ricoba said:
Like Dave said, if you want to be in the "heart of the action" center Strip then you really can't beat the Flamingo location.
But if you are looking for more of a "private club" location, that provides easy driving access to the rest of Las Vegas, then look at the club on Karen (HGVC @the LV Hilton).
We just returned from the SEMA show in Vegas last week. Since I was there for work for the convention, my DH and I had an opportunity to go and take a look at all 3 Vegas locations. Here's my thoughts:
--
Karen Ave (HGVC @ LV Hilton) was our first stop. We took the monorail from MGM Grand and had a short walk to the door of the building. Compared to all the other monstrous buildings in Vegas, it is pretty small. We walked in the door and EVERY single Hilton employee turned to us and said Hello (there's that nice customer service I keep hearing about). I asked the lead desk manager if we could see a room and he said, no problem. He promptly took us up to look at a 2BR (very, very nice, by the way) and then showed us the pool and some of the other amenities. He was extremely helpful and pleasant and gave us a nice little tour. Although I really liked the property, I wasn't too thrilled with the location being so far north on the strip and also off of the main strip. Being SO close to the monorail is a definite plus though. I also think this would be a good location if you were planning on doing some sight seeing in Vegas (Grand Canyon, etc.) and didn't want to spend all your time in the casinos. What impressed me most was the beautiful rooms and how nice everyone was.
--We decided to walk over to the
Hilton on the Strip next. It was about a 20 minute walk straight West, which was not too bad. In fact, you can see the buildings from the Karen location. We walked in the lobby and I was even more impressed. Wow, what a beautiful lobby. Again, several people turned to us and said Hello. Unfortunately, I had to get back to work and we didn't have time to look at a room. And when we asked, we got absolutely no pressure to sign up for a sales tour at a later date. Although this is a stunningly gorgeous property, it is way too far up the Strip for me. I like being where the action is, and some day, when this end of the Strip is built up more, I will definitely be staying there. But for now, it is just too far away for me. It is nowhere near the monorail, so you would absolutely have to have a car when staying here. But for those of you that have had a chance to drive on Las Vegas Blvd. lately - trust me - you DO NOT want to have a car in Vegas except for excursions and tours off the strip. The traffic on that road is unbelievable!!! And parking in the casinos - although it is free - is still a joke!
--So then we decided to check out the
Flamingo property. I was really unsure of what I was going to see since I had heard that it was older and alittle run down and just not quite as nice as the newer properties. Also, I had heard the noise was an issue. Well, I can honestly say that after walking past that fantastic Flamingo pool and stepping one foot in the door, all my fears were put to rest. The head manager immediately greeted us, and we explained that we were just wanting to take a quick look around and maybe see a room. He said no problem and took us straight up to a room. He confirmed that the budget has been approved to start the overhaul of the rooms, and as of this past week, they were trying to decide the timeframe of when the refurbishment would begin (definitely within the next year). When I saw the room, I can say that yes, they may not be quite a nice as the other two properties, but they are nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. These are still some very, very nice rooms. Once they are refurbished, they will all have plasma TVs, new furniture, countertops, etc. I questioned him about the noise issue and he said that the Flamingo Hotel puts a DJ out by the pool in the evening that can get kind of loud, but he is done playing at 8pm. Here I was thinking this loud music carried on until all hours of the night, but he assured us it was done by 8pm each night. That's a relief! When you are on Vegas time, 8pm is nothing, if you know what I mean!!
This is absolutely in THE best location and you are in the heart of everything. Not only that, but you are just a few steps away from the monorail which is very cool.
So after touring all 3 locations, I'll bet you can guess which one I'll be staying at next time I go to Vegas - the Flamingo - by a LONG shot. There is simply not even any question on the matter. But again, this is just my opinion and is based solely on the fact that I go to Vegas to gamble, be crazy and get no sleep. I'm not there to relax and get away from the hustle and bustle. So the Flamingo location is where I would want to be.
Did anyone else happen to catch the Motley Crue & Aerosmith concert at MGM Grand last Saturday night?? We were there in the 5th row center and it was AWESOME!! :whoopie:
