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Trip Report 9-16 October 2001

Discussion in 'Vegas Trip Reports' started by grenadier, Oct 23, 2001.

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  1. grenadier

    grenadier Tourist

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2001
    Messages:
    91
    Location:
    L'Orignal Ontario Canada

    My Trip Report

    TRIP REPORT 9-16 OCTOBER

    GENERAL
    This was our 17th trip to Vegas and the 13th different hotel in which we have stayed. We chose the
    Suncoast Hotel this time as we had had a brief look on our trip in June and were suitably impressed. I
    had also visited as many sites as I could find to read other’s reviews. I booked our 7 night stay through an
    executive slot host and was able to obtain a casino rate of $45 weekdays and $75 for Friday and Saturday.
    The difference between this rate and those offered on the strip in essence paid for my car rental. Rather
    than give a daily diary of our trip, I will concentrate on rating the Suncoast,the Airline and the car rental
    company.

    FLIGHTS
    We flew on Continental for the first time from Totonto to Vegas. I was very impressed with the staff both
    on the ground and in the air. All our flights and connections were on time and the inflight service was
    prompt courteous and efficient. We will certainly fly with them again. We did not experience any
    difficulty with the extra security,either going or returning home. In fact we don’t believe it took any
    longer than normal.

    CAR RENTAL
    Had reserved afull size car from Alamo via their website and opted for Quickrent. Arrived via the shuttle
    at the rental station and went directly to the Quickrent kiosk. To our surprise there was a lineup. It
    seems that due to a reduction in their fleet, there were more cars reserved in certain classes, then there
    were cars available. Nevertheless, after about 15 minutes we got what we reserved. Full size Buick for
    $131 everything included for the week. At the end of the week the return was done in less than a minute
    and we were on the shuttle to the airport. I have rented from Alamo almost every visit and will continue
    to do so until a better rate is offered elsewhere.

    SUNCOAST HOTEL AND CASINO
    It took about 25 minutes from the airport to the hotel.Slower than normal due to construction and heavy
    traffic on #15. Used the valet and left our luggage with the bell desk while we had a quick drink and
    joined Club Denaro, the Suncoast’s slot club. We received 1000 points for joining and I got some bonus
    points as my Birthday was close at hand. Also received a 2 for1 pass for the Buffet.

    Went to our room which was on the 7th floor, north side. The rooms are huge. The entry way has
    sufficient space for at least 4 sets of golf clubs. The main room has a large closet(including iron and
    ironing board) a desk and chair, a large armoire which contains the TV, a dining table and chairs, a large
    sofa and a King bed with night tables on each side. Floor to ceiling windows afforded a superb view of the
    Angel Park golf course, the Regent and the mountains. The bathroom contains 2 separate areas. One
    area has the toilet, tuband shower, while the other, which is about 60 square feet has a large counter and
    2 sinks. The room is decorated in moderate tones and the furniture is of good quality. The bathroom has
    lots of towels, the usual bottled stuff and a phone and hairdryer. Our room was made up promptly every
    morning and although we never needed help, there always seemed to be someone on the staff in the
    hallway. The only thing we didn’t like was the various charges for phone calls. A small point but
    nevertheless an irritation.

    There are several restaurants in the hotel. We visited the Italian and found the food to be quite good. A
    free bottle of Chianti is given with the order of 2 entrees. The other restaurants include a steak house, an
    oyster bar and a Mexican restaurant. There also is a Seattle’s Best coffee shop, an ice cream parlour, a
    snack bar where you can have a hot dog, fries and a soda for $2.45,and a snack bar at the bowling alley.
    Our preference was to eat at the buffet. Although not up to the standards of the Bellagio, the Aladdin or
    Main Street station, the food was good and the value for your dollar outstanding. Breakfast is $4.95,
    lunch$6.95 and dinner $9.95. There is a seafood station, a far eastern station, american, mexican and
    Italian. Wednesday is steak night when you can eat all the Tbones or New York strips you want for$10.95.
    For the first couple of mornings we had the buffet but noticed a line outside the Sienna café, a 24 hour
    food stop, and couldn’t figure out why people would eat there with the buffet so reasonably priced. Only
    when we went for a sandwich and saw the GRAVEYARD specials did we understand. From midnight to
    9am you can have 2 eggs(cooked to order), bacon or sausage, hash browns and toast for 99cents!! If you
    want steak with your eggs add$1.00. Truly a bargain. Needless to say we had breakfast there for the rest
    of our stay.

    The casino is a video pokers players heaven. Every game and variation you can imagine and everything
    from1 cent to $5.00. There is a good mix of other slots, although not the same variety as one would find in
    a strip hotel. All the usual table games were available including 50 cent roulette. The slots were loose
    enough and we met many locals who play at the Suncoast quite often. Their slot club (Club Denaro) was
    recently voted the best in Vegas by the Las Vegas review. They work on points for money won rather than
    money played and are quite generous with their paybacks. I guess our favorite thing about the casino is
    that it is all paper. No coins. When you cash in, the machine gives you a receipt which can be cashed at
    any cashier or can be used by inserting into another machine. No more buckets of coins, no more waiting
    for hand pays or refills. It’s great!!!! We are only slot players and what I would consider at the low roller
    end. Nevertheless, based on our play over the week, we were comped very generously.

    CONCLUSION
    As was mentioned earlier this a locals hotel which was quite active for the entire 7 day stay. When we
    visited the strip on 3 different occasions it seemed dead by comparison except on the weekend when it
    appeared almost normal. Some might say that the Suncoast is too out of the way. We would respond that
    if you are on vacation and are so pressed that 20 minutes is going to make a difference, then perhaps you
    should have stayed home!!.There are several ways to get to the strip. You can use the Summerlin
    Parkway, HWY 95 and 15; or you can do as we did and use Rampart to Charleston to Durango and then
    turn onto Sahara. Flamingo or Tropicana depending on where you want to be on the strip. It is really no
    hassle. If you are looking for a high class hotel away from the hustle and bustle for an oustanding price
    this is it. We will certainly go back. If any one has any questions please email me and I will answer as
    best as I can.

    Note to Sonya. Sorry this is so long but as not many members had been to the Suncoast I wanted to give a
    detailed description.
     
  2. Sonya

    Sonya Queen of VMB

    Joined:
    Nov 28, 1999
    Messages:
    44,120
    Location:
    Western Washington
    Trips to Las Vegas:
    25
    It's not so long... have you seen some of my trip reports? They're huge! [​IMG]

    I loved reading your info. I've been wanting to stay at Suncoast, but always end up on the Strip instead. Sounds like I'm missing out. [​IMG]

    I really appreciate you sharing your info with us all. I'll be sure to point people to it later who are looking for info on the hotel.

    Thanks!

    Sonya
     
  3. LV Terry

    LV Terry Captain Flop'N Fold

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2001
    Messages:
    3,957
    Location:
    Santa Barbara, CA, USA
    Thanks very much on the Suncoast info! I'm going to try to convince my buddies to stay there for the next October golf/football trip! It's perfect for the golfers, as we play Angel Park anyway (you could snap hook a drive off the first tee of the Mountain course right into the Suncoast!). It would be a done deal except that two or three guys that make the trip don't swing it....but it sounds like there is plenty going on at the Casino to keep them entertained. Did you happen to notice if there was a Poker room there? Also, I wonder what cab fare would be from the strip....I saw on their website that they had a shuttle to the strip, but the last trip back is at Midnight...probably not going to cut it, but at least you only have to pay one way!

    Thanks again for the great report, I hope I can convince everyone to stay there!

    Terry
     
  4. grenadier

    grenadier Tourist

    Joined:
    Aug 8, 2001
    Messages:
    91
    Location:
    L'Orignal Ontario Canada
    LVTerry: I'm pretty sure there is a poker room. Have no idea about taxis, as we always rent a car.If 4 of you split the cost of a car it probably wouldn't be more than the cost of 2or3 taxi fares. In fact you could probably rent 2 compacts for about $50 each guy for a week.Unless you really need the atmosphere of the strip, you will really like the Suncoast.
     
  5. LV Terry

    LV Terry Captain Flop'N Fold

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2001
    Messages:
    3,957
    Location:
    Santa Barbara, CA, USA
    Actually, we drive (from Santa Barbara, CA.....it's about five hours), so we have a couple of vehichles with us....I was just thinking about those times when the drivers might want to have a cocktail or two. ;)

    I'm fired up to stay there on the next trip!

    Thanks again for the info!

    Terry
     
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