Could anyone please comment on Casino Royale and Boardwalk hotels please. They offer quite low prices for May 2002, and I was wondering what everone's suggestions are. I've never been to Vegas, so any comments would be appreciated.
Thank you.

Casino Royale and Boardwalk are old hotels which have fallen behind the times as the strip has grown.

If you're simply looking for a place to lay your head at nite, i'm sure they'll do, but they're certainly not the type of places that most people look for when going on a vacation.

I would recommend checking out the Flamingo, which i believe is the best value on the strip. Probably not too much more than either of the above, and a BIG step up in quality.

If you must go with one of the above, i'd choose Casino Royale. I don't think either one of them has a pool, which you WILL probably want in May. If you don't need a pool, you can also check out the Barbary Coast (but i DO recommend a place with a pool).

If the Flamingo is too expensive, you can also check out the Imperial Palace, which does have a pool and may be a little cheaper than the Flamingo. (however, i'd still recommend the Flamingo over the Imperial Palace).

All the hotels mentioned have excellent locations.

Take at look at: www.cheapovegas.com

Don't be put off by its name; it has the most detailed descriptions of casino hotels on the web.
Writing style can be very 'tongue in cheek' but the info is right on.
Since it's your first visit, do stay on The Strip but at least visit the Downtown.
Good luck and have a fun trip.

Forgot to mention......
Use the TEXT SEARCH box and type in:
Las Vegas
Fodor's rather weak search engine will then pull up only those previous threads on Las Vegas.
Take time to read through some of the old ones; there's some very good tips and hints on how to make the most of your visit.

Casino Royal does have a pool, but it is right next to, or in, the parking lot. The rooms are clean and basic, redecoration has been done in the last couple of yrs. They are in a GREAT location, however, sandwiched between Harrahs and the Venetian, and directly across the street from Mirage. Very central to all. A Denny's restaurant onsite, also a "better" restaurant on the 2nd floor with views of the Mirage volcano.
The Flamingo is large and nice, plus a bit of Las Vegas history. The BEST pool in town, amazing! Also very central.
If pool is not important and the price is right, stay at Casino Royal, I did.

Thanks a lot for the helpful replies. After doing more research, I found equal rates for Flamingo and Bally's ($48/night midweek). Which one would you prefer?
Thanks again.

Bally's is considered the (slightly)better hotel, but will likely have an older crowd (and fewer kids) than the Flamingo. Bally's is typically a few dollars more than the Flamingo.

I would probably stay at the Flamingo given the younger crowd and nicer pool, but might be swayed to Bally's if it included the a lot of "package perks" (ie- dinner coupons and show tickets, which i think they're now offering on some packages). Depends upon your age and what you're looking for.

Here's some user reviews for Bally's: http://www.ratelv.com/hotels/ratings/h14.html

Here's some user reviews for Flamingo: http://www.ratelv.com/hotels/ratings/h110.html

Bottom line is that you'll be MUCH better at either of these properties than you would at Casino Royale or The Boardwalk!

Becky you need to check out the rest of LV before you make statements like "Flamingo has the best pool in town".
Have you ever been in the water at Mandalay Bay? (Since you can't get in the pool area without a room key, I'm doubting so).
Ever been to Bellagio's pools? (same as MB, no entrance without a key).
How about Mirage?

Flamingo is fine. But you're misleading people with comments like the one above.

thereuare: Just wondering what statistical analysis you did to determine that the Flamingo caters to a younger crowd than Bally's? Since the hotels are similarly priced and next door to each other what do you preceive is the cause for this age disparity that you so obviously think is an important deciding factor?

I also was wondering about the assumption that Flamingo caters to a younger crowd than Bally's. My personal observations have been just the opposite. I would definitely pick Bally's over the Flamingo, but stay at either of those hotels before I'd consider Casino Royale. I thought Boardwalk was a time share??

Just Wondering:

First i stood out in front each hotel with a clipboard and carded everyone entering. Of course some people ignored me because they thought i was trying to hand out porn fliers, so that may skew the results somewhat....

Seriously, what makes you think i did some statistical study (i didn't say so), this is just my opinion from what i've seen of both places.

It is my belief (hypothesis?) that the pool at Flamingo is more "kid" oriented than Bally's (with the live animals and somewhat tropical theme) and therefore attracts a more family oriented crowd (thus more kids, and a "younger parent" clientele)

As well, although Flamingo and Bally's are within the same price range, Bally's is usually a few dollars ($10-20) more expensive (which i believe an older crowd is more willing to pay than a younger crowd, but i really don't have any statistical evidence of this either so perhaps i shouldn't say so).

I'm sorry if you think i've given poor advice, but i've been thanked countless times for the advice i've given re: Las Vegas, and believe i've made people's trips better as a result.

Perhaps your post wasn't supposed to be accusatory, but that's how i read it.

If you were choosing b/t Boardwalk & Casino Royale, I'd go with Casino Royale. It's a decent property but if you can afford a higher end casino hotel, then certainly look that direction.
What dates will be be in Vegas in May? The higher end casino hotels have great rates during the week. The Flamingo is nice and centrally located.

To poster Tim: Hi, Tim. I see where you are coming from, and I would never intentionally mislead, so "sorry" to all if I did. Hopefully, everyone knows that each poster is offering their personal opinion based on their experiences. While I have not been "into" the pools at the places you mention, I have seen them all and their surrounding grounds (beautiful).
I should have said that the Flamingo has the best pool for the price! In my initial post I was responding to a fellow bargain hunter.
To Michael, FYI the Flamingo lower pool is not heated, but the upper pool is.

Becky: sorry to sound so accusatory. You're right that most readers here probably have the sense to look at each piece of advice as being unique and not necessarily 'the last word'. But the reason I wrote what I did is that I'm often amazed at how LITERALLY many of the first timers here read the posts. Like they're from a textbook or something.
Many people actually take the advice here quite seriously and spend significant amounts of money based in part on what they find here. Usually that's a reasonable thing to do.
Anyway, thanks for the explanation.

Thanks to everybody. At this point I excluded Casino Royale and Boardwalk from my list, and I put on courtesy hold Bally's, Flamingo, Excalibur, Tropicana and MGM Grand-Emerald Tower (all five range $45-$50/night midweek). I'll try to make up my mind within the next several days. Mike.

thereuare: You have in fact given much good advice regarding Vegas, NYC, etc. People like you are what make this forum as good as it is. Sorry if you perceived my question as accusatory, it wasn't meant to be. Keep up the good work.

Michael: Of your final list, I would recommend the MGM Grand. It's the newest and largest of the lot, and I like big and new. Stay away from the Excalibur and Tropicana, one is tacky and the other is old. Someone mentioned on another thread that the Tropicana was scheduled for demolition.

JustWondering: no prblm, maybe i just woke up tired this morning and saw the world as 1/2 empty instead of 1/2 full

Michael: of your final selections, i would also toss Excalibur and Tropicana off of the list (nothing wrong with them, but the other properties are NICER).

I don't think you'll go wrong with any of the other 3 hotels, but MGM would be my third choice, as i like the Bally's/Flamingo area of the strip best for it's central location. Just a personal preference, as my dad would say, "That's why Baskin Robins has 31 Flavors."

Some more advice... if you fly in, i believe all 3 hotels (MGM and Flamingo for sure, i think Bally's) have hotel check-in at the airport. Once you arrive in LV, you can go to the hotel's desk at the airport and get your room number and keys, so when you arrive at the hotel you can go right up to your room!

This will be a BIG timesaver if you arrive at a busy check-in time, as the airport hotel check-in is seldom crowded, while i've seen/heard the actual hotel check-in have lines longer than 45 minutes.

Bottom line, at least you're now looking at MUCH better hotel properties for a similar price. Have a great trip and feel free to post and follow-up questions.

I found out about a lot of rooms from hoteldiscounts.com They rate the hotels/motels by a star system, the more stars there are the better the place. They also have a place where you can click on to see a picture of the hotel. Also, will tell you if it's on the center of the strip, sount end, north end or downtown.

Last year we ended up at the Rivera, and everyone told me how filthy it was. Well the room was so clean I didn't want to leave!~ spacious, too! It is an older casino, and the smoke is more pugnant, but believe me I would stay there again.

We are staying at the Mandalay Bay in a few weeks. I got a heck of a good deal on hoteldiscounts.com But they change rates a lot, keep checking.

enjoy your trip and wear good walking shoes!