Q:
My wife and I will be arriving in Vegas on Sunday Dec 7th. We will be staying at the Rio on the 7 & 8, and then staying at the Palazzo until we leave on Friday the 12th. What would be avaliable for a medical scooter at both casinos? What charges will there be?
A:
We checked with both properties and here's the deal.
The Rio has motorized scooters available from the concierge desk. They're provided by an outside company, but they keep them on property, so you don't need to book in advance (although it wouldn't hurt). The cost starts at $40 for a single-day rental and goes up to $120 for 5-7 days.
The Palazzo and Venetian offer the same service, although here it's Guest Services you need to talk to. The same rates apply (no doubt it's the same company they use): $40/day, $70 for 2 days, $105 for 3-4 days, or $120 for 5-7.
You can find a heap of other useful information for mobility-impaired and other special-needs visitors in our Information for the Handicapped section in our dedicated transportation section ("Shuttles & Buses" in the top menu), while there's all kinds of other useful information and tips about hotels, gambling, and entertainment in the Special Needs section of the "LVA Visitor Guide.
If you use any of the transportation services when you're in town (buses, scooters, rental cars, taxis, etc.), don't forget to add your comments and ratings for the benefit of other mobility-impaired readers. Thanks!
Update 02 December 2008
Some useful extra info from a reader:
"For us older, less financially endowed folks, it's nice to know that OSHA requires that casinos have at least 2 working (manual) wheel chairs for use for patrons while staying at that particular resort, for no charge. Most casinos have a fleet of 4 to 6 non-powered, manual wheel chairs so they should always be able to accommodate their patrons.
"Here's another little secret. You can ask/request a security guard to push you around (not like they do to card counters) but, for lack of a better word, escort you while you're in the wheel chair to your room, to the slots, food courts etc. They don't brag about this service but they're usually more than happy to comply if you ask."
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