Cromwell vs. Harrah's

This is probably a silly question if all things are equal but in this case they're not equal. We're likely going to do our usual Christmas in Vegas trip in Dec 2021 which usually consists of us renting a car and going off to do non-Vegas outdoors excursions during the day (Death Valley and Zion are on the list this trip). We're considering the following:

1) Harrah's - $0 Comp --- This is our usual. Don't actually hang out here that much but I do like the non-smoking VP in the food court area. We like to stay here and hang out more in the Linq casino/O'Sheas/Promenade.

2) Cromwell - $60/night. Have never stayed here but do like to visit the casino and it seems like a nice place to stay. I guess the thing is it will be a place to sleep and hang out during the day whenever we're just looking to rest.

Basically I'm just curious what folks who have stayed at both of these properties think. Do you like Cromwell enough to actually pay $60/night vs getting a free room at Harrah's? I'm thinking the answer is probably not and should just pocket the $60/night for a couple of nice dinners but I'm also not against giving it a shot.

 

I think your instinct is right. Cromwell is a much, much nicer casino, but that's its main drawing point to me. Harrah's is just as good a location, and they also have a better selections of things to do on-property (I'm not personally a fan of most of their restaurants, but I also don't care for Giada, which is your only real option at Cromwell). Cromwell certainly isn't bad, and if they were both comped it might change the calculus, but given the choice I'd probably go with Harrah's.

 

OK, as a person who has stayed at each property numerous times, allow me to chime in with my .02.

The things that made me enjoy Cromwell over Harrahs were:

1)Coffee machines on 5th and 7th floors
2)After they took those out, Keurig (provided to 7* only)
3)Proximity to valet

Otherwise, as a 99% slot player

Harrahs has a better variety of machines
Harrahs has more restaurants, and a food court. Cromwell only has Giada's and Eatwell
Harrahs is livelier, with a more upbeat atmosphere.

IMHO, Cromwell is NOT worth spending $60.00 a might when Harrahs has:

All rooms remodeled within the last 2 years
A wider variety of dining options

If I was booking today and cost was the same, if valet was available, it would be Cromwell, if no valet, then Harrahs.

JMHO.

 

The Harrahs rooms aren't bad at all. Wasn't a big fan of Cromwells but I do enjoy the bartops and table games. Most of my go to slots aren't there though. If you're wanting to do Linq then I'd just do Harrahs especially if it's free. Walls are pretty thin though but with reduced capacity it might not matter as much as long as you aren't stuck next to people throwing a party.

 

I’ll just answer it like this, one is exceptional, one is mediocre, I will let you guess LOL

 

We've only stayed at the Cromwell once and that was enough. Although the rooms are nicely appointed, they are small with a very small window. We felt claustrophobic. When we were there, there were no ice machines so you had to have ice brought up to the room (maybe things have changed since it has been several years since we stayed there). We did like the proximity to the casino though. Harrah's rooms since the remodel were surprisingly nice

 

I can see that. You can only work with the bones you inherit, and the original Barbary Coast was built before the "floor to ceiling window" era and was never intended to be a high-end kind of place. It was a gambler's joint.

I'm sure it's a nice boutique hotel today with great clubs for the younger crowd—that rooftop pool looks fabulous—but I'll always go for the larger, full-service resort hotels in Vegas myself, even if they are plain-vanilla compared with Cromwell.

 

Exactly.
And the bath room, however nice it is decorated, is tiny and with a shower only, no tub.
That puts the entire hotel down to a cheap motel level IMO.

 

A trip report has just been put up with pics of the Cromwell room.
First trip of 2021! ...middle of page 1.

 

I'm in the minority here, but I say Cromwell for two reasons. First, you have never stayed there, that alone is reason enough for me. Secondly, the customer service, ease of access to the casino and the comforts of the room are superior to Harrah's, IMO. I'm a sucker for a comp, but if I could stay at the Cromwell for $60 a night consistently it would be my "home base".

 

So where do you rank Harrah's half door shower that floods the floor and has constantly leaking soap dispensers mounted to the wall, Cromwells shower is WAY better than Harrah's.

 

Cromwell is our FAVORITE CET property (2nd fav Strip property after Cosmo)
Why?
--Chic boutique hotel--upscale rooms & casino; amazing people watching; great customer service
--Small footprint dead center Strip
(btw, I understand the coffee machines have been 86ed sadly)

Compared to Harrahs, Cromwell is SO MUCH NICER.

Cromwell is not a destination--but it is easy to get to restaurants, etc.

Now that being said, we only stay at Cromwell if it is comped. We do not hang in our room--it is to sleep and shower. So I save that $ for gambling...

 

Cromwell doesn’t list having refrigerators in their rooms. I am getting Cromwell offers comped now that’s new for me. I am booking Paris instead for 5 nights.

 

I haven't actually stayed at either property so my opinion is fairly worthless. However, Cromwell is on my list to eventually stay at during non-pool season because of the nice looking (although small) rooms, compact footprint that permits easy access to your room and strip, nice casino, great service, and overall fun experiences I've had there. The parts of Harrah's I've visited and walked through were a dump in comparison and I wouldn't stay there unless it was the only comp offer I had. The main downsides to Cromwell are lack of a regular pool and slim dining options. I like exploring the strip so the dining situation isn't a problem for me and it's not like Harrah's is some dining mecca. To me it's a no brainer but I am clearly a Harrah's hater.

 

I usually use Cromwell as my base hotel. I like the casino floor there and it is easy enough to hit other CET casinos on either side of it if I need a change of scenery.

Do you have any other totally comped rooms from CET available to you besides harrah’s?
I don’t know if I would pay $60 to stay there though

 

We normally stay at Bally's, but stated at Cromwell a couple weeks ago. Yes rooms are small, but to us they were comfortable (wood floors instead of carpet was weird, but not a deal breaker for us). Had a fridge in the room to keep our water ice cold. Shower and the shampoo/body wash products were amazing. This alone was worth it to us (we get comped at any properties during covid).

Access to casino floor is super fast, and nice to drop off stuff and take a break. Never had to wait for an elevator or ride with anyone not in our party. It is our favorite casino floor (video poker and pai gow players) so getting seats at PG was hard with only 3 per table, but it is so easy and fast to walk to Flamingo, Linq, Harrahs that it didn't bother me playing table games not at our home base.

Depending on if $60/night is a lot to you, i say it is worth it to pay for a room to stay somewhere you haven't stayed before, and maybe use RC's to pay the bill at the end or see about back-end comps.

 

Cromwell rooms are actually great. Good use of space in them. Love the dark decor.

Harrah's has a much larger casino and all the stuff you want to do is basically there.

Harrah's makes more sense.

 

In normal times, I would lean toward Cromwell, but the things that make a boutique, luxury hotel a special place just aren't there. When basic things like daily maid service are limited, you aren't getting the things that make a luxury hotel worth the extra money, like turn down service, lounges or even free coffee.

To me, it isn't about square footage, or even nice furniture, it's the attention to detail, attentive staff and the like. If room service is just dropped off in a bag in the hall and services I expect from a high end hotel aren't available, I'll go with the cheapest option I feel comfortable walking around the room in bare feet.

 

We actually just booked a week at Cromwell for mid-May, really hoping to have the vax by then. They were comping nights aside from weekend, which I'd never seen, all-in was under $200 tax-inclusive w/diamond. Pretty hyped, hopefully it shakes out.

 

or having sex lol