Rio issues

I remember reading somewhere in the forums about Rio holding exorbitant amounts as a security deposit and then delaying release. I did a search of the forums and couldn't find it. Can anybody give me the details on this and any other recent info on the state of the resort? I understand food is overpriced and the gambling is good; looking more for the general maintenance of the hotel and vibe in the casino. TIA.

Yes. They will hold $100 per night as security, regardless of the number of nights. I experienced delays of at least five business days, and in one case seven, before my money was returned.

You're correct about the food,: everything there is pretty good quality but hideously overpriced. The gambling is indeed surprisingly good.

The overall vibe is nice IMHO; somewhat old-school. The place is huge and it's a long long walk to your room in either tower. The rooms are immense and they all have floor to ceiling windows. The Masquerade Tower is quite dated; the rooms have features like almost no electrical outlets and surprisingly small tub and shower combos.

Customer service is barely adequate; they're understaffed and it looks like they want it that way. The people I did interact with were great. The worst part by far is Rio Rita the phone bot, who is programmed to drive people nuts until they hang up in frustration.

Overall: you'll definitely feel you're in kind of a bargain basement environment, but where else are you gonna find $3 craps, $10 BJ, and 9/6 JOB? 

I think Kevin is thinking of a post maybe in a trip report of someone being charged $400 or more for smoking in the even though they didn't.

if it's $100 they charge on hold that's low compared to $200-300 and up some charge albeit returned to you at the end of stay.

Nope. I'm the one who made the post he's referring to. They do charge a $100 per night deposit.

Again, it wouldn't be such a big deal if they didn't drag their feet in giving you your deposit back. Technically, what they do is put a hold on your account for the amount in question (rather than a direct debit), so they could easily remove the hold the next day--after they determine that you have no outstanding charges (on checkout) and you didn't steal the fridge (maid). No excuse for that process taking as long as a week.

  I stayed at the Rio for 3 nights 2 weeks ago and the deposit they had for my stay was released in just a few days. Hopefully that is now the standard they will be utilizing going forward.

I stayed at the Rio in October in the remodeled rooms, I didn't have any problems with the deposit. The room was very nice, and the walk to the room wasn't a problem for me. They have full pay 9/6 JoB and 8/5 BP all over the place, including some of the bars. As well as the best available paytables on multiline and Ultimate X video poker. 

I lived west of the Rio in the '90's, and walking through the hallway from the parking garage was a bit nostalgic for me. That was when the Carnival World Buffet was booming, and I walked that hallway many times with my wife and two young sons to have the buffet.

We were there also in those days. When I moved the US in 2009 we made Rio our home resort. Great memories. Including the buffet (many times).

We are staying at Rio again in June. One week. Two rooms. Masquerade tower. $600 all in for both rooms. Best deal in Vegas.

The deposit is capped at $500. I had two deposits held up. I made a big deal out of it. They were nice enough to apologize and assign me a client experience manager for future trips.

I read Rio considering a buffet.That would get me there for sure.Having issue with Caesar's rewards.May stay at hotel next trip.Suite 7 nights less then $500.no resort LVA.

Please note I put my nickname Patsy now AKA Patricia 81 year old old lady

Patsy sounds great! I am a low roller too and miss the buffets.