The Orleans Hotel and Casino Las Vegas

A few months back I was trying to get a room in Las Vegas during the "conference season." My Dad was going to be in town for an accounting conference and I wanted to drive up and spend a couple of days with him. All the hotels on the strip had astronomical prices $200-800 a night, which I could not afford. So I went looking for a good deal and what I found was The Orleans Hotel and Casino.

I thought it would be a dingy little room, which would be barely livable for the one night. I mean it was cheap compared to the other rates I had found at a mere $118 a night. And you get what you pay for right? Wrong, in this case I got more than I thought I paid for. The room I stayed at in The Orleans was one of nicest that I have stayed at anywhere.

The room was very large including a sitting area with a couch, end table, easy chair and coffee table. We had a king size bed that had two nightstands one on either side of it. The room also included an entertainment center with a decent sized TV and a nice table/desk with a chair. The bathroom was very large as the closet and bathroom were combined. All the furniture looked new. The couch and chair sported a very nice blue matching floral pattern.

The carpet was a gold color with a floral pattern and looked pretty new. There were no interesting/nasty stains on it. The room had nice muted wallpaper that was beige and peach with wheat cross floral pattern. The bedspread was a yellow with blue floral pattern that matched the drapes and the room sported nice framed pictures of a New Orleans flavor including cranes in the bayou, the cruise ship Natchez, a classy one of bourbon street, and one of a New Orleans courtyard. I really liked that the room were decorated to match the theme of the casino. The bathroom tile was a gold marble looking tile that looked nice no stains evident there either.

Amenities:

The bathroom sported a new looking bathtub/shower combo that had decent water pressure. The room also included an ironing board and a hairdryer. You could get in room high speed Internet for a fee of $10.99 a day. There were lots of lamps in the room so we had plenty of light. The room was also climate controlled. There was a thermostat that controlled the floor cooling unit so that you could keep the room at a certain temperature rather than freezing or boiling. It had a coffee maker--the first cup of coffee or tea was free and then there was a charge of $1.75 per package used.

Staff:

The staff was very friendly when we checked in and gave a coupon book for the casino and some of the dining places in it. They were also very helpful when we inquired about finding a movie theater in the area later in the evening. And when my husband got lost that evening (he forgot his room number) they were very helpful in helping him find our room.

The Casino:

I don't gamble, but it looked like they had plenty of card tables and slot machines. This casino wasn't as nasty, dingy and dirty as some of the casinos I have been in. It must be a newer casino. It actually looked as if this casino would be an enjoyable place to gamble. The casino also sported several bars, restaurants and places to shop including a nice liquor store, couple of sports bars and a regular bar, an oyster bar, a TGI Fridays, an ice cream shop and a coffee shop. They also had a little odds and ends store with souvenirs and snack food, milk and etc. The Casino also boasted a movie theater (which wasn't playing the movie we wanted to see hence the inquiring after another theater in the area).

Location:

The only thing wrong with this casino is that it is not on the strip. It is on Tropicana quite a ways from the strip so that you would not be able to walk to the strip (besides I wouldn't recommend it as we had to drive through a bit of a dingy area to get to the casino). But it is only a short drive (all the casinos valet park for free + tip) or a mere $10 cab fare (to the MGM at least). This means it is a quieter area and a quieter casino and a local person tells me that this casino is where the locals go to gamble since it is off the strip.

Other:

The exterior of the casino was very nice done in the New Orleans architecture with the wrought iron looking balconies (but I don't think the rooms could use the balconies I think they were just for show) and the casino did offer valet parking for free and the tip or you could park your car yourself.

Overall I was more than pleased with my stay at The Orleans so much so that if I go back to Las Vegas I probably won't stay anywhere else. It was so nice and the staff was great. I'll pay the cab fare to the strip to stay in the nicer and cheaper hotel!