Las Vegas Hotels - Last Minute - HELP!

December 3, 2006 5:43 PM

Last minute trip to Las Vegas. Hotel options are limited at this late date. Those "in the know" could you give me comparisons between Circus Circus and Palace Station? I know Palace Station is not on the strip, but it's very close, isn't it? Pros/Cons on both? I have heard bad stories about Circus Circus being overrun with unsupervised children while the parents are in the casino. Is that an exaggeration? I certainly don't want to deal with THAT noise. Any help appreciated!
posted by Gerard Sorme to travel & transportation (29 comments total)

I have no knowledge of Palace Station, but I went to Circus Circus two years ago in an attempt to visit a bunch of places from Fear and Loathing.

You could not pay me enough money to stay there. It was the grimiest, noisiest, foulest place I have ever been to.
posted by cobaltnine at 5:56 PM on December 3, 2006

I enjoy going to the Circus Circus, but I would not stay there. Also, the Carousel Bar at Circus Circus is closed, and that is one of the main reasons to even set foot in the casino. The Station Casinos are mostly for locals, so you shouldn't have too many unsupervised kids there.
posted by HSWilson at 6:01 PM on December 3, 2006

Circus Circus is really grimy? That is so sad as I have heard of it all my life. This is my first trip to Vegas (as you can obviously tell). Is it that the rooms are dirty at CC? Old? What is it? And is it the casino and theme park that make it loud - or all these unsupervised kids running wild without parents that obviously don't give a damn? So sad.

HSWilson, Is the Palace Station pretty nice and close enough to the strip to be no big deal as far as transportation?

Thanks for the replies!

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posted by Gerard Sorme at 6:20 PM on December 3, 2006

As a Vegas regular, I second the negative feedback on Circus Circus. You could not pay me enough money to visit there again. The last time I was there, I watched a fight break out and the resulting scene with police, security, etc. Not only is it dirty, loud, and foul, but once I lost a sense of safety and security there, it quickly was stricken from my list of hotels to visit. I can't vouch for Palace Station as I have never been, but my disdain for Circus Circus hopefully gives you a bit of a guide for which one to choose . . .
posted by galimatias at 6:23 PM on December 3, 2006

Seconding cobaltnine: Circus Circus is a hell hole. Do not under stay there.
I've never been to Palace Station, but I refuse to believe it could be worse.
posted by Eddie Mars at 6:25 PM on December 3, 2006

I wouldn't go as far as to say that Circus Circus is "grimy" ("shabby" is more like it) but I would not recommend staying there. I made the mistake of joining a few friends there one weekend for a wedding and there were a lot of kids running around.

There are much nicer and more enjoyable places to stay and I've found that Vegas is best enjoyed if you allow yourself at least a tiny bit of luxury.

Most recently, I ended up spending a weekend at the Hard Rock. It was a bit out of the way (not right on the strip), but it's pretty nice and kind of relaxing, as far as Las Vegas goes.
posted by dhammond at 6:27 PM on December 3, 2006

Are those really your only two options? I also know nothing of Palace Station, but I will add to the Circus Circus pileon. The casino area is filthy and FILLED with children because of the adjacent circus stuff.

If you want to compare Las Vegas hotels, my favorite resource is Cheapo Vegas. Good luck!
posted by gatorae at 6:30 PM on December 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

Oh gosh, I don't know if I would stay at either location, and I am not picky. I have been to Las Vegas numerous times, was even married there. If you are staying off the strip it might be a good idea to rent a car unless Palace Station has a frequent shuttle service to the strip, or you don't mind taking a cab.

Who knows if kids are running wild or not at the CC. I wouldn't imagine hordes of kids are unsupervised. I haven't seen many small kids in Las Vegas, although they did market it as a family destination for a short time back in the day. You aren't going to see kids in the casino areas, because as you probably are aware, they aren't permitted to linger.

Have you investigated rates and availability at the Monte Carlo? I have stayed there a couple times, rates are always reasonable, and it's a nice, clean hotel. I notice the rates are 60 dollars per night during the week for the month of December.

Have a great time in Las Vegas. Explore your options, there may be more reasonable rates to be found. Also, if you haven't already, check out Tripadvisor.com for customer reviews.

Palace Station

Circus Circus
posted by LoriFLA at 6:35 PM on December 3, 2006

Thank you! Circus Circus is OUT. That's clear. Palace Station looks decent from the website. The reason I have little choice is I am using a vacation package outfit which I have credit points with. Usually there are many choices wherever I want to go. I don't really know why the choices are so limited and why so many hotels seem to be full. Maybe there's a "Holiday in Vegas" thing that's filling up the hotels, I really don't know. I could stay OUTSIDE their "network" of hotels and maybe find something, but the two i checked on were also unavailable for the dates I need. I really appreciate the input. Thanks everyone!

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posted by Gerard Sorme at 6:42 PM on December 3, 2006

Ugh....after reading LoriFla's Palace review link, I am rethinking the whole thing. maybe I should wait until better hotels open up with vacancies for use with my points.

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posted by Gerard Sorme at 6:47 PM on December 3, 2006

The problem with Circus Circus is that it's old and the owners haven't really paid to keep it up. As DHammond says, it's not so much that it's grimy as that it's shabby. It was built a long time ago, back before they really started pouring on the luxury, and it's not really on the "happening" part of the strip. (Which pretty much is between the Venetian and the Mirage down to the Mandalay Bay.)

I suspect a huge investment in refurbishment just wouldn't pay back, so the owners haven't bothered. (It's owned by a group who owns several other major hotel/casinos, and they've put their money into the others instead.)

I visited it once. I didn't really stay long. It was definitely second rate, about like the Indian casinos in the San Diego area.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 6:49 PM on December 3, 2006

Uch. Palace Station, definitely. Both are kinda skeevy, but Circus Circus... man, I hate it. It's dirty, smells funny, and yes, kids. Plus, even though it's on the Strip, it's on the ass end of it. It's also probably easier to get to the more upscale parts of the Strip from Palace Station since it's right on I-15, where from CC you'd have to navigate some busy streets to get to the freeway (or take your chances driving up Las Vegas Blvd).

Palace Station looks decent from the website

On preview: Palace Station is hella old (by Vegas standards), so don't get your hopes up about it. I stayed there once while visiting family, and while it's not the level of feculence CC is, it's a little sad in it's own quiet, desperate way.
posted by logicpunk at 6:49 PM on December 3, 2006

I stayed at Palace Station a few years back. At that time, they were in the process of renovating their rooms, so you should be in pretty good shape there. It's an older off-strip hotel, so don't expect any luxury (the pool looks like the one featured in My Name Is Earl). But from the comments above, it's nowhere near as nasty as Circus Circus. And the pub in the hotel isn't half bad - really cheap Newcastle and Guiness on tap if I remeber correctly. Just be sure to ask for a non-smoking room, if you are indeed a non-smoker.
posted by killy willy at 6:50 PM on December 3, 2006

it's a little sad in its own quiet


curse my misuse of apostrophe's
posted by logicpunk at 6:52 PM on December 3, 2006

I finally got an email response from my package provider. That DO have some rooms (cancellations) at Imperial Palace at 3535 Las Vegas Blvd. South. I haven't even looked at the website yet, but I thought I would come back here and throw it out. Would this be better?

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posted by Gerard Sorme at 6:55 PM on December 3, 2006

Let's be clear here, staying in most hotels in Vegas is a bit heinous. People smoke *everywhere* and you're surrounded by , well gambling.

Adding to the above, I and a friend actually stayed in Circus Circus, and yes it is old and shabby. Keep in mind that the designers (and I use the word loosely) try to keep the circus theme up front so the curtains in the room are actually "big top" curtains- colors are red, yellow.

Taking drugs while you're there may or may not help . . .
posted by jeremias at 6:56 PM on December 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

So...I've stayed at the Imperial Palace. It was actually not horrible but my standards are not incredibly high. It's location is such that you can walk to most of the bigger and better casinos on the strip with no problem and I actually went to the automobile museum they had on site just for fun.

I wouldn't touch Circus Circus.
posted by aaronscool at 7:16 PM on December 3, 2006

Imperial Palace is better than Circus Circus. Look into the Flamingo (I just stayed there over Labor Day) -- it used to be shabby but they've just refurbished it, and I don't think it's shed its reputation yet.
posted by xo at 7:37 PM on December 3, 2006

I'm surprised Circus Circus is still there. But it has an odd lot in a shitty location on the north of the strip so no one has torn it down and built something new.

If you're going in the next couple of days to Vegas, it is probably the rodeo that is filling up rooms at better hotels.

The Palace Station does have older rooms that are motel-like that are not in the tower. It is right on I15 but I think they have a shuttle to get you over to the strip.
posted by birdherder at 7:53 PM on December 3, 2006

IP is cheesy in the way I enjoy (dealers dressed as celebs!), comfortable fr lack of a better word, navigable, which is a plus, and has a great location. I've stayed there, CC, the Ventian and the Frontier, and IP is better by far than The Frontier or CC.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:32 PM on December 3, 2006

The Flaming O has been refurbed? Good to know. It was kind of cheesy and dull when I was there a couple years ago, although pleasant enough.

Circus Circus is awful because it's the cheapest big hotel on the strip. Hence it's the place that "budget-minded" families gravitate to. Anyone who enjoys MeFi is not in their target demo.

One cheap suggestion: look for hotels that are technically not on the strip but just EAST of it, like behind the hotels that are actually on the strip. That puts you on the side with the monorail, and believe me, walking those strip blocks or even a block back to the monorail station gets old quick. I stayed at the Bourbon Street once, which was naaaaasty but right next to a monorail station. Now renovated as a Westin, BTW, so probably not cheap now.
posted by intermod at 8:52 PM on December 3, 2006

Imperial Palace seemed just a bit dark and weird to me on a walk-thru but it's possible that the rooms are nice. But even with that limited experience, I would pay double to stay at I.P. before I'd step foot in Circus Circus ever again. What a depressing, nightmarish hellhole.

But just think about it... is there anything classy, soothing, clean, upscale or elegant about a circus? Would you really even think about living inside one?

On an up note: when I stayed at the Golden Nugget in old downtown it was very nice, and less expensive than the mega-sinos on the strip.
posted by Tubes at 10:45 PM on December 3, 2006

You've already decided not to stay there, but:
If you have an appreciation for the macabre weirdness of a circus themed hotel room that's been untouched by the hands of time since 1968, then Circus Circus can't be beat. If you fly in and see the pyramid and the strip, get in at 2 AM and step out of the airport into the exact-same-temperature outside air, taxi through bizarrotown to the wrong side of the tracks.... stumble through seemingly endless, garish windowless casino rooms reeking of desolation and pinging slot machines.... and at the end of it all sleep in a room that palpably reminds you of just how many people have occupied it since 1968, and how much time has passed in aesthetic history and material decay since then... you will have had one important slice of the full Vegas experience. It might not be the slice you're after, though.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:00 PM on December 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

Don't stay off-strip, you'll miss half the fun. My vote is for Imperial Palace.
posted by tabulem at 11:56 PM on December 3, 2006

Don't stay at Palace Station. I'm one of those locals the Station casinos caters to, and I will drive to the other end of the valley to any other Station before I'll pick up my weekly free gifts at Palace Station, the one I drive past every day. Yes, everyone smokes in the casinos, but you can feel a thin coat of grime forming on your skin and hair as you walk through that casino. It's old, smelly, desperate, and it's inconvenient to get to the Strip.

The old saw about children and Circus Circus (or Excalibur) mostly applies to those times when children are likely to be out of school. Most non-holiday days of the week either casino is fine, and I'm an intolerant childfree-type person. :) This isn't a vote for CC, just an observation. There's a long list of places I'd stay on the Strip before staying at CC, but CC beats Palace anytime. At least at CC there are things to look at, and it's reasonably easy to get away to someplace more interesting. Check out the ruins of Wet 'n Wild and the Candlelight Chapel across the street, if you're into urban decay. The Adventuredome can also be fun if you like rides and skeeball and stuff.

As for Imperial Palace, it's probably your best bet, especially if you follow the "it's just a room" philosophy. It has the best location of the three and doesn't try too hard, plus its days are numbered, so you can scarf up on branded matchbooks or something to sell on eBay later. If you don't like it, it's ust a short hop next door to Harrah's or across the street to Caesar's. Imperial Palace, definitely!
posted by Liffey at 4:04 PM on December 4, 2006

OH GOD

NO

DO NOT stay at the Circus Circus. I did just a few weeks ago, and it's a fucking dump. It's noisy, backs up near railroad tracks and a noisy KOA, the rooms stunk, bed was uncomfortable, the AC unit didn't work and made noises all night, and the housekeeping staff started making a huge racket at 8am. I opened my door and found one of the maids sleeping on the floor in the hallway near the elevator.

Circus Circus absolutely sucks and the next time I'm in Las Vegas, I will avoid it like the plague. I suggest that you do the same.
posted by drstein at 10:50 PM on December 4, 2006

Thanks again to all for the great advice and tips. Did somebody mention not to stay at Circus Circus? It's incredible reading all the reviews of that place. A perfect example of how a dump can stay in business simply by way of having a name everyone has heard. That's too bad. By the way, I'm now booked for Imperial Palace. Thanks again, MeFites!

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posted by Gerard Sorme at 1:21 PM on December 5, 2006

I agree with Liffey, your best bet is the Imperial Palace. Staying on the Strip is the way to go, and the IP is located close to most everything. In my experience no hotel has great rooms, unless you really want to pay (Wynn, etc.).
posted by HSWilson at 4:17 PM on December 5, 2006

Oh, and while this thread is still open...

Hit up the buffet at the Wynn. It's like $35, but oh my GOD is it GOOD.
posted by drstein at 7:00 PM on December 14, 2006