Which hotel do you recommend?

0f those you mention, I'd choose the Freemont first, and Orleans second. I also like the downtown area, and not just because I'm from Hawaii!

By the way, you will usually get better responses if your post has a more specific question, such as, "Which Downtown Vegas hotel would you choose"

My first choice would be Orleans. It is an extremely popular property and higher rated that some more expensive places:http://las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g45963-d91907-Reviews-The_Orleans_Hotel_Casino-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html

I never stayed at the Imperial Palace but I did have a buffet there and it was awful. It has an old dingy atmosphere but we did have luck at the slots. I never wanted to stay downtown, it just lacks the beauty and excitement of the strip. However, I know a lot of people that love it downtown because the casinos are located immediately next to each other. This is a plus for anyone that can't walk far and likes to gamble. I've always been told that the slots are loose downtown but I've yet to experience it. Lately I've really enjoyed staying at The Flamingo. The Flamingo is also one of Harrah's properties and sometimes you can switch your comped rooms from Harrah's to the Flamingo. I always stay at the Flamingo because it is center of the strip (for me). You can travel down to Treasure Island and the Mirage to see the free shows. Across from Treasure Island is The Venetian. The Venetian has Gondola rides (not free)and just sight seeing at this amazing hotel casino is a must. It also has a lot of shopping. The show at the Venetian is Blue Man Group. Going the opposite way is Planet Hollywood and here you will find the Desert Passage shops - miles of fun shopping. Going further down is the outdoor free fountain show at the Belegio - a beautiful sight.
I also choose the Flamingo because they have acres of wildlife surrounding their pools. The pool should be open year round but when I stayed there last Feb., the pools were closed, however the beautiful grounds were still open and you could sit by the empty pools. I posted some pictures at and information at
<a href="http://www.creative-stitch.net" target="_self">http://www.creative-stitch.net</a> in the forum category.

Out of the ones you mentioned the Orleans is by far the nicest, however, since you mention liking gambling downtown I suggest you stay in one of the hotels down there. I have stayed downtown many times but never at any of the properties you mentioned. Out of the three I love Main Street Stations buffet so I think I would choose that one. Any of the three hotels look well taken care of so I would not worry too much about the cleanliness. BTW for a good fairly cheap meal the triple 7 brewery in Main Street station has really good 1/2 lb burgers. http://www.mainstreetcasino.com/dining Good luck and have a good trip.

Please do yourself a favor and DO NOT stay at the Fremont. We were there in October(not our first time) and were upset(to put it mildly) to find a cockroach sitting on the bathroom sink. This is as we were getting ready to check out. We didn't mention this at the front desk because were trying to be nice and didn't want the many people standing around to be aware of this fact. Since two e-mails to the Fremont with this complaint went unanswered, we now feel more than justified in letting others know about this.