1. Welcome to VegasMessageBoard
    It appears you are visiting our community as a guest.
    In order to view full-size images, participate in discussions, vote in polls, etc, you will need to Log in or Register.

Need some tips for my mom

Discussion in 'Downtown Hotels' started by leo21, Jun 2, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2010
    Messages:
    6,477
    Location:
    Chicago South Suburbs
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    So my mom got has a training program to attend in Vegas, which includes the room. Because it's for non-profits, I was thinking that it would be at a place like Gold Coast or somewhere east of the strip. But, no, it's at the Plaza. My mom is into places like Caesars and Paris and once she checks in, she rarely leaves the property. I never saw her as someone who could do downtown and I certainly don't see her at the Plaza. I need some tips to make the week go well. She's already said she doesn't plan on gambling during the conference.

    First, is the Plaza as lackluster as I imagine?

    Second, what are some good dining options for light lunches and dinner? If this is like the last training program, they are probably getting continental breakfasts and a coffee break with snacks included.

    We've been to Magnolia's and I've already mentioned HHAGG. If nothing else, I want her to be able to impress the folks she may be hanging out with some slick restaurant suggestions. TIA!
     
  2. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2009
    Messages:
    16,023
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    175
    I'll beat Hoyaheel to it, but Second St Grill inside Fremont. We have never had a bad meal there.

    Redwood inside Cal is always a good choice. We just ate there last Saturday.

    Most likely reservations would be required at both.

    I haven't tried Oscar's, inside the Plaza, so no help there, but the view down Fremont might impress.

    For a light lunch or dinner, the 777 Brewpub inside Main Street has a big menu, but it can be loud. They can set tables for a large group.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  3. Buddha

    Buddha VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2012
    Messages:
    1,470
    Location:
    Chicago 'burbs
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    60
    I doubt that your Mom will be pleased with the Plaza, but it does have the new Oscar Goodman's restaurant (pricey) ... 2nd floor, under the valet dome.

    The 777 Brewpub at MSS is a fun place ... and usually noisy ... probably not for Mom. MSS buffet is decent, if that is acceptable to her ... ???

    The California has the Pasta Pirate which is nice. For even higher tastes (and prices) they also have the Redwood Grill. For lower expectations, they have the Market Street Cafe.

    I'm not familiar with the Golden Nugget options, but Binion's has its Steakhouse up top (might be pricey).

    The Fremont has Tony Roma's for ribs, and such.

    Good luck ....
     
  4. LucyR.

    LucyR. VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Feb 17, 2012
    Messages:
    2,210
    Location:
    Los Angeles,CA.
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    The plaza hotel

    PLEASE LEAVE YOUR MOM AT THE PLAZA HOTEL because that is where her
    whole group will be staying at. If you move her to another hotel she will be
    isolated from her group. She will be able to meet up with them for eating
    breakfast, lunch and dinner.

    PLUS, MOST LIKELY THE PLAZA will be having their training meetings there
    where they have reserved the meeting rooms.

    AM I WRONG IN THINKING THAT IS THE HOTEL WHERE THE MEETINGS WILL E AT.
    If I am wrong. TheN the GOLDEN NUGGET HOTEL IS A BETTER HOTEL. It is located in the same area. LucyR.
     
  5. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2010
    Messages:
    6,477
    Location:
    Chicago South Suburbs
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    Oh there is no hope of her leaving. I just want to make sure her expectations are accurate. People keep telling her it's nice and I don't know where that's coming from. Thanks for the recommendations so far. I don't know if meal cost is a huge concern considering my mom is used to strip prices. It would be an issue if the place isn't worth the money. I just know that there are days where she won't want to eat more than a couple light meals and other days she will be up to a splurge.
     
  6. C0usineddie

    C0usineddie VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jun 7, 2011
    Messages:
    3,817
    Location:
    San Diego
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    12
    So she gets a free all expenses paid trip to vegas and thats not enough?

    Lets keep some perspective here.

    She will get by just fine and might even have fun downtown. i bet that she likes it better then she thinks she will.
     
  7. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2010
    Messages:
    6,477
    Location:
    Chicago South Suburbs
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    Not all expense paid. Just hotel and some rooms. If she were coming to gamble, it would be really all expense paid by a strip casino. I know my mom. If she were coming on vacation, I couldn't think of a downtown hotel she would be completely satisfied with. But she is excited about the training and I hope some of the diversions will make up for the hotel.
     
  8. Cohiba

    Cohiba Tourist

    Joined:
    Mar 12, 2012
    Messages:
    88
    Location:
    West Edmond, Oklahoma
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    60
    Stay at the Plaza and spend money for a taxi to see the sights.

    1st. See the sights downtown...different casinos and what they offer...look them up before she leaves so she knows what to look for or what to avoid.

    2nd. Not the best Vegas has to offer but have her go to Binion's...East of where she is staying. Go to the top of Binion's and enjoy the view and the steakhouse.
    [​IMG]

    3rd. Like I said, if the room is paid for, spend money else where.....taxi. Split the cost with other convention folks and the ride.

    Go see the top of the Stratisphere, Belaggio fountains, go up Paris Eiffel Tower, go to Mandalay Bay and take a tour of the Shark Reef...they use to offer behind the scenes and show how everything works and runs. Then have a meal or Margarita at Border Grill.

    Caesars/Venitian...put on her comfy walking shoes.


    Dining and things to do...look at the dining section on this forum along with things to do in the Downtown section, Strip section, and Vegas chat section. Believe it or not, make a little notebook on things she wants to do and see.........time will fly by, she'll look up and not see or do half of what she thought she would.

    My 2cents....stay at the Plaza, enjoy downtown, then venture out to the Strip.
     
  9. Texas Gramma

    Texas Gramma Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Nov 19, 2011
    Messages:
    211
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    35
    Send Mom and Friends to Hugo's

    Send Mom and her friends to Hugo's. It is in the basement of 4 Queens Casino... don't panic, it's as nice as any restaurant on the strip once you are inside. The meals are a little pricey, but not as bad as a similar place on the strip, not when you consider you get interesting breads, a marvelous table side salad, an entree and dessert for the price... there is no pricing each veggie side. You can find the menu online. The ladies are given a rose upon entering and the waiters wait on you magnificently. Your mom and her friends will feel very elegantly treated. I have been to Bellagio, the old Desert Inn, Stardust and many others... this does compare. If she gives it a chance, I think your Mom will enjoy downtown, I know I do.
     
  10. weas

    weas Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Vegas Deals

    Joined:
    May 27, 2009
    Messages:
    649
    Location:
    Waller
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    35
    The Golden Nugget has good restaurants. The Chart House, Grotto, vic and Anthony's, Lillies. About a 5 minute walk from Plaza to GN.
     
  11. zvegasz

    zvegasz Tourist

    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2012
    Messages:
    49
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    100

    The plaza is where I typically stay downtown I think the rooms since the remodel are as good as any downtown or even places off strip like the gold coast which i had stayed at so she won't have an issue there. For food oscars is excellent if she doesn't mind spending a little more and the pizza place is great but I usually only go there late at night after some drinks. Otherwise as others mentioned golden nugget has a lot of options I like the grotto and for buffets Main Street next door the plaza is good. Not sure if your mother is into shows but the Phat pack at the Plaza are definitely for an older crowd say 55+ such as myself and we all loved the show in the showroom which is so classic old vegas I do recommend it.
     
  12. sammasseur

    sammasseur VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    Messages:
    2,785
    Location:
    Salem Oregon
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    63
    Plaza's rooms are on par with a nicely-remodeled Super 8, especially the bathrooms. Clean, spacious, spartan. Some are getting beat up with damaged furniture and scratched walls, so complain/get moved if you find that's the case. Tiny toilet/bathtub closet and odd, very high sinks with no counter space, luggage racks or towel rods. Beds are very comfortable, elevators fast, large parking garage, variety of dining options. So, pluses and minuses abound.
     
  13. zvegasz

    zvegasz Tourist

    Joined:
    Dec 19, 2012
    Messages:
    49
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    100
    Haha that's very funny sam the furniture is from a 5* never opened bankrupt hotel how's is that super 8 level? Have you stayed there since the remodel? I can certainly say the rooms I have stayed in a dozen times since the remodel including last month have been very good quality not most strip standard but not super 8. Lets be accurate.
     
  14. jugdish76

    jugdish76 Low-Roller

    Joined:
    Dec 22, 2002
    Messages:
    407
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    It's way better than a Super8.

    I've stayed at the Plaza twice since the remodel. The rooms are very nice (better than the midrange, economy strip properties ... better than the Flamingo, Harrah's in my opinion, but not nearly as nice as Caesars is said to be).

    The problem with the Plaza isn't the rooms or the hotel. It's the casino. The casino is dead. And unless you like gambling and drinking, the downtown area doesn't offer much to do.

    Oscar's is a very nice restaurant. One of the better meals I've had in Vegas. It lacks the airs of some of the nicer Strip places, but also lacks the prices.

    If she's into attractions, send her to the Mob Museum or the Neon Boneyard. Both are nearby. I've been to neither, but I hear good things.
     
  15. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2012
    Messages:
    7,883
    Location:
    Fort Worth
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    100
    I stayed at the Plaza two trips ago - and my room was very nice and quite comfortable. Next to the Nugget, it was the nicest room I've stayed at downtown. Perhaps I just got lucky, but there it is.
    As for gambling, the $10 2-deck blackjack shoe (with DAS!) was busy at all times it was open. The 3-card poker table was hit and miss - seems like it was either just me, or there were 4 or 5 of us there. No in-between. Craps seemed dead, but the roulette table seemed to stay reasonably busy.
     
    Annual Spring Trip!
  16. sammasseur

    sammasseur VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    Messages:
    2,785
    Location:
    Salem Oregon
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    63
    I've probably stayed there as many times as you since the remodel. Honesty here - the furniture they got is clearly from the lowest-end rooms that were planned for Fontainebleau. It certainly wasn't chosen to endure the wear and tear inflicted by bargain-hunter guests. It is flimsy, plain, and cheaply-made. The bottom of the drawers are so thin that they bow and flex, the cloth on the love seats already is fraying and splitting, and at least 3 of the sinks I've encountered have been damaged (handles loose, towel rod at the front falling onto the floor, etc). The carpeting was tossed in poorly, the tiles are coming up in the bathrooms and elevator areas, wallpaper has been hung crooked and is coming loose, and the decorative tables in the hallways and common areas are made of cheap thin wood that's barely stronger than cardboard. The bedding and desk chair are high quality, as well as the television. That's about it. Nothing here suggests that these furnishings are five-star, and certainly not on par with Wynn's or Palazzo's. If Fontainebleau ever did actually open up with these furnishings, they would have been critically blasted.

    BTW, they're using the much of the same furniture and carpeting in the LOWEST-level rooms of the Downtown Grand/Lady Luck remodel. For the better rooms, they got something else. That helps to prove my point.

    Plaza Las Vegas standard room:

    [​IMG]

    Downtown Grand standard room (looks mighty familiar):

    [​IMG]

    A nicely-remodeled Super 8 (as I stated in my example):

    [​IMG]



    Downtown Grand deluxe room:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jun 3, 2013
  17. Candy Apple

    Candy Apple VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2004
    Messages:
    2,360
    Location:
    Cleveland
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    20
    Sam, that carpeting in the Downtown Grand deluxe room is hurting my eyes!
     
  18. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Sep 11, 2009
    Messages:
    16,023
    Location:
    Wisconsin
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    175
    Can someone explain to me what it is about having so many pillows? Not just these places, but it seems everywhere we stay these days.

    We end up throwing them on the floor.
     
  19. sammasseur

    sammasseur VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2009
    Messages:
    2,785
    Location:
    Salem Oregon
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    63
    I rarely get all those pillows in the actual room. They seem to like them in their website photos for sure. My rooms usually look like the top photo at Plaza - two bed pillows and a sheet, LOL.....Hell, at the very least you'd think Plaza would put a skirt or some kind of cover around the lower box-spring mattress.....
     
  20. xmarksx

    xmarksx VIP Whale

    Joined:
    Jul 16, 2010
    Messages:
    1,315
    Location:
    Bloomington, Illinois
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    38
    Is it possible we *me included* were duped by a clever PR ploy stating the furnishings were from Fontainebleau?

    As for the original question, Dupar's has pretty good breakfasts at the Golden Gate as does Main Street Station - breakfast buffet.

    Not sure of her age but she might enjoy the acustic retro show at 4 Queens, I found a freebie 2 for 1 but they hand them out.

    http://www.vegas4locals.com/couponacousticretrorock.html

    I have posted this prior but I think your best entertainment bet is at El Cortez, free Elvis impersonator in the lunge.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.