I will be going to vegas this may and have to decide between the rio suites and the mirage... I have been at the mirage before and loved it... but I have since been told by many friends that the rio suites is even better... I will be with my wife (both in our 30's), we are most interested in spa, fun, location and pools pools pools.. any help/advice would be appreciated...

Hi,

Have seen the Rio, but have not seen the suites, but read review that they were very large and great value. Just be prepared that you will have to take a shuttle to get to the strip. Mirage-I have stayed there. Nice, but casino/public areas extremely crowded.

I stayed at the Rio suites and loved it. They were very large and very comfortable indeed. The downside is that they're off the Strip and you have to take a shuttle. The upside is that you're staying in the hotel that has the best buffet in town!

Hi Steve,
Check out www.lvol.com - they have reviews on all hotels in Vegas from people that have stayed there - it has a great discussion board, show reviews, buffet reviews and lots more!
Enjoy

Steve: Have only visited, never stayed at either hotel, but I would choose Rio -- Mirage a little too crowded for my taste. Rio has bigger rooms, fantastic buffet, awesome casino show (free!) and the best view of the strip from the outside decks of the VooDoo Lounge. Just remember to take a dress shirt and tie -- lounge has a strict dress code. Have fun!

I would choose the Mirage for 2 reasons. First, you have been there and like it. Second, you mentioned location as important. The Mirage has a great location whereas the Rio is off the strip. The Rio is very nice but highly overated.

We stayed at the Rio Suites last summer and it was a wonderful room! We had a corner room that not only had floor to ceiling windows on one wall but two! Great views, even from the 9th floor. It is not really a suite but just an oversized room with a free safe and nice sized bathroom.

The shuttle was a slight hassle, but was always available and never had a problem getting on. The free show in the casino area is alot of fun and runs 3 or 4 times a day.

The pool area was wonderful, 3 or 4 pools and about 10 hot tub areas. Of course in order to get a chair and towel you had to tip the pool boys! But, I am sure its like that at all the major hotels there. We were surprised how cool the water was, especially since it was July and the temp rarely dropped below 90 at night!

I am sure it is quite a bit less expensive than the Mirage, because of location -- but we were very pleased with what we got!