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| - This is one of the oldest hotels on the strip and the owners know it. Which is why they have been spending a lot of time and money upgrading it over the years.
My review actually spans a 2 year period in which I have seen the hotel go from blah to better and better.
I stayed at this hotel in Spring of 2008. It was the first Vegas hotel I had stayed at since turning 21 years earlier and I couldn't have had a better experience.
Room 2008:
The room we were assigned was in the tower above the casino floor. Perfect location. Easy access to the $5 blackjack tables and the elevators were speedy.
The room had a large safe and a mini fridge. The mini fridge came in handy for keeping our drinks cold and storing our leftover food... which we never actually ate. The view wasn't great, but we did have front row seats to everything MGM. There was a rooftop party going on at the MGM one night that we could see. Not exciting, but something to see. :)
The room was very spacious for a standard room. The bathroom was incredible. Three girls in one hotel room, 2 with curly hair means lots of bathroom time and space is needed. We were able to spread out our gels, sprays and makeup without crowding each other.
Room 2009:
We wanted the absolute cheapest room and we were treated with the absolute cheapest location and room. Our room was across the hall from our friends so we didn't complain. The 5 of us were able to enjoy our stay and had no trouble with space. My friend who smokes loved that she could climb through the window (ground floor) and smoke. No long treks to the casino floor or hanging out in the hallway to enjoy a cigarette. The room wasn't as nice as the tower room from 2008, but it worked well for what we needed.
Room 2010:
More rooms have been upgraded as part of a massive overhaul. The tower rooms have been updated even more and the older rooms have been updated to the level of the 2008 tower rooms.
Dining 2008:
Garden Cafe. Scrumptious. I adored their lox and bagel platter (pre-GF) so I ate it every morning with coffee, tomato juice and lots of water. The Cafe is adjacent to the pool area so it was the perfect place to start the day. Great selection, decent service and good prices.
After brunch we would wander over to the pool area to sit still for a few hours.
Dining 2009:
Garden Cafe. Still delicious, still cheap, different location all of a sudden as part of the impending move.
Dining 2010:
Garden Cafe has disappeared. Where has it gone? I asked the customer service people but they sent me on a wild goose chase. Perhaps it will be back when the renovations are complete.
Casino 2008:
The casino floor is very dated. It has a lingering smell of age and pre-filter cigarettes. The machines are all new though. They have plenty of the modern animation based slots. The blackjack tables were our favorite hangout. We were 3 of the youngest women at the tables most of the time but we didn't care. We made friends with everyone and knew all the dealers by name and hometown. We would spend hours sitting at the tables and then go out at night and then come back in and sit back down at the tables. Never a dull moment. At one point, my friend was sitting at the table and the dealer told her to go upstairs and get some sleep... after she just blew $300 that she had previously won. Now wasn't that sweet of him? He could have just bled her dry entirely but didn't. Always a fun time with a great crowd of people. No snooty women or pompous trust fund babies.
Casino 2009:
Pretty much the same old thing. Some of the machines have been moved around and a new room was created for special (not high limit) machines.
Casino 2010:
The casino floor was actually still under construction but was fully functioning. The improvements that they had already made were fantastic. Everything was more open and modern. The old carpeting was gone and had been replaced with tiled floors and new carpeting. The layout felt airy and free. The smell of yesteryear was already starting to dissipate. I can not wait to go back and check it out again once everything is complete.
Pool 2008-2010:
The pool never seems to change. Sometimes it is full of life and youthful guests and sometimes it is almost gloomy; strewn with overly tan senior citizens and obese mothers.
The hotel boasts that they are one of a only a few hotel pools that offes swim up blackjack. The only problem is, I have never seen swim up blackjack actually open at this pool. I have been to the pool 5-6 times at different times of the year and still nothing. The stools are there. The water is there. Where are the dealers and cocktail servers? Maybe next time I will take my own cards and start a game. LOL
The arcade is "easily" accessible from the pool if your kids don't want to spend the whole day in the sun.
Volleyball is usually set up and balls can be rented from the towel hut.
Entertainment:
Les Folies Bergere was not great. Brad Garrett there now.
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