Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

82
CHAPTER 5 . WHERE TO STAY
touch), but it all appears less shabby and more fresh. Bathrooms are also bigger
here, but dull, except for the ones with Jacuzzi tubs. Even without the wildlife, the
pool area is among the best around and is the place’s biggest draw. Note, however,
that their touted swim-up blackjack is seasonal (read: summer only).
Calypsos (p. 134), the 24-hour coffee shop, is a good value, as are the Trop’s
buffet (p. 166) offerings. There’s a good-looking casino, and the Casino Legends
Hall of Fame (p. 178) has the largest collection of gaming chips in the
world, along with other gambling doodads and ephemera. The showroom currently
hosts the Folies Bergère revue (p. 251).
3801 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (at Tropicana Ave.), Las Vegas, NV 89109. & 888/826-8767 or 702/739-2222. Fax
702/739-2469. www.tropicanalv.com. 1,878 units. $79–$229 double. Extra person $20. Children under 18
stay free in parent’s room. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Free self- and valet parking. Amenities: Casino; showrooms;
wedding chapel; 8 restaurants; 3 outdoor pools; small health club and spa; video arcade; concierge; tour desk;
car-rental desk; 24-hr. room service; laundry service; dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms; executive-level rooms.
In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies, dataport; minifridge in some rooms, hair dryer, iron and board, safes.
MODERATE
Boardwalk Hotel & Casino This is just like a Holiday Inn—in fact, up until
recently, it was a Holiday Inn, but in Vegas you gotta have a theme, and the hotel
underwent an extensive renovation to give it a more attractive Coney Island and
Boardwalk flavor, inside and especially out. The facade is kind of fun, with
clowns and games and mannequins dressed in turn-of-the-last-century clothes.
Of course, all this is completely eclipsed by New York–New York, which is just a
few doors (in Strip terms) down. After all, the roller coaster on the outside of this
hotel is just a facade, while New York–New York’s coaster is real. The whole property
is now owned by the MGM MIRAGE Corp, which hasn’t done anything
special to the place, but does mean a certain amount of quality control.
You don’t have to walk through the casino to get to the lobby, which is a plus,
as is the hotel’s coveted Strip location. On the other hand, it’s a bit pricey for
what you get—standard Holiday Inn hotel rooms.
3750 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (between Harmon and Tropicana aves.), Las Vegas, NV 89109. & 800/635-4581 or
702/735-2400. Fax 702/730-3166. www.hiboardwalk.com. 653 units. $39–$139 double; $295–$495 1-bedroom
suite; $495–$895 2-bedroom suite. Extra person $15. Children under 13 stay free in parent’s room.AE, DC, DISC,
MC, V. Free self- and valet parking. Amenities: Casino; showroom; 4 restaurants; outdoor pool; small exercise
room; tour desk; car-rental desk; 24-hr. room service; coin-op washers and laundry service; dry cleaning; nonsmoking
rooms. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies, dataport, coffeemaker, hair dryer, iron and board.
Excalibur Kids Now this is kitsch. One of the largest resort hotels in the
world, Excalibur (aka “the Realm”) is a gleaming white, turreted castle complete
with moat, drawbridge, battlements, and lofty towers. And it’s huger than huge.
You know, as much as we might publicly stand in favor of quiet good taste,
there is a part of our soul that is secretly thrilled by overblown fantasy locations—
it’s so authentically Vegas. And so we just pray that the Lords of Taste never touch
Excalibur, and it is allowed to forever run amok with sword and sorcery imagery.
Actually, the decorating fairies have already made some quiet changes (the deep
reds in the public areas have been switched to creams), but nothing that really sullies
the silliness. (Have fun by having the hotel page you and your friends: “Lady
Doe to the white courtesy phone” or “Sir Jones to the house phone.” Really, they
do this.) There are some ominous rumblings in keeping with the rest of Vegas’s
careening away from the “family-friendly” image—gone is the Animatronic
dragon and wizard show out front, and inside, where a nice horse show used to
be, there is a male stripper act, Thunder from Down Under. The hotel remains big
and chaotic, thanks to a sprawling casino full of families and small-time gamblers,