The Orleans

Hi Guys

Can someone help me with some questions about The Orleans.

How much should i expect to pay for a cab from the airport, i have been reading about getting "tunneled" and don't know if this is a Hotel they will try it on.

Is it worth attempting the $20 trick, has anyone had success before?

How much are cabs to and from the Strip?

The wife wants to know if the Spa is any good?, only a couple of pictures on the website, so not much to go on.

Orleans

I stay at the Orleans every year. Cabs to and from the airport run $25-$30 (including tip). Tell the drive not to take the tunnel. You can get to the strip for $10-15 (with tip). The casino has a free shuttle that will take you to the strip and the Gold Coast (for easy access to Palms / Rio), but you'll have to plan some waiting time into your schedule. For what it's worth, the casino has a large parking lot with easy access to the casino floor. I've found it easier to rent a car when staying at the Orleans.

I'd skip the $20 trick. There isn't a wide variety of rooms available. I always simply ask for a high floor with a strip view, and they have always accommodated my request.

Never been to the spa. My hunch is, like most aspects of the Orleans, it is high quality and reasonably priced, but nowhere near the luxury you'll find at strip resorts.

All in all, it's a great place to stay. Great dining at an affordable price. Low minimums and good odds in the casino. Clean rooms. Easy access to the strip. Enjoy your stay!

I agree with everything JTPiano23 wrote. Additionally, if you have more time than money, you can catch the 201 to the Trop. and then the WAX to the airport on a cheap 2-hour pass.

Also be aware that the Orleans charges a nightly resort fee (for regular paying customers).

Orleans Sunday night! Woo Hoo! Can't wait!

We stay there almost every trip!

I've almost always gotten a strip view/high floor just by asking.

We won't get in until about midnight though, so selection will probably be limited then. We'll see.

Love this place! Good restaurants, friendly dealers and comfortable rooms. I always say maybe we'll go see a movie but we always end up at the tables instead.

Thanks for the responses


I probably need to add a bit of context to the trip.

Me and my other half have never been before and are coming from the UK, both in our late 40's. The wife is the gambler, she loves VP, i may play a bit, but i get bored very easily with VP.

We have eight nights booked, and are playing myvegas to get some show tickets and maybe stay on the strip for a night or two, dunno what else, any recommendations are gratefully accepted at this point.

No plans other than to enjoy ourselves, without kids under our feel and in our wallets.

Everything people have said so far has been spot on, although it has been a while since we stayed there. I second the suggestion that a car is good to have at Orleans. Time is of the essence in Vegas, parking is easy there, and Orleans is not near any other attractions unless you walk across to GC or down to Rio.

Stay away from the poker room. It is (or was) crawling with local rocks. We did not like the buffet. Other food choices abound.

Opinions about the Orleans' buffet vary widely, and we've had good and not-so-good experiences. We don't eat there all that often anymore, but had lunch mid-week last month. That's doubly unusual in that we usually don't eat lunch. We were surprised to find so many selections that were actually good, including eggs and bacon in the afternoon. Especially if comped, it's not a bad choice.

The buffet is cheap and awful! I have stayed in excess of 200 nights at the Orleans since 1999. The Canal Street steakhouse is very good, reasonable compared to the strip. Prime Rib Loft is excellent. The Koji Japanese/Chinese restaurant and Big Al's Oyster Bar are also very good. Order the clam chowder but don't let Ron, the tall chef, convince you that the red "chowder", called "Manhattan clam chowder" is really clam chowder. It isn't. It's clam SOUP. A running battle I have with him for over ten years. Clam chowder has milk in it, not tomatoes! I know clam chowder, I'm from New England! By the way - it is superb!

The Fridays restaurant is a chain and horrible. The service is terrible and the food pre-cooked and re-warmed in many cases.

The cafe serves pretty good food as does the food court, all reasonable.

My opinions are based on my personal experience and the collective experience of thousands of my customers over the years and I bet there are differing opinions but take this for what it is, an opinion!

Next door to the Orleans, across Cameron on the corner of Tropicana, is McMullins Irish Pub. Very good food except for the fish and chips, which suck.

The Orelans offers a free shuttle to the strip and a sister property as walking to either is way too far.

Now, the Orleans was the first place I ever hit a Royal flush ($1000) and then hit three more ($2000 each) the same night! I have hit more there than anywhere else but not recently. I have also had more hand pays (over $1200) there than any casino in Las Vegas but nothing bigger than $9000. It has been a lucky place for me.

I echo the comments about the Poker Room. I have been a magician over 40 years so I see things others don't. That Poker room exists for the locals to rob unsuspecting tourists. I will leave it at that.

The rooms are nothing special but are clean and large. I highly recommend a high floor. The pool area is small but OK and the spa is very nice and very inexpensive compared to the big places on the strip.

Regarding the cab: when you get in, take out your cellphone and take a picture of the cabbie's license. Then tell him no tunnel. In reality it would be about 2 or three minutes quicker if he took you through the tunnel, up I-15 and down Tropicana but I have had customers tell me they have been taken past I-15, up Decatur and then down Tropicana. No traffic but this adds about $15 to the fare! Save every dollar you can and make him/her go the short route.

Enjoy Las Vegas!

I would advise you to get in the cab, say "Orleans" and I have "25 $ to get there". You won't be tunneled and you won't see the meter rise above about 18 / 19 $. Too much tip? If 25 $ is a fair price for you then it doesn't matter. I find when you go anywhere just give a price and ask if you can get from here to there for that....before on-board cameras and microphones, it was not uncommon for us to take a cab and have the cabbie stop the meter enroute to waive the "waiting time" in traffic. However, at 20 cents a mile "fuel surcharge" you get screwed anyway into actually paying for the gas with many of the high mph vehicles and come close on the others.
Agree with most of what others have said.....

I would take the shuttle to the strip. You are there for many days and sometimes you need to take a break from the go-go-go schedule. It is comfortable and clean and drivers are pleasant. The resort fee is a fact but it is usually waived if you have any play at all and ask about it at the host office nearest the registration desk upon leaving as they can review your play.

I would go for the Prime Rib Loft early in the trip. We love it. If you go early (in your trip) you can decide if you want to go back as opposed to late in the trip and have no time to return. The buffet....eh...coffee shop is a good substitute especially for breakfast and salads in the middle of the day.

If you are not opposed to walking I would ask for a room far from the elevators as foot traffic will be reduced from those accessing the elevators. Many elevators and minimal waiting time is my experience.

Be sure to get a players card and ask questions for specials, birthday months, age related specials etc.

Good luck......

Hi, I am from the UK also, I have stayed at the Orleans maybe 15-20 times over the last 6-8 years, I was there in January, and I,m going back in 2 days time.

This place is solid, it is no Wynn/Cosmo/venetian, but then it is probably at least $100-$150 a night cheaper than they are.

Make your own mind up on the food places, I have eaten at all of them, and I would,nt say any were "bad", some are better than others, "diffrent strokes for diffrent folks"
If you are going to the buffet, show your players card for a discount, there are good/bad reviews for the buffet, but I honestly cant complain when you take what you paid for it into account. If you pay by players club points at any Boyd restaurant, you get a 40% discount.

The pool does not get any real sun till about 11 am, depending on what time of year you go, so if you are sun worshipers, plan something else for morning and go to the pool in the afternoon, we have never had any problems getting a sun lounger, like most places in Vegas, they give you towels at the pool entrance.

Cocktail service is good to very good, depending on where you are in the casino, remember to tip $1-2 a drink or you will not see her again.

As has been mentioned previously, dont bother with the $20 trick, I have stayed in many different rooms here and they are all pretty much the same.

Have a great trip

I agree with scottydoog. We enjoy the food at the Orleans and it is a really good deal when you use your player's club discount. As far as the rooms go, you might ask for one 9th floor or above, as these are serviced by separate elevators and have no stops on the way down below the 9th floor. I have heard that some of the rooms have been updated, so you might want to inquire about that. We really enjoy the casino, as it is huge and has many choices. We have stayed at several places on the strip, but we now prefer the Orleans. We can enjoy nice, clean rooms with comfortable beds and a separate sitting area in all of the rooms, consistently pleasant service and good food. Throw in the huge casino, the 18 plex movie theater, and the bowling facility and there are many choices. Also, there is 24 hour dining available at both the Courtyard Cafe and Fuddruckers - this is a very nice thing to have in Las Vegas, the 24 hour city. I hope that this helped. Have a great trip!

There are renovated rooms and they are in their own booking class as a Premium room.

I have stayed there.. and REALLY loved it. It is an INEXPENSIVE( MEANING VALUE PLAY) compared to the strip in ALL ASPECTS.. TOTALLY DISAGREE with piggylane with the buffets negative review. I thought and still do think their breakfast buffet is a GREAT value for the price .And their lunch and dinner buffies are good as well. The other restaurants are good and are value plays. I LOVE their bar areas. The Spa is decent ---again its a VALUE PLAY( it aint the Bellagio or Wynn but ya aren't paying those prices either. But it JMHO.
The only thing I didn't care for was the odds on their craps tables. Wish they higher odds. But the staff and bar service was GREAT. I would return there in a HEARTBEAT.

Piggylane said:

Now, the Orleans was the first place I ever hit a Royal flush ($1000) and then hit three more ($2000 each) the same night! I have hit more there than anywhere else but not recently. I have also had more hand pays (over $1200) there than any casino in Las Vegas but nothing bigger than $9000. It has been a lucky place for me.

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You poor thing.


:Þ



LOL!

I am also a fan of Orleans. We stayed there at the beginning of March and I asked for one of the renovated rooms. We had 2 comped nights, but because I asked for a renovated room, I was charged an extra $11 a night. I did not dispute this because I was anxious to see the new rooms. The front desk woman told me that they are renovating all the rooms and once they do, will not be charging extra. By the way, the renovations are nice!

I called a couple weeks ago about the renovations on rooms and was told they are just doing one tower this year. Stayed there twice a year for last 7 years and never had a bad room or bad experience. I always ask for upper floor and have gotten top floor a couple times. No need for any $tricks here, they will give you what you want if they can.

9wishes you are right. I didnt make that clear in my post. The north tower was the one we stayed in. I think they will do the east tower next and then the west tower.

Bluesdude, did they do anything to the bathrooms?

Yes. They are also redone. All retiled and painted with new fixtures. Rain head shower with a grab bar in the tub. New shower curtain with curved shower rod and the top of the curtain a meshed pattern. Brighter lights also. The design is still the same so it is very recognizable. Much needed in my opinion.