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| - Over the years I have spent some time in the Rio. I had always been curious what it was like to stay at this Brazilian themed hotel. In late March when my dad flew into Vegas to spend a week, we decided on the Rio. In similar style to my reviews reporting on staying at a Las Vegas hotel, this is broken down to categories. Before I go on, since my dad paid for the hotel, pricing is omitted.
The Room:
The Rio's strongest point are their hotel rooms that are suites. We stayed in a room up in the Ipanema Tower. This is the largest Las Vegas hotel room that I have stayed in. It provided a northwest view where I enjoyed seeing the sun rise. The two flaws of this grand size room were that there was only a two drawer bureau for clothes and that the TV was to the side of the bed giving The Rio the honor of the first hotel room where the beds did not face the TV. In all honesty we were too busy hanging out at the Strip instead of in the room. The last thing I will write about the room is that the Maid did a great job keeping it clean.
The Casino & Public areas:
Whereas the room was grand, the casino and public areas were ordinary bordering on dull. Unfortunately Rio Management dethemed a large area of the Masquerade Village replacing Brazil meets Vegas with dullness. Gone are the parade,floats in the sky, and carnival vibe. In its place are banks of slot machines bordered by a sundry of vacant stores. In an attempt to bring some excitement to the Masquarade Village, the Rio opened a Kiss Miniature Golf in the former Seafood Buffet.
When in fact excitement is missing from the air, on the positive side so is smoke. The casino and public areas have strong ventilation that eliminates second hand smoke.
When it comes to gaming, the Rio is competitive. The large casino offers acres of games of chance from live Black Jack to video Keno. Being that my game of choice is Keno, the casino satisfies my gaming needs by providing a spacious Keno lounge with a plenitude of Keno machines.
Restaurants & Coffee:
The Rio is the home to Carnival World Buffet which happens to be one of my top Las Vegas buffets. I appreciate the 25% off for locals. On the other hand, I do not appreciate that the Rio replaced their cafe with a Hash House Go Go. In my opinion the casino cafe adds to the Las Vegas resort experience. Now instead of a cafe offering a variety of food 24 hours a day there is a void in dining during the late hours of the night. Hash House Go Go closed around 3 pm. Isn't Vegas 24/7? Obviously not because the main Starbuck's in the Penn & Teller Theater Wing closed at 1 pm. Worse than closing early in the afternoon is closing for good. Recently the Rio replaced the Burger King Whopper Bar with a Smashburger.
Location:
The best thing about the Rio's location is that the guest can spend most of the time on the Las Vegas Strip. The Rio runs a shuttle til 1 am between Bally's & Harrah's. Believe me we were on that shuttle twice a day.
The Rio is one of the three casino resorts making up a miniature Flamingo Road Strip. On my last day of the stay-cation, I walked this mini Strip. There is signalized crosswalk providing a safe crossing to the Gold Coast. Now in the Gold Coast, I walked through the casino to the southwest exit. Soon, in a signalized crosswalk, I crossed Flamingo Road to spend time in the Palms.
If you are a local like me, the parking garage is advantageous. Parking is still free at the Rio. On the contrary to parking at a Strip resort, parking is as easy as 1-2-3. This makes it convenient to combine the Las Vegas Strip with the local spots.
Amenities:
In my opinion, the greatest amenity at the Rio is the resort pool complex. If the weather had been a bit warmer, I would of spent hours splashing around in the vast swimming pools. However, I did spend a few hours relaxing on the chaise in the shadow of the Rio's towers. The Rio resort pool complex is more than a place to splash around and relax. It is a tranquil spot to enjoy an adult beverage in the sunshine.
When it comes to the amenity of adult beverages, there are a couple of neat bars and lounges. The Voodoo Lounge up in the sky is one of the spots that I would like to try and add to my "Rise Above It All" list. If I was in the mood for Kiss music, the Kiss Miniature Golf bar would make for a spot to spend time with an adult beverage or few. In reality, the best spots to have adult beverages are on the Las Vegas Strip.
One of the best amenities of staying at the Rio is that shuttle traveling across Interstate 15 to the nearby Las Vegas Strip. However, there are non guests using this shuttle to avoid the paid parking on the Strip. The consequence is that the shuttle is constantly filled to capacity.
My verdict:
3 Stars "Okay"
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