The Golden Nugget has 4 star rooms and 1 star service. I was in Vegas on business and while I could stay anywhere under $250 a night I stupidly choose the Golden Nugget because it was walking distance to my workplace. I checked in around midnight after a nice airport delay and 5 hour flight and was told I was being put in an upgraded room. At first I though amazing but after dropping my stuff, popping an ambien, and laying down I realized that the music and crowd from Freemont St. were readily audible. The bass shook the windows and I could feel it in bed. I tried for a good 15 or 20 minutes to get to bed but I could tell that wasn't happening.
I made my way down the elevators and back to the front desk knowing that the ambien would kick in soon and I'd become a mindless zombie so I better get the issue resolved quickly. After speaking to the night manager and him telling me there was absolutely no rooms I begged for anything. He told me they might have a room with damage (I told him I didn't care I just wanted to sleep) but that they would have to check room by room. When I asked how long that would take because I would probably black out soon from my medication he asked "Why does it matter how loud the room is if you're just going to black out?" Honestly I couldn't believe what I was hearing but he repeated it several more times. I finally got fed up and went back to my room. Luckily they stop the music around 1 so when I got back to my room it was much quieter. Had I known that I would have probably been alright with it but of course no one mentioned that. I went to the front desk in the morning and they were able to get me something different that night. I didn't receive any apology and was told that if I wanted late check out I would have to pay for it. Most hotels go out of that way for customers but not the Nugget.
The rooms do look very nice and are spacious. The upgraded room I got had an added on lounge area with 2 tvs and another bathroom. The beds were comfortable and the hotel looked very nice. The lines for check in/checkout were longer than ideal. I was charged for Wifi even though it's supposed to be included in the resort fee, luckily I caught it and went back to the desk. Claim Jumper was pretty tasty though service was bad. I went to the Gold Digger club on a Thursday and it was empty. The water slide is nice and the water was nice and warm. I would actually consider staying at the Golden Nugget again if I was in Vegas to party but only if it was much less expensive than other hotels on the strip.