Vegas Hotels Strato vs. Excalibur vs. Luxor

[bav]

[ QUOTE ]
hahaha, yeah, its still there.. I stayed there in october. It was super cheap...

[/ QUOTE ]

Quoting from the most recent 5 reviews of Golden Palm on las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor.com:

"Stay away! This place is Filthy!"
"Never stay here! NEVER"
"Worst experience Ever!!"
"...must say this place is a dump!"
"Not a hotel, but a hellhole"

At least they're consistent.

[DayTripping]

There is a reason they call Stratosphere "Skankosphere."

Excalibur and Luxor are both fine with Luxor being more expensive but definitely nicer.

[PorkchopDJG]

If you want to be near the big poker rooms like Bellagio, Mirage, Wynn and Venetian you may want to stay more mid-strip. Other than the MGM, poker down in that Luxor/Ex area isn't that great.
I would look at places like Bally's, Barbary Coast, Flamingo, Harrah's and such which can be just as cheap as those you listed but have a much better location.

[NicksDad1970]

I didn't mind the Strat at all. I'd either get a cab or walk through the Sahara, I think, to the rail.

It was more than just a lil stroll to the strip. If you're going to be doing a lot of back and forth I think you'd save money by spending more closer to the strip.

I spent $300 in less than a week on cabs.

[loose passive]

Here is some updated prices and options. The prices are for 1 person Air/2 days hotel. I would like to not have to rent a car or have to take a cab everytime I want to go to another casino. I basically want to stay someplace nice, but not break the bank. Any places I should automatically avoid?

Here is the complete list and prices from southwest.

Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower ( Standard )
154
Plaza Hotel/Casino ( Standard )
159
Fitzgeralds Casino & Hotel ( Standard )
169
Four Queens Hotel & Casino ( Standard )
179
Circus Circus Hotel & Casino ( Tower )
184
The Orleans Hotel & Casino ( Deluxe )
189
Imperial Palace ( Standard )
194
Riviera Hotel & Casino ( Special )
199
Bally's Las Vegas ( Standard )
209
Excalibur Hotel & Casino ( Run of House )
209
Flamingo Las Vegas ( Standard )
209
Golden Nugget ( South Tower )
209
Riviera Hotel & Casino ( Standard )
209
Aladdin Resort & Casino ( Deluxe )
214
Luxor Las Vegas ( Standard )
224
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino ( Standard Deluxe )
229
Aladdin Resort & Casino ( Deluxe SPCL )
234
New York-New York Hotel and Casino ( Deluxe )
239
Harrah's Las Vegas ( Standard )
244
Aladdin Resort & Casino ( Fountainview )
249
Aladdin Resort & Casino ( Resort Room )
249
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino ( Standard )
254
Riviera Hotel & Casino ( Petite Suite )
264
Hooters Casino Hotel ( Tower Room )
269
The Palms Casino Resort ( Deluxe )
274
The Westin Casuarina Las Vegas Hotel, Casino & Spa ( Standard )
274
The Signature at MGM Grand ( Junior Suite )
284
TI-Treasure Island ( DLX Deluxe )
289
Paris Las Vegas ( Luxury )
299
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino ( Deluxe )
304
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino ( West Wing )
304
New York-New York Hotel and Casino ( Spa Suite )
304
The Mirage ( Deluxe )
304
Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino ( Standard )
309
Caesars Palace ( Classic )
314
Luxor Las Vegas ( Spa Suite )
314
Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino ( Honeymoon KG Ste )
319
Monte Carlo Resort & Casino ( Monaco Suite )
319
TI-Treasure Island ( SV Strip View Deluxe )
319
The Mirage ( Premium View )
334
THEhotel at Mandalay Bay ( Suite )
334
Wynn Las Vegas ( Resort )
334
The Platinum Hotel & Spa ( Solitaire Suite )
339
The Palms Casino Resort ( Junior Suite )
344
The Signature at MGM Grand ( One Bedroom Suite )
344
Bellagio ( Deluxe )
349
Caesars Palace ( Deluxe )
359
The Mirage ( Tower Deluxe )
369
Bellagio ( Partial Lake View )
379
Luxor Las Vegas ( Tower Lxry 1Bdrm Ste )
379
Wynn Las Vegas ( Panoramic View )
379
TI-Treasure Island ( PS Petite Suite )
394
Bellagio ( Lake View )
404
Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas ( Superior )
419
The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino ( Luxury King Suite )
429
Wynn Las Vegas ( Tower Room )
429
TI-Treasure Island ( TS Tower Suite )
454
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino ( Bungalow King Suite )
459
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino ( Bungalow Queen Suite )
459
Las Vegas Hilton ( Standard )
484
The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino ( Venezia Bella )
484
MGM Grand Hotel & Casino ( Celebrity Spa Suite )
494
Bellagio ( Salone Suite )
529
Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas ( Strip View )
539
Wynn Las Vegas ( Parlor Suite )
564
Bellagio ( Bellagio Suite )
584
The Mirage ( Tower Suite )
594
Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas ( One Bedroom Suite )
734
Bellagio ( Penthouse Suite )
779

[AlaskaGal]

I would stay at Bally's if I were you....Right in the middle of the strip.

[robracing]

I would stay at the IP. $20/night cheaper than Ballys, plus it is closer to the best of all poker rooms, The Venetian.

[BrunoThePug]

The fact that Excalibur is on the corner of LVB and Tropicana makes it much easier to get around. Luxor is much better as far as rooms and what not goes. I've never stayed at strato but I gather that it's a dump.

Out of the three I'd pick Luxor any day of the week.

[JackOfSpeed]

A lot of the folks here are babies. The Stratosphere is fine. I'll grant that the clientele is different from a lot of the other places you'll find on the strip -- if you prefer not to play blackjack with anyone but well-dressed caucasians, then maybe you should look elsewhere -- but otherwise the only real negative is the Strat's location. I've stayed there twice, and would do so again.

[sternroolz]

Ok LP, here goes based on prices and location....

First understand that south strip, mid strip, and north strip are all very different and walking from one to the other is not so easy. However, walking to other hotels within a subsection is relatively easy except for north strip.

South strip is MB, Luxor, Ex, Trop, MGM, NYNY, and prolly Monte Carlo.

Mid strip is Aladdin, Paris, Ballys, Bellagio, BC, ceasars, Flamingo, Mirage, IP, Harrahs, TI, and Venetian.

North strip is Wynn, Frontier, Rivera, CC, Sahara, and Stratosphere. Wynn is walkable from mid strip, but Aladdin to Wynn is probably over a mile.

South strip features lots of low limit poker the best room of which is MGM. Low limit NL up to $2-5 blinds. Limit up to $4-8, maybe $6-12

Mid strip features a poker room in every single casino except BC. Low roller rooms are Aladdin, Paris, Ballys, IP, Flamingo, Harrahs, TI and O'sheas. Bigger rooms...and the best in Vegas are Mirage, Venetian, Ceasars, Bellagio, and functionally Wynn. Mirage to Bellagio is a super easy walk and takes ~ 15 minutes. I would take a taxi from Bellagio to Wynn, but it is walkable. Every limit you can think of.

Poker north strip other than Wynn is pretty worthless. OK low roller tournaments at Sahara but thats about it.

So based on your list, I would stay at mid strip and I would stay at IP($194) if budget is a huge concern. I just stayed there this past weekend. Try to get a deluxe room when you check in. These are very plain and average, but recently renovated. They are not worth extra money, but are nice to have compared to the regular rooms. IP is located smack dab in mid strip. 5 minutes to either Mirage or Bellagio. Across the street from Cesars. Deluxe rooms are comparable to Stratosphere's, but the location is key.

If budget is not so much of a concern, then stay at Ballys($209). Rooms are huge. Its much nicer than IP. You are very close to Cesars, Bellagio, Paris, and Aladdin. If you want to go to MGM, its not that far...maybe a mile.

If you want to stay at a truly upscale place, the choice based on price is TI($289). This is a true four star place. The rooms are comfortable...really comfortable, and nice. Theres a LCD television in each room, and the beds are outstanding. This puts you pretty close to Wynn, and there is a bridge over LV Bl that connects to Venetian. Its a 15 minute walk to Bellagio.

BTW, get a players card and get the $1 an hour comp they give you. Free food is good. Noodles Asia for free at Venetian at 2am after drinking all night for free is the nutz.