Elcortezhotelcasino

We get to Las Vegas 3 or 4 times a year. When we first started going we shopped around for a comfortable and cheap place to stay. We originally settled on the Sahara (on the strip) but when it went bank-o and got bought up and renovated into a chi-chi boutique (meaning $$$$) it moved out of our orbit and a new 'home base' was needed. We'd visited most of the other hotels in Vegas and honestly, at first the El Cortez wasn't high on the list. It was sort of a budget desperation move to stay there once - and it turned out to be a lovely experience. We don't like the glitz and glamour (or the $$$ pricing) of the biggies and the El Cortez is an older place but fairly well maintained and the staff is exceptionally friendly as they separate you from your money at the gaming tables. Its in the older section of town (Downtowm, not on the 'Strip') and a block away from the Fremont Street Experience. It may be one of the last original hotel / casino operations in Vegas and nostalgia is a fun thing for us. Easy to get to from the airport (take the city bus, not a limo or taxi) very affordable, clean enough and like all casinos, once you're there and signed up for their affinity card you get great deals on rooms and such in your email inbox. We do one 'junking' junket a year and rent a car to visit the thrift shops and the El Cortez has plenty of parking on site. Also cool if one of you is a smoker, there are 'pavilion' rooms over one parking structure (it's not as bad as it sounds) that have an outside access to the rooms so you don't have to schlep completely outside the building to satisfy your habit. If you opt for one of these pavilion rooms, ask to be placed on the side away from the "Giant Flame Spewing Praying Mantis" Supposedly the slots are among the loosest in town but I don't play slots, I prefer the social interaction of the craps table as I watch my money dwindle. Give it a try - you may like it as much as we do.The price is right!