Along the front of the strip it's pretty much done. Most of the work is taking place between and behind the properties.

100% agree with both of you. I could see why they wouldn't offer any deals during CES, SHOT and the other super booked up times. But I just figured during slow weeks they'd be glad to have someone staying in their otherwise empty room.

So I just booked at SLS for a weekend the prices are great, is that because this hotel is still a ****hole?

I booked the weekend of march madness and it's like 80 dollars a night. I know it's far off strip but I got a monorail pass

We'll know after you review it.

Debatable whether it's "off Strip" since it's on LV Blvd. The monorail is kind of a pita because the stations are so far away from the casinos, but it is cheaper than cabs when solo.

Well they're having trouble getting people into the place and they've been closing restaurants. So I don't know if it's a ****hole or they're just desperate. I haven't stayed there but personally I did not care for the casino.

Well your question is timely, as I just stayed 5 nights at the SLS. I was in town for a trade show at the Convention Center and my work booked me at the SLS. Just a FYI as to where my views below are coming from, since 2006 I've made one or two trips to Las Vegas every year and have stayed at the following: Bally's, Excalibur, Luxor, Aria, Venetian, Mirage, Bellagio, and Cosmopolitan.

The design ethos is what I call modern kitschy chic, similar to what the Cosmo does. The SLS has three different towers and each tower has different rooms. I was in the World tower in a King room. The room is advertised as 360 square feet, fine for one or two people but smaller than other rooms around town. Personally I liked the room a lot but one of my coworkers, an older engineer, really disliked it. That said, everyone in my group under the age of 50 liked their rooms. Still, it's no Cosmo room. The pool wasn't open yet but it looks like it's a focal point to the SLS.

The casino is pretty dead. Midweek with one of the largest trade shows of the year in town and the casino was fairly empty. By comparison when I took the hike down to Planet Hollywood and Bally's both of those casinos were rocking. By Friday things had picked up but that can't be a good sign for a casino. The dealers and pit bosses were all friendly. The sports book is built into the house Burger Bar, Umami. It's tiny and I doubt will be sufficient for March Madness purposes. Actually that's not true, if you're looking for a tame March Madness experience then it will be fine. The food throughout the SLS was solid. I ate at the aforementioned Umami, the Northside Cafe, and Perq, and was happy with everything I ate. I heard a very positive first-party review of Cleo.

And now let's discuss the biggest hurdle the SLS needs to somehow overcome; it's location. It's on the Strip but so far north of everything of importance. You get north of Encore and save the Peppermill there isn't anything of relavence for the next 1 mile until you reach the SLS (and no I didn't forget about the Riviera and Circus Circus ). It's a 15 minute walk to get to the Convention Center from the SLS. Other than $10-15 cab rides everytime you want to go anywhere the monorail is your only alternative to reaching the action of the center and north Strip. At least the SLS monorail stop is close to the actual property. The Bally's monorail station is ridiculously far away from the Strip. I estimate it would take 20 minutes walking from the Bally's monorail station to reach the poker room and sports book of the Bellagio. The LINQ stop probably provides the easiest monorail access to the center Strip.

So in summary: definitely not a ****hole. I actually rather like it as a property. But when I return in March for the NCAA's I'll be staying at Treasure Island. Am I expecting a better room? No. Am I expecting to have more fun? Yes.

What was it that the one co-worker disliked about it?

Generally speaking he really didn't enjoy the kitschy chic style that SLS and Cosmo share. Specific room elements he didn't like were the two large mirrors (maybe 8'x8') on the two side walls of the room. The edges of the mirrors light up and create an infinity effect, which he really didn't like but I did. It makes the room seem larger but for my co-worker it was disorienting. Additional non-traditional design elements are the window shade (it's a black-and-white photo print) and the desk (a skewed glass top with an imbedded image underneath).

And I forgot to mention the wi-fi signal in the guest rooms is horrendous, a real sore point for guests in town for work needing to conduct business.

LOL, geez. As long is the place doesn't stink, is reasonably clean and everything works, toilets flush, etc I'm pretty happy.

Normally this kind of thing wouldn't bother me, but now that we are paying resort fees for these services, that would bug me a lot.

Got a 3 night stay coming up.

Would people here take NYNY for $312 all in with $150 of beverage credit or Mirage for $387 all in with $25 of food credit?

Beverage credit is nice and would probably go on some good beer at Pour 24, but idk if I'd get a full $150 of value out of it. Mirage location looks better, are the rooms a significant upgrade? Would wander the whole strip to sightsee, either way (well, Wynn down to MGM at least).

Wait, just found Monte Carlo at $279 all in with $50 food credit, I think that's winning.

Comparison of these hotels is a nightmare.

Are you sure you'd be required to spend $150 on "beverage"? Usually these types of credits can be used for any food or beverages charged to the room.

Deal specifically said 'drink credit' so idk.

I'd choose Monte Carlo

Mirage is a much better property. I typically don't pay for too many drinks in Vegas, so I'd value a $150 beverage credit at around 40-50$. This makes the decision pretty easy- Mirage.

Keep in mind there will be no poker room at either casino for your stay.

I'm a big fan of the Vdara for any trips longer than a couple days. It's nice to be able to turn off the casino at the end of a night. 24/7 smoke, lights, and all the hoopla can get to be a bit much. At the same time it's only a few minutes walk to Bellagio, Cosmo, or the Aria.

Mirage is a great location of you ask me. Super quick to get to the Venetian and anything in the middle of the Strip.

Thanks for reviewing. I'm 25 and we are just going to party. I just wants to make sure it wouldn't be nasty which it sounds like it's more of a location and preference thing.

I got a 3 day monorail pass and I don't mind walking a little.

Unless you have 100% occupancy surely they can't hate having a room guaranteed occupied for 4 weeks.

Can't say for all casinos obviously, but I stayed @ the imperial palace for the entire month of February once which I thought they'd be really happy about, it's not exactly packed on the strip in Feb. I thought I might even get a special rate or something lol... They wouldn't actually allow me to book a month in one go I had to book 2 weeks then check out and check in again!

Edit: I'm from the UK aswell so doubtful they thought I would act all resident like. Dumped enough money into those addictive video poker machines!

A month at Imperial Palace and you lived to tell the tale.

Haha yea I know... Place was a dive. Fun atmosphere tho if I'm honest and the poker room actually had some ok games if u were lucky enough to walk past @ the right time

Buddy and I looking into going to Vegas for first time this Summer. Looking to spend as little as possible but preferably on the strip. We were looking into Ballys but some of the pictures online made the rooms look really outdated. What are some suggestions for first timers going for 5 or so days?

Also, where would the most unexpected costs start to add up for first timers on a Vegas trip?

Outdated as in you're an interior decorator and can't stomach design from 10 years ago? Or "outdated" as in worn as hell? If it's the latter you're worried about, they tend to remodel one of the 2 towers every 8 to 10 years so you can pay a little extra and stay in the most recently remodeled tower.

Resort fees, for sure. Taxis also, if you don't rent a car. Food, if you're not judicious. Room service breakfast is so tempting when you're hung over and still tired, but it can easily go 30 bucks or more including the tip.

didn't mean to come off as snobby or anything but I saw two different room pictures and one looked outdated and the other looked nice/newer so I guess that's what you mean by different towers

are resort fees mandatory? what exactly are they for? what do they include?