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Gold Coast Review

Discussion in 'Off-Strip Hotels' started by AlwaysVegas, Jun 8, 2012.

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  1. AlwaysVegas

    AlwaysVegas Now it's mostly Reno.

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    I'm back from a week in Vegas and life is, again, boring. :( This was my first stay at the Gold Coast and want to share with all who may be interested. If you have any questions, please let me know! I don't think I covered nearly as much as I wanted to!

    The Gold Coast is not one of the glamorous and overpriced Strip hotels that charges you an extortionist and laughable "resort fee" for your stay plus Strip prices. You'll get the Gold Coast for about $35/night (Sun-Thu) and a reasonable $3 resort fee.

    I've been to Vegas over 50 times as a budget traveler who doesn't want to pay to be in the latest trendy hotel with hot clubs (and $400 bottle service) and a $60 pool fee. If that's your thing, then move on. The Strip hotels love you. Pay on.

    This was my first time at the Gold Coast. Having stayed a dozen times over the years at other Boyd properties (Sam's Town and Orleans) I can easily compare the properties. I would certainly rate the Gold Coast as my favorite Boyd property thus far. However, if you have children and want room size, you will want to head to the Orleans for the bigger pool and larger room size. Sam's Town is great for a central location and casino size. Sam's Town pool is small like the Gold Coast.

    I'm going to rate the Gold Coast on property alone and not the casino. As an avid video poker player, the best you're going to get is about 99% on Loose Deuces, which is just okay. I'm rating this on the hotel alone. I always get a rental car and go to the properties that offer 100%+ video poker. Sorry Boyd...you can do better for the locals and video poker players.

    I don't partake in cocktails much, but the free cocktail offerings were about 10mins apart throughout the casino.

    Location
    This is an off-Strip hotel. It is next to the Rio and across the street from the Palms. There is a shuttle (that I did not utilize) to the Strip. I always use a rental car. Based on observation, the shuttle can quickly fill up and you may have to wait over an hour to get a ride to the Strip. You can walk to the Strip, but it is at least ½ miles and across a freeway that I wouldn't consider safe by any means.

    As for location, the Gold Coast is a quick drive (or cab) to the Strip, a rental car ride to McCarran, and also a quick (5 mi?) to downtown. I'm a frequent visitor of the Henderson properties and this is a bit longer by car/cab (20mins or so), but, with a rental, this is no big deal.

    Check-in
    As with Sam's Town and the Orleans, I was able to check in early (before 10am) without an additional charge and I think that's just awesome. The gal at the front desk was delightful and told me that the only room available at the time was at the very end of the hall. I was so happy that she pointed that out and the walk didn't bother me a bit. There was NO line at approx 10am on a Sunday. Woo-hoo! Take that Strip properties! Gold Coast gets an A+ for their check-in.

    In my experience thus far, ALL the Boyd properties have fantastic check-in/out staff. I hope that continues. Read the reviews about the Hard Rock Hotel and you'll see how bad it can get.

    Who stays here?
    The Gold Coast has an interesting mix of locals, 40+ gamblers, and asians who love table games (pai gow poker and baccarat). I stay on weekdays between Sunday-Friday. The fratboy 20-something overflow from the Strip, Palms, and Rio MAY stay here on the weekends, but I don't know for sure. During weekdays, however, it's definitely a 40+ American and asian crowd.

    My Room
    I booked a Premium room, which runs about $5/night more than their standard rooms. As with most Vegas properties these days, you'll pay a bit more for a room that is actually in the 21st century.
    Having stayed at both Sam's Town and the Orleans dozens of times, these rooms are significantly smaller at 360 sq ft than the other Boyd counterparts, but have a nice contemporary and asian theme and are somewhat nicer. Sam's Town rooms run about 720 sq ft and Orleans run about 450 sq ft. All the current pics for the rooms are accurate, so I didn't bother uploading more. I think all three properties are fine depending on your tastes and size preferences.

    You actually get a single serving coffee maker. I did not try the coffee, but it appeared to be instant. If that's your thing....go for it. I chose to pay for the Java place that served Starbucks.

    The room does not have a closet, but has a small armoire that was enough for a single person, but probably small for a couple.

    The shower has the oversized showerheads and was very nice. There is NO bathtub in the Premier rooms. The water was nicely HOT during the morning. However, I noticed on two afternoons that the water did not get above tepidly warm. Not a big deal for me, but if you love hot showers...the hot seems to run out. During the winter, this might be a problem.

    The room does NOT have a safe like the Orleans (I don't recall Sam's Town having one either), but you can use the Casino cage safe to store your valuables if you want.

    Air Conditioning
    I was on the 9th floor, which is the smoking floor, so lower floors may have better results.
    This is VERY important during Vegas in the summer and hugely important to myself. I've noticed that, over the years, the Vegas hotels have REALLY let the A/C quality go by the wayside with central A/C and horrible lower limits on A/C (75F+ during the summer that can't maintain 80F). When it's over 100F outside, the A/C becomes important. The Gold Coast has wall units (as opposed to central air). I stayed in the room as a single adult and, having set the A/C to 71 degrees from the first day, the room maintained about 76 degrees when the temperature outside was about 103F and could attain 71F when the temperature outside was about 90F. With two people in the room, the temperature would be at least 2F higher. If you're comfortable at 78F during the day with 100F+ outside, then that's fine during the high heat of summer. Otherwise, the A/C simply wasn't enough and you should look elsewhere. PLEASE consider the A/C because Vegas hotels are very cheap these days when it comes to air conditioning.
    I was delighted that the curtains were cut to accommodate the A/C. If you've been to a hotel that you needed to move the curtains above the A/C, then you know what I mean.

    You can move the curtains to have almost blackout in the room. Just great!

    Not Kid-Friendly
    I prefer hotels that don't cater to the screaming, drooling, wall-licking children that so many Strip properties seem to love these days. Sorry if you're one of those parents that thinks Vegas is Disneyland. Sorry, the Gold Coast is not for you. There is no daycare that I'm aware of and the pool is very small. If you think your children should be in the smoke and alcohol-filled Vegas, this is NOT the hotel for you and your little cherubs. Please check out Circus Circus and other reviews. For me, this hotel was heaven. I saw less than a dozen rugrats in my whole trip and I thought that was just awesome.

    Buffet and Restaurants
    I'm a buffet fiend and, having tried many buffets over the years, I have to admit...the Gold Coast is hugely better than both the Orleans and Sam's Town. The meats are generally not completely cardboard and the veggies were very fresh. I'll write up more on the buffet and restaurant reviews separately. No, this is not a Wynn or Bellagio buffet, but for Value...the Gold Coast is AWESOME.

    Summary
    GREAT value hotel for 40+/asian/no-children crowd. A/C may be an issue during the summer.
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2012
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  2. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    Very thorough review. Thanks for sharing.
     
  3. AlwaysVegas

    AlwaysVegas Now it's mostly Reno.

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    Hi Candy! Thanks so much! I'm having serious Vegas-withdrawals right about now!
     
  4. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Great read! You have my respect... you know who you are, what you want and what you don't.
     
  5. Patripman

    Patripman High-Roller

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    Nice write up on the Gold Coast. Our last trip in April we stayed at Ballys but spent much time between GC and Orleans. We are now trying to decide what we do with the 3 additional days we have to spend in LV. We are comped 4 nights with CET and Ballys. We like swimming pools so it may end up Orleans plus I have comped rooms.
    As for you buffet review I thought the opposite where Orleans was better than GC. GC has the best dessert area than most buffets in Vegas.

    p
     
  6. gerry53

    gerry53 VIP Whale

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    we are booked at ip for a week in early july.

    kind of nervous about ip with the construction but we will also be at the orleans and their fantastic pool often as well.
     
  7. shiny

    shiny Low-Roller

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    I certainly agree with you from the VP player's perspectives. In every trip, I spent several hours at Gold Coast playing their full pay dollar machines (9/6 JOB), which are scattered in the casino or inside GC's high limit room. It's puzzling me that I can barely win any money from GC's full pay dollar machines (just getting break even or leaving with a small loss). I haven't seen other players getting any W2-G or hitting royal flush.

    Interestingly, I won money from Bellagio's short pay dollar machines (8/5 JOB). In my past trip, I hit royal flush at Aria's short pay $1/$2 machine (9/5 JOB) and took $4,000 from Aria.

    Any thoughts about GC's VP? :confused2:
     
  8. nfcwestbest

    nfcwestbest Low-Roller

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    I've stayed many times at the Gold Coast in the last ten years. This hotel is great value especially seeing as its only two hundred yards from either the Rio or the Palms. I mostly do sports / Horse race betting. If you make a $6 horse race bet or $20 sports bet you get a ticket for a drink. If you don't feel like betting to get a drink they always have a beer special for $2 this summer its Corona. My best tip is if you want to drink for practically free go to the Rio sports book. Grab some horse race papers and just sit their the waitress doesnt now whose betting and whose not they bring u drinks. Just tip her $1 a round and your good. The sports book closes at around 10pm so for cheap drinks head back to the gold coast and find a slot machine just before and to the right of the Buffet theirs usually good drink service down their. Just tip a dollar while your playing the penny slots and before u can finish it the waitress is back to offer up another one. Next tip if you with a wife or girlfriend stay in a premium room the gold coast regular bathroom is so tiny and dark. The door opens inwards and you have to practically stand in the tub to get the door closed.
     
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  9. keno60

    keno60 VIP Whale

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    vp at GC

    I have been staying and playing at the GC about 3 to 4 times a years the last 2 or 3 years and I have yet to hit a royal also. I play quite a bit an average of 4 hours a day usually .25 and sometimes $1 machine to make a quite hit to make up for losses on the 25 machine. I had a lot of luck with the .50 machines one visit. I am talking about job here.:cry:
     
  10. shiny

    shiny Low-Roller

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    Glad to know that you have the similar experience as mine. I always printed out VPFree machine location list before my trip and played many of GC's 9/6 JOB machines in $.25, $.50, $1, $2 (mostly the $1 machines). Wonder whether GC's 9/6 machines are truly full pay? Some of them rarely hit a thing. "Tight" full pay machines? Or, the "RNG" of their machines were not properly programmed? God knows!? :wink2:
     
  11. Hyperfocal

    Hyperfocal VIP Whale

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    FWIW, I have hit a royal at the GC.

    The problem with video poker is that most people are playing in the short term, so they can hit big on short pay machines or lose big on full pay machines.

    My biggest win was on a short pay joker poker machine at TI. Hit a royal and a wild royal within a few minutes.
     
  12. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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  13. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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    This is correct.

    Their pound cake was scrumptious!
     
  14. catman

    catman Low-Roller

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    Hey AV, have you ever stayed at Terribles? They seem to be in the same price range, but Terribles is further away from the strip. How does Terribles compare with GC?
     
  15. Buddha

    Buddha VIP Whale

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    Gold Coast VP

    For those concerned that the Gold Coast only has "short-pay" video poker, that is not true. Sure, just about every casino has a lot of short-pay VP, but the Gold Coast does indeed have these quarter games here and there :

    >> 16/10/4/4 Deuces (NSUD) -- a 99.73% game
    >> 9/6 "standard" JOB -- a 99.54% game
    >> 8/5 "single" BONUS -- a 99.17% game
     
  16. shiny

    shiny Low-Roller

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    We agree that Gold Coast has plenty of full-pay VP machines. Our concerns are those machines don't hit like full-pay. GC full-pay machine's "infrequency of hitting" has raised our doubts and concerns. :grrr:

    Over the past trips, I spent a lot hours playing at GC and felt frustrated. In my coming trips, I will reduce my playing time at GC.


    Thank you for sharing your experience with us. :thumbsup:
     
  17. zamboni

    zamboni VIP Whale

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    GC is where my aunt stays when shes up from LA. She gets a suite comped, and food and slot money as well, all comped. My first trip out my brother and I went and visited her. Her room was very, very nice. We ate one night in Ping Pang Pong and to me, it was just OK. Another night we ate in the Cortez Room and that place was very good.

    If you are into bowling, the GC has a bowling alley that makes your jaw hit the ground. I am from small town MN, and have never been to a bowling alley that big. You can stand on one end, and not see the other end. I liked it, and would definitely stay there, esp with Rio and their buffet so close. I also liked the view parking on the roof of the garage, maybe not the Stratosphere , but still cool at night
     
  18. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    I hit two "Dueces Wild" jackpots
    on a quarter machine within 15 mins of each
    other at GC.
    It was funny.......I cashed the ticket at the same
    floor cage and the woman clerk said to me --
    "Hey....weren't you just here with the same ticket ?"
    "Yup !!!!!!":thumbsup:
    .
    I used to stay there all the time.......but not for
    5 yrs (?) now .
    .
    Yeh, the pool is small but I still loved the place.
    I used bowl every trip for some ridiculous low price.
     
  19. NickPapageorgio

    NickPapageorgio OG of the Sal Sagev Hotel

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    Pound cake?.... Reallllllly? I once had an AWESOME grape slurpee at 7-11.

    Nick:beer:
     
  20. jamesxnj

    jamesxnj VIP Whale

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    I really like the GC..Past ten years at least have stayed there and the Rio for some combo of rooms for 7-10 nights a trip..all depends on price and comps.Did not stay there last September however.

    A tip for those who like fresh air in thier rooms-For some reason a few years ago,the GC closed the push-out windows on the upper floors.May be someone jumped or fell out..But with a simple swiss army knife the various screws can be taken out and replaced when you leave.I love to have the fresh air,even if it is hot.
    I do not play Blackjack there nor never will again,the dealers esp the asian ones are just not all that friendly,even when placing bets for the dealers..Vp is my main activity there and some sportsbook bets.
    But main reason for my post is that you just never know about VP.Many times I have played at the Rio,with ziltch hands and walked across the street to the center bar and almost immediatley hit 4oak to recoup the Rio losses.
    I have hit my only RSF at the back bar at the GC also btw..

    last year however,things were different..no luck at all at the GC and while playing the Rio sportsbook bar one afternoon hit 3 4oak's and one dueces wild 4 2's while moving from one machine left to right,3 or four machines...Unbelievable to me..All this in maybe 90 minutes or probably shorter..had fun texting the pix to my buddy sitting in the sportsbook just earshot away :thumbsup:

    So bottom line,more hits on the lousiest payout machines..ya never know..

    Another thing about the GC not mentioned,$1.50 sportsbook hot dogs for a snack..
    The gift shop prices are very reasonable,more so than the Rio's.Worth the walk across the street via the upper level parking garage..
    And older -fashined quarter peanut and candy dispenser with a bunch of choices,in the hallway leading to the parking lot.(If still there)

    My only complaint and not really a complaint,a fridge in the room used to be free upon request,now its $15 or so..But ice in a bag in the bathroom sink still works :beer:

    And they have employees who remember your name,,sometimes even year to year..Never happens at the Rio..
    Best wishes everyone on your next trip!!:thumbsup:
     
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