The D in December...little help please

Hey All,

I don't know about you but what a busy and fast year 2014 has been so far!!!

My wonderful wife and I have decided to try the week of Christmas in Vegas(always wanted to do this) and we have picked The D to help us with this.

The D is not set in stone (yet) but here are some reasons we chose it.

1. It's not that far from the ElCo. We have an "old school crush" on the ElCo but have strayed away from it. The last two times we have stayed there, we thought either Van Halen or Led Zepplin was throwing a concert outside.....and we were just about as high up in the tower as you could go before the penthouse.

2. It has a tower that on Youtube, Tripadvisor, and here(VMB) gets good reviews for reduced to no noise. A decent view from the Eastside(if your up high) and is walking distance to the ElCo.
Yes, we think the Eastside 27th floor and up are the best here.

3. It's walking distance to "The 4".....what my wife and I call Binions, 4Queens, Fremont, and GN.

4. Yes, we know about the resort fee at The D.


*** Please list your positive and negative comments and suggestions***

Other casinos downtown and why.

What floors, rooms, and sides of The D and other casinos downtown.

No to ElCo...sorry not this time...it's non-negotiable on staying there...just to eat there and play.



So....load us up(wife and I) with info on The D, how it rates with you, and what floor/room for some quiet time...........yes we expect noise from the hallway, elevator, and slamming doors...not from The Fremont Experience.

Also others you think we might like better in the downtown area...just don't forget the name of the casino, what floor, side, and room number suggestions.


Thank you for your help!!!


See you in 7 months.............Merry Christmas:santa

 

Never stayed at the D, but for the two times we stopped in to gamble, the music was too damn loud in the casino. It may not matter in your case because it sounds like you'll be gambling at the "four" and ElCo. I just thought I would mention it.

 

The two things that I hear about the D as a negative are slow elevators and bad plumbing. If you have the patience for slow elevators then that's no problem. The plumbing seems to be sinks that drain slow.

Again, this is what I've heard not based on experience.

 

Joe.....tell me and sell me what you like about MSS. What floor, side, rooms, and anything else....please.

 

No major issues with the D, I've stayed there once and the room was average for downtown. No complaints.
I've had a couple issues with bad employees here. I second the point about the noise level - the casino is really loud.
I would stay there again if I received a comp offer. They do have some good VP.

I like MSS for the following reasons:

Very good VP, including bartop full pay
Cheap, good micro beers
Brew pub is great, especially for late night specials
Never had any issue with noise at the hotel
Good players club for future offers, linked to other off strip/downtown properties that are also worth playing at.
Hotel rooms are clean and functional. In a half dozen stays no issues.
Employees are friendly, especially at the bar.

 

Wow, this could take an essay. Since we abandoned the Strip, we have stayed at MSS for 14 years now. First and foremost, we think the employees are great. Always friendly and having stayed there so much, they know us by name.

We are comped our suite and also all our food at any Boyd owned restaurant. Plus, the limo to/from the airport. MSS only has one suite per floor, so we are always in an even numbered room, ending in 18. That faces the train tracks & the Interstate. No biggie for us because I have enough adult beverages that once I get to the room and go to bed, I hear nothing. The noise for others is sometimes a complaint. If we didn't get the suite, then I would request an odd # room with a low room number. You still hear the noise from Main Street, but it is quieter than an even # room.

We mostly play VP these days and their 9/6 JOB is very good. They have 9/5 DDB, my game, but across the sky bridge at Cal, they have 9/6 DDB and playing at MSS, Cal or Fremont all count on my B Connected points.

The food at the 777 brewpub is excellent and we have our choice for dinner at Redwood, Second St and Pasta Pirate. I'm not a buffet person, just usually breakfast at the MSS buffet, but others rave about lunch and dinner. Some also knock it.

A standard room is decent. A door separates the tub and toilet from the vanity and imo plenty of room in the room. Frig in all the rooms, not sure about coffee makers in a standard room.

I double and triple book rooms just to check out the room and collect my free play. Golden Gate has to have the smallest rooms. 4Q rooms are nice, you just need to make sure you are in the south tower and away from the Fremont St bands. Plaza rooms are also nice after the redo, but the casino has no vibe. I've never stayed at ElCo. The Downtown Grand rooms are also very nice, but their VP tables suck. Nice pool area, free coffee in the morning downstairs.

I have a small database of pictures from all of the above mentioned places if you want to see the rooms. Unfortunately, I don't think I have any of a standard MSS room, just the suites.

 

The D is a Decent place to stay, but now is just a spot I like to visit on every trip. Stayed there last time in June 2013, and had a few issues. As some others have mentioned, there are some noticeably rude employees there. I suppose every property has them but it was more noticeable here than other places I've stayed. Foonlyr example, when I checked in I asked for two keys. The girl working the front desk said, "You're staying alone. You get one key only."

Not a huge fan of the $20 resort fee being three times as much as the Golden Nugget's, either. I hope it's working for them but I don't think it's a reasonable fee at that amount.

And for some reason, I absolutely could not get my room cool enough to sleep well during the hot June months. My floor was about mid-level and they checked the air and said it was working fine. I've stayed everywhere downtown in the summer except Plaza and LV Club and this was the only time I had issues with the AC.

Someone else already mentioned the elevators, and that's been an issue since my first stay in 2006. Not sure why they can't remedy that.

Still a fan to visit, but the savings I used to justify in order to stay there (and when it was Fitzgerald's I stayed often) have been mostly wiped away with the slight increase in fees and major increase with resort fee. For my upcoming summer 3-night stay, I costed it out and it's just $35 more (total) to stay at the Golden Nugget, Carson Tower room. Not a hard decision anymore so GN has become my new home at about the same price the "bargain" casinos have become.

Having said that, American Coney Island inside the D has saved my starvation several times. It remains a must visit spot.

Just my two cents there...worth about a cup of coffee (which, btw, they often comp at the GN Claude's Bar if your'e staying!)

 

If you're going Christmas week and want to treat yourself, you may want to explore the cost of their suites. These units are very nice and reasonable throughout the year. During the week of Christmas (when tourism is low), you might be able to get these for around $100 per night.

Also, one other thing to note.......you don't mention being a show person (so this may not be a problem), but be aware that many shows are on hiatus at that time and may not be an option for your trip.

 

I like the D. They remodeled the rooms a couple of years ago and they are pretty nice. If you stay there, bring some K-cups. They have Kuerig machines in the room and the cost of using their K cups is outrageous. The music downstairs is loud. It is quieter upstairs and that is where the better VP is so I spend most of my time there.

I am a huge fan of MSS for the same reasons that Joe mentioned. MSS has been our "home" for close to 10 years. They take care of us and I have never had an issue. Does losing money count as an issue?

 

Fremont, Four Queens and MSS are the best bets Downtown. Cheap, easy room comps, nice restaurants, great atmosphere and NO resort fee.

 

I believe that I read somewhere that both The D and Golden Gate have removed their Kuerigs. Not sure, as I haven't stayed at either lately.

 

Have stayed at The D the last 3 years from Christmas Night until airport time late afternoon New Year's Eve. Loved it. Last year our floor was 13th with a great view. I did not encounter any problems with the elevator. The only time they are real busy is right after a show is over... no problem for me! If you think it is too crowded on floor 1 go up the escalator and catch the elevator on 2 going down and just stay in it.
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There was no noise problem in our room... we faced a good view...and had a walk-in shower... no plumbing problem.
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The casino gets pretty loud in the evening hours, but early on, it did not bother us. They have PaiGow Mania and Freebet Blackjack... both kind of new... but odds are good and played for hours with a $100 buy-in... played during the noisy time with no real problem. Watching the men at the table try to play and at the same time watch the dancers was kind of entertaining for an old lady.
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The food at Andiamos is delicious... they were voted #1 in the downtown area.
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The resort fee is not applied if you are comped the room... email and ask for a comped room. They had 2 shows available with free tickets with our comped room... not many shows are available on the strip at that time. There was a big New Year's Eve tournament available, but we left mid-afternoon.
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We also love the nearness to most casinos downtown. Our favorites are 4 Queens, especially their Magnolia Grill and Hugo's, Fremont, Binion's and Golden Nugget... but not their yucky buffet. Main Street and California are a little far but when we go we like them.
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Plaza was dead last trip... as was El Cortez... we were very disappointed at El Cortez... it was virtually empty and the pit bosses were all standing around talking to each other and not watching the misdeals the BJ dealers were making... we left!
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Don't let them change your mind about The D... I think you will love it... and as a last enticement... their comps are far better and easier to get than any other casino downtown.

 

Stayed at the D about 4 times since it updated. Rooms are nice and new, great value for the price. The corner rooms (mini suites) are a bit larger with a full couch if you need extra room. Food is good at all restaurants.

Comped rooms have no resort fee. Rooms ARE noisy that face Fremont.

 

I have been to LV 12 times this year. Half of those stays were at "the D". I will be spending NYE with them.

1)If you are "noise sensitive" make sure to ask for the "odd numbered side"
2)No coffee makers in the rooms anymore
3)The hallways are "short", not even if you are at the end, it's not a bad walk at all.
4)Andiamo's is the best!!
5)Music is loud in the casino but there are places to get away from it.

It's a great place!

 

Golden gate suite still had a keurig in September

 

Just because a hotel has a resort fee doesn't mean you should not stay there. Just compare the room cost and resort fee to the other hotels your looking at.

If you listen to episode 408 of the fivehundybymidnight podcast they explain resort fees fairly well.

The gist of it is that many have them so they can show a lower room price in search engines to help push them to the top of searches.