Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

SOUTH STRIP 79
Downtown French restaurant Andre’s (p. 163). There’s a large and overly ornate
casino, plus a lavish showroom that currently hosts the recommended show by
magician Lance Burton (p. 253).
Monte Carlo’s health club and spa is nothing special, but then again, it’s $17
for 1 day’s access, which is cheaper than the fee at most other hotels.
3770 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (between Flamingo Rd. and Tropicana Ave.), Las Vegas, NV 89109.& 800/311-8999
or 702/730-7777. Fax 702/730-7250. www.monte-carlo.com. 3,002 units. Sun–Thurs $59–$179 double,
Fri–Sat $109–$269 double; $149–$339 suite. Extra person $25, no discount for children. AE, DC, DISC, MC,
V. Free self- and valet parking. Amenities: Casino; showroom; wedding chapel; 7 restaurants; large wave
pool with lazy-river ride and separate kiddie pool; 3 night-lit tennis courts with full services and equipment
rental; health club and spa; Jacuzzi; sauna; watersports equipment/rental; video arcade; concierge; tour desk;
business center; 24-hr. room service; in-room massage; babysitting; laundry service; dry cleaning; nonsmoking
rooms; executive-level rooms. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies, dataport, hair dryer, iron and board.
New York–New York Hotel & Casino Kids Isn’t this exactly the kind of
hotel you think about—or dream about or fear—when you think “Las Vegas”?
There it is, a jumbled pile mock-up of the venerable Manhattan skyline, the
Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, the Public Library, all crammed
together, along with the 150-foot Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, all built to
approximately one-third scale. And as if that weren’t enough, they threw in a
roller coaster running around the outside and into the hotel and casino itself.
And inside, it all gets better. There are details everywhere—so many, in fact,
that the typical expression on the face of casino-goers is slack-jawed wonder. If
you enter the casino via the Brooklyn Bridge (the walkway from the Strip), you’ll
find yourself in a replica of Greenwich Village, down to the cobblestones, the
manhole covers, the tenement-style buildings, and the graffiti. (Yes, they even
re-created that. You should see the subway station.) The reception area and
lobby are done in an Art Deco, golden-age-of-Manhattan style; you’ll feel like
breaking into a 1930s musical number while standing there. It’s a wow! all right.
The word subtle was obviously not in the lexicon of the designers. We will leave
it to you to decide, based on your own aesthetic values, if all this is a good or
bad thing. Let’s just say that to us, it’s very, very good indeed. Because this is
exactly what we come to Vegas for—unbridled, unrepentant, theme-gone-wild.
Upstairs—oh, yes, there’s much more—is the arcade, which is Coney
Island–themed (naturally), and just as crowded as the real thing. Kids play
boardwalk games in the hopes of winning tickets redeemable for cheap prizes.
(You’re never too young to start learning about gambling.) The line for the roller
coaster (lengthy at this writing) starts here. There are many restaurants, all
housed in buildings that fit the theme of whatever New York neighborhood is
represented in that particular part of the hotel.
Rooms are housed in different towers, each with a New York–inspired name.
Truthfully, the place is so massive and mazelike that finding your way to your
room can take a while. There are 64 different styles of rooms, and most are quite
smashing (oddly, the style diminishes in inverse proportion to the size of the
room). Essentially, each is done up in Art Deco style: various shades of inlaid
wood, rounded tops on the armoires and headboards, brown and wood colors
dominating. Some of the rooms are downright tiny (just like New York again!),
however, and in those rooms all this massively detailed decoration can be overwhelming,
if not suffocating. The bathrooms are also small, but have black-marble-topped
sinks, which again lend a glamorous ’20s feel. The toiletries come in
bottles shaped like the New York City skyline—these are the sorts of goodies
you’ll want to stash in your suitcase to take home! Light sleepers should request
a room away from the roller coaster.