This has been a long time favorite of ours in Vegas. You might have read my other Epinions on The Bellagio and Paris Hotel, which are excellent hotels, but this hotel/casino is completely different. The others that I mentioned are newer and fancier and have a VERY corporate feel about them. The Flamingo on the other hand is a throwback to the “old” Vegas.

What the Flamingo lacks in appearance, it makes up in character. This hotel was started by the famous mobster “Bugsy” Siegel and was one of the first hotels on the “Strip” in Vegas. It isn’t ashamed in the fact that it was started by the mob and there is evidence of this throughout the casino. While you’re there, you can visit Bugsy’s Bar or see where he lived at one time.

The rooms are nice and about the average size of the other rooms in Vegas. Depending where you stay in the hotel, you can have a marvelous view of the Strip from your room. You will have to prepare yourself for a lot of pink and blue throughout the hotel, but it’s done tastefully. One word of advice, check their website for specials before paying their rack rates which can be in excess of $200 per night! We regularly find deals as low as $49 a night if you can stay Sunday – Thursday, instead of the weekend.

The one thing that keeps us coming back to the Flamingo instead of hotels at the other end of the Strip (MGM Grand, etc.) is location, location, location! This is one of the best areas of the Strip to stay on. The hotel is directly across from Caesar’s and close to Bally’s, Bellagio, Mirage, and Harrah’s. You simply can’t get a better location. We usually spend our days exploring other areas of the Strip or downtown and come back to spend the evenings in the area where the Flamingo is in.

Another great thing about the Flamingo is the pool. Or should I say pools! The pool area is designed with a tropical feel to it and it is beautiful! It’s very realistic and romantic and we found it to be a nice place to take a walk at night to clear your head from the clanging of the slot machines.

One negative thing I have to mention. Avoid the buffet like the plague! It has been consistently bad. We’ve been staying at the Flamingo on average about two times a year, for the past 6 years and it is always been bad. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We have a friend there that always gives us free passes to the buffet and we don’t have the heart to tell her we don’t like it, so we always give it a shot, and we always have the same reaction, yuck! That said, the other restaurants in the Flamingo are very good. Peking Market has excellent Chinese dishes and the Alta Villa is good Italian food. For upscale dining, you can’t beat Conrad’s Steakhouse. Very formal and very elegant, the food always pleases.

I highly recommend the Flamingo for people who want a taste of the “old” Vegas without giving up the modern comforts of today. Like I said earlier, the location can’t be beat and isn’t that what’s most important when staying in Vegas? Because if you’re like us, the room is only a place to crash in the wee hours and recharge yourself for another day in Vegas!



Recommended: Yes