Airport shuttle and bus question

No round trips. Take then from the airport to the hotel ONLY. I've been burned every single time on the hotel to airport return trip, by every shuttle company....CLS, Bell Tran, Showtime, Grey Line, it doesn't matter. The dispatchers and the drivers will lie to you concerning why the shuttle wasn't there to pick you up. I've had a dispatcher tell me the shuttle was stuck in traffic and when it arrived, the driver told me my hotel wasn't on his schedule for that pick-up time. I've had dispatchers (plural) tell me I wasn't on their list so I must not have called for a pick-up. I had a Showtime driver tell me he was at the pick-up location at my hotel on time but I wasn't there. I was there 20 minutes early and didn't call the dispatcher until 20 minutes after the scheduled pick-up time.

I think most of them figure that people are going to cab it back to the airport anyway and have no problem waiting for you to call them after they are already late, or that you'll take a cab after you get tired of waiting for them. They got your money up front and they don't give a damn.

We always take the shuttle from the airport to our hotel and ALWAYS take a cab back to the airport. It was too much stress waiting for the shuttles and wondering if we were going to get to the airport on time. Plus there were a few times we were getting some last minute gambling in and didn't want to be on the shuttles schedule. It is much easier to walk out of the hotel when you are ready to go and hop into a waiting cab.

Correction to the above post - We are NEVER ready to leave Vegas - I go kicking and screaming!

I would call to see if they have a shuttle from the hotel. Stations recently added one, so Coast may have also. They are usually not really advertised that much. I believe that there is a shuttle from Gold Coast to Orleans though for your transferring of rooms, however since you need two airport trips, a Fremont roundtrip and a transfer of hotels you may want to see if you can find a cheap car rental. With online codes and such sometimes one can be had for 20 bucks a day, much cheaper than fares and all parking in vegas is free.

I have always used the shuttle buses round trip without any problem. Sounds like I am in the minority, though.

There is a free shuttle bus between GC and Orleans which runs every 20 - 30 minutes til midnight, so don't worry about your transfer between the two hotels. Both the GC and Orleans have free transport to the Strip. It drops off and picks up at Bill's Gamblin Hall. No need to rent a car. You will have more trouble and spend more time dealing with parking problems than you would just taking the free shuttles.

As to choice between taxi and airport shuttle, remember, you are EACH paying about 7.50 per trip (or about $15 for 2 people). You can't be sure about the cost of the taxi because of variables, but I don't think it would be above $20 to GC. On the trip back to airport, don't risk the shuttle. Pay attention to the horror stories you heard here. It could happen to you.

If you take the shuttle, please consider asking someone at the shuttle company about their DROPOFF SCHEDULE before you buy your ticket. I say this because I once had a very bad experience taking the shuttle precisely where you are going - Gold Coast. The shuttle went up the Strip, stopping at various hotels on the RIGHT side of the street (Flamingo, Harrah's, Riviera, etc). Then it went to Las Vegas Hilton, then to Stratosphere, then turned around and went back south, dropping off people at Circus Circus, Mirage, etc. Finally, after dropping off all the people on the Strip hotels, it went to Gold Coast. We were the last ones to be dropped off. I'd say we were on the shuttle for about an hour.