Anyone ever stay at Hawthorn Suites on Boulder Highway?

Wait... what? A non-casino hotel? What's that?! Bit of a long-shot question...

Now that my odds of hitting Vegas in the winter this year are higher, I'm getting some new ideas... one of which is to stay at the Hawthorn Suites on Boulder Highway. Mainly for location, because I want to visit the Clark County Museum again, and spend some time on Water Street which is within walking distance. Of course, I also like the idea of staying in a non-casino hotel which will include otherwise unheard of amenities for Vegas, like included breakfast and a social hour. There's even an indoor pool too.

Where I'm feeling iffy about this is the mixed reviews. It's a three-star hotel in Henderson, I'm obviously not expecting it to be anything extravagant. But at the same time, I'd like to avoid a situation that could have been prevented by staying at Sam's Town instead and commuting down a couple of times.

I know it's unlikely anyone from the board has ever stayed there... but just asking anyway, especially since I know there are some folks here who have spent extended periods in Vegas, and this type of property would appeal to those on longer trips (because of features like kitchenettes, on-property laundry, etc.).

TIA!

 

I haven't stayed at that particular Hawthorn Suites, but can comment on a few general questions / ideas in your post.

1. Hawthorn Suites I've stayed at in other cities were nice, and the area of this location is fine.

2. Over the past three years, I've stayed at a mix of casino and non casino hotels during extended stays in Vegas on points (Hilton, Marriott, Holiday Inn Express), now that I stopped playing / playing for comps. I like having the extended break from constant casino bombardment, and appreciated the free breakfast. Rooms were typically very quiet, also didn't miss the ridiculous resort fees. I usually do laundry at my brother's house, but if I didn't would love the convenience on site. Before my brother's move to Vegas, I would do get wash and fold service at a cleaners near the Silver City Casino mall, when that closed either at Ellis Island (as a non-guest) or a laundry near Gold Coast/Palms.

3. To open up one more possibility (or for future trips to Water Street), I discovered the Henderson Express bus that has 4-5 stops between downtown and Water Street in Henderson. I took it three times to Lovelady Brewery, it took maybe 5-10 more minutes than if you had a car, since it is nearly entirely via the expressway. You can also take and transfer for another bus to hit the three "auto-plex" Henderson breweries (Astronomy Aleworks, CraftHaus and a third I can't recall at the moment).

I'm not familiar with anything else on Water Street besides Lovelady, is anything further South worth checking out? I may get around to checking out the Clark County Museum as well.

Thanks

 

Very good insights, thank you! Especially for the breweries. To be clear, it's route 217 that you're referring to, right? https://assets.rtcsnv.net/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2019/08/13113919/217.pdf

Also, the third brewery is "Bad Beat". If these are worth checking out, I will definitely take your recommendation

Water Street has a few things that appeal to me...

- Juan's Flaming Fajitas... went once and absolutely loved it, cannot wait to go again
- Vintage barbershop, I've heard amazing reviews, especially about Ceez, one of their barbers
- Also heard amazing things about Chef Flemming's Bake Shop, for Danish-style baked goods
- Mojave Brewing Company is also new, in the old Bank of America building. Definitely want to check that out.
- I've also recently gotten into bingo, so I'd definitely like to play a few rounds at the Eldorado casino

As for the Clark County museum, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Between the exhibits on the inside, and the heritage village on the outside, it's unreal and I'm mad at myself for only spending an hour and a bit there, when I should have taken a whole afternoon. For just $2 admission, you cannot beat it.

 

I believe Viva's talking about the HDX bus which goes from Downtown to Henderson (and back of course) with very few stops along the way. Very efficient.

 

You're right... I read what he said too fast Definitely a good route to know about, especially compared to the "regular" BHX route.

 

Thank you for the great recommendations not from concentrate! Thanks also Vegas Kid 74 for your clarification.

Love that Chef Flemming is across the street from Lovelady, will definitely hit next trip and switch up the usual return of treats from Donut Bar for the kids. With Mojave BC and Eldorado right down the street as well, a few extended visits to Henderson are warranted. Wish my brother moved to Henderson, like the vibe a lot more than Summerlin's old, money, snobbery vibe. Juan's Flaming Fajitas is not hard to get to from Summerlin so hopefully can convince them to try it.

Both BDX (Boulder Street Express) and HDX (Henderston Express) buses stop at Lovelady. From there, you take take the 217 to get to the autoplex breweries (it's about a half mile walk from the nearest stop). I took the 217 to the transit South Terminal and from there the SDX back. Google Maps is great to plan, the RTC great to track buses real time.

Tenaya Creek (Downtown) and Lovelady have the broadest range in terms of good pours they offer. HopNuts (in the Arts District) specializes in NE IPAs, and they have decent stouts as well. Tenaya Creek also has my favorite staff, and they have rotating guest taps featuring several goog to very good regional offerings.

Astronomy Aleworks in the AutoPlex is the best among the three there IMO. Both pours I had there were very good. Moons of Uranus is a great Stout, and the variants included coffee, coconut and vanilla. This was an excellent balanced porter, with a very manageable 6.4% ABV. I liked Pluto is a Planet second best, decent West Coast IPA attempt, also with a 6.4% abv, slightly bitter and dry.

I took a risk and tried the Abbey Single at Bad Beat and they did a very good job with the Belgium offering. Not many American breweries even attempt this, but I rated the beer a four, had a nice spicy pepper and pear aroma, very fruity. Had to catch the last bus back, but would have stayed for one or two more. People hyped CraftHaus pre visit. The one beer I tried, a Saison, also not a common style, was not good. I will return for other pours, but will likely stick with a straight forward IPA and see how that goes before exploring their range.

Since you like Bingo, Bad Beat presented Music Bingo for free beer and swag when I visited. They have an events calendar on their website, and was the best vibe space of the three. CraftHaus was the most modern, Astronomy was a step above drinking in someone's basement, but they are the newest of the three and they put their seed money where it counts - great beer!

Three final beer recommendations. Khourey's is a bottle shop in Henderson that also has a dozen draft pours. I always was driven there so don't have bus info, but it is near GVR southeast of the airport.

Aces and Ales is close to a mile walk from Sam's Town, they have excellent rare bottles and 20 + draft pours available. Very smokey, a dive bar (the later up my alley). A more sanitized second Aces and Ales is near Summerlin.

The Great American Beer Festival is held in Denver each year. Chicago Brewing Co. in 4 Queens won a few awards. I will definitely check out their downtown bar for the first time (turned around previously due to cigar smoke which I avoid), and will like to check their brewery in Summerlin for a wider draft menu (and hopefully no smoking like other Vegas breweries).

Lots of words, hope they add to your trip. Your recommendations will surely add to my trip.

 

I have actually stayed here. I would link to my trip report except people reported malware on my blog that I cannot seem to fix.

My stay was inside a 20 night trip, which included New Year's Eve. I am not a "New Year's Eve in Vegas" kind of person, but I liked having all the holidays during my trip so I could stay longer and use less vacation time. I booked via Hotwire. I was promised an "all suite hotel with casino" and did not get a suite, and the casino was closed. When I was there, the casino had just been bought by Dotty's and wasn't open yet. As you say there is no casino, perhaps they never opened it. It was not inside the hotel, there was a short walkway connecting it. I contacted Hotwire about the lack of advertised casino and they offered me a full credit so I could move hotels. However last minute NYE in Vegas = no hotels available for the credit of a hotel in the middle of bumblefuck Boulder Highway. So I stayed and accepted a partial credit back.

There is a(nother?) Dotty's pretty much "next door" which means you cross one street and then walk about a mile in a parking lot for a Strip mall type place that is about 3897498324 square miles. I live in NYC. This ginormous parking lot seems excessive.

The room itself was fine. I had a microwave and refrigerator, not a full kitchen. I also used the laundry facilities. I did not attend any of the social hours, as the last thing on Earth I personally want to do is be social. There is a Smith's grocery "next door" that had the best brownies I have ever eaten in my life. I always plan to take the bus all the way back there just to get some more because it would be worth it. But I have never. My next trip is 18 nights, maybe I finally will. But probably not.

 

I have stayed there on two occasions. Both times, I stayed using Wyndham points for a free room on New Year's Eve. The rooms are clean and fine. They have breakfast which you can't get at the casino and they also have an indoor pool which we used.

 

There is donut shop in the Smith's plaza that has hands down the best donuts.. Friendly donuts I believe it is called. It is now a side trip we make each trip.