Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The newer tower has no theme whatsoever, but those travelers looking for a bit
more comfort may want to choose it, as these rooms come with a couch and chair,
an empty fridge, new carpeting, and a hair more space. The largest rooms are in
the old motel unit, and though you may get some noise from the parking lot,
these simple rooms are perfect for families, many featuring double pullout
couches, large closets, and balconies. The downsides to all these rooms: While the
mattresses are good, I have found a couple of beds that slanted. Another bit of bad
news—traces of mildew in some (but not all) of the bathrooms. My advice: Ask
for another room if you're not happy with the first one you see. In general, you'll
get the better rates on rooms by skipping the reservations center here and going
through such services as TripRes.com or Vegas.com. Using those services, I've seen
rates plunge to between $49 and $59 in the off-season, ballooning back up to
between $79 and $109 at other times of the year (and as with every hotel on the
Strip, when a monster convention's in town...well, your guess is as good as mine).
$$-$$$$
Now for something a bit more glamorous, though sometimes you
can't judge a casino by its cover. I'll be the first to admit that the exterior view of
New York-New York Hotel & Casino
5
(3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S., at Tropicana
Ave.;
%
800/693-6763 or 702/740-6969; www.nynyhotelcasino.com; AE, DC,
DISC, MC, V),
with its simulation of the New York skyline, is a thrilling sight, one
of the most exciting in this visual candyland of a city. Bristling with skyscrapers
built to one-third the size of the originals, it merrily jumbles together the city's
famous landmarks from the Chrysler Building to the Statue of Liberty to the
Empire State Building (after 9/11, the casino wisely replaced the Twin Towers that
once stood here). That there's a roller coaster zooming in front of these icons, its
cars painted taxi-cab yellow, seems only appropriate—if you've ridden in a N.Y.C.
taxi, you'll know what I mean.
And then you go inside. And everything that was witty, sharply observed and
fresh in the exterior becomes sepia toned, Disneyfied, and dull. Maybe I'm being
too much of a curmudgeon, being a native New Yorker, but this re-creation,
mired in the Art Deco New York of the 1920s and '30s, doesn't come close to cap-
turing the gritty vitality of the city itself. There are too many fake trees for starters,
making N.Y. look like a city in the Garden State (hey, that's next door); the
“streets” of Greenwich Village—now a food court—are so cobblestoney and
winding, you'll feel like you're on the set for a traveling show of
Annie.
On the
mezzanine level is “Coney Island,” which is supposed to channel the amusement
park of the early 1900s. Who knew that they had laser tag and video games back
then? (The idea's nice, but this “midway” ends up looking almost exactly like the
ones in other casinos.) There are a few New York-based restaurants—America,
Gallaghers Steakhouse, Gonzalez y Gonzalez—but tellingly, these are the tourist
traps that native New Yorkers avoid when home (and America closed long ago in
the Big Apple).
I know, I know, this was a landmark in theming when it opened in 1997, but
today, it needs a rethink, a de-hokifying, if you will. I'm probably in the minor-
ity in this view, I admit, as there's no other casino on the Strip that feels as
crowded as this one, with legions of gawkers simply wandering around staring.
So what's it like to stay here? Well, that's a mixed bag, too. Elbowing through
the lobby crowds each morning is no picnic, nor is finding your room in the
