the usual charge is $20/night standard.

Every room at the Rio he means (context FTW). And congrats on taking advantage of ADA laws, be sure to thank the next diabetic you see for his life-long suffering.

Running a bogus disability scam, this is something you brag about?

Loool

Alright guys lets cool our jets here....reading on mobile, didn't catch the Rio context. I had been reading the Aria/Cosmo comparison questions.

Also I think the real scam here is charging $20 a night for a mini fridge, I'm more than happy to bend my moral compass to ever so slightly to get a free fridge. I'll be sure to thank a diabetic next time I see one.

I don't understand how you can it a scam to charge someone $20/night for a mini fridge.

I'm staying at the Palazzo this weekend. They have what I believe is the most expensive resort fee on the strip at $39.00/night. To me it seems ludicrous to charge your guests another $20/night for something that I believe should be included in almost all hotel rooms, free of charge. Instead, they replace an empty mini fridge with their "mini bar" fridge, which has items 4x their regular price inside of it on sensors.

I mentioned that "I believe" multiple times above, because this is just MY opinion. I choose to request the free mini fridge citing a health condition that I don't actually have. For those that mentioned they think this is slimy, then fair enough, don't do it.

Someone also mentioned that there was an "ADA Law" in place forcing hotels to do this. That is incorrect, they do it as a courtesy. I don't mind taking advantage of that courtesy whether or not I qualify for it.

Didn't mean to highjack the thread. As for the Aria/Cosmo comparison, I feel that the Cosmo is the better option due to the balcony alone. While I haven't stayed the night in that room, my buddy had one a while back and I spent some time in it. The balcony was fantastic to hang out on in the evening and check out the lights.

I've never stayed at Rio. A lot of recent reviews mention mold and backed up drain in shower, bad shower heads, no hot water. Has anyone experienced these types of things there? I'm not super picky, mainly just want a clean, hot shower with good water pressure... and ofc, no bugs.

It does appear their rooms have a mini-fridge standard.

I just stayed there last month and encountered none of those issues. The room was spacious, clean, comfortable. It obviously isn't Aria or Cosmo, but it is completely fine.

Haven't stayed lately, but on 2014 and 2015 was there for a week and have no complaints. We had those remodeled rooms, and everything worked just fine. Rooms do have a mini-fridge as they are "suites".

The only problem was that once our first room was on the side of the tower with the ventilation machines, and I was able to actually hear and be bothered by the noise, but they changed us to other side and everything was fine there.

How is ingress and egress to the Flamingo parking garage? Do you get there via Koval? Flamingo Rd is a major cluster during heavy traffic. I would hate to have to use that road. I have to pick a place to stay for the WSOP, and Flamingo has the best price for the days I plan to visit. I'll be going up and down Flamingo Rd a lot, so ease of ingress/egress is important.

Howdy I was at flamingo last weekend and entered off flamingo. Theres a turn signal to make a left off flamingo, then a 4 way stop to turn in the flamingo. I chose it over the strip entrance to avoid the non stop line of people who never let cars go when there's no signal, but after being there, there doesn't seem to be much foot traffic as the strip kinda directs most across the strip to Caesars

Really the only good thing I can say about the stay was the service in the diamond/platinum check in and the location. I had a fab room on the 26 floor strip view and it was cheasy. There was no coffee maker or fridge, the bathroom was like a old motel a few blocks off the beach, light fixtures tarnished, old tub n shower head. No wifi signal in my room, called the desk and they said it's known certain parts of the hotel don't receive signal so he's authorised to adjust the $30 resort fee to $15. Knda turned me off they pull the old sell it broken at full charge and adjust if mentioned

After checking in went straight to bar top vp to get a few drinks, ordered n tipped 3$ cause I just wanted to drink not play vp too much. I taste it and think there was a mistake and I received just juice, I gotta wait a min before I can say excuse me i wanted and repeat my order, he keeps walking by and says "not till you finish that one" I was thinking I just tipped this guy $3? And said I think I got just juice, he keeps doin whatever he's doin and says "oh, there's alcohol in there..." I couldn't believe it. But still, I just checked in and wanted a few drinks before jumping in, so I slam the juice, put the glass up top with $2, hoping to get a real drink. Same thing, I was ready take my tips back, why am I tipping if it doesn't get me better service or a heavy pour? Charity? I can't believe a server would tell a customer to finish a drink they're not happy with, even if it's free and he remakes it the same way, then if still unsatisfied explain that's how they make em. So the whole trip I don't order what I'd prefer but stick to beer to avoid another glass of juice. Probably never stay there again cause that bartender and the pour

That's pretty sad. $15 for what? Phone calls that nobody needs, and the gym? And if you're Diamond you're not paying a resort fee anyway, you just get shafted.

Thanks for the review. I need to shop rates elsewhere.

also, am i just unlucky or do 90% of hotel rooms have a clogged up sink and/or shower drain?

When I stayed at Flamingo...
... there wasn't a chair in the room
... no desk either
... $50 min for 3/2 blackjack (unlike many other CET properties)
... no decent places to eat
... limited room service menu & hours

Yeah I stayed at the flamingo three weeks ago and probably wont be back. All the bartenders seem pissed off every time you order a drink, they wouldn't give premium or call liquor for a sportsbook drink ticket with a diamond card, and service at the tables was horrible.

Also they wiped out 6,000 of my resort credits to cover my room charges, which I never requested. I had to go back to the diamond check in to get them to reverse the charge and put it on my CC, and three weeks later after multiple emails I still haven't gotten my RCs back.

what are you saving your RCs for if not to cover costs while staying at CET properties?

I live an hour away from Harrah's New Orleans and visit twice a month. I use my RCs pretty much exclusively there for food, starbucks, room service, etc when my wife and I stay there.

I was splitting the $120 in room charges at the flamingo with 12 others so I didn't want to burn my RCs when my effective cost into the room was less than $10.

(and no I didn't split one room with 12 other people, we were there for a bachelor party and rented a house off strip. Just had the room on the strip to store booze, take a nap, etc.)

ah, cool, thanks, makes total sense. i have a decent stockpile of RCs and wondered if you had some better way to use them ha

Yeah, CET will say they "comped" you for this or that when they really mean they burned your credits without asking. They do this chain-wide.

Nah it wasn't this, the only charge was the room rate. Exactly what I booked back in January was charged to my credit card at the end of the trip. Didn't ask for it to be comped or reduced or anything. No idea why they tried to apply my RCs to the balance without me asking. They just haven't returned the RCs yet.