Now that the dates are final

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Densie
----------

It's time to get those hotel reservations in. Tony and I have had good
luck with the Stratosphere, and I would recommend them highly.

One place that I would not recommend, although it has been a favorite in
the past, is the Sahara. It is not the place that it used to be, and is
probably not long for this world. The last time I was there, both the
buffet and the coffee shop were closed down. There was a television
there that didn't pick up any channels worth watching. The wireless
Internet cost extra (in all fairness, it does at the Stratosphere as
well, but now you know).

There was only one restaurant when I was there, the little hole in the
wall on the first floor. The food was lousy, and overpriced, nothing to
choose from on the wine list.

For hamburgers and crap, there was the Nascar Cafe, during the day. All
of those cars that were on display have been beaten to death. They look
more like demo derby cars.

In the middle of the night, there was nothing for food, except for the
little store. Their feature attraction is now a sex show...perhaps they
are going to become the new Del-Mar? Some people say that the hotel
doesn't matter because you will only be sleeping there, but keep in mind
that the hotel is the first place you will be, and it will be the one
common place that you keep coming back to. To me, a decent hotel is
important to the whole vacation experience.

With that said, I hope you all are practicing your karaoke for this
year, because I plan to pull out some surprises. I'm looking forward to
karaoke, shooting some machine guns, winning a hold'em tournament, doing
the air tours (although Tony might be your pilot), drinking too much,
the limo tour, and seeing my friends, old and new.

----------
(This posting was entered by Densie, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Sara P.
----------

I've stayed at Sahara the last two years, had absolutely zero issues
with the rooms. However, we upgraded to the best room available short of
a suite and for three nights and splitting the cost with a friend, the
price was less than $100 each which is pretty good. Also, I don't
typically take advantage of the hotel's food options because I'm so "on
the go" that there are much better options to be explored.

However, when I heard what really happened during that infamous 3:00
a.m.-ish bathroom incident, I removed Sahara from my list. Whether it
remains on the recommended list for DLV 2011, that's for the organizers
to decide. If they are struck from the list, someone should let them
know the reasons why, including how one of us were treated in a casino
restroom.

----------
(This posting was entered by Sara P., an external user of MyDLV.)

[annie]

> One place that I would not recommend, although it has been a favorite in
> the past, is the Sahara. It is not the place that it used to be, and is

I agree that the Sahara has gone downhill.

I stayed at the Sahara for DLV from 2000 thru 2006. For the last few years I've stayed at a few of the various hotels in the Flamingo-Strip "four corners" area.

Sahara still does have a semi-decent low-roller casino, and I did end up playing there several times off and on during last year's DLV. I did think "I'm really glad I'm not staying here ..." however.

The real reason I've been staying at more centrally-located places is that I quit renting a vehicle for DLV. I really enjoy DLV more when I don't have to worry about driving under the influence and such. It also comes out cheaper doing a Monorail pass and an occasional taxi ride than it does to rent a car.

> Some people say that the hotel
> doesn't matter because you will only be sleeping there, but keep in mind
> that the hotel is the first place you will be, and it will be the one
> common place that you keep coming back to. To me, a decent hotel is
> important to the whole vacation experience.

I don't need turn-down service with a mint on the pillow or an overpriced mini-bar, but I do like such things as the availability of an early-morning sit-down sober-up breakfast.

As for WIFI, none of the larger Las Vegas hotels have free WIFI (some have it buried in an extortive "Resort Fee" which is worse) and the savings from not using hotel WIFI on two recent week-long trips has more than covered the cost of an "air card" subscription.