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MSS Questions

Discussion in 'Downtown Hotels' started by nhcris, Aug 16, 2012.

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  1. nhcris

    nhcris VIP Whale

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    I am excited to have booked 3 nights at MSS over Halloween, but having only spent a couple of hours there once I have a couple of logistical questions.

    I have seen several reviews that mention refrigerators in the rooms. Should I expect a fridge, or is it hit or miss?

    I need my morning coffee. Assuming there are no coffee pots in the room, what's the best way to get a decent cup of coffee? I hate to drop $50 in a machine waiting for that first cup of coffee!

    How's the security there? I'm a middle aged female and I will be mostly solo other than spending Halloween drinking heavily with a crazy bunch of friends. I have been very comfortable at all of the strip hotels I have stayed at, but this whole downtown thing is a new adventure for me.

    Any other tips for me? I will be doing G2E with friends the first week of October, but it is this Halloween trip I am really looking forward to!!
     
  2. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    There are still a few rooms on the lower floors w/o a frig, but most have them and at check in just request a room that has one.

    Coffee-as far as I know, only the suites have a coffee maker, but at the main bar, a cup is ~$1.75 per cup and it's a good size cup.

    Security-not a problem. My wife feels very safe at MSS, plenty of guards walking around and in a dozen+ years, have never had any issues.

    If you're planning on going to Fremont St. you can take the escalator up to the skybridge that connects to The Cal, go back down walk across the intersection to either Vegas Club or Binion's, walk through either casino, and exit on Fremont. But really, no security concerns.

    Make sure to try the 777 Brewpub & also the MSS buffet.

    The brewpub doesn't open until 11 AM, so the only morning food option at MSS is the buffet. But, both Fremont and The Cal have cafes if you don't want a buffet.

    Dinner options in the Boyd group. Redwood or Pasta Pirate at The Cal. Second Street Grill (my fav) inside Fremont. Unfortunately, MSS closed down their dinner place (The Pullman) a few years ago.

    EDIT: Also know if you use your player's card points to pay for food, you receive a 40% discount on the total.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2012
  3. mjamesp

    mjamesp High-Roller

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    I know I've seen a frig in the room before, just not sure about every room. I don't drink coffee and I don't remember seeing a coffee maker in the room.

    Joe should be by shortly, he'll know these 2 items for sure.

    In the casino and hotel areas you should feel just as comfortable as you would at a strip property. At MSS you will find a high number of seniors and very friendly Hawaiians.

    For getting to/from Fremont and the other downtown casinos there is a skyway between MSS and the Cal. Once in the Cal you are a stop light controlled intersection from Binion's. Enter through the Valet door of Binion's and you are under the canopy of Fremont.
     
  4. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    I've been a periodic visitor to MSS since they built it, so I must like something about it!

    My regular room a few weeks ago had a fridge. It didn't get very cold, though, and I seem to remember that about a prior visit as well. I've never had a coffee maker that I can remember.

    It's a small place, so there's no security to the elevators that go to the rooms. But that's the case in many Strip properties as well. Someone did get attacked in a public restroom there a while back, but my understanding was that it was the kind of random event that can happen anywhere. (People have been shot inside some of the Strip properties.)

    The place can be noisy at night from the trains that go by behind the property and the adjacent highway. Ask for a high floor near the "front" of the tower on Main St. (away from the tracks). The fancy shutter blinds also let a little light in, but unlike the Strip there are not high-powered lights focused on the rooms so it's not that bad, just not pitch black.
     
  5. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    I always forget about room location advice since there is only one suite per floor. We are always in a room ending in 16.

    The best and quietest (relative term) are high floors with low, odd room numbers. ie 1401. That gets you facing south, towards the Strip and furthest from the train tracks and freeway.
     
  6. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    It's a wash I think. Trains are louder from that side, highway is louder facing North.
     
  7. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    But if you get a low odd number you're closer to Main Street, further from the trains. But face it, MSS is not a quiet place. Copious amounts of alcohol usually do the trick.:drunk:
     
  8. ebuzz7

    ebuzz7 Low-Roller

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    Staying there for the first time tomorrow night and I am so excited. We have only been there to eat at the 777 but we fell in love with the place.
    I have no insight yet on any questions you have but I will make sure and pay attention to everything while I am there.
     
  9. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    I think that Joe and mjamesp have just about everything covered.

    One or two other things, if you do have a room close to main st. you will hear sirens from the emergency vehicles passing by. They only last a few seconds but for light sleepers it might be a bother. I didn't like the even numbered rooms because they face (north) the freeway and the freeway noise bothered me.

    For security matters, the only place that I might consider "dangerous" might be the MSS parking lot and the walk to the parking lot. At night the driveway and parking lot might be a little dim so there could potentially be some security problems but I have never had a problem and I always rent a car on my vegas trips and park in the MSS parking structure (one of the only places downtown that offer free parking for everyone most of the time).

    I always use the 2nd floor walkway between the cal and MSS to get around. Some people don't feel comfortable at night walking outside the MSS to get to the fremont street experience, the plaza, etc. and so the 2nd floor walkway would make you feel safer.

    I like to walk through the cal and see the action there. There are also eateries at the cal, the 1st floor cafe is (normally) open 24 hours and there is a "lanai" restaurant area on the east side of the cal that serves some good hawaiian food. there is also a hawaiian restaurant on the 2nd floor promenade and Ethel M's and an ice cream place in addition to a bar (I think it was called Dave's) that has a tropical motif. To me I consider the MSS and the cal to be extensions of each other since they are so close to each other with the 2nd floor walkway.

    Not sure about now but some people commented that the showerheads were a little low for tall people. For us people under 5'10" I don't think it's a problem though.
     
  10. ebuzz7

    ebuzz7 Low-Roller

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    I know they have valet but do they put them in the structure or clear out in the parking lot? Anyone know?
     
  11. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    Outside on the lot on the South end of the hotel. Opposite of check in area which is on the North side.
    No public parking in this lot, valet only.
     
  12. FullPay

    FullPay When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro

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    I get my coffee at the bar and pay the tariff. Walk a few minutes and Starbuck's and McDonald's are options depending on your taste. Here's a fun vegas game: you don't know if I have been up all night or just rolled out of bed, so I don't care what you see, just give me some coffee!
     
  13. Reston

    Reston VIP Whale

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    Definitely high up, toward the front (Main St.) is the way to go. But for me, I can still hear the trains in rooms facing South. Can't hear them facing North b/c the highway noise drowns them out. "MSS is not a quiet place" I think sums it up well.
     
  14. nhcris

    nhcris VIP Whale

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    Thank you so much for all the great advice and for setting my mind at ease about security. I am a pretty confident solo traveler, but my DH visited Downtown once and he felt it was really shady. I keep telling him I am a tough old broad, but he is a worrier.

    I will definitely ask for a room on a high floor with low odd numbers :)

    I will get my early coffee at the bar before I wander out. I don't suppose there is a Dunkin Donuts nearby?? I just can't like that Stahbucks stuff :Þ

    I will check out the route with the Skybridge while I am still sober and hopefully I will be able to find my way back! I will be at CP my first 3 days, and from the sounds of things it will be quicker (5 plus minutes??) to get from MSS to Cal than it will be to get down from the octavius tower in CP to anything.

    Okay, Hawaiian food intrigues me so I just read every menu at the Cal. Clearly I won't have time enough in 3 days to eat at all of the restaurants, but I am going to give it a try! I haven't had Spam since I was a kid in the 60's (Shhh) and we used to dread it, but forty odd years later I think am looking forward to it - Go figure.

    Since I will be solo, and love dining at a bar do most of these restaurants offer that? If I can drag myself away from the 777 that is :beer:
     
  15. Turtleman

    Turtleman VIP Whale

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    Dunkin Donuts is in the Fremont!
     
  16. nhcris

    nhcris VIP Whale

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    You have made me very happy :) Thank you!!
     
  17. mikenhe

    mikenhe VIP Whale

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    as you walk from the plaza you go into the fremont turn left and its at that end of the building (near a chinese place).

    doesn't taste quite the same as nh dunkins but close enough to do the trick....
     
  18. xmarksx

    xmarksx VIP Whale

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    Not sure if you are traveling to MSS during the weekend, especially the Saturday Dee Snyder will be playing. If so, make sure to park your car early as the garage can fill. It did the evening Bret Michaels played.
     
  19. Royal Flusher

    Royal Flusher Savvy Gambler

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    You can get a passable latte at Lappert's Ice Cream in the morning. It's upstairs at the Cal, just across the elevated walkway.

    If you pay with your B-Connected slot points, you get a 40% discount.
     
  20. FullPay

    FullPay When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro

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    If you want to experience hawaiian food try the saimin (pronounced like Simon) soup. It is a large bowl of broth, noodles, vegetables, fish cake and features a butterflied batter-fried shrimp. It can be a little strong on shrimp flavor but a wonderful meal. The upstairs restaurant at the Cal is the place to get it, I'm sure they'll let you sample the broth if you are uncertain.
     
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