Natamus knows of what he speaks, you would do well to listen. The main vibe I've gotten at the Rio was one of disappointment, and my bar is pretty low.

Yeah, it's a long trek. Probably a bit longer once you factor in queuing and traffic, but not much in it

I would stay at Harrahs, and just make my way to the Rio every time I'm playing poker. They've just refurbished all the rooms at Harrahs, or should have finished doing so by now, I would think.

That at leasts gives you the freedom of the strip, and plenty of options.

Good advice re favor 1. I've stayed at the Rio on occasion during the WSOP, but not for several years.... The Rio gets "old" very quickly, after 3 days, you will be looking to get out as often as feasible.

Great advice re favor 2. Save yourself a long walk....

im kinda a tad dissapointed i wont be staying at hotel/casino and im staying at palos towers but tbh you all did say its better than excal which was my first choice

next year IF i even DO GO, I l try to book in feb and get ballys or flamingos maybe if they are on par $ wise with excal

Both of those hotels are significantly better IMO

Any other mid-range hotels on the strip offering kitchenettes similar to Vdara?

There's Elara on the strip and Palms Place, which is off strip but close to the Rio.

MGM Signature has kitchens too.

I have an executive go room during the WSOP and wondering if the $20 trick is worth it. Is there even an upgrade at the Flamingo over that?

I am pretty that was the room I stayed in last October. I was very impressed with it honestly. Really dug the showers/bathroom. Elevators are pretty busy/slow certain times of day though.

WSOP would get way more recs at a decent hotel. Double whammy that Rio sucks ass and isn’t on the strip.

am staying at the V for a week in early June for wsop. Discovered today that the V pool deck is still going to be closed for renovation - they've been renovating all Winter...when I booked it was due to be finished by late Spring and then that evolved into 'end of May'

contacted them today and they said the reno won't be finished before I leave.

It's a real shame as I love an hour or so out there every day (I'm coming from Winter) do you think there's any recourse for a food and bev credit or something? Palazzo pool deck will remain open, but they're small and will be hugely crowded if all the V guests are there as well and they have that ****ty pool in the other tower.

I'm assuming they'll just send us to the other/lesser options and not offer any credit...particularly as I booked through hotels combined and not direct through the resort.


any thoughts/tips?

Are you referring to the small pool in the Venezia Tower when you say "****ty pool" in the other tower"? I agree that it's small but I think it's your only option. I'm not sure if you can PAY to use the Wynn pool "next door". I read the thread below & some said NO but one guy said you can for $20.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...as_Nevada.html

thanks for the link and yes ****ty pool was the one in Venezia Tower...other issue with Venezia Tower is how far it is from the main tower - if I'm situated in Venezia, that'll be the one I'd have to use, but otherwise it's a big schlep to get down to the main casino floor and walk through the property to the Venezia entrance. Same applies with Wynn - just can't imagine spending 20 mins walking there

if not I'll have to use Palazzo...assuming we can access Palazzo from the Venetian side of the property - there used to be an outdoor walkway connecting Venetian and Palazzo pool decks, but I assume that'll be closed due to the renovations.

from memory you can walk along an indoor passage way from the Venetian gym to the Palazzo gym and then access the Palazzo pools from there so maybe that's the go but...P pools aren't nearly as much fun and will be mega crowded if they're accommodating all the V guests as well

Stayed at Cosmo over the weekend.

Love the location. Room was really nice, spacious, giant TV's, good layout.

Pillows on the beds were godawful. Like 18" long and immediately squished to nothing when you laid on them.

Call housekeeping and get new ones, problem solved

Anyone stayed at Park MGM since the remodel? I stayed there when it was Monte Carlo and am getting a good rate offer so thinking about staying there this year.

Stayed there November last year, would 100% recommend if the rate is good. Room was on a par with Mandalay Bay imo, but location obv far better.

Thanks, I booked it. Decent rate and as you say good location.

Any recs for around $100/night total? It's been a few years since I've been to Vegas and I'm experiencing some sticker shock. I'd be grinding for the vast majority of the day/night, so the room doesn't have to be top notch, but somewhere within the vicinity of the strip would be nice of course.

Depends on the dates. If you're going during the week, TI runs maybe $120 a night including the damn resort fees, which is about as good as you're going to get unless you're willing to have an Excalibur type experience. Probably a little higher on the weekend nights. Although for a Mon- Thurs stay in August, Harrahs shows $60 a night with fees included - I hate Harrah's, but at that price I might bite.

MM MD

is excal really that bad guys? if you book super early you ccan get in for like 60$ a night there which Is what I will do next year I think.

im at polos towers for first time, good location I think at a decent price

Depends on what you compare it to. Wynn or the tunnels?

If you’re used to staying at motels next to the interstate, Excalibur is probably a pretty nice property. If you’re used to 5 star resorts, it’s probably not. If you’re somewhere in between, YMMV.

I wonder if we could get close to a definitive overall ranking of Strip hotels to include as a sticky at the top of page 1, perhaps organised into tiers as well

Would be a very useful default for people needing to make quick decisions

Thanks for the recs Hobbes.

Even Excalibur is $185/night total for the 5 nights I'm looking at, sheesh. Looks like I might have to check out airbnb.