RateVegas - Las Vegas Reviews and Ratings of Hotels, Casinos, Restaurants and Shows

Blonde4ever November 17, 2014

Oct 28 to Nov 1 2014
My likes and dislikes from my four night stay.

Likes

Loved having the food court available . Sometimes you just want something quick and having this right on the premises was very handy. I ended up using the Mexican place, the coffee place, Mc Donald's, Subway, and Pop up pizza.

Hash House a go go is another good addition to the food choices.

Loved the wifi.

Apparently there is a shuttle three times a day to the airport. Only ten dollars for hotel guests!

Loved the fact that the casino was cool and well ventilated. That is very important. Nothing will make me leave faster than a hot stuffy smokey casino.

Enjoyed the selection of slots and loved the 99% payback video poker machines by the bar.

Hotel guests get free Louie Anderson tickets but I didn't have time to use them.
You also get a fun book of hotel discounts on food etc at check in.

The air conditioning in my room (1483) worked fabulously. Another very important thing. TV was modern and worked well also.

The room was spacious and I liked the furnishings. The bed was comfy. I adore the bedside lamps and the old Plaza picture on the wall.

Loved the modern safe that was large enough to hold my iPad and not on the floor. ( I am looking at you Four Queens). This was eye level and easy to use.

All of the staff I encountered were pleasant and helpful. I especially enjoyed a certain cocktail waitress. She is of a certain age, but fast and efficient and funny. She was working down by the VP on Tuesday night.

Loved having the cab stand right outside the door.

There were lots of elevators for the south tower. They were fast and worked well.

At no time did I feel unsafe in the hotel. I was not pan handled once within the hotel either.

Dislikes

The scent in the casino. Still too strong. Cut it way way way back.

Lose the time share people who attack you as soon as you come in the door. They are universally hated.

The bathtub toilet area. Omg, who designed this? I was staying alone so I left the door open all the time, but if you had a roommate , you almost have to step into the bathtub to close the door! I wish during the remodel that they had taken two feet off of the big room and added them to the bathroom.
Also the tub is terribly slippery when wet. There are signs on the mirror asking me to use the bath mats for safety, but there are no rubber mats given. Only the towel mats that you use to step out of the shower. There definitely should be some non slip material put in that tub.
Also there is nothing to hold onto. No towel bars or soap shelves either. No hook on the bathroom door.

You cannot control the bedside table lamps from the bed. You have to get up and walk across the room to turn them off and on. Strange.

My room had a few dings on the wall where the paint had been knocked off. It would be a simple thing to correct with a few dabs of paint. As it was , the paint issues were the first thing I saw when I walked in the door. Not a major issue, but it speaks to the upkeep of the hotel.

Obviously there were way more likes than dislikes. I would definitely stay again, only next time I will ask for a handicapped room to see if I find the bathroom more user friendly...lol.

Nathan December 28, 2012

I had a lot of fun. Totally different after renovation. Note. Get a host if your playing dollar slots or more than $5 a hand. You don't have to be a high roller just not a penny player They are very helpful. My mini suite was very nice. Comfy mattress good view. Slots paid out nicely. Bathroom was very small. There is a 10 dollar resort fee . I got a comp so i didnt pay it. This. Property is very player friendly and will treat you well... Just ask if you need something And remember to use your players card.

Alastair May 26, 2012

Had a Thursday / Friday night stay in May and was very impressed.

They have done a good job with the renovations. I had a south tower room facing towards the strip.

The rooms are now smart, comfortable, if a little sparce, but the fontainbleau furniture is pretty nice, so they struck lucky there. The bathrooms are nice, however they are on the small side

For the price, this is definitely a good option for a downtown stay. a good value for money option.

The pool area is a litle stark, but at least you have it as an option, not many pools downtown!

This was my first downtown stay in 12 years of Las Vegas visits, and with the improvements going on I will definitely be back for another stay.

I would recommend a stay at The Plaza

DNiemeyer April 19, 2012

We stayed for 2 nights in December 2011. It was our first time to stay downtown. The casino was very empty most of the time despite the fact that it looked great after the reno. Room was great. Bathroom was small and the door almost scrapes the toilet when you open it. Loved the Hawaiian sushi restaurant. Would stay again but maybe just for one night as we enjoy a short visit downtown but 2 nights was too much. We prefer the strip.

Kyle April 15, 2012

They did a nice job with the remodel but still missed some things like old doors that get stuck and shower heads that are way too short for anyone taller than 5'8". Casino is nice and they're good with sending you comps.

Michael Dell March 14, 2012

Stayed at the Plaza in January for the CES 2012 show. The Hotel room was awesome. They did a great job redoing the rooms but didn't redo the doors. They looked all beat up and were likely the originals from 1971. They were panted. :)

Overall, for the price, it was a great place to stay for a week. Getting a Taxi there in the morning is sometimes a pain, but overall, great place!

CharandDen March 04, 2012

We stayed here 4 nights in Feb. The rooms were nice. However we paid extra for a Fremont street view and didn't get it!! We would have said something but the girl checking us in was horribly rude and she was the only one there when we came down to say something. My key quit working the second day into the trip so I went down to get a new one and the gentleman that helped me was also rude. The location was wonderful but customer service is not a priority here. We will most likely be staying somewhere else next time.

Marc Knowlton January 22, 2012

Stayed for 5 nights during CES. Front desk staff and all the dealers were really friendly and helpful.

Had a good sized room on the 14th floor with a nice view of the strip in the middle distance. Decoration was simple but smart. Could not hear any noise from outside but did have noisy neighbours one night - can't fault Plaza for that and a call to the front desk fixed it quite quickly.

Only problem we had was that housekeeping completely missed our room one day, hence 3/5 not 4/5 rating.

Casino floor was the cleanest, most spacious and smoke free of all Downtown and they had all the new slots and $5 minimums on blackjack, craps etc.

It's definately not Cosmopolitan on Wynn but for the price would definately recommend staying here if you're looking for a place Downtown.

Trevor C September 11, 2011

Rome wasn't built in a day. Story of our lives. This notice was posted all over the hotel asking guests to hold on to opinions until they get everything running smooth. This is fine to ask during soft opening - however one should not advertise their "grand re-opening" without everything grand to reopen. The parking garage is cramped and old. Nothing about it was changed as far as I can tell aside from the exterior which is nice. The elevators felt like death traps and were very scary and dirty. Walking into the casino we were excited by the change. The slot floor was brand new and beautiful as well as laid out to perfection. This was a hopeful sign for us going forward and we were excited to see this change. The check in was another story altogether ... It was quick however we were told that we booked at Las Vegas Club. We did not. We booked a Fremont view room at the Plaza as noted on our itinerary. No problem - they found us a room. We went up to our room excited for our Fremont view - opened the door - pulled back the blinds to see none other than ... The strip off in the distance and a parking lot. There was a note on our TV about the water not working as well. We called about the concern. They said they would call us back. 20 minutes later engineers knock on the door. They walk through the room without saying a word, turn on the taps and one guy says "should we check downstairs to make sure everything is fine?". Other guy replies "nah it's good". They remove the note and evidence that there ever was a problem and leave saying nothing but "bye". Still wondering about our upcharged room selection we called front desk once again. This is where it heads south ... The lady we talked to was extremely rude stating that they don't offer the Fremont view and that it is only a request. I ask "since when do you pay extra for requests?". She replies that the "strip view" room we have is the same rate and that they do not have any Fremont rooms. I say I'll be down to talk to someone ... I go down and wait in the check in line where Michelle greets us. We tell her the dilemma in which she replies "no problem we have just the room". Extremely helpful and painless. Thanks to her she may have salvaged our stay. Until we got to the room and had a closer look. The furniture is new - but already has some wear. Still really nice. The room felt a bit bare and thrown together and missed on a large scale. Some things missing - bedskirts (how do you miss this?), soap (again??), a desk (what the ...?), bible or pens / notepads. The in room dining was on a piece of paper and only open until 10pm ... There was glue all around the picture ... The shower ran warm for about 5 minutes and then started grumbling and went stone cold ... The safe was stuck open to which they had no solution. The worst part of all was the door to our balcony had broken locks so we had no safety or security whatsoever. The biggest draw was the view - which was absolutely fantastic. The room was loud which didn't bother us at all but might be a downfall for other guests. Overall a poor experience - maybe with another few weeks of being closed this hotel would have had time to thrive however I can't see all the problems being fixed while it is open. Stay somewhere else but still pop by to see the beautiful slot floor that is only rivaled by the Golden Nugget.

Hunter August 31, 2011

The new Plaza needs to decide what it wants to be.

Is it going after Strip-caliber customers like Golden Nugget? Is it shooting for retro like the El Cortez or Four Queens? Going for locals and speciality markets like Main Street Station or The Cal?

The renovated Plaza hotel in Downtown Las Vegas is officially re-opening on September 1st but it's been accepting guests for the past week or so. I was one of those people this past week and this is the story of my experience (for what it's worth, so was Chuckmonster from VegasTripping).

My interest in The Plaza's renovation was sparked when they revealed they had purchased furniture originally slated for Fontainebleau. It's an interesting story of something good coming from a huge mistake. When I realized I'd have some overlap in town with their soft-open, it seemed like a good match. I booked.

I arrived on Sunday, August 28th, a few days before the official opening on the 1st.

It's hard not to notice that the building has been painted, though on closer inspection you'll discover that there are plenty of places that haven't had a new coat and still feature several decades of grime as a skin. Valet service was quick and simple - I was on my way to check-in moments later.

The new front-desk area is one of the highlights - it really does look nice. Everything is fresh, crisp and clean. After walking up to the desk, I got a preview of what might be the biggest problem with the property, if they actually aspire to moving up the food chain downtown hotels.

The gentleman checking me in was clearly perplexed by the computer - looking at it with a tilted head and expression of complete confusion. Despite him muttering about things not making sense, his manager, who was standing next to him, didn't even look over and instead fiddled with his cell phone. It wasn't until the clerk called out that he explained whatever the various options on the screen meant. Ok, no problem - new computers I guess. Check-in took about 20 minutes after I had stepped up to the desk but now I was on my way to my room - 938 in the South Tower.

The South Tower is located all the way across the casino from the check-in desk, giving a great opportunity to take in all the floor renovations. If you've ever been in the old Plaza, it's like they firebombed and started over. The casino floor generally looks night and day from it's old appearance. Instead of a smokey, piss-esque smell, it's clean, fresh and nicely laid out. If you're just visiting the joint and all you see is the lobby and casino, you'll likely view this renovation as a home run - and from that perspective, it is. Other than the Nugget, it's one of the nicest floors on Fremont right now.

I made my way past the security guard and into the elevator lobby - the elevators themselves have new carpet but the other controls don't look to have been replaced. The buttons are very dirty and some of them don't light up, etc...

When I reached the ninth floor, I had the same problem that Chuck did - there's absolutely zero way-finding at all in the guest room corridors. You basically have to guess which way your room is and figure it out on your own. This is even true for the fifth floor where the pool is (will be). Good luck.

I opened the door to my room, 938, overlooking the bus depot and the distant Strip. My reaction?

The furniture is all new (and already scuffed!), though it doesn't seem to really fit the room. It's clear they had x furniture and y space and had to figure out how to make it work. Some oddities noticed off the bat: the bed had no skirt or comforter, making it look oddly bare, there's a big empty space between the desk and the window and the walls are mostly empty, save a large print of a vintage Plaza.

On closer inspection, I noticed that the in-room safe was locked open - turns out they didn't have the codes and couldn't unlock them until the safe company called back... which didn't happen in the 24 hours I was on property. Standard rooms don't have mini-bars, like most Fremont hotels.

I unpacked my crap after taking some photos - I had some work I needed to upload and had planned to sign on to the WiFi and get it out of the way... Well, that wasn't happening. I couldn't get the WiFi to work (lots of error messages). A call to the desk and I discovered that it was known-non-functional. I was told it would be fixed on September 1st (official opening day). This turned out to be the mantra I got from the staff over and over when asking about stuff that didn't work. Will it all be fixed by 9/1? I have no idea. Some of it certainly could be but I have a feeling bits will persist into September and beyond. I asked jokingly what else didn't work and the person on the phone told me that the TVs only worked in about half the rooms.

As an experiment, I decided to post a note on Twitter to @plazalasvegas about the Internet problems in my room. It's now Tuesday and I'm still waiting to hear back. #socialmediafailure

The bathroom was small but functional, with all-new everything. Unfortunately there was no soap anywhere to be found. Whoops. How many Fremont hotels have room-service? The Plaza doesn't. A final note on the room: despite what the pamphlet says, in-room checkout didn't work either. September 1st.

In addition to the updated rooms and casino floor, there's a whole range of new restaurants and bars like Swingers Club in the mix. Almost none of these were open - Hash House was in play-dates, McDonalds and the sushi joint had plastic wrap on 'em. Subway was rocking but I didn't need any foot-longs. There's also a new coffee joint in the lobby that also has a bunch of snacks, etc...

Restaurants like Oscar's (replacing Firefly upstairs) aren't open yet... actually, they still have the Firefly menu posted outside the joint. Odd.

Swingers Club, the piano bar/mini-golf place did open while I was there. I think I may have been one of the first customers - it was just me and a couple of bartenders. The place is sorta shaped like a big triangle with a bar in the middle. There are a lot of chairs, a piano and a few tiny strips of mini-golf around the edges. When this place was first described to me, I imagined golf being the major hook but it's actually a pretty minor part of the whole experience. This is basically a dueling piano bar. Glass windows open to the casino and the music is clearly heard at the table pits. I was pretty underwhelmed by this place - I'd actually be surprised if it lasts a year. I overheard a conversation with a manager who was telling a friend that they have no idea if the piano thing will work - they might do karaoke, etc...

As of Monday, the pool deck on the fifth floor was completely torn up but actively being worked on. I can't imagine it will be ready by Thursday but I guess it's possible.

I spent about four hours playing in the casino that evening, alternating between craps, roulette, 21 and Let It Ride. My impression is that The Plaza is getting a lot of break-in dealers - very slow to make payouts and constantly making mistakes. Actually, while sitting at the roulette table, the pit boss came over to berate the dealer, calling her 'stupid, stupid'. It was actually pretty awful to watch this guy tear into her and was a huge turn-off.

This goes to the heart of my concern about The Plaza being successful with their transformation. My impression of the staff was very uneven. Many employees seemed to not care much about guest satisfaction. They had old-Plaza attitudes in a new-Plaza uniform. There were definitely a few employees I came into contact with that were eager to help and seemed excited to be there but they were the exception. Mostly I saw people that scowled, looked down, didn't make eye contact, and didn't attempt to go the extra mile (or even the extra kilometer).

That's what I mean about The Plaza deciding what it wants to be - if they are gunning for a spot near the top of the Fremont stack, they need to up their service game significantly.

My room was $41 for a Sunday - a sweet deal in any city... Except that's the same thing the Nugget cost for that night. El Cortez was $32 and The Mirage was $76. The Plaza can compete on price and the fact they now have significantly less urine in their carpet but that's not going to be enough.

For my money, the places to beat on Fremont are the Golden Nugget for luxury/Strip-comfort and the El Cortez for kitsch/value/nostalgia. I actually had dinner at The Flame (El Co) that night and the service there was insanely good - not pretentious at all but super personal and incredibly friendly. My server sat down and looked at pictures of my dog. I'd go back to The Flame anytime (food was good too).

I hope The Plaza succeeds and I think it's great to see investment downtown. Still, without investing in employees that care, it doesn't matter if you have new carpet... So yeah, I have doubts. I'd love to try Oscar's but I doubt I'll return to The Swinger's Club.

Visit The Plaza - if you'd ever been inside before, you'll be impressed. Viva!

Kim August 26, 2011

A COMPLETE TURNAROUND. The new hotel is night and day compared to the old place. Very well done!

Cindy July 11, 2011

Transformation is coming along very nicely!

Liz July 06, 2011

Complete overhaul and gorgeous remodel should fair extremely well for The Plaza.

Capri Vegas June 06, 2010

It is no better and no worse than you have heard about. The room was clean, with the as-expected peeling wallpaper here & there. The sink faucet was dripping, this being the the one major annoyance that you kinda expect when a room is this cheap. The beds were pretty bad although I have had worse beds on the strip...CircusCircus. Tip...even by yourself get a room with two beds and one could be better than the other. This place works when you want a cheap place overnight, but you really should consider spending more and staying nicer for a longer Vegas stay.

Jean June 02, 2010

Great place for the money. Friends stayed here. Not overly swanky, but good nonetheless.

Kit Kitchens May 06, 2010

The subway restaurant I ate at smelled like pee inside and I knew then that this wasn't my kind of place. Its one thing to be old Vegas, but this place is just old. Poorly run and run down casino. I will say though that I caught the Rat Pack show and really had a great time with it. I'd see that again for sure.

Dave April 23, 2010

Shut it down.

Patrick April 17, 2010

So sad to see this place these days. Barrick gaming should hang it's head in shame for letting this place go.

RoachClipCharly April 13, 2010

There are few hotels that will give you a room for under $30 and throw in a free case of cholera. Yeah, the place is a dump, but it's a dump with class...and a few communicable diseases. I love it!

Anonymous April 09, 2010

The Plaza is rather nice for the price. Nice location, not too far from the Arts District. Recommended!

Russell Sauve March 31, 2010

The worst hotel experience ever. indignent hotel staff, filthy and stained room and a horrific buffet. You could not pay me to stay here again. With that said; the bar staff was very friendly and liberal with their drinks an The Rat Pack show is a great show and in a fantastic and up to date show room.

Mark W from Chicago September 20, 2009

The worst hotel I have stayed at in Vegas. I want so much to say something nice about this property. I love the location on Fremont st, I like the building itself & the staff is friendly. I like the casino space even though it smells like 10 year old cigarette smoke. The rooms are huge but very dirty, stained carpet & sheets. It is really a shame because you can see and feel the history in this place, she is just in desperate need of a make-over.

This is the first casino resort in Vegas that I have stayed at and will never do it again until they do some work on it. I don't expect everyone to put Wynn money into their resorts but at least keep your place clean.

Keren W September 13, 2009

I really wanted to be able to say something nice about the Plaza, but I just can't. It's in desparate need of updates - doesn't look like ANYTHING has been updated since 1980. When you don't even want to touch the walls, it's bad. Has so much potential. The staff has been friendly.

MS August 02, 2009

Not bad for the $$$

Lizzi and Mark March 28, 2009

I enjoyed the Plaza. It's a classic high-rise with a cool vibe.

Jeff & Sands in Honolulu November 11, 2008

What a dump!

Craig Wright April 29, 2007

I would never stay at this hotel again. They misrepresent thier rooms, you do not get what you book. The food is at best average, the casino fair. If you wish furter comment, please contact me.

RateVegas.com User August 15, 2005

TOOK A TOUR OF "BEERS OF THE WORLD" THE BARTENDER FOR A TIP SERVED ME BEERS FROM MANY DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TRY "FAT TIRE", EXCELLENT AND ATTENTIVE SERVICE SHARED HIS EXTENSIVE BEER KNOWLEGE WITH ME, SHOULD EMPLOY THIS TOUR AS A MARKETING GIMMICK IT WAS GREAT EDUCATION AND INTOXICATION ALL IN ONE AFTERNOON.

RateVegas.com User June 02, 2005

Quality of the room fluctuates depending on which room you get. King suites are great, average room is old, worn and noisy. No insulation in doors and walls makes for a noisy room. Air conditioners are old and noisy, on a hot day they have to run all the time. Last trip our room was not cleaned one day. The excuse, they didn't have enough people to get to it to clean it. As much as I used to like the Plaza this will probably be my last time staying there.

Jamie April 18, 2003

We stayed here in April 2003. Clean and comfy. Staff was very nice and friendly. Convienent to get to and we could walk around alot in FSE. Would stay here again.

RateVegas User September 02, 2002

Stayed here a couple of times> Very clean room, although a little worn. What I like about this place is the clean laundry room. 3 washers and 4 dryers. The Center Stage restaurant is good with a great view.

RateVegas User December 20, 2000

Very convenient location. Only a few waitresses. Very hard to get a drink. Great food