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Rio 1st Timer Questions

Discussion in 'Off-Strip Hotels' started by Camp Rusty, Aug 14, 2012.

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  1. Camp Rusty

    Camp Rusty VIP Whale

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    Yikes ! ..........a change from the last five years.

    Hi Everyone :wave:

    We have been staying at the Mirage for the last five years but WOW, our last stay with a company funded conference at the Flamingo and Caesars , plus our modest gambling while there has netted us a killer low roller deal at the Rio which we will have a great time with in mid September.

    I searched the archives and found a lot of info but wondered if anyone had anything recent ?

    We are sort of weirdos and spend a lot of time in the room watching Sportscenter and watching football games, getting our bets ready, so if you know what kind of a room we can ask for that would have the best/ biggest flatscreen televisions and maybe the best Strip view that would be great.

    Thanks everybody......and good luck :):):)
     
  2. tinytim

    tinytim Low-Roller

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    Requesting a RECENTLY RENOVATED Premium studio suite gets all you've requested. Not sure the size of TV yet but will find out in 5 sleeps (Monday night). YIPPPEEEEEE
    This will be my 4th or 5th stay at RIO.

    Tim
     
  3. GREGRIO

    GREGRIO VIP Whale

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    Maybe.................this 'low roller deal' you have usually means
    a Deluxe Suite/mountain view room and old analog TV.

    I do know the VIP rooms on the 19th floor have flat screens...I get
    them from time to time...
    and as 'tiny tim' suggests a newly renovated Premium room might however,
    I always use a Premium suite, 10th floor or higher/Ipanima Tower,
    Pool/Strip view and have yet to have a flat screen...most are still the old analog.
    (save for the 19th floor rooms or a...'real' suite)

    It all boils down to how stuck you'll be in this...'deal' ya got. You may
    have no choice. You can request, you can pay extra, but you may be
    stuck. You'll find out when you get there and if they're not busy or sold
    out..request whatever you want. Pool/Strip view, flat screen etc. but I'd
    bet you need to pay extra unless there's something in your 'deal' you
    haven't mentioned.
     
  4. Mango68

    Mango68 Tourist

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    We were just there Aug 5-8. We, too, were using comped rooms. About a week beforehand, Rio emailed and asked us if we wanted to "upgrade" for 15/night. Sure, why not?! Our room was on the 19th floor of Masquerade Tower. Analog TV. Great view of strip and highway, facing the Rio sign. Nice, huge room with 2 refridgerators, one for MiniBar (charge) and one for personal use. K-cup coffee maker and free coffees. At the end of a hall, the next room was a bigger corner suite, we peeked in at one point and it did have more updated color scheme and furniture. Not a huge choice of TV channels. AC worked great...we were there during the "extreme heat emergency" last week. King bed, sofa, coffee table, small dining table..plenty of room for us 2! So if they email you ahead of your stay, 15 bucks a night is a pretty sweet deal!:thumbsup:
     
  5. Camp Rusty

    Camp Rusty VIP Whale

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    Thanks

    We called to get a room at the Flamingo but they were booked so they sent us over to the Rio. We were given two free nights and two at $67.00, so I bet you are right, a basic room. We'll ask and see if we can pay for an upgrade, a regular teevee is fine, that's what we have at home.

    Getting pretty excited and already have some football games picked to bet on.

    Thanks again for the input.
     
  6. IDoLuvVegas

    IDoLuvVegas Low-Roller

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    You probably will not have to ask because they will ask you. The last two times I have stayed at a Caesar's property (comped basic room - South Tower Bally's and regular room at Paris) I was asked if I wanted to upgrade for $20/night. I declined and was given a North Tower room at Bally's anyway and just a regular room at Paris.

    This must be Caesar's standard mode of operation because when I was checking out of Paris in March and was taking the TV survey, one of the first questions asked was would I pay an extra $20/night for an upgraded room. When we arrived at Paris we were told they had no single king rooms available unless I wanted to upgrade where there would be king rooms available. I told the lady at the check-in we were fine with two queens. As she was doing her thing on the computer, she asked again if I was sure I did not want to upgrade to a "Red Room" so I could have a king bed. I told her we only sleep and nap and clean-up in our room and do not spend much time there so we were fine with two queens in a free room. We was seriosly waiting for her to tell us that there were no non-smoking rooms available unless we upgraded and then there would have been an issue, but it did not happen. We did notice quite a few rooms with king beds were available on our floor when we were walking to our room. I think this has become a standard practice. On both occasions it was pointed out that it states on the online registration that the hotel cannot guarantee you will receive the type of room requested. This is the only time this has happened and we have stayed at Caesar's properties 20+ times in Vegas.
     
  7. GREGRIO

    GREGRIO VIP Whale

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    I think you're right...
    For a long time there, the...No Resort Fees were their big thing.
    Now, they might be wishing they hadn't started that but...they
    do seem to be charging you or...trying to charge you for more
    than you planned on (in the name of upgrades)
    Most rooms get charged for the K-cups, some of the CET properties
    charge for queen size beds...if they can get more for this/that/or the
    other thing, they certainly try to but..............there's no resort fees!
     
  8. wroberson

    wroberson Tourist

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    I'll be there. I'll be there for March Madness. I think we're planning a few day trips so the room may only end up being a hang out for a night or two.

    I just finished reading 10-15 reviews and a trip advisory site from each of the five rating levels. The main complaints were, they rooms came out of the 70's and needed updating. However, I don't think all the people reviewing were old enough to known what that means. 6-5 blackjack.

    Second on the list was dirty rooms. Cigarette burns on the carpet, torn or stained couches. People felt that the rooms were not cleaned. Low hallways filled with rowdy people. The staff was rude and the check-in wait was too long. AC and shower too cold.

    Moving up the list we have old TV's and that the room was not a real suite. The beds were too soft, the pillows were too small, and the food was just average but expensive. In suite coffee was $8 bucks for 3 cups.

    On to the 4 star category. The rooms were large and you could stretch out. The views were nice. The food was good. The pool was heated. And the staff was friendly. The slots were hot.

    5-Star ratings included all of the above, it was off strip and kind of peaceful. Free shuttles till 1am.

    After reading these reviews, I wonder if it will be good enough for my sister. I didn't compare the poor reviews with other hotels like Paris and IP, but I am sure the poor 1 star reviews will say the same thing.

    I haven't been there yet, but recalling a trip I bought for my mom as a birthday gift, I chose the Palace Station. The bad reviews were just as above, but when I got there, the room was clean, there was no offensive odor, it was not difficult moving around and when a problem came up, someone was there to fix it ASAP.

    I wouldn't worry about it. Just remember it's off the strip and it's a 1/2 mile walk to Caesars, the Bellagio Fountain and the rest of the strip. If an outdated TV is going to be a problem, I have yet to stay in a room in Vegas that had a flat screen. If you're like most players, you can get better odds on just about every game somewhere else regardless of where you stay.

    You're going to have a great time and so will I.
     
  9. zamboni

    zamboni VIP Whale

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    Whats good/excellent for one guy is a dump to another. My second trip to Vegas I was alone for one night waiting for my brother who came into town the next day. I spent that one night at the Days Inn at Wild Wild West Gambling Hall. There are people, probably even on this site, that wouldn't even spend 5 minutes in one of their rooms. But it was quiet, and the bed was very comfortable and I would stay again. To each their own. I take all reviews I read with a grain of salt and use them as a reference point only.


    Personally I have been to the Rio twice, and never have stayed there. I went for the buffet. It is excellent, and I will go back probably next time I am in town.
     
  10. abileneblues

    abileneblues Low-Roller

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    August stay

    We were at the Rio the first week of August. We asked for and received a free upgrade from a standard room to a premium room in the Impanema tower. I will say that there were no big conferences there during our stay (the Star Trek convention started the day we checked out) that I saw. The only high-volume time was the weekend.

    The room we were in had a flat-screen tv. It was probably 27-30 inch. With my almost-50 year-old eyes, it wouldn't have been my choice of viewing football from the bed, but would have certainly been adequate from the couch or chair. Part of that would be the angle from the bed as much as the distance.

    We were in a corner room on the 14th floor, if I remember correctly. I liked the layout of the room better than the rooms in the middle of the floor. I found the bed to be less firm than I like. I did spend some time on the couch watching television.

    We liked all of the staff that we dealt with. This was our second stay there. I'm sure we'll stay there again at some point. Next year, we'd like to stay on the strip again, just so we can explore some more without the time dealing with the shuttle going and coming.

    I'm strictly a VP player, so have no advice on their sports book.
     
  11. OKC Gal

    OKC Gal Low-Roller

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    I'm here now. My room on the 17th floor has big, flat screen tv. However, it was slow when I checked in, now it is packed
     
  12. sunshine54

    sunshine54 High-Roller

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    Sounds very good. Have great time and good luck :poker: :)
     
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