Ah, yes, that would be the Thunderbird Motel, not to be confused with the iconic hotel, although we've read reports of how the staff of the former would sometimes try to convince unsuspecting guests that they were staying somewhere of elevated historic significance.
Now called the Aruba, located at 1215 S. Las Vegas Blvd., the former Thunderbird was one of a clutch of scruffy motels occupying the dubious neighborhood around what's now the Stratosphere, populated primarily by "adult" businesses, low-rent wedding chapels, pawn shops, and the like.
When Bob Stupak's notorious "VIP Vacation Package" became a success, he'd sometimes find himself short of rooms at Vegas World, so he started buying up the neighboring motels to use as overflow joints (much to the chagrin of those customers who showed up at the hotel, only to be told that it was over-booked), among them Vegas World Manor, Vegas World Chalet, the Sulinda, and the Thunderbird.
Even after the Stratosphere replaced Vegas World and the "VIP Vacation Package" was a thing of the unfortunate past, Stupak held on to the Thunderbird, which had a terrible reputation and eventually closed. He finally sold the former 297-room Thunderbird property in October 1999 for $5.35 million to Las Vegas businessman Douglas DaSilva. The whole property actually comprised the 93-room Thunderbird Hotel, the 156-room Thunder Inn motel, the 48-room Viva Las Vegas Villas motel, and the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel -- formerly known as the Mission of the Bells Wedding Chapel.
Then the (typically Stupakian) trouble started, with DaSilva claiming that Stupak had welched on various parts of the deal, and Stupak retaliating that DaSilva wouldn't hand over his safe, the contents of which apparently included some moon rocks that Stupak claimed were his, even though they were set in a plaque that had been presented to Nicaragua by President Richard Nixon.
While the two foes battled it out in court, DaSilva invested a small fortune into stripping and refurbishing the old previously Southwestern-themed motel and improving its dubious image. "When we first got the property, the clientele were of a somewhat unsavory nature, but we've cleaned up the place," he commented at the time.
From subsequent reviews on TripAdvisor, we're not sure how well the upgrade concept translated to reality, with one writer in December 2003 describing it as "unsafe and unpleasant" and reporting that when roof repairs commenced directly above their room at 7 a.m. on a Sunday morning, resulting in lumps of plaster falling from their ceiling, management told them there was nothing they could do. Tales of no lightbulbs, nasty rashes from the bedlinen, electric shocks, and the "sketchy" parking lot are perhaps best encapsulated by the reviewer who wrote, "If you're trying to save money, you're better off sleeping in your car."
Since those reviews were written, the Thunderbird has undergone something of a makeover and is now called the Aruba. It has a little showroom (the Thunderbird Lounge) and hosts music events, club nights, alternative theater etc., but the reviews of the motel itself don't seem to be getting any better, with some we browsed from this year referring to broken elevators, no towels, dirty rooms, and double-charges. Sometimes you get what you pay for, or even less.
For more on the late Bob Stupak's colorful career in Las Vegas, check out John L. Smith's excellent biography, No Limit.
