Atlantic City Hotels -- a balance

cowhead · #1 12-29-2006, 07:34 PM

I'm heading to Atlantic City for 3 days in February (probably a Mon-Wed, but possibly a long weekend) and I need to find a nice place to stay. I'm going with the girlfriend so I need something nice but close to or containing a good poker room. She plays poker as well but she'll also want to spend some time doing whatever girls do on vacation.

Suggestions? I can get really good rates at the Tropicana, Taj and Skyline.

Also, I've never been to AC with girlfriend or without. Any words of wisdom that I can't get with a basic search?

playersare · #2 12-29-2006, 09:15 PM

Trop > Taj IMO. she'll find more vacation-y stuff to do at the Quarter. and playing low limit poker there should be friendlier.

BBill · #3 12-29-2006, 09:51 PM

Resorts has a special on their standard rooms midweek. $59.00 most days. For instance Mon-Wed 2/12-14 is this price.

You can walk indoors to the Taj and Showboat poker rooms and the Resorts has a new poker room I hear.
I'm thinking about going in a few weeks.

Long weekends will be a lot more like about $350.00 per night for Friday and Saturday at the Resorts.

words of wisdom? well AC is not the safest place to walk around outside at night as opposed to say Vegas where walking on the strip at 4am is fine.

Have a good time

cowhead · #4 01-01-2007, 11:45 PM

Thanks for the advice. We were looking online for hotels and she fell in love with the Borgata so we might end up staying there... my only worry is that its far away from the boardwalk. has anyone stayed there before?

Jeffage · #5 01-02-2007, 12:56 AM

Borgata is a beautiful place to stay and play (great poker room, restaurants, hotel, amenities) but you have to drive (or take a cab - approx $12) to the boardwalk. You can also take a jitney shuttle to the boardwalk but I'm not sure how often they run from there. Cab is very easy.

What limits do you like to play?

Jeff

cowhead · #6 01-02-2007, 01:20 AM

Just 1/2 and 2/4 nl for this trip. My girlfriend will do the same (she's not a bad player but not great... purely for fun).

For a three day getaway, would you say the borgata is more fun overall than staying someplace on the strip? I know I'm being nitty about this but we never get away because we've got a year old baby, and I'm really surprised she agreed to do a gambling vacation instead of going to the beach or something. I want her to enjoy it so we can do vegas sometime.

Thanks again

Jeffage · #7 01-02-2007, 01:43 AM

I'd go with Borg - it's high end and she should have a lot of fun there (many great places to eat, very good spa which she'll like, shopping, many cool bars and clubs, great rooms). It's easy to take a cab to the Trop so you guys can check out the Quarter (cool shopping, dining, bar/club attraction) and the room there. And you could also cab over to Taj just to check it out - you'll get mixed opinions but I think it's something to see for sure and they've improved the room a lot (new chips, plasmas, tables, chairs, etc). Plus there are clubs, etc there and you can walk to Showboat next door (poker and house of blues theme), etc. You also might want to check out the walk (center of town, outlets, etc) which is fun.

But yea, Borg is VERY good stuff and is basically my go to in AC. Ample 1-2 and 2-5 NL. Trop has plenty of this too, as does Taj. Showboat mostly 1-2 I think. I'm not a NL player generally so others may know better. Have fun.

Jeff

cowhead · #8 01-02-2007, 01:46 AM

Thanks Jeff, thats exactly what i was looking for.

mxp2004 · #9 01-02-2007, 02:04 AM

Here a few things to consider, in no particular order.

First, the Borgata probably has the nicest hotel rooms in AC. It is a beautiful property and exceptionally well maintained.

Second, the Borgata probably also has the nicest poker room in town. It has 85 tables and a wide selection of games. Also, it has a great daily tournament schedule M-Th, including a $50+10 (with one add-on) with an exceptionally fair blinds structure for a low-stakes tourny. On Fridays, there is a great $250+30 tournament with $50K guaranteed. All in all, you will not find a better place to play poker.

The Borgata also tends to draw a younger, more energetic crowd. The hotels on the Boardwalk, especially midweek, draw lots of seniors, who take the bus into town for the day. On the whole, they are not very glamorous.

The only downside to the Borgata is that it is self-contained: it's over in the Marina district, and while there are 2 other casinos close by, none are in walking distance. If your GF wants something to do other than gamble, she'll get bored at the Borgata.

The Tropicana is a nice property, too, although some of the rooms are dated and show it. The poker room is OK, although kind of crowded.

The Tropicana has added a section called "The Quarter," which is sort of like a miniature version of the Forum Shoppes at Caesar's in LV. There are some great restaurants and bars there, along with a fair amount of shopping. It therefore provides some alternative entertainment to the casino.

Also, since the Trop is on the Boardwalk, you can walk to some of the other casinos. This may not be a great benefit in February, when the Boardwalk will be cold, windy, and largely shut down. Still, you'll find it easier to casino-hop with a base at the Trop as opposed to a base at the Borgata.

One final point: you will definitely find the Borgata to be more expensive. You'll pay more for your meals, your room, and for things like spa services. Having said that, everything will be first-class, and if you feel like splurging, you will really enjoy what's available at the Borgata.