gluvscats

Has anyone stayed at any of the above hotels? How was the bed, spa, pool and hotel staff? Thanks.

saps

All three are what I would consider the middle class of Vegas hotels. There is nothing fancy or special about them but you can usually get them at a good price.

Of the three you listed I've stayed at the Tropicana twice and enjoyed both visits. The pool was very nice.

Location wise I would skip Stratosphere. They will lure you with good prices but it is NOT walking distance to anything. The Tropicana and Excalibur are across the street from each other. If you have kids they might like the 'castle' theme of Excailbur but as an adult I thought is was corny.

If you stay at the Tropicana get a tower room.

FainaAgain

Stayed at the Stratosphere - loved the room! Dont' remember a pool, though. But I was there for 1 night only, taxi to the hotel, bus tour in the morning.

I don't like this location - far away from everything and didn't seem safe to wait for a bus away from the entrance. This is the case of a perfect budget hotel in a not-so-good area.

Been inside Tropicana and Excalibur - would take Trop over Ex any time! Like an open space over a dungeon.

Are you looking for a budget place with a great pool? Check out Flamingo. Great location! And great pools too!

saps

I second Faina's Flamingo recommendation. It is center strip, usually reasonably priced and the pool is great. My experience there has been the cheaper rooms have some awful views though (AC units, walls, etc) but who cares...you're in Vegas Baby!!!

bashfulLV

Out of the three you mentioned - the Tropicana is (IMHO) the best bet. Even though I live here in Las Vegas, I get a room at the Tropicana every time my sister and my nieces come to town - we LOVE the pool there. The tower rooms are nicer, but there are some other, more "motel-like" rooms right by the pool, depending on what you prefer. We didn't particularly care to parade through the casino in swim wear so usually get the rooms by the pool, but I have stayed in the tower as well.

I don't know about the spa, but the hotel staff was average - friendly & helpful. Do stay away from the Stratosphere - horrible area and UNSAFE parking garage.

The Flamingo - as suggested above - is also a good choice and their pools are great. The location is more center strip and they also have Jimmy Buffet's place which is lots of fun.

FainaAgain

I stayed at the Flamingo, but you've lost me here, Bashful, what is "Jimmy Buffet's place".

I hope it's not a totally dumb question?

saps

It's a part of the hotel "Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville" which has a restaurant, several bars, and live music. It is a fun place to hang out when you've lost all your money on the craps table.

rjw_lgb_ca

Of those three, I'll add to the pile-on: Flamingo. Stratosphere is a crash pad in a horrible location. At Excalibur you'll be tripping over kids, the theming is lame and the rooms barely adequate. Tropicana is getting old and tired. And the location for these last two is south Strip, just a bit too far from the Action for my tastes. You can do Vegas on the cheap and still have a nice resort experience.

Flamingo is older, but it's center-Strip and perfectly fine for the money.

lifelist

I've stayed at the Stratosphere and the Excalibur. In terms of the rooms, I'd put the Excalibur in the same class as Motel 6 for furniture, decor, and comfort of the bed. I didn't use their pool or spa, so I can't comment.

I'd put the Stratosphere definitely ahead of the Excalibur and Tropicana in terms of facilities. They've spent quite a bit upgrading the property in the last couple of years. The rooms are pretty nice - the bed was o.k. The pool looked nice, but nothing special. I don't know if they have a spa - I did use their gym. The gym is a bit small and crowded - it's right next to the swimming pools. The Stratosphere charges a "resort fee" - I think it's $5 a day - which gives you free access to the gym and the tower. Tower access is limited to middle of the day. Since people have free access to the gym, it gets crowded.

In terms of location, the Stratosphere is definitely way away from everything. If you have a car, then it's not big deal. With valet parking, you never have to deal with the neighborhood. During the day, it isn't bad, and you can take the Deuce up and down the strip. If you do choose to stay at the Stratosphere, make sure to account for transportation costs in doing a comparison. The Excalibur and Trop are well situated, the Excalibur getting the nod for having the tram that takes you to the Luxor and Mandalay Bay.

At both the Strat and Excalibur, the hotel staff was fine, but I didn't need much in the way of service.

FainaAgain

Thank you, Saps, now I understand why I've missed it - was there before Margaritaville was opened.

placeu2

Honestly I would rate these 3 in the bottom 1/3 of strip properties. If you are open to additional suggestions the middle 1/3 IMHO would include:

Flamingo
Ballys
Monte Carlo
Harrahs

Might want to check those out for a similar price but a better experience.

placeu2

I just noticed that earlier this month you were asking to compare: Mandalay, MGM and Venetian.

Why the big variance to this group?

saps

Probably the $100 - $150 per night additional cost.

People still think Vegas strip hotels are cheap.

SAnParis

The Trop is old but the best of the 3, particularly location-wise. They also have one of the best burlesque style shows on the strip in "Folies'Bergere". Last year I was fortunate enough to catch Bob Newhart there as well.

ethel

I've stayed at the Strat twice and thought it fine both times. Rooms were your basic clean hotel room, and beds were fine. Location on the other hand is not the greatest. However, during the day I felt safe and we took the bus everywhere on our last visit. The only thing about taking the bus is that sometimes you're stuck waiting a 1/2 hr in the hot sun. Aside from that, it was a great cheap way to get to where we needed to go...We never used the parking garage so I can't comment on that but I have heard negative things about it.

For us, it was worth staying at the Strat because we couldn't afford to stay further up the strip (at that time) but we still wanted to go to Vegas. The first time we went it was for a wedding at the Strat.

However, the next time we go we will stay on the strip, in the area of the Flamingo. You may want to consider the Barbary Coast. I've heard the rooms there are clean and nice but also very inexpensive. I've always had a great time at the Barbary Coast. Make sure you check out Big Elvis!

If you must pick from only those 3, I definitely wouldn't stay at the Excalibur. Did not care for that atmosphere, at all. Tropicana seemed king of lame but location is better than the Strat. Guess it all depends on what you want more.

Shea

I second the Barbary Coast. I always stay there. It's right in the middle of the Strip, close to everything. I like the fact that it has a parking garage. You just drive in, park, get on the elevator which takes you right down to the lobby which is right across from the elevator, check in, then take another elevator (next to the one you come down on)up to your room.

Shea

However I must mention that Barbary Coast has no pool.

ethel

Thanks Shea for reminding me--I forgot to mention the pool at the Strat. It's ok. It's rather large with a bench that goes all the way around the perimeter so it's nice just to sit in. However, the area around the pool is just concrete and it gets hot!! Ok pool--nothing to write home about...although, it's ironic that that's where I sat when wrote all my postcards :0

shortcake05479

I second the comments about the Strat -I only went to do a little gambling and walk around but I felt a little unsafe in the parking garage in broad daylight. It was rundown and creepy and same for the neighborhood...I would not want to be in that area at night, that's for sure.

JJ5

I have no idea why people are so afraid to use Priceline on LV- especially if they want good quality and not overworn room accomodations.

The last time I used Priceline for Vegas you could pick which part of Strip, off strip or downtown almost exactly. I could even tell which was the Orleans.

If you go for a high star and on strip you will get much better than these three OP choices for much less money much of the time.

I've gotten an entire suite at Rio for $55 a night that was over $220 that same day rack rate. If you want on strip, it is not difficult.