Boulder Highway Advice

Hi guys. Just about to book flights and hotels for 10 nights stay in Vegas for November. Was going to do 5 nights Sam's Town and 5 nights at The Gold Coast. Never been to this chain before as always stay on The Strip. We just decided to try a different approach to this holiday.

Just signed up for Mlife after reading the forum and have been comped a 2 night stay with free play and food at any MGM property so plumped for The Aria. (never thought I would have got anything so bit gutted as probably missed out on last trip). So we are gonna take those 2 days off The Gold Coast stay.

I know when we are at The Gold Coast we will have Palms/Rio and Orleans close by for visiting and not too far from The Strip with shuttles. I seem to recall going to The Rio on one. Looking forward to going Sam's Town but was wondering if 5 days is too much there? Will be visiting Eastside Cannery, Arizona Charlies and Longhorn whilst there.

Just basically any advice on the area or places to avoid there.

Thanks in advance.

 

Sam's has a free shuttle to the strip and downtown. The schedule is on the Sam's Town website.
Do you have a car while you are there?

 

5 days at Sam's town...too much? I think it all depends on you. If you are a hardcore gambler then Sams town will be perfect for you as it has just about all the things you will need. Place to sleep, gambling, places to eat, other things to do if you are bored, like bowling and a movie theater. I have gambling friends who stay there and sometimes never leave the resort.

Now if you aren't much of a gambler, well there really isn't many things in the area that is close to walk to. Eastside cannery next door, about a 5 minute (or so) walk. Walmart across the street. Arizona charlies is on the same road but could be a long walk for people not used to walking very far.

As others have mentioned, there are shuttles to get from Sam's town to downtown and the strip. Just take it easy and be patient because it will take some time to get around to downtown and the strip. Many of us just rent a car to get around since it is more convenient.

 

Cheers guys. Nah we don't tend to drive when in Vegas as we like to gamble with a drink. Will check out some of the casinos on the highway though. Just wanted a bit of value away from The Strip for a few days really and heard good things about Sam's Town.

Thanks for the replies

 

We've stayed at Sam's several times, but can't imagine being there without a car. Of course we're biased since we've had a car every one of our about 90 trips to LV. (I can't even imagine staying on the strip without a car!). Try it once and see what a difference it makes. (You can drink at home, but there are lots of things you can only see/do in Vegas)

 

I like both Eastside Cannery and Boulder Station. Not fancy but clean and comfortable places to gamble. There is a bus that runs up and down Boulder highway so that's good if you have no car.

 

I've stayed at Sam's and GC many times and have only good things to say about both. Sure, Sam's is a bit isolated, but their free shuttle buses will take you downtown or to Harrah's as quickly as you could drive! With the drinking I do, there's no way I'd drive; and after 100 trips, sightseeing isn't on my list. Splitting 10 nights between the two sounds like a good plan to me!

 

Great advice guys. Done a lot of the sights on previous trips so just fancy a bit of Vegas but some time away from The Strip where can gamble and get a decent drink if fancy some time away from the tables.

Traffic seem manic around Vegas and topped off with you guys driving on the other side of the road it has kind of put me off. Good news about the bus along the Boulder Highway so hopefully we can hop on that and visit some more casinos otherwise we will Uber it.

 

This last year over the holidays we had 5 nights comped at Sams Town and enjoyed it. We did have a rental car and did not hang out there all of the time by any means.

One tidbit I did pick up yesterday from a cow-orker who stayed at Sams Town recently following my recommendation is that taxis no longer stage there and getting one can involve a very long wait. He ended up bribing another guest to share their Uber ride to pick up their car in a nearby repair shop.

Eastside Cannery is worth the quick trip there. It's walkable but I would not want to do it in the August heat!

Overall, Sams Town is very nice. One piece of advice is that if you plan on taking a power nap in the afternoon, get a room that does not face the courtyard. The roar from the show will wake you up for sure.

As for the casino, it has a great selection of the stuff I like. Cocktail service is consistently inconsistent but much better than many places. The buffet is cheap and not bad for the price, but it ain't haute cuisine by any means! They just phased in a new steakhouse which I have not been to. The old one (Billy Bob's) was great and I'm surprised they closed it.

 

I'm sure you will also enjoy the place without a car!

I've stayed at Sam's 4 times now, 2 of them were in july or august with 110-115 degrees. The walk to walmart, cvs, longhorn and eastside cannery is doable in the heat. I wouldn't try walking to Arizona Charlies or further down boulder highway. It's only 20-25 minutes, but there is zero shade. Too hot!
In november it's doable to walk there. We once walked to Arizona Charlies, but were too lazy to walk to Boulder Station.

Anyway: have a great time at Sam's!

 

Unfortunately, all of the so-called "premium rooms" face the courtyard. If I recall correctly, the premium rooms have a fridge, a fancier phone, and a black room number plaque, but the biggie for me is having a small coffee maker and supplies. If not for the coffee, I'd much rather have an outside-facing room.

 

The premium rooms also have a nice wooden closet, which if I remember correctly, has a safe inside, which the regular rooms do not have.

I never found the show noise objectionable, but I never take day time naps. There are only 3 daytime shows, 2 hours apart, lots of time in between, 2,4,6,8,10pm.

As to the original post, personally, 5 days at Sam's Town would drive me nuts, and this is coming from someone who has been staying there for over 15 years. There are just not enough restaurants for me to stay that long. I don't like eating dinner in the same places 2-3 times or having fast food on vacation, but that's just me.

 

I would highly recommend spending 5 days at GC and 3 days at ST and 2 days at Aria.

 

Thanks all will get them booked. Looking forward to it now and gonna take smerrians advice onboard and doing 4/4/2.

Great advice as always.

 

I was just going to say why not 4/4/2! I think that's the best idea. I love ST and GC and I think that's the best way to have the best of all worlds (well, these 3 worlds anyway!)

 

Consider getting some good food whilst enduring 10 days of casino food. Sometimes you need to get back to basics. We go to Omlette House or blueberry hill or something for breakfast a couple of times in 5 or 6 days. Ten days would pork us up considerably. Hopefully ST buffet has improved as several years ago it was lacking to us. Good Luck !

 

Hmmm ... so that's what those are. LOL, I was thinking that they were replacements for number tags that fell off or something.

 

I always wondered the same thing..thought they were just decorative for the park-view rooms...

 

i stayed last year for 2 comped nights enjoyed it. I was able to walk to E. Cannery during August but I live in a hot and humid climate 7 months of the year.