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Flamingo- Would you look this good at age 66?

Discussion in 'LV Strip Hotels' started by jgates8, Nov 15, 2012.

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  1. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=3CcNGLhuyYls

    I can try to pull out a few pics from this link too - but I took a ton of them this morning so probably too many to list individually. I will say this thread is basically posted with a bit of sarcasm to it. I am so sick of seeing Flamingo bashed, called a pit, a dump and on other sights I have had people outright tell me I have absolutely no standards since I have chosen to stay there.

    I have included pics of my GO room (pardon the unmade bed - tried to straighten it a bit). Some pics of the hall carpet in both types of halls. Yes, still needs some replacing but I could tell it must have been at least recently deep-cleaned. (probably after summer season). Stains of course can't do much with. View from window (you can see I looked north). It is interesting to see the progress with building frame up of Linq project. You can see the wheel leg base behind the Vacation club building in one.

    I have included pics of (note the sarcastic descriptions as this is what I have seen described in other posts). I was trying to address some of the complaints I have read & I seriously couldn't come up with anything other than of course I would replace the hall carpet. I actually don't like the lobby carpet myself (pattern) but it was clean & vacuumed.

    The dumpy lobby
    The crappy bars
    The lack of maintenance (note them painting & cutting shrubs)
    The low-class clientele
    The disgusting elevators with garbage all over the floor
    The sticky elevator buttons that haven't been washed in months
    The garbage & room service trays left in hallway for days
    The stairwells filled with garbage & human waste
    The sour unfriendly employees
    The lack of dining options
    The open ceilings with duct work hanging
    The mold in the bathroom

    Seriously I couldn't find any of it! And I did try. In my room my only complaint is that the desk table tent still had Nathan Burton's ad in it lol.

    I realize that some people will encounter a bad experience at some point or another here (or at most any hotel). However, in this split stay between Paris & Flamingo I think I may actually focus most of my future stays just at Flamingo (other than if my bff is going - she likes Paris better).

    After the stairwell pics section you can see some of the 'construction' walled off just past buffet. They send you down an enclosed hall for the restrooms down in that area. However, they did a great job of closing it off. Just a bit cooler temp in there. The bathroom pic there is of that set. I didn't get the main restrooms which are actually a lot nicer. I didn't get a pic of the main elevators - just Spa & Habitat. But I did use them during the GGWU and they were clean.

    And DEAD SERIOUS. I didn't encounter one porn slapper in front of the hotel. They were rampant down in front of Ballys and just before PH but I am thinking Flamingo maybe requested they move due to the concentration of traffic people are encountering in front of IP? They also seemed to avoid the front of Paris but picked up right across the drive until you hit PH again.
     
  2. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    You can see the sports book is about 1/2 the size it used to be (because of Carlos & Charlies) but still a ton of comfy recliner chairs.

    One other thing that did quirk me is that you drop your bag for bell services at the top of the stairs. But you pick-up at bottom. The gentleman I dropped with did tell me 'we are two separate areas' - but didn't ask for a tip. I did get the hint though lol. I am just surprised they don't combine those two areas staffwise & pool the tips.

    In one of the lobby pics you can see the Total Rewards check-in line area, as well as how close the TR desk is behind that line (where the 2 people area standing). So if you are not a TR member make sure you get a card!
     
  3. red318is

    red318is Tourist

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    I just got back from a stay at the Flamingo and I couldn't agree with you more. I also stayed in a Go room so that probably has a lot to do with our similar experience. My only complaint was that the casino was a little small and the restaurant selection was a little scarce considering how many rooms. I found myself going elsewhere for a lot of my dining and gaming, but that is ok because the location of the Flamingo is so central.
     
  4. OKC Gal

    OKC Gal Low-Roller

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    Looking forward to my stay there next month! Pictures got me excited!
     
  5. sco5123

    sco5123 VIP Whale

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    Same!

    Excellent Photos!
     
  6. Ike

    Ike Low-Roller

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    Margaritaville in my opinion is the best Harrah's owned table games pit in Las Vegas. It has a great vibe, great drink service, and it's literally right on the strip. Can't ask for much more.
     
  7. skybank

    skybank High-Roller

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    I'm glad you like the Flaming-O and I have stayed there 3 times in the past, but reason I will not stay there again is not the up keep or the cleanliness it is that the number of bad customer experiences I had, out weight the number of good customer experiences.
     
  8. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    I have been lucky in that respect - other than a cranky waitress in buffet a couple of years ago, everyone has been outstanding to me. I didn't eat at Flamingo buffet this trip but I have at least eight times. Food has always been good. I have discovered Denver has no free Wi-Fi so I will post more comments on food later.

    The GO room actually appeared to have been recently painted and same with those hallways. However the chair still had some dings. Fridge cooled TOO well. My juice was against the wall & froze. Probably would have been fine in center of shelf.

    Drink service was very regular. VERY frequent in Margaritaville casino.

    The pink elevator pics are spa elevators. I believe they have been refreshed since March.

    I wanted a machine held twice for restroom stop. Service button brought someone in moments who held my machine while I took a pitstop.

    Always someone on duty in restrooms cleaning etc. I have seen comments on disgusting bathrooms before also. But they were spotless.

    Cage lines had separate for Diamond - 7 Star-Platinum this time. Often Platinum is left out at cage here.
     
    Last edited: Nov 15, 2012
  9. whytee

    whytee Guest

    I no go to the Flamingo. I had to move three times and finally went to another casino. The rooms were noisy,dated and dirty.:grrr:
     
  10. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    How long ago? All except for some pet stay are at least FAB rooms now and have had a refresh.
     
  11. btodd

    btodd High-Roller

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    Thank you, thank you , thank you!!! My Mom and I got home on Monday, now Thursday and still in a post Vegas funk. Your pics bring back some great memories. Couldn't agree with you more. Best trip to Flamingo we have ever had. The GO room makes the difference I think. I know you don;t mind the FAB rooms but there are so many variations of those and if the bathroom hasn't been updated, they are a bit rough for us. The $20.00 per night we paid to upgrade to the GO room removed all pre trip and arrival stress, we loved it. Can't wait to go back! Looking forward to your full report..............
     
  12. Bamfbowhunter

    Bamfbowhunter Low-Roller

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    I am guilty of loving the flamingo. However my Vegas buddies hate it so I stopped going there. I like the poker room and the dealers the pool is nice. I need to start stating there again
     
  13. Red18andRed23

    Red18andRed23 Tourist

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    I just booked 5 nights in a GO room for February...cant wait to check out the Flamingo!! :)
     
  14. captainron62

    captainron62 VIP Whale

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    My favorite Resort, had everything I need!! I choose Flamingo over Caesars Augustus tower, if that tells you anything!!
     
  15. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

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    We will probably stay at the Flamingo for our next trip. We loved the Margaritaville casino.
     
  16. vegasdrea

    vegasdrea Buckle Bunny

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    another huge fan of the Flamingo here as well.
     
  17. sammasseur

    sammasseur VIP Whale

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    Will be staying next month at Flamingo for the first time in many years. Getting a GO room as well. Your pics have me jazzed, altho I must say that I walked around two months ago and the fire pit area outside, near Carlos and Charlies, was absolutely filthy. Desperately in need of a power washing, with cigarette butts and remnants of the previous night all over. And it was 2pm. Used to be my favorite little spot to sit outside and have coffee, especially when it was cold. But the filth this time almost made me think twice about staying there again. Hoping it was just a fluke.
     
  18. heatherlovesvegas

    heatherlovesvegas VIP Whale

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    I just booked a GO room. I was so torn for days about booking it. But the rooms there are awesome, I won a stay there from a radio contest last year and we were really impressed. But the property is a little icky in parts.. Donnie and Marie are awesome, that showroom is good, the pool is nice. The shopping area isn't bad. But the parking garage is the nastiest thing ever! The casino ceilings are low so it's smokier, the casino games a lot of them are out of date, we had an unpleasant meal at Margaritaville. But I think the room is good enough to stay if you get a deal.

    It was this or pay triple with the resort fee to stay in an non remodeled room at Luxor... regardless when I go, I know what I like already, I have my favorite hotels and casinos and restaurants. I never stay in one place very long. If this was someone's first time to Vegas, I can't say i would recommend staying there.
     
  19. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    My expectation is that the grunge by C/C might have been a fluke. I took these pics around 8 a.m. in the morning & you can see the groundskeeper was out in the one photo trimming already. The painters/cleaners were working in front of the cage area (the guys on the lifts) in main casino, etc. The area outside of the pizza stand/Center Cut entry to the gardens was clean - lots of people eating snacks out there in the morning. And I rode 6 different elevators in my photo shoot & never encountered any trash etc so I assume they had cleaned for the morning already. I know that at Paris at least, staffing came in at different hours depending on day of week. (I had requested a room change after 1st night & he had to check what day of week it was to see what time staffing was arriving for housekeeping. I imagine other staff sections vary also by day of week.

    For food choices when I go back & inventory, I actually think they have more to choose from at Flamingo than at Paris (of course you could count Ballys too in that one). And walk to HHAGG was ??? 7 minutes or less - probably 5. I know I was there super fast. So you are very close to the Quad restaurants too - and they are supposed to have a great steakhouse & mexican there also.

    I don't have much to report other than LOSING MONEY lol, but I will make a short trip report soon and at least go over the food places, etc., as I had some very good meals.

    Noise - I forgot to address that in my sarcasm earlier lol. You can see that I was facing Linq construction. However noise was not noticeable at all. 1st morning I heard I think a beep-beep from one truck backing up down that alley and that was it. I imagine though that could vary greatly by what they are doing on any given day - so no guarantee you wouldn't hear anything. I don't know that I would want to be directly above the Linq though in an alley facing room - I would expect it could easily be noisier there.

    Noise from adjoining rooms - I could hear mild background noise from next room - nothing severe - just where you can tell the TV is on. If I had mine on I wouldn't have noticed it at all, but I didn't turn the TV on for either day at Flamingo! I still prefer the garden view over the strip views - I could hear sirens, etc., at Paris all night long, and I know the club at Caesars can be heard for direct strip facing view rooms at Flamingo. The garden view was very quiet.

    I have to find my receipts (had them print them before I applied comps) - I swear it was $14.99 at Paris for internet & $13.99 at Flamingo. But maybe I am remembering wrong. I only paid 2 nights - just so I didn't go thru withdrawal. On way out I logged on at Phoenix airport (free wi-fi). Then late night 2 (good till late night 3) at Paris. Then late night 4 at Flamingo (good till late night 5). And a bit this morning at Vegas airport before I left to upload those pics. So I still had use of internet for basically 4 out of 5 days there and only paid 2x (comparing to a daily resort fee).

    My room number was 29024 at Flamingo (2580 at Paris). At Paris they still had the 'charging' slip for your room. At Flamingo you provided your room number and your photo ID & you were set to go.
     
  20. Pattie

    Pattie Low-Roller

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    Thank you for posting the pictures. It looks like some 'fall cleaning' has been done which is always a good thing.

    We are staying at the Flamingo for a week over Christmas and your recent good review certainly carries more weight than the constant put downs and complaints.
     
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