I’ve stayed in both the Jubilee tower and Resort tower, (3x) within the last year. The renovations are nice, rooms are fresher and more up to date appearance wise. No issues with bathrooms, TVs , Safes, Elevators, etc.

It’s not going to knock your socks off - but it’s also not dumpy or disappointing.

Going back to Vegas at the end of May and end of June and have already booked Bally’s again for each stay. Personally I prefer Bally’s location on the strip and the ease to get over to PH (via inside thru Paris), when playing the Goliath.

I stayed there a couple years ago. Very nice imo. Next door to PH, close to MGM, and not a bad walk to Aria etc.

I agree with this. I did have quite a trek to my room one of the times I stayed there (and then the key didn't work, so I had to trudge back to the desk and back again with luggage ha).

Very solid accommodations in a good location, convenient to lots of other things.

Thanks location seems good. Slightly bummed no casino but whatever I’ll stay at excel or somewhere else next year . Can’t be too bummed since price is good and I THINK I GET MY OWN FUDGE

Got back from Vegas a couple weeks ago and stayed at Harrahs in the new...I believe it was called Valley Tower? Had the opportunity to get an upgrade for a better view but choose not to as I wasn't going to be in the room very much. Room was good sized and bed was moderately comfortable although I'm spoiled with a great bed setup at home so my critique isn't worth much in my opinion. Shower was one of those huge open ones without a door so that was something different. Water pressure was adequate.

I wouldn't pay to stay there but as a comp? Yeah it'll work. The location worked well for us as we ended up going to the Linq promenade 2 of our 4 days.

Vdara, a cautionary tale.

Had a corner suite, which was on the 12th floor and east side of building (facing the strip). Went out after dinner, came back and wife (who stayed in room to watch the child) points out that the neon sign from the corner of Harmon and LVB is shining and strobing right into the suite, both rooms. The sheer and shades did very little to stop it- there was no proper blackout shade.

So we gave it a shot, but couldn’t sleep. We were also concerned that the 2-year old would wake up from it, can’t have that. It was absolutely infuriating so I went downstairs ready to just unleash on someone, without having a good idea what a solution would be. Moving in the middle of the night- with a sleeping child- is suboptimal.

Desk moron goes in back, talks to manager for a second and comes back saying they’ll waive the resort fees. FUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOU. So I talk to the manager myself, who says they don’t have eyeshades, dark sheets, really anything. They can either attach foam board to the windows or move us. Ultimately we decide to move, to a penthouse suite where the lights don’t matter anymore. Military precision led to us moving without upsetting the toddler too much, so we lucked out there.

Morals of the tl;dr story:

- Vdara thinks they’re a luxury hotel but somehow doesn’t have a solution for bright video shining into their rooms.

- Always escalate to manager ASAP. He was very good, and although limited by the hotel’s limitations did whatever he could to solve the problem.

- if you have a corner suite at Vdara, do not let them put you on the east side of the hotel.

- don’t pay extra for a penthouse suite. The corner suite- which is cheaper than a penthouse on their ratecard- is arguably a better room. Assuming it’s on the other side of the hotel.

Shhh. Don't tell everyone! (It's my favourite too.)

Your usual excellent hotel posting.

Thanks for this one!

Thnx for the heads up...I stay there on the longer trips and never had been on a lower floor or on the Strip side of the property. While the view of the Aria roof and sign by the freeway left a little to be desired, it was not a problem being 45th floor and up.

Concur about the 'penthouse' being a disappointment value-wise. I had booked one of those rooms a few years back when I was out there for my 50th. I find far more value in what they call the executive corner suite. Booked far enough out, they can sometimes be had for under $150/nt inclusive of the resort fees and taxes (including mid-June, which made it ideal for my WSOP travel purposes).

A call to housekeeping gets the dishes and utensils brought up very quick...I had expected it to be a few hours and instead they were knocking on the door less than five minutes after I had called.

Flamingo vs The palms resort for WSOP ??
Any recommendations on which one should i choose ?

Where do you plan on playing during the series?

If you are spending 16 hours a day at the Rio anyway, there’s no reason to stay on the Strip and pay for transportation twice a day (or rely on a shuttle).

If you mostly want to play cash games or tournaments on the Strip and only go to the Rio every couple of days, there’s no reason to stay close to there.

yes i know the locations but apart from that ? pros and cons of each one?
thank!

Palms recently finished their $700mil total makeover that included all hotel rooms, that’s obviously a big plus.

I focused on location because ‘relatively cheap in a great location’ is the main selling point for Flamingo besides the pool area. If your goal is anything else than a budget-friendly hotel on the center Strip, there’s no real reason to stay at Flamingo imo.

Thanks!

I choose The Palms Hotel and casino.
Any reviews? did i made a good choice?
Where are the best 5/10 10/25 cash games during wsop?

Thanks!

Has anybody stayed at the Extended Stay America right by the Rio since it was renovated?

Palms was bought by Stations Casinos and totally renovated. I went in the other day and enjoyed the redo of the casino. They have new restaurant offerings as well but I haven't had time to try much. I think you'll enjoy your stay there.

Is the Rio really as dumpy as some people say? In Vegas for 1 event + cash games so will be at the Rio every day and would be nice to be able to get back to my room quickly after a long day. Prices look comparable to something like Flamingo/Luxor, which I have stayed at before and thought were fine.

It is what it is. Not terrible, but very tired in comparison to what it once was.

However, you're not getting back to your room quickly from the WSOP area, unless you're on a scooter. If you just want to be on site, then it's fine.

I’ve never played a WSOP event - what do you mean by that? Is the play area a long way from the rooms? I just meant not having to catch a cab/Uber back to the strip each night.

Part of me thinks I should just go with Harrahs or flamingo since if I bust the event I’m stuck at the Rio for no good reason.

Rio is just a mile away from Flamingo, and you're never going to be "stuck" there.

Rio is a dump compared to all the high end resorts on the Strip and everything else that got a remodel over the last decade. It’s not a dump compared to that 70’s motel next to the interstate you stop at after realizing there’s no way you can drive another 4 hours to get home.

The Rio is a convention hotel which means the property is huge and it might take some time to get from the convention center to your room. Not MGM-bad where it might take you 15 minutes to get to the front door but still a decent walk.

All the WSOP play is in the convention space, which is a good walk from the hotel.

Probably wouldn't take much longer to cab back to Harrahs/Flamingo from the bottom exit.

If you're only at the Rio for the poker, I'd definitely be staying on the strip and cabbing up each morning.

So if all I’m going to be doing is sleeping, playing tournaments/cash, a couple hours at the pool, my best bet is probably the Rio? I really don’t need anything fancy - just clean!

Thanks all for your input.

Edit: Re-reading the last reply, is it safe to say it would take about as long to cab to the convention center from the strip as it would to walk to convention center from Rio hotel?

I stayed at the Rio once 18 months ago and the last thing I’d describe my room as was clean...

Do yourself a favor and stay somewhere at least 1 step nicer. Do yourself a second favor and have your taxi/Uber/lyft driver take Twain ave to approach the Rio convention center instead of Flamingo.