$20 El Cortez

Does anyone know if this will work at any of the downtown hotels, specifically the El Cortez?!

 

No, the manager John seems to watch them like hawks... His office is right next to the checkin desk. Odds seem low and I did try once to no avail...

Disclaimer that I've personally interacted with him and found him rude and unhelpful, but it just seems unlikely given the checkin setup. Good luck, though!

 

I have been upgraded to a super suite a few different times at the Cabana Suites just for asking!

 

I have been given choices of views, floors, rooms, and upgrades at several hotels for asking nicely. Never had to use "bait" but if you like handing out 20's send them to me,lol. I have tipped after the fact though.

Jimbo338

 

I had a 6 night stay at the EC in June 2014 (June 8 - 14). I stayed in the vintage rooms and booked through a third party site (booking.com). Upon check in I tried the sandwich trick ($20) and asked about upgrades. I also asked about a fridge but they said it was a $5 a night charge in the vintage rooms (I passed on the fridge). The girl did some checking and got me a suite on the vintage floor. She ignored the $20 trick.

Unfortunately the suite wasn't available even 2 hours later (I got there around 3 pm) so when I returned another clerk gave me another suite, one facing the art restaurant across the street. The first night was terrible, the a/c didn't get cooler than 82 degrees. I called the front desk and asked if I could move but there were no suites available. They called maintenance who tried to fix the a/c. That night the room temp got down to 78, still too warm for me, plus I had to hear the club noise until 3 am.

The next day I asked the clerk about moving to the suite that they originally were going to give me. That one wasn't available yet (still being cleaned?) but they gave me the next suite instead, same layout though. It was room 2273 I think and one of the (only) 2 middle rooms right when you go up the stairs. This one was much better, a/c working great, and it even had a fridge in it. There was a separate front room with closet and writing desk, a "living" room area with a L shaped couch, another closet near the bathroom area. I would highly recommend asking for these rooms again if I stayed in the vintage rooms. the only drawback was that the view wasn't much, only of the other facing rooms and the tower, couldn't see anything else but the roof and units on the roof.

I would say that the $20 trick doesn't work at the EC but you can probably ask for a specific room or maybe an upgrade to a suite.

 

The best rooms are the tower rooms in my opinion, so where can you go? I have never been upgraded but I've gotten rooms on the next to the top floor, they reserve the suites in the old building (vintage rooms) for the crusty regulars. Bugsy Siegel has been seen there recently. I think you can get a slightly larger room in the Cabana Suites if they have one, but I still like the tower rooms better. If the room smells like weird stale cigarettes change rooms. That's the bug spray they use to kill the bed bugs.

 

The problem with the $20 trick at El Cortez is that you can usually buy the upgrade for about the same price.

 

[QUOTE="Ben Jammin, post: 1455186, member: 11709"... they reserve the suites in the old building (vintage rooms) for the crusty regulars. [/QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure that all the vintage suites or vintage rooms with 2 beds are the same price as the regular vintage rooms. I've stayed in a suite a couple of times. Pretty big room.

 

I will be staying in a tower room for the first time in MAY, 2 nights. any suggestions on what to ask for upon checking in? what floor/even or odd/better view and so on. if I am lucky I may get a remodeled room, they may have a few of them done by then, but not likely.
has anyone had any luck with the $20 trick there?

 

No dice, the manager watches them pretty closely since his office is right there. There's not much they could upgrade you to from a tower room anyway, other than the design a suite. There is only per floor and they are pretty much controlled by hosts.

 

The higher the better, there can be noise from the fremont east bars sometimes, I like the handicapped access rooms, they have huge bathrooms, there are quite a few of them but you usually reserve them when you book, during the week the hotel wont be full so you might be able to get one at check in.

 

Anyone tried this here recently? Got an upcoming trip and booked a premium room during midweek.