And then call the most attractive places directly, and you'll get a better price. It's been a long time since Kayak and Priceline delivered a good Vegas deal, at least for me.

Agree. For LV it seems like booking directly with the hotel is equally as good or better of a deal than the 3rd party online booking sites. Just my experience.

Staying in Excalibur for memorial weekend before checking into The Palazzo on the Sunday...

Having only stayed in Venetian, Signature and Caesers before I am pesamistic about what the Excalibur has to offer but no way was I paying 500+ quid a night for that weekend!

Let us know what excalibur is like please, i've never even set foot in the casino let alone the rooms. Dirt cheap tho!

Gold Coast is cheap and right next to Rio.... clean

Anyone ever stay at the Holiday Inn Desert Club on Koval? Staying there 5 nights in May/June before heading to the Rio for the rest of my trip. Excited about free wifi/no resort fee/full kitchen.

If you stayed there, how did you like it? How do the demographics compare to your average casino on the strip? And does the free strip/downtown shuttle take requests, or is it designated stops?

I have some experience in hospitality and I can tell you that hotels look down upon 3rd party reservations. You will get the worst rooms and reduced chances of a free upgrade plus other restrictions on cancelling/changing dates. If the price difference is significant and you're willing to deal with treated like a 2nd class guest go for it.

The Excalibur is fine. It's obviously old but it has it's perks. Getting to the Rio is a piece of cake from there by taking the back roads.

We are there for the UFC so will spend that whole weekend in MGM most likely!

The only knock I have on staying at the MGM is it is a helluva walk from your room to the car. I valet parked and it was still quite a hike.

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What is the best hotel for 2 guys coming in vegas to play cash games and some wsop from 5/29 to 6/9 ? We are thinking about Paris... but i see that there is not wi fi, any suggestion?

best hotel suggestion for me please?!....coming from may 29-june 3rd.....playing the colossus and grinding cash 1/2 and some 2/5....looking for a CHEAP option that doesn't feel dirty lol(not trying to impress anyone, only need the room for sleep when not playing basically)...and is close as possible to all the action...thanks

excal has great internet so does Flamingo

your cheaper places are harrahs, flamingo, ballys, linq, excal, hooters. If you really want cheap check out motel 6 or americas best value on tropicana by mgm oh and mardi gras on paradise

I read that Paris has wifi. I don't know why it wouldn't. All the other major Harrahs properties have wifi.

how bad are The D, Circus Circus, Golden Gate, California, Plaza, Four Queens, Mardi Gras, and stratosphere? all feedback is greatly appreciated

being as close to the Rio as possible is a very nice plus....but I wouldn't complain about a short walk(up to a mile or so) or quick bus/taxi ride...wifi/flatscreen would be nice...but no real min requirements other than when I lay my head down, I don't feel disgusting and sticky.

Nothing better than Flamingo in regards to price & location! Center of all the big poker rooms and also the small rooms like Bally's, Flamingo, PH. Great pool, basic clean rooms with the traditional casino feel!

I bet the wifi is not the best in some rooms but none of the older properties have great wifi. Like everything with wifi, some floors and rooms will be better than the far end of the hallway. Most poker rooms have wifi now days and most of the larger rooms have the USB chargers under the tables.

I would think most downtown casinos are about the same except for the Golden Nugget. I stayed at the 4 Queens some years back and it was below average and I wouldn't stay downtown again unless it was the Nugget.

Although above I stated I think most downtown casinos are about the same, the Golden Gate is an absolute NO, had a room there once just for a night as I was "suck" in Vegas for a random night because of travel difficulties and the wife made me move hotels even with having to forfeit the night's fee. The lock on the door and the door itself could have been easily pushed in with minimal effort.

Circus Circus is pretty brutal the last time I stayed a few years back and bad location.

Stayed at the Stratosphere about 8 years ago and it was decent, but the location is terrible. So lots of cab fair.

How bad is is pretty subjective, how bad compared to Aria/Vdara? Pretty bad I would guess. How bad compared to Flamingo, pretty comparable. All of them are downtown so it is not walkable to Rio and a cab will run you $20 to $30 each way I would bet. Bus you will have to transfer once or twice. Like others mentioned, pay the little extra and stay at Flamingo, Harrah's, Bally's. If you want the downtown feel, most of the places you listed are very comparable. Circus Circus and Strat are pretty much by themselves.

I have a room at Flamingo from 29 Jun to 3 July for $22 per night plus the "fee." I think right now Flamingo and Harrah's is right around 35 per night plus fee for these nights. If not a Friday or Sat night rooms are pretty cheap at these places and are right in the middle of the strip. Five to ten minute walk to Belagio or Venetian for the big rooms, a few more to Aria.

thanks ammo...im leaning towards finding a way to stay at the 3 you mentioned(flamingo, harrahs or ballys).....not really looking to spend 20-30 each way....but In my mind im going there to make money, not just have a good time...so ill have to adjust my mindset from spending like 2-300 on a hotel to like 5-700 I suppose... :-/

maybe on that thurs, sunday, Monday at least I can grind some cash and get a comped room or poker rate at one of those more expensive places?

When they first opened they operated a golf cart with a trailer, like the trams at Disneyland, to ferry people back and forth from the parking lot to the door. They realized how far it was and had planned to operate that thing on a continuing basis, but I guess they gave up on it quickly.

I don't think Valet to Tower elevators is that far at the MGM. Maybe, what, 150 yards? A bit further from self park.

There are casinos with further walks like the Mirage or Caesars and those still aren't that far given that most Vegas properties are large.

About wifi. It sucks at a lot of properties in Vegas. I have given up on counting on Vegas wifi and now I buy cheap short term data and when there is crappy wifi, I have a solid backup.

Roam mobility might be worth a look for data. That's what I use.

Unless I'm mis-remembering self-park is much, much farther than valet, which is basically at the front door.