Las Vegas – Riviera

In 2008 we went to Las Vegas just after Thanksgiving.  Our first two nights we stayed at the Riviera.  The rooms had been recently renovated so they were running special room rates to get folks to come check out what they had accomplished.  The rooms were clean and nice, but for the time and money it didn’t seem they were quite as polished as they should have been.  They certainly didn’t add any sound proofing between the rooms which meant I could hear all too clearly what the couple in the next room were doing to occupy their time.  Getting to our room made me feel a little like a hamster in a cage.  The pool area looked really nice but we didn’t get to enjoy it given the time of year.

The staff was fantastically friendly and helpful.  That was the one area where they really scored high marks from me.

The casino could use an update along with the rooms.  It wasn’t a space that made me want to sit and gamble.  We spent a short amount of time there just because we were staying there but really we just wanted to head out and find some other location to spend our money in…sort of a catch 22 for them I suppose.

It wasn’t too far of a walk to pick up the monorail but we didn’t find it to be as useful or time efficient as just walking.  However the location meant we were doing A LOT of walking.  Great if you want to keep up with your work out, not so great if you want to wear your favorite pair of sex kitten heels to dinner.

All in all if you’re looking to stay on the strip but want to be a little more budget conscious, the Riviera is a nice place to crash.  How much time do you really spend in your hotel anyway?