rev:text
| - The Excalibur is not the best casino on the strip, yes, but it is not the worst either. I actually stayed here this time and felt like I made the right choice. All I was looking for was a place to keep my stuff and take a shower between marathon gambling sessions and binge drinking and stuffing my gullet with massive portions of freshly killed carcass.
I checked out reservations online and then called them directly and found out that making a reservation over the phone was actually going to cost me a total of .56 cents more than making them online. WTF? So much for getting a better deal from calling the casino directly. Thanks MGM-Mirage!
When I arrived to check-in I was hoping all the negativity that I had read here wouldn't apply to me. Well guess what? It didn't! They checked me in 3 hours early with no problems whatsoever, they gave me a free room upgrade without me having to ask, gave me the location preference and bed size I requested, and knocked off another 46 bucks off the price of my total bill. The room didn't smell like smoke, and it was clean in appearance unless you really really looked for small stuff.
That being said, I like this spot because you are right between the MGM and the Mandalay pretty much, with walkways connecting that whole corner of the strip. The casino is aged but the employees are nice. I had a good time in the casino here and the lounges. I was actually kind've disappointed that I never got approached by the 'party girls' another reviewer mentioned! Right now the Excalibur is being used as a sort've experimental casino. MGM-Mirage is trying out new things here first to see how they work out, before deploying them to other casinos. An example of what I'm talking about is the video-poker room. They took out the traditional tables and dealers for this new experimental system. I didn't really care for it. I mean, you can't really watch a machine to see if it's cheating now can you?
Overall, if you are looking for a cheap convenient alternative for rooms and don't mind a little walking, the Excal is a good headquarters to get your party going.
|