As real to medieval as you can get: grotty and smelly
Written: Feb 05 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Location is good in that area of the strip
Cons: Desperately needing mass renovation, on the more boring end of the strip
The Bottom Line: There are so many better hotels to stay at for not that much more, dont take your chances on this one!
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| pungpui's Full Review: Excalibur Hotel And Casino |
This 4000+ room hotel and casino was finished in 1990 and especially in comparison to the never ending development of new casino’s in Vegas, it is certainly showing signs of offering less superior accommodations and facilities to its younger brothers. Part of the massive MGM Mirage group in Vegas, I believe this has to be the worst property of the lot. The pictures show a colourful castle-themed resort where I expected much more theme than actually offered.
There is simply no distinction between hotel and casino in this place. All entries into the building lead straight into the casino, with the registration area on one side. To access either of the 2 towers of rooms, they are located at opposite ends of the casino, so it wasn’t uncommon to see people with children walking through the casino area with heavy baggage! What on earth is that about?
There is absolutely no personality with the hotel staff at all. With 4000 rooms to check in a day, check-in staff are like passport control people at the airport: looks like they permanently lost control of their face muscles and is locked in ‘boredom’ position. The only staff who actually do talk to you are those annoying show ticket salesmen who literally drag you off what your are doing and try to get you to attend a seminar. You MUST be careful in Vegas about this, especially at any MGM Mirage casino. It looks like they are offering a concierge style service, but all they want you to do is attend a seminar by offering cheap show tickets afterwards. Even on the strip, there are stalls saying ‘Las Vegas Information’, but they are really just the same time-share salesmen trying to get you to invest. Common first questions to draw you in are ‘Where are you from?’, or they try and shake your hand. Just keep walking, it’s awful. Just as annoying as those people who flick hooker cards at you while walking on the strip.
The entire hotel, from head to toe is done in a medieval castle-style theme, and that is the same as the rooms offered. There are 2 types of general rooms offered: normal and deluxe. The only different is deluxe has a little more floor space for a couch, but is limited to the 1st 7 floors (so any hopes of a good view of the strip are gone). We opted for the more expensive deluxe, and found it to be a little too realistically medieval! Room felt too dark, the design of the bed spreads and curtains was just yuck to a stage where you don’t really want to lie on the bed, and the furniture is very minimal. The 2 chairs and table look like they are going to collapse, and there is no central air-conditioning. Each room has its own unit which is attached under the window, so if it’s on, it blows the curtains upwards. It’s also incredibly noisy and distracting when sleeptime. The bathroom is huge, however, but completely lacks in colour. There is only one massive shower (no tub), and there is a small fan which looks like it had cheaply been added after the room was completed – the power was too low and it was completely useless as the mirrors fogged up during showers anyway. Towels smelt old and felt thin (ie used for a long time). The hallway is similarly medieval: dark and smells damp. I did, however, like the fact that entry into the hotel tower required you to show your room card to the guard outside the lifts, so we felt a little more secure.
Location is very good for south of the strip, with very frequent monorail/trams to Mandalay Bay and Luxor, and foot bridges to New York New York and Tropicana, themselves foot-bridge linked to MGM Grand. However most of the newer, more exciting casino’s are emerging at the northern end of the strip such as Caesar’s, Wynn, Venetian, the new Trump hotel being built, Bellagio. These are quite a walking distance away.
Also note that any tours booked or airport transfers will have pick up and drop off at the back of the hotel (the Rotunda), complete opposite side to the main taxi, hotel check-in area. Why this occurs is beyond me, makes transferring hectic, especially if you’ve just arrived and don’t know where you’re going.
Overall, I don’t think I would recommend this casino to anyone at all. I did read in a newsletter that 1000 of the 4000 rooms are being renovated at the moment, as is the pool area, but that still wouldn’t change the old feel and incredibly poor layout of the casino and registration areas downstairs. Spend a little more money and stay in much better, newer places.
Apart from Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip), try to visit Downtown Las Vegas for the Fremont Street experience. This area is accessible by local bus or taxi and is the real old school Vegas, with the Golden Nugget and featured in 007 Diamonds are Forever. The main attraction is the roof that covers the street with thousands of LED lights that produce a show with sound every hour during the evening. Also, for shopping lovers, visit Las Vegas Outlets (south of the strip) or Las Vegas Premium Outlets (near Downtown). We only visited the regular outlets since it is indoors and was very cold outside! Clothing at Tommy Hilfiger was dirt cheap (eg $US10 for a proper shirt). There is also one further south but that’s much further to get to. Premium Outlets features Ralph Lauren, DKNY, D&G, etc. Do go onto their website before your visit to get VIP discount coupons and register online for the voucher booklet from the information centre for further savings.
On the strip, I would recommend seeing the Lion enclosure at MGM Grand, the fountain display at the lake of the Bellagio, taking a stroll through St Marks Square and a Gondola ride ($US15 per person for 4 people) at the Venetian, checking out the Forum shops and hotel lobby of Caesar’s Palace, and going up Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas.
Foodwise, the best value buffet is probably lunch at Mandalay Bay, but Bellagio and Wynn is also very good. All 3 range about $US17-20 + tax for lunch, more for dinner. Bellagio and Wynn don’t close between lunch and dinner, so if you go just before they change to dinner prices, you will pay a lunch price and get dinner menu (around 3pm). Just a hint for the cheapo’s!
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
pungpui
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Location: Sydney, Australia
Reviews written: 23
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
I'm male, 19, a business undergrad student at University of Technology Sydney
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