Laughlin Trip Report
In my last blog I talked about planning a trip to Harrah’s Laughlin for a purely recreational vacation, a change from Brad’s and my usual serious advantage-play casino visits. Many readers asked for a trip report.
One can “get lucky” on recreational non-advantage play, but we did not on this trip. So, our losses on our play just went into the column of “Vacation Expenses.” But we had a relaxing and fun time, which was our goal.
We aren’t finicky foodies, so we enjoy the buffet, especially at breakfast. Locals – and Vegas residents are considered “local” – automatically get the 2-for-1 price during the breakfast/lunch serving time. We also like their Beach Café where prices are very reasonable. We have eaten at the Range Steakhouse many times and it is always top-notch when we want to go gourmet.
Since we are both at the Seven Star players club level, we took advantage of their Diamond Lounge frequently. They serve hot food from 4 p.m. opening weekdays, at noon on the weekends. We eat very lightly these days, so we often find items we like to make our complete small meals. We especially like their chunky chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts. Seven Stars have an added benefit of a special-order appetizer/dessert menu. Brad is a chocaholic but met his match with the “too-rich” double-chocolate cake selection and the next time joined me in the tasty and lighter ice cream and berry option.
We have been to Laughlin many times over the last 30+ years and enjoyed many of the fun activities this area affords. Back when we were younger and long walks was our exercise of choice, we would hike the “river strip” – even in the hot summer heat. It was an easier walk down from Harrah’s to the Riverside, but then we had to tackle the strenuous climb back up the hill on the way back, stopping often to cool off at each casino along the way. These days when we want to visit other casinos, we take the river taxi!
Harrah’s is definitely a family destination. Especially during the weekends, the restaurants, beach, and family pool are crowded with kids. Good there is also an adult-only pool for a quieter experience! The sandy beach is popular for all ages and the jet ski rental business there is booming all summer.
Down through the years we have enjoyed many side road trips. The Indian-owned Avi Resort and Casino 25 miles down the Colorado River has a Vegas-style hotel and casino, with many amenities that include a movie theater, an RV park, and beach and water activities.
You can see the original London Bridge, dismantled and brought over from England and reassembled, in Lake Havasu City, AZ. An adventurous way to get there, which we did with our granddaughter and her friend, is on a jet boat that leaves the beach at Harrah’s for a scenic 2-hour ride 60 miles down the Colorado River. There will be a stopover in Havasu City to see the bridge and have lunch and then the cruise back to Laughlin.
One of our favorite places to take friends and family is the historic former mining town of Oatman, Arizona, on Route 66, about a 45-minute drive from Laughlin. These days it is a quirky tourist destination with fake gunfights in the streets, wild burros roaming carefree, and the usual places to eat and drink and buy kitschy souvenirs. If you don’t mind crowds and long walks after you finally find a parking place, hit the town during special events like the annual Bed Races or the Sidewalk Egg Fry Contest on the 4th of July. If you don’t have a car, there are commercial tours to Oatman and to many of the other attractions around Laughlin.
Many visitors to Laughlin are those who drive from Las Vegas, as we did. That drive used to be a traffic nightmare before a divided highway was built. And now it is even easier since the bypass around the Railroad Pass Casino has been completed. However, a little bit of the old bad memories came back on this last trip since there is now construction between Searchlight and the Laughlin turn-off and we had to contend with about 16 miles of no-passing single lanes coming and going! ☹ I talked about bus service between Las Vegas and Laughlin in a recent post but you need to Google that subject for up-to-date information since these opportunities have come and gone down through the years, especially free trips sponsored by the Laughlin casinos.
One thing that many people may not know about is that Harrah’s Laughlin runs numerous air charter trips from many parts of the country, mainly the Midwest and South. Some visitors take these charter packages regularly every few months, praising their convenience, with straight-through flights and included room accommodations. When they land in the Bullhead City airport across the river, a bus is waiting to take them straight to the hotel. The prices for these vary, but for many visitors, after they pay for the first trip, the future ones can be discounted or completely comped depending on their previous casino play history. Some gamblers feel Laughlin is more laid-back, more like the good old days, and opt for it as an alternative to the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas.
Just saying, river taxi tickets can be purchased at a discount at the Total Rewards desk at Harrah’s. Also, Seven Star and Diamond folks can sometimes score a limo and driver if they are available, at the valet desk…it don’t hurt to ask. Catholic Mass services are usually held Saturday afternoon and Sunday mornings at Don’s Riverside Casino. Services are occasionally preempted by hotel functions so check.
I heard that the newer suites do not have tubs or river views. My suite last week was, I thought, not one of the newly remodeled ones but it was lovely and DID have a tub. Also had a wonderful river view. My friend had a suite she thinks was newly remodeled but did have a tub. I have to say, not having a tub might be a deal breaker for me…got to have a tub. So in the future I will tell my Host I need a suite (or even a room…just me, don’t need all that space) with a tub.
In my bathroom there was a sign to the effect that the Jacuzzi was “undergoing maintenance” (not working) and sorry for the inconvenience. I wonder if removal of the tub is in the future for this suite? I don’t need the Jacuzzi, don’t usually turn it on anyway. I can live without the river view. But I must have a tub! In fact I will email my Host today and ask what is going on with that, and report back.
Love reading your trip reports. Many gems of information and places to see; beyond the hotel and casino. We enjoy Laughlin for the easy going life style and beautiful desert surroundings. I do have one question for you or your readers. We prefer Harrah’s Laughlin, and stayed in the remodeled south tower recently. Rooms are nicely remodeled; but with one caveat. Our newly remodeled room ( non-suite) had the bath tub removed and a half glass shower door was installed. The other half was open to the bathroom; water freely flowed out due to the shower spray. Curious design. Anyone else have this experience, or am I just overly concerned with pooled water on bath floor.
We go to Laughlin more than to Vegas these days since it’s closer and the Vegas experience has deteriorated so much. Golden Nugget has a series of good blackjack tournaments, and we enjoy the Colorado Belle poker room. Aquarius seemed to have the best video poker, last time we looked. Harrah’s has the usual Caesars resort fee, and 6-5 blackjack; but sometimes we’ll go to one of their WSOP satellite tournaments. Tropicana was nice years ago, until all their video poker became unplayable. Pioneer has always been pretty run-down, but they just got new owners and reopened: we’ll see. We’re not much on shows these days, but did enjoy Olivia Newton-John as Terry mentioned above. And of course there’s always the heat–it’s like a reflector oven down there in the canyon.
I’ve said for a long time that Laughlin is more like downtown Las Vegas used to be, than the real downtown Vegas is today–and with the Stevens brothers and all the recent changes up there, that’s more true now than ever.
This is why I read your posts religiously. I’ve been to Laughlin many times and knew most of what you reported. I did not know about the jet boat to Havasu City. This is a definite must on my next trip. Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the report, We have never ventured a trip to Laughlin.
It always gives us ideas for things to do when meeting West Coast family on our trip to Vegas.
Friend and I were at Harrah’s Laughlin last week via charter (“free”) flight which is a huge bonus. If one hasn’t been there in decades, the rooms (and suites) are nicely updated.
We were disappointed (for the second time) in the Range. Elegant service, but our food maybe 3 forks up. Perhaps Jean would kindly say what items they found top notch in the Range during their stay. Friend’s rib eye steak was very fatty (she won’t send food back, as I would have). My onion soup was tasty but difficult to eat the way they serve it (inside a big thick onion resting on a bowl of rock salt, hard to handle). Lettuce wedge salad was just OK.
Breakfast buffets (in the Buffet) were very good, the omelets and unlimited Mimosas very pleasing.
We were surprised at the absence of a long line for the Diamond Lounge this time, compared with last trip when we couldn’t get a seat. But then, AHA, I see that now they are charging $10 if one’s Diamond tier points aren’t above a certain level. On one hand, that’s lousy. On the other hand, it does what I speculate it is intended for: to reduce the number of people using the DL. This DL was never full when we were there. Still a decent deal for unlimited alcohol, soup and salad/cold cuts/sandwiches. Very relaxing to eat/drink outside on the patio overlooking the river. Soups were very good and I also liked the chicken salad as Jean described.
We were just in Laughlin over the July 4th weekend, it was HOT!. The construction between Searchlight and the turn off wasn’t fun. But, we always have a good time there, and it is definitely a slower pace and easy to play at a lower level. We like the Golden Nugget VP and drives to Oatman and Kingman for a step back in time. Nice break from Vegas on the weekend. We usually get comped tickets to a show at the Edgewater, this time it was the Village people, time before Olivia Newton John. Went to the Alpaca store in Boulder city on the way back, usual stop, always fun to shop there, my daughter got an Alpaca heart shaped keyring and we went and saw the long horn sheep at the park by Lake Mead. Harrah’s has offered us junkets from Baltimore a few times, my wife is a Diamond, dates haven’t worked out yet. Fun times!
I’ve been to Laughlin many times when I needed to escape high room rates in Vegas. There’s almost no decent video poker there, and a lot of the older casinos have poor ventilation, so it’s not a great place to play if you’re an AP. That said, the room rates at places like the Edgewater and Riverside have often been less than $20 a night. Even moving up a notch, to places like the Aquarius and Harrah’s, rooms are quite cheap in Laughlin.
The weather is pleasant there half of the year. That doesn’t include now, when it’s actually 6-10 degrees hotter than Vegas (!!!!). Several times a year, Laughlin records the highest temperatures on earth. Not just in the US. On EARTH. Not my place to be. But when the temps drop down to reasonable level, Laughlin is a great alternative to Vegas, especially if you play slots or table games–low limits and a relaxed atmosphere.
The London Bridge in Lake Havasu is not the original London Bridge. The original bridge was built in 1209 and lasted over 600 years. The London Bridge in Lake Havasu is the 2nd London Bridge built in 1831. It didn’t last as long as the original bridge because it was sinking at the rate of 1/8″ per year. The current London Bridge in London is the 3rd London Bridge and opened in 1973.
Always enjoy your trip reports Jean. We too like Laughlin for a change of pace.