Hotel or Casino stay? What do you suggest with my requirements.

Here is my situation as a cheap charlie:

I will rent a car for sure! I do not mind using the Valet as casinos but I prefer to park my own car when I go back to the my hotel, because I may just be there to grab something or to shower and change clothes. I do not care if my hotel has a casino, I just want it to be clean, safe and easy to get in and out of. I strongly dislike the resort fees and I wish they would just add them to the listed nightly price. I will buying the new LVA book also before I go on my trip so if there are any good deals through that I would be happy to use them.

First time (2011) I stayed at the Flamingo and I thought the parking was pretty easy and the hotel was nice. The pool was nice there too.

Second trip I stayed at Circus Circus - it was crazy on the weekend until Sunday evening when it was easy to get around. Too many kids pushing all the buttons on the elevator so it would take forever to get to your room. I enjoyed the place once Sunday evening hit and I stayed till Wed.

Third Trip: Thinking of going again in March for 4 nights. I like downtown and I also of course like the strip. I would love to find a good deal at the Palms or Golden Nugget as I thought they were some of the nicest people working there but the prices are just a bit high for me to justify staying there. My GF and I are not big gamblers if that matters. I am just looking for the best bang for my buck!

What do you think of these types of hotels pluses and minuses:
The D
Palace Station
Gold Coast
Red Roof Inn (Paradise Rd)
_Your_Suggested_Hotel___

I do not want to stay at the Cortez or Sams Town.

Put the Orleans on your list.

Welcome to the Boards!

My pick would be The Gold Coast!
The rates are reasonable, right now they are running an Ad $29 a night and you get $10 food credit per night! They do have a resort fee (I agree with your thoughts . . . they should just add this too the room rate). I don't know what it is, last time I had a comped room. I think all rooms are remodeled now. They are small but I am not in my room very long in Vegas. Parking is very convient. I either use Valet or park in either parking structure that is just next too the Casino. They have good choices for food, Love the buffet for breakfast (I think it's under $5). They have a subway if you need something quick I also love Ping Pang Pong! Next time I want to try the steak house. If you stay here it just takes 5 minutes to drive too the strip. They have a shuttle (I've never taken it) I would not walk but I have talked to people in the elevator that walk this? (I asked how long did it take you and they said 30 mins) The location is great, it's across the street from Palms and Rio.

The other properties I have stayed at:

The D (Stayed when it was the Fitzgeralds, it was easy to get around)

Palace Station. Stayed here awhile ago and it was nice and easy to get around.

Another suggestion. . . my backup hotel is the Riv. It usually has reasonable rates.

A few years ago when I stayed at the MGM It took so much time to get from your room to valet (30 mins) that I found the group I was with did not do that much outside of the hotel because I was told "it's too hard too leave".

Have a Great Trip!

Dena

Thank you for your input. I hope others add their suggestions too. I love the details you gave on the Gold Coast and I will look into the Orleans as suggested too!!

The funny thing is that I don't mind having a nice meal out and spending a good money for a nice meal, but I am cheap on my rooms.

This is separate from the thread I started, but when I was there in November we had a great meal at "The Steakhouse" in Circus Circus. I was well reviewed and we loved the place. We also got a coupon for a free bottle of wine with dinner out of the LVA book.

Other restaurant notes:

Rio Seafood buffet - good but not great, maybe I hit an off night, but it was not nearly as good as it was 2 years ago I thought.

Caesars Bacchanal Buffet - OMG it was worth every penny and we loved it! Just about every cuisine served to perfection.

Paris Buffet for Breakfast - A solid choice for a very good buffet.

ESTIATORIO MILOS at the Cosmopolitan - We went for the flat rate lunch special. Oh my, it was so good. the wait staff are very attentive. This is a very nice place and a T shirt may make you feel a bit under-dressed there. We sat on the balcony and had the most delightful time eating and enjoying the ambiance of the restaurant. Trust me and take a lunch there, you will be happy you did it. Every bite tasted so fresh and light, it was a filling meal though. That will be a stop we will not miss when we get back.

Palms Casino Buffet - Best value for better than avg buffet food. Everything was really very good. I would say this was the best deal of bang for your buck on buffet food. What they give you for the price was really an excellent value we thought. We liked that it was not a mile long buffet and it was easy to get your food and sit down.

In & Out Burger - We had never been as we live in Cleveland and it was Excellent.

My vote is for the Gold Coast. Especially with a car, you can get very good parking and more importantly, you've got great access to the major roads. In my opinion, I think the Gold Coast may be one of the best values in Las Vegas. I used to be a die hard Golden Nugget fan, but I have switched my vote to the Gold Coast. The rooms are a great value, the staff are super friendly, and the food is very reasonably priced with other great options served by its neighbors (Rio, Palms)

The GC rooms are very nice since they have been remodeled and its a pretty good casino (and the hotel rates seem to be lower than most). I like the Orleans a little better (its more expensive and much busier) for its casino (rooms on the 18th & 19th floors are best). The Palace Station has nice rooms and at reasonable prices too (although its a smaller casino and tends to be smoky).
My pick...the Orleans, than GC, than PS.

We stayed at both the Gold Coast and Palace Station last trip, and will probably do the same in April. I prefer Palace Station, you cut the buffet line with a room key, which is nice. Only stay in the tower rooms which are lovely. The courtyard rooms are less expensive, but are like an old motel. I enjoyed the Gold Coast buffet while we were there, and in fact, we had the best prime rib there!!!!

Both places will begin to comp you rooms on minimal play, by the way, so your next trip will be even less expensive!!

Again thank you for your suggestions and I hope others add their thoughts too!

I have not stayed at the D before but I think that they now do have a Resort Fee if you don't have a comped room. I do think that the Plaza's not bad but they also do have a resort fee (but at least they have a pool and a gym).

I also think that Four Queens is not bad (and no Resort Fee). There are also pool privileges there with Binion's (if the pool is open). Other places with no resort fee that I know of are the Boyd Downtown properties of Main Street Station, California and Fremont (with pool privileges at California for all of these locations). But of these places, the only one that I have stayed at was Fremont. There were Shutters in the room (I prefer darkness when I sleep so the Shutters were letting in too much light for me) and the bathroom was dinky -- the Towel rack was inside the back end of the Tub/Shower. I stayed there in I think about 2004 or so and so I don't know if it has changed since then.

RecVPPlayer

The D, the Golden Gate and the Plaza are the only downtown hotels with a resort fee, which is rediculous because I don't consider any of them "resorts" as such. The Golden Nugget is the only real resort downtown to me and that doesn't sound like it's so important to you.

The American Casino Guide has a coupon where the 3rd night is free @ any of its places (Fremont, California or Main Street) but I believe using the coupon supersedes the food credit deal mentioned earlier. Plus it requires that you start your stay on Sun, Mon or Tues

Casino hotels are often cheaper tha regular hotels in LV because casino profits are frequently used to keep rates down in an effort to lure gamblers. I believe staying at a non-casino hotel to save money is a fool's errand because it's actually rather difficult to do. On the other hand, staying off-Strip or downtown can be a good alternative to the somewhat pricy Strip locations. Look at Tuscany and even Palms (if the latter still has the LVA promo into March) along with the aforementioned Orleans and GC

Do look on the available convention calendars and avoid those times when the city is expected to be packed. March Madness (NCAA basketball tournament) is mid-month and rates routinely double or triple for that weekend.