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In-Depth Information
the fitness room is also surprisingly large and well equipped, there's a restaurant
as well as a bar and grill, and the rooms have a Santa Fe ambience to them, col-
ored in rusts, browns and other rich earth tones; some even have working fire-
places and Jacuzzi tubs. In this all-suite hotel, there's lots of room for families, and
even for all those family snacks in the oversized fridges in each room. The
“Monarch” suites are the least expensive here, starting at $79 a night (going up by
$130 in busy periods) and sleeping up to four in digs that range in size from 450
square feet to a healthy 625.
HOTELS WEST OF THE STRIP
How does the area west of the Strip differ from the area east of the Strip? Umm . . .
it's on the other side of town? For most visitors there's no significant difference
between the two, beyond the fact that you can possibly get away with not having
a car if you're staying on the East side of town off the Strip. That's not an option
on West side, thanks to the massive highway that bifurcates the city (yes, you
could cross the highway on foot, but it's not a pleasant prospect). Some hotels do
offer shuttles, as I've noted, but in reality you'll be better off on the East side with-
out a car.
Other than that, you'll find the same line-up of chain restaurants, strip malls,
motels, and gas stations east as you will west. Of the big casinos here, there are
the same types of appeal. For hipsters, simply substitute the Palms Hotel for the
Hard Rock; for geek chic, look to the Rio (hey, it's got Chippendales and a goofy
“Mardi Gras in the Sky” parade over the casino, nerd pursuits at their most basic).
And as we said before, at many times of year, you'll pay less staying off the Strip
than you will on it.
$-$$
In fact at anytime of year, you're going to save by choosing the
Wild, Wild
West Gambling Hall & Hotel
(3330 W. Tropicana Ave.;
%
702/740-0000;
wwwesthotelcasino.com; AE, DC, MC, V).
Rate-wise it's the brethren of Terrible's
and El Cortez in that it consistently offers the lowest nightly prices in town. I'll
admit, though, that it has tested my travel writing code of ethics. Taking a look
at the windswept, 15-acre big rig-filled parking lot in which the hotel is
marooned, I had the urge to pass it by without a look. But my vow to let no hotel
bed go untested won out, and I'm glad I accepted the challenge. The semis were
the first clue: This is a major truck stop hotel, meaning that the rooms are going
to not only be cheap, but reasonably clean—truckers don't return to places that
aren't decent. Which they are, though basic in the extreme (the fact that they
charge an additional $4 resort fee for use of the tiny pool, local's casino, and
cheapo restaurant is laughable). And don't believe the maps—though it may look
it, this place is NOT walkable to the Strip. Bottom line: When prices all over
town have reached unreasonable levels, this is a reasonable alternative. Otherwise,
stay somewhere else (extreme budgeters should pick El Cortez or Terrible's first).
I include it here as another arrow in your quiver of options.
$-$$$
Our next two recommendations are more than mere options, they're
actually darn good choices, part of the Boyd Gaming family of resorts, which
means that you can depend on the quality of the offerings here. My theory:
Because Boyd is coming up in the world and doesn't yet have the name recogni-
tion of say, Harrah's or MGM MIRAGE, it's at the stage where it just tries harder.
