I figured lower price for distant location was a reasonable trade-off, but had no idea that I was walking into a nest of incompetence that would have embarrassed any first-day Motel 6 manager.

At the beginning, problems surfaced in the form of long and slow lines. You'd think people in the hotel business would have heard of Fridays.

After repeated card-key malfunctions, I got the privilege of opening the door to my room. Although I am a slob, I don't like to see a hotel room with a pre-made mess, so when I saw that the bed was unmade and that used soap adorned the bathroom, I was slightly concerned.

I called the front desk, figuring they'd apologize and assign me to another room. Nope. They told me to call housekeeping. I was too shell-shocked to argue. I called housekeeping. They said they'd get to it. I realized the absurdity of it all and went back to the front desk.

After another long wait, I got a new room. This one was at least mostly clean, although the drain of the bathroom sink was clogged with hair. I figured I'd just suck it up. After all, the clock was ticking and I had some money to lose.

The room was too hot so I turned on the AC. The room stayed hot, so I moved the AC to the top setting. It didn't seem to work. My friends in a different room had the same problem and were more motivated to do something about it, so they called the front desk. Someone was sent up to fix it. He unscrewed some things and said it was working - he noted that it's designed to not go any lower than the preset temperature. Preset temperature or not, both rooms were still too hot.

I'm not a fanatic, but when it's 90 degrees outside I prefer to be in a hotel with working AC, and in about 200 previous hotels and motels this has never been a problem.

I'll blame the hotel for its incompetence and lack of concern for its customers, but not for its inconvenient location. On paper, it doesn't look so far from the meatier parts of the Strip, but the rampant traffic means you won't go much slower by walking. You could wait for the Strip trolley, but this is more dangerous and sweaty than walking, and again, not much faster.

Now to address the non-hotel aspects. The buffet was adequate. I went on seafood night, and the shrimp was pretty good. The quality and price was such that if you were going strictly for convenience, it's fine, but there's point in being convenient to such a disappointing hotel.

Why the two stars? Because somehow this colossal failure of a hotel has one of the best casinos I've seen. Not "best" as in "grandest" or "most souvenir shops." It has a nearly perfect size and atmosphere.

I tend to find the grandiose Bellagio-type places silly, and I like the unadorned ambience of Northern Michigan Indian casinos, but those can be a little dull. Stratosphere's casino has all the basics. The blackjack tables aren't desolate but aren't overly packed.

Near the back, I found some nickel video-black jack next to a bar with a superb sound system cranking out 80s videos. I stayed in that spot for hours and probably lost a total of $12.

I may return to Stratosphere's casino for a more relaxed version of the Vegas experience, but there are much better accommodations at Super 8 - or at JimBob's Motor Lodge.








Recommended: No