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SLS, what would you change

Discussion in 'LV Strip Hotels' started by andrew5499, May 24, 2017.

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  1. andrew5499

    andrew5499 Low-Roller

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    What suggestions do you have for the new owners of the SLS ?

    What would you change to try and resurrect the hotel and casino ?

    There is a rumor that they are thinking of renaming the casino back to the Sahara ?
     
  2. romeocasido

    romeocasido High-Roller

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    *Warning* Unpopular opinion alert!

    I actually like what SLS had to offer. And I'm pretty impressed with what they had to work with. They really chose an artistic design and went with it as the vibe and feel is pretty obvious and consistent so it's a matter of individual tastes... I'm really a fan of having a diverse set of hotels and casinos to choose from because sometimes I go to Vegas for a family vacation and sometimes I go to be a bad boy... The Aria, Wynn, Cosmo. They're all amazing casinos but it would be a boring city if that's all they had.... and what if Vegas was nothing but Circus Circus, Excalibur, NY NY... I would never go..

    There's a perfect hotel out there for everybody and SLS was a perfect fit for a niche audience. Young, party goers that wanted a cool hip place on a budget. (but that spot is already filled by the LINQ with an even better location)... And the problem is that the niche audience is too small and spread throughout Vegas... Plus if you're banking on being hip and cool it's unreliable and unsustainable. In the 90's early 2000's the Rio and Hard Rock were seen as the young cool places to be... What's cool and current now will always change

    Those story rooms were small and it would have been awkward no matter how you design it... I guess the MGM west wing rooms would be the best example with what you can do with that size (which isn't much). But yeah for a room that size there's no need to have a couch. The mirror in the ceilings were an excellent idea! And that's what made me understand what SLS was trying to be..

    I wish foxtail was their normal pool open to all guests... That top floor pool is not very good.

    If SLS were in a centralized strip location then it would be seen in a different light. It's what the LINQ tried to be... Because it's very one dimensional, hip, and geared towards the young partiers, it doesn't feel worth it being so far away from the strip if it's not your type of vibe. You almost feel trapped among the loud bikini clad girls and the drunk ****** bags... But you wouldn't feel that trapped if it were center strip since you can just waltz over to the next casino...

    I wish Fontainebleau didn't fail... I think having a high end mega resort in the Stratosphere area would have changed the way people view that location.

    Make no mistake Vegas has shifted its focus to catering to the young people who buy $25 drinks and $1000 cabanas... I think they lost a lot of the gambling money to the local Indian casinos which offer a pretty convenient and comparable experience for those that are just there to play slots or black jack.

    I'm sad that the SLS is failing. It was the only hip young option if you wanted to be away from the strip and at a budget. Great for singles, young couples, bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, you get the gist. I understand if that's not your thing but no reason to be mad because you have 20 or so other options to choose from. The young broke college kids don't have much to choose from... they want cheap without sacrificing the vibe... Why do you think you never see the young broke kids staying at Harrah's? It's well within their budget with a great location. Kids want cool... And the two best hotels I could have recommended for that demographic were SLS and the LINQ. Now one of them is gone

    Off strip locations don't have as much diversity as the strip does but that can be argued both ways depending on your style.
     
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  3. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    That was the main problem with the SLS, it catered to the younger crowd and the rest didn't feel comfortable staying or playing there. Didn't help that it was located in the "boonies" with not much in the area or within easy walking distance.

    It isn't easy because they spent a bunch buying the place and fixing it up and they just weren't able to get a good return on their investment for the money they spent.

    I visited the SLS once, got my souvenir chips but didn't really play there. I'm over 50 and felt that the SLS was more for the younger crowd.

    Yes, it may have done better if it were located more center strip but because it is away from most of the "action" it was difficult to attract people.

    It also doesn't look like the owners really gave the place a chance to find it's "niche" before they sold it, guess they expected the place to succeed from the getgo and were disappointed when it wasn't the hit that they had hoped for.
     
  4. nfajgmbr03

    nfajgmbr03 MIA

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    Get rid of the lumberjack plaid suits. I would have a hard time taking anything they say to me serious wearing those suits. Man they're awful.
     
  5. waverunner

    waverunner ------VEGA$------

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    The new owners need to first go back to renaming it Sahara. Then the "new" Sahara will be geared back to what it once was........a "Downtown" hotel on the Strip.
    Many older gamblers, people who have drifted away from the Strip and were forced to either stay and play downtown, off Strip, or have just abandoned Vegas all together, can now have a place to call their own on the Strip while still having the option to continue accessing the perks on the Strip.
    Have a buffet under $10, a players club card that's rewards people over 50, a showroom that plays music from the old days, like the 1990's. Have the new "Sahara" be the new Gold Coast.

    Putting a younger club crowd as your main clientele was a mistake on the North Strip. That's why SLS didn't work, Club crowds need as many fish in the ocean as possible in the least amount of time, that's why the mid/south Strip is the breeding ground.
    They can't breed on the north strip, whereas the "new" Sahara have already been there done that.

    I love to do both, i feel really comfortable being around younger people at PHO, and i also am fine in a quieter setting like Paris and Venetian.

    I was at SLS once and haven't been there since.........if it becomes Sahara once again, and changes back to the older crowd with deals galore, i will spend some of my money there. In fact, i will have no need to travel off Strip when i can walk up the Sahara once again.
     
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  6. smartone

    smartone VIP Whale

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    Helluva post BRAVO!!! Spot on!!!

    Yes, many here will jump on this and state, "immediately rename it Sahara, check ID's at the door (only 50 and above allowed), comp all rooms and meals, loose slots with lots of room to park oxygen tanks, 3/2 BJ... hell make it 5/1... no clubs or pool parties, free parking, free shrimp cocktails... just grumbling old farts wandering the floor bitching about air-travel costs, people who don't look like them and longing for Sinatra ( OK... he was cool). It's 2017 NOT 1962... times have changed. I wish the new owners all the best with positioning the property for success!

    NOTE: This will come off as trolling Waverunner's post. I actually wrote this before I read his post. I just have read so many similar comments about "how Vegas and life was" and I disagree... I'm 58, so been around a little bit... it wasn't that damn great.

    UPDATE: A quick review of the posts that follow verify that VMBers are SOOOO predictable!
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2017
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  7. vegasdev

    vegasdev VIP Whale

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    get rid of that hamburger helper-looking thingy!!
     
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  8. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    I like the SLS enough. I like their dealers, pai gow poker, and Unami burger. Drink service was great! I only play table games there because the reputation for tight slots at SLS precedes them, so I would loosen them up of course!

    Stuff offered on gift days seemed pretty good, I recall eyeballing a pair of pint glasses. So I'd keep that, seemed to bring in locals.

    I booked a room there but didn't use it, put family up in it, so I can't speak to that, but it looked clean and nice.

    The parking garage was kind of scary - signs up saying don't leave valuables inside etc. Seems obvious enough but the signs creeped me out, also saw no security in the lot. When we stayed at the Palms I always saw security puttering around on a mountain bike in the parking areas, and that made me feel better about it.

    If it could somehow get more cheerful, not sure how. Never thought I'd say this but maybe they need dancers like at the D, or something fun going on.

    When I did book a room offer once, they couldn't email me a confirmation, which I found strange. I'd really like to be able to book offers online, and peruse dates, etc.

    Hope it turns around!
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
  9. carolineno

    carolineno VIP Whale

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    actually if they had a really good cocktail bar with unique drinks and video poker, I'd probably be down with that LOL. What can I say, I'm that idiot who orders the expensive drinks! :haha:
     
    Ladies getaway, somewhere on the strip with a pool :)
  10. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    My impression of SLS was that they don't have strong people running the casino. At least that's my perspective as a slot player. They have a good rep on BJ games but to me there overall inventory of slot games was kinda stale. They had some of the newer games but most independents have them all and are pretty aggressive about having the freshest stuff. Their older games aren't hardcore favorites. It's a nice environment to play in but not an addictive one.

    The other thing is to rethink the restaurants. I looked at a few of the menus and the prices left more of an impression than the offerings. If they had all gotten wild raves like Bazaar Meats, I would get it but so many of them no one realizes are even there. You can't be really expensive and survive with no WOM.
     
  11. bnlphan

    bnlphan Degenerate In Training

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    There really is a need for a casino to cater to the homeless.

    Valet shopping cart parking.
    Signs that read unmanned drinks are fair game.
    Since its a strip location will need to be a resort fee that will provide day old newspapers and all the little soap bars from the other hotels that aren't completely used.
    Being a players club member will allow you priority panhandling locations and access to Tripod, the resident three legged dog.

    Best rates on the strip to sell your aluminum cans.

    Hookers welcome.

    Wednesday is porn slapper day. Porn slappers get double points. No I. D. Or proof of citizenship required.
     
    NYNY,Cannery,Sam's Town Jun4-11
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  12. leo21

    leo21 VIP Whale

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    Oh, and I think that it would be horrible to rebrand as Sahara. SLS pretty much destroyed any lingering value in that name and there is nothing in the current hotel that reflects that history. To the new tourist, it's going to look like they named the casino for the street. Unless they are going to spend a ton of necessary money trying to reintroduce that theme, the better course would be to put a real new name on the place and keep it moving.
     
  13. BlacklabberMike

    BlacklabberMike MIA

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    make it gambler friendly.....

    NO 6/5 BJ..
    HS17 .DDAS
    generous Craps odds
    full pay VP

    if you offer it, they will come...

    If it was good enough for Benny.......
     
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  14. vegasdev

    vegasdev VIP Whale

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    also, free rooms / generous comps. i'd sure hang out. I stayed at the Sahara a few times 20 years ago.
    if only we could get the powers that be to listen to customer feedback.
    if they do listen, they take the info and do the opposite of what we want.
     
  15. TIMSPEED

    TIMSPEED Money’s on the way, with CashNetUSA

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    I actually really like the SLS...location hurts though...and my wife hates it because it's always DEAD...but the times I've played there and stayed there (comped a Lux King a long time ago when they did matching offers), I really liked everything about it.
    It felt very cosmo-esque...just bad location.
     
  16. jgates8

    jgates8 VIP Whale

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    Does one of the towers have a smaller square footage per room than the other? I stayed there on my first trip (and several after) in what I believe were the nicer of the two rooms. Seemed nice average size. I had two beds & still plenty of moving around room. Just couldn't figure out the screwy new rooms
     
  17. vegasvic

    vegasvic VIP Whale

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    You can't change the location and that's the biggest problem. And although I know it was for budget reasons they really should have imploded and rebuilt. They remodeled the old Sahara rooms but they are tiny.
     
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  18. waverunner

    waverunner ------VEGA$------

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    If they don't want to rename it Sahara, that's fine, but never in a million years would i keep a name SLS, it no longer has an affiliation with the previous owners like Sam.

    My other choices if they try to keep the young clientele:
    "Unlucky Dragon"
    "El Rancho"
    "Fountainblu"
    "Alon"
    "Xanadu"
    "Nameless"........until Resorts World is finally built then call it "Whatever, everyone is at Resorts World anyway".

    If they cater to locals and older clientele and keep the Sahara theme:
    "Larry's of Arabia"
    "Ishtar"
    "The other Abu Dhabi"
    "Jeannie"
    "Joshua Tree".........with U2 cutting the ribbon.
    "Yucca"
     
  19. Jidery

    Jidery Low-Roller

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    I actually like the W, that's a really nice hotel... SLS not so much
     
  20. iamsomedude

    iamsomedude High-Roller

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    They're going to need a bigger budget and something totally different than what we've seen in Las Vegas thus far that will attract a lot of people. Think The Mirage-level of innovation and budget when it opened in 1989. Otherwise, they're going to end up like all the failed projects in that area.
     
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