Monte Carlo & Cosmopolitan and a hotel review from the Rio UPDATED WITH PICS!!

First off, wanted to say hello to everyone since I am a new member here
I been to Vegas about 3 times now and love it, I think I'm hooked. I'm not a big gambler, just a site seeing and resteraunt tasting kind of guy.

So far I have stayed at NYNY, Paris & the Rio. Last time I went was at the end of January 2011. Stayed at the Rio and had a horrible experience. My new girlfriend and I got food poisening at the American Bar & Grill in the Rio. The room when we first got there was horrible as well. I upgraded the room and we went from the 5th floor to the 35th floor. The room on the 35th floor was a dissapointment. Got the strip view of course, but with these huge black screens on the windows that were not removable. Couldn't even see out the windows and it was dark in the room all the time. Anyway, no more Rio for us.

Anyway, on to better things hopefully. I booked two nights at the Monte Carlo. I booked the strip view room. Has anyone had this room before? How was your experience at the Monte Carlo? For our last night, I booked the wraparound suite at the Cosmopilitan. I got an amazing deal with my girlfriend's discount. She is a nurse and get's a discount from some website her hospital has.

I am leaving this Wednesday. I have never been to Vegas in the spring. Times I have been to Vegas was, end of Jan 2011 (cold, but it was nice), end of July 2010 (never again, too damn hot!!!) and middle of October 2009 (very nice, a little warm but really nice). I look forward to everones replies, thank you.

UPDATE!!
Here are some pics. First from the Monte Carlo strip view room, then from the Cosmo one bedroom terrace suite.














Santana Concert at the Hard Rock Hotel

Welcome! Sorry to hear about the food problems you encountered. My wife and I have stayed at 23 different places around Vegas. There are others on this board that have stayed at virtually all of them (or at least 40 plus). I prefer the Rio over Monte Carlo. I always have a car so the off-strip thing doesn't bother me. The Rio pool is nice although the floating river and pool at the MC aren't bad either. I found the walls at the MC to be paper thin. It felt like I was in the room with the next door neighbors when they had conversations. I'm not recommending you change your booking (especially not back to Rio if you didn't like it). Just be aware of the thin walls.

Enjoy your trip!!

Thanks for the heads up liondownnow. Yeah, I don't think I will be at the Rio for a long time. There were other screw ups as well. They charged my credit/debit card 3 times for the amount of 220.00, which made my bank suspicious and locked down my account. Trying to impress my new girlfriend and having her pay for mostly everything until I straightened things out with my bank was pretty embarassing.

One thing I hate about the Monte Carlo is that stupid Diablo bar out front. Looks like it doesn't even belong there. I have always seen it there since I first went to Vegas in October 2009. It just looks like it was added there later or something. I also heard Monte Carlo's buffet is horrible, which doesn't bother me anyhow. I don't judge a hotel based on their buffet.

I just hope our stay is more enjoyable than it was the last time I went and stayed at the Rio. My girlfriend wants to go to at least ONE club real bad. I personally hate clubbing, I'm not the dancing type. But I told her I will try.

I think I will also hit the BJ tables this time. I have never played at a table in a casino, just slots. First time I went to Vegas in Oct. 09' and stayed at NYNY on my honeymoon, I won over $700 on the big Wheel of Fortune machine. I went to try and find it this past January and the slots manager said it had been removed. Must of been too loose or something?

I think some places like Luxor will give club passes to their guests so that you can get in without waiting in line for hours. I don't know any details as I'm not a club goer, but it may be worth researching. Plus, a corner jacuzzi suite at the Luxor could be fun.

You are the third person who keeps telling me to try the Luxor. I had a bad experience at their cafe when I first went to Vegas (found a pubic hair in my butter for my waffle). But I have never stayed there. I think I will try them next time I go. All my buddies keep telling me to only go for the tower suites.

My only stay at MC was last May. Overall I had an excellent experience, and would stay there again on a comp or (very) cheap rate. My room was a Monaco Suite with (partial) strip view. I didn't have any problems with noise from other rooms. I wouldn't say the buffet sucks, but it is sub par compared to other properties. Without a doubt, it's way over priced for the quality. I prefer mid sized resorts, and MC fit the bill on that one. The elevators are centrally located. Short walk to/from check in, casino, valet, etc. Staff was courteous and quite helpful. The casino is a bit subdued compared to the "hip" places. Hope you have a great stay.

I always stay downtown. Main Street Station is my favorite. You can always take day trips to the strip.

Just bumpin' this up so everyone can see the pics I added

Thanks for the pics. Glad to see the use of the tripod.

Cosmo always looks like such a nice place with nice rooms. Too bad a lot of the reviews don't match.

The price of something depends mainly on its cost, and the cost doesn't depend on quality. I doubt the buffets at any of the strip properties do well financially, i.e. I doubt any of them are "way" over priced.