I am going to list these places in the order of my own comfort and enjoyment with the first being the favorite of this trip.
EL CORTEZ CABANA
Note the interesting shaped sink
Padded headboard and a fine fancy bench at the foot
Heavy stainless steel ice chest
Lamp detail
Mirror detail
Handy little shelf.
And yes, this place is very green.
I have wanted to treat myself to these rooms because the Pavillion is just not doing it for me and the Vintage meant a night of two other people's loud televisions, one on each side.
So I jumped at the deal that gave me two nights for $120 with $70 in freeplay and $50 in food credit, making the room free, depending on how the freeplay worked.
Mine gave me a $32 profit, so the stay was free, even if I lost plenty at other gambling.
I love green, and I actually like a smaller and more cozy room for my solo trips.
I loved the television and the refrigerator. Some don't see the refrigerator as it is behind a sliding door. I came in with a dozen bottles of water left from my Red Rock trip and with the little lemon squirt container I had brought with me from Denver, that made a fine, cold room drink.
I just laughed at the look of the place. For a solo traveler this was really too much.
I wished I was forty years younger and had some hot bit of stuff with me. It would have been a great room to romp in.
However, it was quiet. The blinds really did exclude most of the light. I was very comfortable. I slept easily and well. It was a fine place to end a long journey.
ORLEANS
I could not get the high floor rooms that Sailor recommended. I think that was because I reserved two queens rather than a king. They gave me a 19TH floor room, but it was just as nice as the low rooms, and next time I'll pick low, simply to be closer in elevator time to the floor and closer to the pool.
I swam in the cold water one day and then enjoyed the fine jacuzzi that is hot and spacious. The pool area is just wonderful, but they do not get the sun other places get, so the pool water can be icy.
I booked here to take advantage of senior Tuesday, but I lost money. Buddy Wild Bill who met me hit the senior drawing for $250 in freeplay and walked away with $230 of that playing video poker on the nickle triple progressive I like. It is a 9/7 DB with three progressives, one for each line, and then a huge progressive should we hit a dealt royal.
FOUR QUEENS
I had rented my Red Rock car the day before with the idea it would also at least get my luggage downtown from the Rio and so save me 3 buses. That worked.
I called and they told me to just park at Valet, tell them that I was just checking in and would be out in a few minutes. This saved me the parking fee of $3.
I expected to have to have the bellman store my luggage since I arrived at about 9 am.
The woman took forever to check the computer. She certainly looked around a lot. But she ended up putting me in a South Tower quiet room as I requested with even a sort of interesting view of the squared buildings from Bank of America back until the Statosphere broke the pattern of shapes. It was great.
My only disappointment was that the Binion's pool was closed because it had "maintenance issues."
Some other poster said they told him maybe June.
I hope they open as I set up my trips so I can swim everyday.
I had missed my second day at the Rio pool because the water was cold, the dead bug and leaf clutter on top was the most I have seen anywhere my whole trip and the music was a collage of Brazillian drum and percussion, which might not have been bad, except two separate forms of it, in uncoordinated cacophony, came from two opposite directions at the same time.
So after that experience, I could have used some relaxed swimming time at Binions watching the big clock and the helicopters at dusk from Binions in peace and quiet.
Other than the closed pool, the customer service was just great and came just at the right time, after feeling less than well treated at the Rio. I was so comfortable that I stayed my first night downtown inside this one casino and never ventured out under the canopy.
In between bouts of 10/7 DB I saw two comedy acts. The first was a 6 pm and was more magic than comedy. It was not Mac King, but I liked it for $10 especially when they gave me a $10 matchplay on the way out and it hit for $20 profit. Then with the ticket stub and $5 I saw the second comedy show, and I liked that as well. There was one really bizarre comic who had won an Andy Kaufman award.
None of this comedy was Rickles type of audience abusive or depended on f*** as the main joke getter. Some was good and some fell flat, but I liked the experience.
I lost money at the Four Queens and still had a great time.
And where do the Player's Club people say, " Don't forget to play your freeplay, sir," when you just ask for another card to be printed.
Last trip while getting a card printed I got a 2 for 1 for Magnolia's handed to me.
And they took the ACG double points coupon not just for the day I played, but would apply it to any of my play during my stay.
I think everytime I go, whether I need it or not, I'll get a card printed just to see what they offer. I liked too not having so far to go as I had at the Rio. I guess I prefer the smaller places.
CANNERY EAST
I tried to get a corner room again, but none were available. I did not try a $20 trick , however. I was only there one night. That may have made a difference. Often I don't take one free night with that close check in and check out, but in this case it satisfied my longing to play poker into the early morning hours at Cannery East and not have to walk in the dark to Sam's Town.
The room I had was fine; however, I understood the disconnect between my past praises for Cannery East and the other reports of the rooms being, "adequate but not plush."
If you don't get two complete outside walls of floor to ceiling glass, the effect is just not the same.
There are still some long, nice views.
I do like the size of the bathtub and the fine large computer desk table.
The view was fine too, especially at night, even if it was not the overwhelming view that two walls of floor to ceiling glass offer.
I like the theme of squares and rectangles reflected in all the art from the look of the casino to the neon lights at night to the carpet in the floor.
Wall art was a bit off that theme but interesting and much better than Sam Town's tacky room art.
There was a refrigerator and that was very helpful. If I get any offers beyond one free night, Walmarts would provide me with room supplies that could be kept cold.
The buffet here is just adequate, but was free with 4 hours of poker play, so I had it the night I stayed there and another night as well.
I ate mostly on the free and cheap, especially since I started losing money on day one, so I wanted to keep my bankroll safe for gambling. My eating is detailed here:
http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2011/05/tr-snippet-overview-of-food.html
SAM'S TOWN
Old victrola in the hotel room entrance
I liked being in this location for a trip. I have some relatives nearby and it was easier for them to find me. Also I wanted to try out the live poker.
However, this room was very basic and was least vacuumed room of my visit. There was a nice overstuffed chair, but it was under vacuumed and black, and I found that a turnoff.
This did not make it bad, really. The check in clerk listened when I said, "the quieter, the better" and gave me a room at the end of the hall, ROOM 463 which also meant I was free to play my television during sleepless late hours because it was on an outside wall.
At first I found it annoying to run my extension cord behind the television, and later I saw that this was unnecessary because the lamp on the table has a hard to see plug in its base. A handy plug along the wall near the bed made my sleep apnea machine plug in easy. In the other places I have had to put in an adapter to make more room on the light and clock outlet. I am constantly unplugging the lamp to plug it into my adapter and not having enough light to see to do it. Oh well, small annoyances. Here it was easy.
I had read some complaints about the cooling system. I seem comfortable, but it is a mild time of year. I could change the settings on the thermostat and turn off the fan at least for a short while. I did not actually get the hang of it, but none of this seemed bothersome.
The curtains here were thick and the best of my trip for keeping out nap time sunlight.
But as well as being a bit dusty in those obscure places that I look for bedbugs, or behind things I move to plug in my sleep apnea machine, this room was just boringly dull. The art was the most tacky. This country photo in the lobby would make sense and add enjoyment to the ambiance, but there was nothing like this. What I had was photos of fall leaves. This was May.
Bed bug inspection was helped by places being poorly vacuumed because it was clear that were they there, I'd see them. It was hurt, however, because these mattresses are so wrapped up in layers of this and that and covers and such that I could not really see the mattress itself. I have not seen anything like this sort of mattress wrapping.
I ate at the buffet the entire week and find it not up to the Orleans or Gold Coast, but adequate. I least like Italian night. I am not fussy about food on my trips unless I choose a place to just treat myself when I have extra money.
With the free buffets I won with posting on the American Casino Guide site, I took my realtives out for a buffet. The two free buffets included two free drinks for them, so that was a nice way to meet and we had a good visit.
I also gave blood here at the blood drive and they gave two free buffets, so I ate for free most of the week and without touching my points very often.
Other food advantages for me was a McDonald's that actually had a $1 menu. I don't eat there, but one $1 hamburger would be a meal if I had indulged the buffet at lunch. Also, I liked the little quarter candy machines in the front of the cinema. For a quarter I could get a nice bunch of Jelly belly jell beans. These are not the usual dull flavor os just sugar, but each color is so distinctive that they need to be eaten one at a time.
I went to the $3 movie. The comp machine did not work to print my coupon and I had to go to the player's club. They said that this happens all the time to that machine, so next time I'll print the coupon early. At the movies I treated myself to a large popcorn and on the way out got a free refill. That refill was sampled over four days and still tasted better than any bagged popcorn might taste. I did close it up in a plastic bag.
Once I had it with a little Cholula hot sauce that I keep in my room.
Popcorn makes a great breakfast.
RIO
Not swimming more than once at Rio did not preclude my "enjoyment" of the Rio pool cacophony called music, because during naptime I could hear the basic repetitive and unchanging drum beat all the way up in my high room. You know those scenes in the old Tarzan or King Kong pictures where they are in Africa in tents and for hours the drums beat and beat and beat the same repetitive sounds until the beautiful lead woman (who we know does not belong on this trip in the first place) jumps out of her tent with her hands clasped over her ears and screams, "I can't take these drums anymore; they are driving me crazy."
Well, I was that woman. Only it wasn't in the middle of the night and instead of my hands clasped over my ears, I put on my noise reduction earphones, which did help, just as they do on the airplane.
It was hard to nap with those and the sleep apnea mask.
I felt like cyberborg tourist.
And at times with the right pressure those earphones whistle. But I got half a nap anyway.
I brought my noise reduction earphones for the airplane, but this was the first hotel that has ever required them.
And, yes, I had asked for a quiet room.
Rio had just not listened very well. (I didn't want the hassle of a room change for just two day booking when I knew I was going to Red Rock during nap time the second day.)
I did manage the Ipanema Tower room and a great view. The room was the most spacious of my trip, but there was no coffee maker, no flat screen TV, and the wonderfully designed and separately wired for computer desk, that swiveled in any position, was not wired correctly and not working. My computer went out before I noticed this, so I needed to rig up my extension cord across the room after all and then some time to recharge my computer.
I was happier when I moved to the Four Queens.
I am also thinking that next time I earn free rooms fro CET, I'll go to Harrah's. I liked it better even if it is a luggage roll away from Flamingo Avenue which is my route of intecasino access. I can never seem to get Bally's as a possibility. I had problems at the Flamingo and their pool as well.
However, I'd have liked this better if I had been hanging around for the show in the sky, or for the music at the Gold Coast. It is a great location.
And I did like the art work behind the couch
I loved this mirror.
I loved the view
In fact, I liked the views out the window much better than those o the old television screen at a rather strange angle to the bed.
And just a note on television:
The best television was at the
El Cortez Cabana. Plenty of visual stations with all sorts of programing and music stations as well. They did not have my favorite TCM but if I got sick there, I'd find plenty to watch without being overwhelmed with commercials.
This time I covered myself as well by bringing some DVD's to watch on my computer. I only watched a couple George Burns and Gracie Allen but that would entertain me if I was not up to gambling or going out.
El Cortez Cabana rooms, Four Queens, and the Cannery East all had the large screen televisions.
Just a note on keys:
The hardest key to use was the Cannery East key that was required for the elevator. It would not always register and yet I could not access out floor without the right key. Great security because I could not even steal anything from myself, but a great inconvenience.
Sam's Town had a door to the elevator that required a room key. Once inside I could go anywhere. Usually people let each other in that door.
El Cortez had a key for the door to the Cabana suites and a guard or two in the lobby to make sure I behaved myself. I had a long, fine talk with guard Michael there.
And there is a designated walkway to cross the street. Cars are supposed to stop. Good luck in Vegas, where most of the drivers feel they own the road or ought to.
No such key systems at the Rio.
At the Orleans a guard visually checks you key on the way to the elevators.
