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El Cortez

Discussion in 'Downtown Hotels' started by KevinF2020, May 27, 2015.

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  1. KevinF2020

    KevinF2020 Low-Roller

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    Hi All,

    I'm making the trip to Vegas in about a month for the first time in a few years (had a kid!). I'm not staying at the El Cortez, but in the past I always remember it being kind of dumpy. Doing research for this trip, it appears to have been completely renovated.

    Anyone stayed at the El Co recently? If so, what was your experience like. Just wondering for possible future stays.

    Thanks!
     
  2. tominiowa

    tominiowa High-Roller

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    The cabana suites are nice and roomy. Downside they are all smoke free and across a street. But security is always standing there.

    I will pass since I hate going outside for smoke. I would stay there with the wife as she makes me do that everywhere when we stay together.
     
  3. UTE

    UTE Plastics

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    I think El Cortez did a nice job upgrading without losing the old school charm.

    Bill
     
  4. azlefty

    azlefty VIP Whale

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    The matzo ball soup at Cafe Cortez is some of the best I have ever eaten, and I have eaten a lot of it.

    It's a fun place, the updates are nice but it hasn't lost its divey charm. Jackie Gaughan (RIP) once came down and greeted my wife and me when we were eating at Robertas/Flame. That's class. That (and the coupon where we both ate for $36 including tip) made our day.
     
  5. KevinF2020

    KevinF2020 Low-Roller

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    Good info. The pics look nice. Watched a couple YouTube video tours also.

    I don't smoke, so non-smoking rooms wouldn't have an impact on me personally. Is the area surrounding it ok? I know it's a couple blocks from FSE, so just wondering if it would be sketchy walking the couple blocks at night or not.

    Thanks!

    Are the normal rooms (not the Cabana suites) renovated and nice? It's super cheap which is why I ask.

    Thanks for the info Tominiowa and Bill!
     
  6. gambler

    gambler VIP Whale

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    Congrats on your kid! There's no better reason to give up trips to Vegas :)

    We've been staying at the EC the past 4 trips just to change things up. We stay in the Tower rooms and really like them.

    That being said, I don't think you could come close to saying the El Cortez is completely renovated. From what I recall, the only changes in the past couple years have been the closing of the poker tables and the closing of The Flame restaurant. Their new restaurant, Siegal's 1941, has been under construction forever, but as far as I know, should reopen any day/month/year now.

    I imagine if you walked in to the EC, it would pretty much look just as you remember. Old but nice.

    Edit: While searching for the name of Siegal's, I found this news article from today in the Las Vegas Weekly on the El Cortez. They mention Siegal's should be opening in a few weeks.

    "A major move is about to happen. In a few weeks, the El Cortez’s former classic steakhouse space will reopen as Siegel’s 1941 (as in Bugsy), a 24-hour restaurant with a more refined menu than you’d expect. The opening will coincide with the closing of the coffee shop-style Cafe Cortez."

    http://lasvegasweekly.com/as-we-see-it/2015/may/27/el-cortez-restaurant-revamp-downtown-evolution/
     
  7. DickTater

    DickTater Low-Roller

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    I have stayed at the 'Tez many times. the Cabana Suites are very nice. The tower rooms are nice, just a little dated. Gambling is great, with single deck blackjack that pays 3-2 and 10X odds on craps. Probably the best comps downtown also.

    The area is safe. I have walked there from the Fremont Street Experience at all hours and never had a problem. There are now a bunch of bars in the area now so it is not as barren as it was 10 years ago.
     
  8. azlefty

    azlefty VIP Whale

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    Note: I assume you are coming to Vegas without your kid, but if you are, I suggest not staying downtown. I think off-strip places like the Orleans are more kid friendly. That said, the new container park across the street from the Cortez is a good place to hang out with kids. If and when the kid is old enough, there is a huge play structure right in front of a bar/beer pub.

    Taking the kids to Vegas? Really?
     
  9. azlefty

    azlefty VIP Whale

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  10. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    The biggest personal loss for me was the closing of the poker room. It was an interesting and very cheap spread limit game like no other and over the years I came to know the dealers well and some of the regulars.
    Although many of the regulars I enjoyed years ago were banned.
    Action Jackson was one.
    And some died.
    Jackie came down every day and splashed the pot with his strange, loose play. It was sad to see him go down hill over the years, but fun to be at a table with him. I don't suppose that will come back. The room really was a playroom for old Jackie, a place for him to enjoy a game with folks who loved and respected him.
    The last renovation of the café, a few years ago, also took out a favorite of mine. Since I go solo, I loved the old bar stools where I might end up eating with one of the fellows I had just played against at the poker game. The renovation created islands where solos eat alone. Now I guess it will be just tables of some sort and perhaps upscale.

    I don't usually eat upscale, but I did like the Flame and often there were good deals. So I'm looking forward to seeing what the new restaurant is like and how they blend that into the café menu. I wonder if there will be any good Restaurant.com deals. I doubt it will be the cheap café prime rib that was served.
    Every one of these Vegas renovations of late takes out the inexpensive deals and replaces them with good food at a higher price. But for me personally, since the onset of diabetes, I tend to eat more at the Golden Nugget buffet because I can get foods that fit the diet. Playing poker there, I get ten dollars off.

    I am pretty easy on frugal rooms, but I've given the Pavillion rooms up. It is hard to find room for the computer. The noise from the wrap around walkways can wake me up, especially if napping in the morning when the maids shout at one another and run their carts along the concrete sounding like little trains right outside my window.
    Vintage rooms are cheaper than Pavillion, but are an acquired taste. There is no elevator (although there is a way to take the elevator up to a certain Pavillion floor level and then go in an unmarked door and have just a few stairs down to the Vintage hallway. It is much easier than luggage carried up the huge staircase. Sorry, I can't remember the floor. I was annoyed with dueling televisions on my last attempt to stay there and thin walls. I'd call these rooms a taste of old Vegas.
    http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2010/11/el-cortez-vintage-rooms.html

    There are some large Vintage suites tucked in up there somewhere. They are not offered in booking, but you can get them, sometimes for no money for upgrade. Many have written liking these. Sorry I can't find details and I haven't stayed in one.
    I love the Cabana rooms, but not on the first floor street level where street noise from walking and talking people is right outside the window. I guess sometimes there is noise from some bars nearby, but I have never been bothered. I love the classy feel of these rooms, the wild green color, the refrigerator, the choices on the television, the free fruit in the lobby. I don't see the walk outside as worrisome (there is always a guard) or long. However, there are three levels of these rooms and many have found the cheaper levels very tiny for their needs. Again, I am solo, so I don't care. There are some great deals on the smallest of the Cabana rooms every so often.
    Now, some of my information may be dated, but here are some photos of the Cabana rooms from an old TRhttp://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2011/05/tr-snippet-hotels-compared.html

    Here is a more recent review

    http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2014/6/12/2120/92359/vegas-travel/You'll+Never+Believe+What+An+Extra+$10+Gets+You+At+El+Cortez



    The Tower is quiet, comfortable, perhaps a bit dull. The rooms are very much like Orleans rooms. The bed mattresses are just great, huge and thick. Also these are right in the casino. Years back they still had small screen televisions. If that matters to you, ask and see if that has changed.
    Sometimes Tower does not cost more than Pavillion. I booked three nights over upcoming Halloween weekend and the Tower offer was the same as the Pavillion offer. I'm printing that out, however, as it was from a new discounter and I'm wondering if I will have difficulty on check in. I read some negative reviews.
    There is a daily resort fee of $9 plustax. There is also a fee if you book more than 7 nights in a row. It is a strange unique fee.
    The casino itself has some advantages. I don't much like gambling there solo, but a group can have a great time. Craps is some of the best in Vegas, often three dollars with ten times odds. I just read they have fifty cent chips for paying off those 6/8 place bets, Roulette was cheap. There is not as much full pay video poker as there used to be when JOB 9/6 was everywhere. Just before Dancer did a VP workshop there, they installed some full pay JOB at his insistence. Just after he left, they pulled them out.

    There are still some 10/7 DB and some other good plays. There were still some coin droppers.
    I think there are decent Deuces, but they have in some cases odd pay tables. Scroll down and see Mike actually write that he is not sure of what to call some of the El Cortez games.
    http://wizardofodds.com/games/video-poker/tables/loose-deuces/
    There were also some penny slots that actually took a bet of a penny. When they pulled back on good booze at the poker game a few years ago, I played off ten dollars in freeplay at 3 cents a pull and drank four Myers rums for a profit of $6 at cashout. I guess the American Casino Guide coupons from the El Cortez are no longer part of the book, but that $10 freeplay was one of the better deals.
    Right next to the elevator going to Pavillion rooms is one of the most unique old fashioned slot experiences perhaps in the world.
    There are a few slots that actually work with slots inside, antiques. They pay pretty well. They take a coin like a silver dollar available at the cashier. I play every trip just for the feel of olden days before even my time. They do measure points and start the turning of the reels with electricity, but the results are based on actual slots catching the grooves inside as they spin.
    The Sinatra impersonator I saw last time in the upscale bar was just great. If you like fancy drinks, I'm told these are done by a good mixologist and at reasonable prices compared to other fancy drink places. I miss the old lounge where I could meet people and walk in with a comped drink from the poker room and find plenty of room to sit. But I see how it is an upscale improvement.
    The El Cortez would like to join that Freemont East revolution, but frankly I don't see too many young folks there. I went once to a young folks gathering in the outside courtyard and it was packed with upscale youth. I was perhaps the oldest guy there. But in the casino were my peers.
    They did have plans to have a pool, but I don't see those developing.
    There is more and more thematic reflection of the mob. I'm not too nostalgic about the mob. Today their tactics would be called terrorism. But folks love them like they love pirates and wild west bandits.
    My poker buddy had a "talk like a pirate" poker game. I came with a Somalian dictionary for some modern pirate talk. However, if you are nostalgic about old Bugsy... this is the place to go. In the really upscale, one of a kind, suites there is even one surrounded by desert scenes where you can sleep in safe luxury and imagine where the bodies are buried.
    When I first started gambling, the El Cortez was one of my favorites with good comps and frugal deals. It is not a place I invest in or seed for future trips. I do that at the D and at the Four Queens. There have been folks noting the loss of long time established comp patterns. Some of my friends went there exclusively with a host, and that all backfired. They don't go there now.
    I do use them for cheap nights that I pay money for in between my comped nights downtown.
    It is a great place to park a rental car.

    And while it is not in the heart of the Fremont Experience, it is in right there for Fremont East, so especially for the young who like that scene, it now has good location. I never minded the walk. Now that is upscale as well.

    The biggest personal loss for me was the closing of the poker room. It was an interesting and very cheap spread limit game like no other and over the years I came to know the dealers well and some of the regulars.
    Although many of the regulars I enjoyed years ago were banned.
    Action Jackson was one.
    And some died.
    Jackie came down every day and splashed the pot with his strange, loose play. It was sad to see him go down hill over the years, but fun to be at a table with him. I don't suppose that will come back. The room really was a playroom for old Jackie, a place for him to enjoy a game with folks who loved and respected him.
    The last renovation of the café, a few years ago, also took out a favorite of mine. Since I go solo, I loved the old bar stools where I might end up eating with one of the fellows I had just played against at the poker game. The renovation created islands where solos eat alone. Now I guess it will be just tables of some sort and perhaps upscale.

    I don't usually eat upscale, but I did like the Flame and often there were good deals. So I'm looking forward to seeing what the new restaurant is like and how they blend that into the café menu. I wonder if there will be any good restaurant.com deals. I doubt it will be the cheap café prime rib that was served.
    Every one of these Vegas renovations of late takes out the inexpensive deals and replaces them with good food at a higher price. But for me personally, since the onset of diabetes, I tend to eat more at the Golden Nugget buffet because I can get foods that fit the diet. Playing poker there, I get ten dollars off.

    I am pretty easy on frugal rooms, but I've given the Pavillion rooms up. It is hard to find room for the computer. The noise from the wrap around walkways can wake me up, especially if napping in the morning when the maids shout at one another and run their carts along the concrete sounding like little trains right outside my window.
    Vintage rooms are cheaper than Pavillion, but are an acquired taste. There is no elevator (although there is a way to take the elevator up to a certain Pavillion floor level and then go in an unmarked door and have just a few stairs down to the Vintage hallway. It is much easier than luggage carried up the huge staircase. Sorry, I can't remember the floor. I was annoyed with dueling televisions on my last attempt to stay there and thin walls. I'd call these rooms a taste of old Vegas.
    http://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2010/11/el-cortez-vintage-rooms.html

    There are some large Vintage suites tucked in up there somewhere. They are not offered in booking, but you can get them, sometimes for no money for upgrade. Many have written liking these. Sorry I can't find details and I haven't stayed in one.
    I love the Cabana rooms, but not on the first floor street level where street noise from walking and talking people is right outside the window. I guess sometimes there is noise from some bars nearby, but I have never been bothered. I love the classy feel of these rooms, the wild green color, the refrigerator, the choices on the television, the free fruit in the lobby. I don't see the walk outside as worrisome (there is always a guard) or long. However, there are three levels of these rooms and many have found the cheaper levels very tiny for their needs. Again, I am solo, so I don't care. There are some great deals on the smallest of the Cabana rooms every so often.
    Now, some of my information may be dated, but here are some photos of the Cabana rooms from an old TRhttp://vegasbirthdaybash.blogspot.com/2011/05/tr-snippet-hotels-compared.html

    Here is a more recent review with photos
    http://www.vegaschatter.com/story/2014/6/12/2120/92359/vegas-travel/You'll+Never+Believe+What+An+Extra+$10+Gets+You+At+El+Cortez



    The Tower is quiet, comfortable, perhaps a bit dull. The rooms are very much like Orleans rooms. The bed mattresses are just great, huge and thick. Also these are right in the casino. Years back they still had small screen televisions. If that matters to you, ask and see if that has changed.
    Sometimes Tower does not cost more than Pavillion. I booked three nights over upcoming Halloween weekend and the Tower offer was the same as the Pavillion offer. I'm printing that out, however, as it was from a new discounter and I'm wondering if I will have difficulty on check in. I read some negative reviews.
    There is a daily resort fee of $9 plustax. There is also a fee if you book more than 7 nights in a row. It is a strange unique fee.
    The casino itself has some advantages. I don't much like gambling there solo, but a group can have a great time. Craps is some of the best in Vegas, often three dollars with ten times odds. I just read they have fifty cent chips for paying off those 6/8 place bets, Roulette was cheap. There is not as much full pay video poker as there used to be when JOB 9/6 was everywhere. Just before Dancer did a VP workshop there, they installed some full pay JOB at his insistence. Just after he left, they pulled them out.

    There are still some 10/7 DB and some other good plays. There were still some coin droppers.
    I think there are decent Deuces, but they have in some cases odd pay tables. Scroll down and see Mike actually write that he is not sure of what to call some of the El Cortez games.
    http://wizardofodds.com/games/video-poker/tables/loose-deuces/
    There were also some penny slots that actually took a bet of a penny. When they pulled back on good booze at the poker game a few years ago, I played off ten dollars in freeplay at 3 cents a pull and drank four Myers rums for a profit of $6 at cashout. I guess the American Casino Guide coupons from the El Cortez are no longer part of the book, but that $10 freeplay was one of the better deals.
    Right next to the elevator going to Pavillion rooms is one of the most unique old fashioned slot experiences perhaps in the world.
    There are a few slots that actually work with slots inside, antiques. They pay pretty well. They take a coin like a silver dollar available at the cashier. I play every trip just for the feel of olden days before even my time. They do measure points and start the turning of the reels with electricity, but the results are based on actual slots catching the grooves inside as they spin.
    The Sinatra impersonator I saw last time in the upscale bar was just great. If you like fancy drinks, I'm told these are done by a good mixologist and at reasonable prices compared to other fancy drink places. I miss the old lounge where I could meet people and walk in with a comped drink from the poker room and find plenty of room to sit. But I see how it is an upscale improvement.
    The El Cortez would like to join that Freemont East revolution, but frankly I don't see too many young folks there. I went once to a young folks gathering in the outside courtyard and it was packed with upscale youth. I was perhaps the oldest guy there. But in the casino were my peers.
    They did have plans to have a pool, but I don't see those developing.
    There is more and more thematic reflection of the mob. I'm not too nostalgic about the mob. Today their tactics would be called terrorism. But folks love them like they love pirates and wild west bandits.
    My poker buddy had a "talk like a pirate" poker game. I came with a Somalian dictionary for some modern pirate talk.
    However, if you are nostalgic about old Bugsy... this is the place to go. In the really upscale, one of a kind, suites there is even one surrounded by desert scenes where you can sleep in safe luxury and imagine where the bodies are buried.
    When I first started gambling, the El Cortez was one of my favorites with good comps and frugal deals. It is not a place I invest in or seed for future trips. I do that at the D and at the Four Queens. There have been folks noting the loss of long time established comp patterns. Some of my friends went there exclusively with a host, and that all backfired. They don't go there now.
    I do use them for cheap nights that I pay money for in between my comped nights downtown.
    It is a great place to park a rental car.

    And while it is not in the heart of the Fremont Experience, it is in right there for Fremont East, so especially for the young who like that scene, it now has good location. I never minded the walk. Now that is upscale as well.
     
  11. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    As others have mentioned, the cabana suites are nicely renovated. Beware because their standard "deluxe" suites are small, for a similar price I would rather stay in the tower rooms IMHO. These rooms only have room for a bed, a small dresser and they give you a small 2 foot high chair which fits under the dresser. These rooms are small even for 1 person and unlivable for 2 people. Most people ask and get an upgrade to the larger rooms at the cabana suites but no guarantees.

    The tower rooms are larger but are also dated (could to be considered "dumpy" to some). They are a nice size for 2 people with a separate coffee table and loveseat or couch for you to relax on. Beware as the tower rooms are (supposed to be) completely non smoking, however I think some people try to get away with that by smoking in the bathroom which has a small window. The smell then drifts upwards to other rooms.

    IMHO, I try to stay away from the pavilion rooms, mostly because of the noise factor. You hear people walking in the hallways so it can disrupt your sleep cycle.

    I am a little partial to the vintage rooms, mostly because they were cheap and right above the casino so very easy to get to your room. Officially there is basically one way to get to the room, by the stairs by the crap tables. Those stairs are a little steep and a pain to drag your bag up, esp if they are heavy (best to get a porter to do that work), however unofficially there is another access stairs in the parking structure that has a short stairway with only a few (8 or so) steps down to the vintage hallway. This door is near the bank of elevators to the parking structure and usually the doorway to the hallway is propped open or unlocked but sometimes it is closed and locked (I think some butthead thinks it's funny to do that).

    The standard vintage room is comfortable for 1 person but could be a little cramped for 2 people. There are a few different sized vintage rooms though. There a few that face west (overlooks the art café) that are large and some come with a "lanai" type area for you to relax in. In the middle area right near the stairs there are 2 rooms that are huge and comfortable, complete with a "foreroom" when you come in with a desk and a small closet, a main living room with a hutch and a L shaped couch that probably fits 4 or 5 people easily and a bedroom area (in the same room) that has a king sized bed. On the side you find the bathroom and next to it you have another closet. They also have a fridge in them (standard vintage rooms do not have a fridge, you have to ask for them and YMMV if one is available). I was fortunate to get one since the room I was in had no a/c so I asked to move and they accommodated me by moving me to one of these rooms. There is no real view though, it is of the casino roof and maybe of the tower but that is about all you can see.

    There is also another stairs that leads to the 3rd floor. There are 2 or 3 rooms up there and they are also big rooms. Many people usually ask for these rooms so I've never stayed in them.


    Anyway, some people like the El Cortez, others wouldn't stay there because they consider it "dumpy".
     
  12. KevinF2020

    KevinF2020 Low-Roller

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    @Doug/Azlefty - Thanks for the info! We won't be taking the little one this time, but maybe when he's a little older. I appreciate the link. We've stayed at Orleans quite a bit in the past. Used to be our home casino. And I agree, it's much more kid friendly than downtown. Haven't been in a while, but got some random SLS offer in the mail - never been, probably from some old action we gave Sahara - and decided to take them up on it to check out the place.

    @Dicktater - Great to know, thanks!

    @Dewey - thanks for the all stories and amazing details, man! Yeah I read that Jackie lived in a suite at the El Co, and played poker everyday, until he passed last year. I checked out your blog too! It's great! I saw the posting for 2020 and half expected a "future" trip planned for some big birthday or something. Good stuff though. Thanks for sharing!

    @makikiboy - thanks for your info! It sounds like I'll have to make a trip out to stay at the El Co on a future visit. I've stayed at a wide range of places from mid/high end (Mandalay Bay, Mirage) to "dumpy" strip places (Sahara and Trop - before remodeling), off-strip places (like Orleans and Stations - Palace, Sunset, Texas) and downtown (MSS, Plaza) and honestly I'd take a lot of the off-strip and downtown places over most of the strip resorts any day.

    Thanks all for the info and your experiences! :)
     
  13. Dewey089

    Dewey089 VIP Whale

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    Blogs are organized by date, so the only way to keep something in place is to give it a date in the future or past. It does get confusing. Glad the info helped.
     
  14. merlin

    merlin MIA

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    I just returned from a 3day stay there, the new rest is supposed to open around the 10th of june(I was told), I was also told it will be more expensive than the cafe, my tower room was the same as always, big, clean, very good for the price($20 a night), the "free" wi-fi that is included in the resort fee was almost unusable though, very slow, I mentioned it at checkout and the woman said it's that way when it's busy(problem was it was midweek and I didn't think the hotel was that busy. By the way, I didn't have to pay the resort fee as it was waived for my room offer.

    The comps pile up very fast at the cortex though, much, much faster than at the boyd places or 4-queens IMO, the casino was generally pretty busy, both at the tables and the slots. I'll go back.
     
  15. VegasSteven

    VegasSteven Low-Roller

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    I too miss the poker room very much. Still play downtown but no place is the same as that single table right in the middle of the casino.

    I will also miss Cafe Cortez, but am looking forward to trying Siegel's 1941 next month.

    Still my favorite place to play downtown, is the El Co. Comps are still generous (when compared to other casinos).
     
  16. dmr

    dmr Registered Abuser

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    My very first stay in LV was at the El Cortez back in the 1970s. Hold that thought and fast-forward to 2014.

    Last summer I had to take a very short-notice trip to LV. As I was talking to our in-house TA down the hall I was looking over her shoulder on the screen as she was booking my air and hotel and ElCo came up on the screen. I said "what the {heck}" and told her to book me in one of their "legacy" rooms. It was only 2 nights and I figured I could survive anywhere for 2 nights. :) :) :)

    I survived. :)

    The only downside was that there's no elevator to the "legacy" rooms, at least that I could find. When I last stayed there in my 20s, stairs were no problem for me and even today ("59 and holding") they usually aren't, but carrying the bag up the stairs did require some effort.

    The "legacy" room was smaller than those I remember, but perfectly OK for two nights. It was in the Econo-Lodge or Super-8 class. Clean, everything worked, and the AC keep the room quite comfortable. I had a great view of the roof (LOL), which I figured I could even walk out onto in the event of emergency.

    The casino had a great selection of the "usual suspect" older true-penny machines and various VP. Alas, none of the few rare ones I keep an eye out for such as Neon Nites, Atlantica and Lion Fish. I really did not play that much. On the free evening I walked up to FSE with the camera and casino surfed.

    (Most of the shots on this page were taken that trip: http://omababe.blogspot.com/2014/08/signs-of-east-fremont.html)

    Of course I did quite a bit of Sigma Derby at the D. :)

    I did get turned around in the parking garage and was almost late that morning since I had trouble finding my (white of course) rental car. I finally zeroed in on it with the key fob.

    Speaking of the parking garage, on that Friday they had a security guy out there turning away anyone who did not have a room key or their high-end players card. He was directing the others to another garage catercorner northeast.

    Overall, it was perfectly fine for two nights, but I do still prefer the Strip. :)
     
  17. tom.mckenzie

    tom.mckenzie Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2014
    Messages:
    259
    Location:
    Harrisonburg, VA
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    50
    I'm a big fan of the El Cortez. I have stayed in the Tower several times and in the Cabana Suites once. I think they just tried too hard to be hip at the Cabana Suites - I much prefer the Tower. I miss the Flame and hopefully, when they close the Café, they won't raise the prices too much in the new restaurant. They have actually already scaled back the menu and raised the prices once this year, so maybe that's what they meant by the prices will be higher. I get very nice front-end offers for the amount of play I give them.

    I'm staying there again in three weeks, so I'll be curious to see what the effects of merging the café and the Flame into that one fairly small room does. If it becomes harder to get a table and/or the prices shoot up too much, I might have to rethink things there.
     
  18. azlefty

    azlefty VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2014
    Messages:
    3,650
    Location:
    West Jordan, UT
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    40
    Has anyone gotten a wet shave in the barber shop? I keep meaning to but never seem to be there when it is open.
     
  19. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 5, 2007
    Messages:
    6,752
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    35

    Legacy rooms? Do you mean the vintage rooms that are above the casino and can be reached by the steep stairs near the crap table? Or do you mean the rooms that are 1 floor higher than the vintage rooms?

    Too bad I didn't post before you took your trip. I mentioned that the vintage rooms have a stairway to the parking structure so you don't have to walk up the steep stairs to get to your room. It is a short stair, maybe 8 steps to get down to the vintage room hallway. door to the stairway is right around the corner from the parking structure elevator.

    There are also different sized vintage rooms so if you ask nicely maybe they might give you a larger room (read my review above and it details the different vintage rooms). The standard room basically has a bed, a chair and a table and a dresser which also has your tv on it (coffee maker, etc.). It's big enough for one person but not much else.

    Yes, on busy nights they restrict parking in the main structure to only hotel guests and high end players. But they also have the overflow parking structure catty corner from the EC and across the street from the Cabana suites.
     
  20. LinLV

    LinLV High-Roller

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2014
    Messages:
    536
    Location:
    Netherlands
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    10
    Just jumping in on this thread with a question if you don't mind...

    In july we will be staying at South Point and Sam's Town, but a night at El Cortez is a MUST every trip. We will drive there and play some roulette (awesome, $0.25!!) and single deck BJ.
    There is a chance we might not want to drive back to South Point at night. I do not want to book a room in advance, because we might not use it and right now I'm not sure what night we we will be there. What can we expect to pay for a room if we play there all night (low rollers, what else at EC, right?) and decide we do want a few drinks and spend the night there?

    Thanks!
     
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