Inexpensive vegas hotel
 

We have about 20 people meeting in Vegas for a three-day trip in April and are looking at inexpensive hotels on and off the strip. We are going with the mindset that most of our time and money will be spent on food, gambling and entertainment...not the room. But we do want clean and nice. Kids are not an issue. Please review the following list and offer feedback:
The Orleans
The Four Queens
The Stratosphere
The Plaza
Gold Coast
Golden Palm
Artisian

I have not stayed at any of these, however, I woudl say that the location of the Statosphere isn't that great. YOu may want to be at least in the area of some other hotels so you can go backa nd forth. Have not stayed at 4 queens, but did stay at the Golden Nugget for 43 dollars a night. Rooms are nice and youre right across from 4 queens.

Maybe asking a different question would give you a better answer. What's the upper limit on room rate you'd like to stay below, and what dates are you travelling?
People here may be able to help you find a better quality hotel without exceeding your budget goals.

www.cheapovegas.com

Great site, hotels reviewed, and fun to read.

The guys at CheapoVegas did a review of The Western's rooms. Go to their website and read it! It's hilarious!

try imperial palace. excellent location on the strip and mega cheap rooms okay no kids to be seen!

I would add the Barbary Coast to your list of places to check.
Ip is ok too.
Of the ones you listed the nicest is The Orleans but it isn't on the strip.

Most of what you mention is downtown. If thats what you want...go for it.

For me I would (and have) go for the Orleans. Nice, clean, bright, friendly, priced right and good eats too.

haven't stayed but know people that have :San Remo...really close walking to strip...and good website prices..also Terrible's...really close to strip and renovated not too long ago...Flamingo always has good prices too...weekends anywhere is more costly...but get email specials in my mailbox all the time from quite a few casinos

don't know where that smiley face came from..it is San Remo

i just got back from a 2 night stay at the strat. okay it's no mirage, but the room was clean, quiet and the staff were friendly. it's quite easily accessable by car, and it's literally at the end of the strip. not close enough really to do any walking, but it's a 4 minute ride to any hotel on the strip. the strat is what i'd call a-thematic. that is, there may have been a governing theme at one point, but it's been lost. there are some okay restos in the hotel, can't comment on the pool, but the price couldn't be beat. i got a package on travelocity that made the rooms work out to $24.50 a nite. if you split that with someone else, you have enough saved to go to craftsteak for dinner!

Of the hotels you listed, the Orleans or the Gold Coast would be the best bet, but both are considerably off the Strip. I live here and have never heard of the Golden Palm so I'd be leery of that one. The Stratosphere is in the worst neighborhood - lots of gang and police activity there and the hotel's simply not worth it - cheap or not. The 4 Queens and the Plaza - both downtown - are old and I wouldn't spend my money to stay at either property. I agree with the previous poster that the Golden Nugget is the best bet downtown.

Check into the Flamingo - great location in mid-Strip - good special packages, nice hotel, but not extravagant. Also check into the Tropicana - the Island Tower rooms are nice. It's an older property but well maintainted and a Vegas classic with great rates.

i respectfully disagree with you about the strat. you wouldnt want to walk around late at night, but going from your car to the hotel via the parking garage is no sweat.

Per Christie's suggestion here's the CheapoVegas capsule review of the Western: "A true adventure awaits anyone brave enough to make the scary walk from downtown to this dingy, smoky, ultra-cheap casino. This is where penny slots go to die, and bums go to watch".

And the review of the Four Queens: "Don't bother looking for the four queens because they're usually down in the gay district off Paradise. Instead, look for fraying around the edges and some cheap deals, too...People here are not rich, they are like us except without the drool on their T-shirts, plain folks trying to stretch their vacation dollars".

The Orleans is quite nice, but is off the strip. There is a shuttle running to the strip, but we wasted time waiting for the shuttle. My sister just stayed at the Imperial Palace and didn`t like it at all and thought it was dumpy. I also don`t like the Strat and wouldn`t want to stay there.

The Orleans is nice...shuttle is great and runs all the time.

Four Queens-dump.

I stayed last week at the Four Queens. The room was decent, but who really stays in the room?

For $28 (HotWire), I was very happy. The restaurant is supposed to be good, but we didn't eat there.

The Fremont Street light show is being repaired which was kind of a bummer.

Here's another vote for the Orleans. The shuttle seems to be very frequent and handy. (I've always had a car) The rooms are quite nice, roomy.

I know someone who likes to stay at San Remo. It is much closer to the strip than Orleans. In fact, I do believe it is a short walk from San Remo... no shuttle needed.

What about a special deal at Monte Carlo, if you can find one? Nice place!

I stay at the Nugget because it is nice and they have a great spa. BUT if I didn't care about having all of the amenities and I was looking for a cheap stay, I would check out the Main Street Station in the downtown area. Very clean, unbelievably little smoke for Vegas, and it is really nice. It is also has great reataurants that are very reasonable. I've heard the buffet is great and I personally recommend the Pullman Grille...while you are there have a cigar and Roosevelt's train car. The cigar is very similar to a bananas foster experience. Also heard that the brew pub is really good.

We just returned from the Hotel San Remo. It is great and in a good location -- right next to the Tropicana on Tropicana Avenue. It is about a block's walk to the four corners. Once the monorail starts running the location will be even better, because the station at the MGM Grand is right across the street.

Ballys is mid-strip, right next to Paris & across from Bellagio. You should call them directly. They have some good deals, with discounts of all sorts.

I would beware of San Remo. I read other Las Vegas boards. For every person who says San Remo is fine, there are three that say it's a dump.

Thank you all for the great suggestions. We ended up at the grand for $69 a night.It was not much more than we were finding at other hotels with worse ratings. We were trying to please too many people with too many different budgets. Good hotel, good location, good price.

I know you've already booked, but did you check websites for various hotels? We stayed last week at the Monte Carlo for $59/night. Rooms were spacious and the location was good. The pool area (though mostly closed in Feb) was also very nice.

The Orleans, The Orleans, The Orleans. Did I say the Orleans? Beautiful place. Beautiful location. Cheap. Big clean rooms. Marble counter tops. Off the strip though. Stratosphere, imperial palace, and circus circus are cheap but not clean.

We did check the websites and found that the rates varied greatly...$69 was good to average. The Orleans was my first choice, but my wife was insistant on being on the strip.

I think you made a good choice.

BTW, I just saw some terrible reviews of the Golden Palm and Artisan.

note that MGM Grand "Emerald Tower" rooms are small. Ok for 2 people but if any in your group are sharing, they need a different tower.

I know, it's not about the room. I am of a slightly different mindset in that, if the room is awful, 6-10 hours of my day, I feel unhappy. I like a decent room! I booked Bally on Orbitz for $109 on a Sat and Sun over Superbowl weekend! This is the busiest weekend they say of the year. The room was very nice and we were very happy. It was right next to Paris, and across from Bellagio. Perfect, mid-strip location!!! Check it out.

Check out Palace Station. Sometimes it is $10 a night.