This was my first visit to Las Vegas, and I had no part in the arrangements for this visit, so I decided to check other reviews for Golden Nugget beforehand. YOW!! What a crap-shoot (pun intended). Then I realized that a stay here is pretty much the equivalent to being on a cruise ship on dry land, and that got me into the right mindset in advance, especially in terms of services, additional charges, etc.. This appears to be one of the better hotels on Fremont St., and that showed in the overall quality and service here.
The staff here were professional and about what I expected. We did get exceptional help from the bellhops and from the doormen in front when it came time to get transportation back to the airport.
We had rooms in the Carson tower which were reasonable. The beds were comfortable. I had a great view of a boxing match going on next door from my window on Saturday night.
With so many food options along Fremont Street, we only dined in the hotel twice. I recommend the breakfast buffet, especially on weekdays (it's $4 more on weekends). You get your money's worth.
The casinos are among the higher-end in the area as well, and very professional. Unfortunately, that also means higher minimum bets at many tables, if that's important to you.
The tube slide through the shark (and tuna) shark tank is cool, but you really can't see to much while you're going through it.
One bizarre incident - there was a minor earthquake here during my stay, and I happened to be in an elevator when it occurred. It was not pleasant, the elevator did drop a little before it recovered. We all thought it was the elevator having a severe problem, and we avoided that one the rest of our stay. But in hindsight, it appears the elevator actually recovered well from what could have been a nasty situation.