Vegas is becoming a rip off part 2 : a year later review

[gettocard]

May some of you will reming this topic :
https://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=159111.

Well,I've just came back from Vegas again and unfortunately I have to say that things have not improved since my last year visit. Of course I did not expect to improve dramatically so quickly,but getting even worst ??...what the heck !!!

First of all the obnoxious resort fee most resort "mandate" in your final bill. Well,let me tell you this : are you guys serious ?? Stop it already !! Or make it a one time 20 bucks at check in,not for every day of my stay.

Since we had 2 weeks to spend in Socal we decided to avoid most pricey hotels, also because we came to a point that in Vegas it doesn't really make any sense,unless of course we're talking about places like Circus Circus or Riviera. Stayed at Bellagio many times and loved it,but 149 per night plus and extra 20 bucks for the extra fee no thank you,Mr Lanni. By comparison,it does a lot more sense to stay at Wynn and pay $199 per night. Either way we opted for the good old Treasure Island where I've scored an unbelievable 3 nights for 150$ including resort fee. Comfy enough mattresses for me too,wich is what is most important. Smokey casino,old carpeting and room furnitures falling apart ? They've got you cover !!!

Now,last year I came to a conclusion that while gambling became cheap,food became very expensive and service has gone down the drain,this year it seems the gambling is still cheap,food is still very expensive ( TI breakfast buffet is one dollar more than the Bellagio breakfast buffet !! But don't worry,they are both to avoid imho.) but most important hotels in general are kept in an unbelievable state of disarray an seediness. And I mean all of them.
Let's take the hotel that stands as a force to be reckon with : Wynn . Wynn and Encore suddendly looks like very old and dusty establishments. At first I've thought the new standard set by Aria made me feel like that but no,that's not the case. It is clear that Mr. Wynn is spending a lot more time in it's Macau casinos and his places here in Vegas are falling apart. Of course I do understand most of the shut down boutiques in the corridor between Wynn and Encore are due to a bad economy,but what hell...keep the damn place clean and tidy !! And,bottom of the barrel....I've saw a mexican kid selling chewing gums on the bridge between Fashion Show Mall and Wynn....now you know Steve is not in town !!!

Least but not last : I don't feel safe on the Strip anymore like I used to feel few years ago or during the "good years" 1998-2007 when I've lived in town for 3 years. The area between the Aladdin ( it's Planet Hollywood now but I'm and old timer ) and the Harely Davidson Cafe' is filled with very mean individuals giving you aggressive stares,offering you drugs or singing their hip hop stuff with each other. No,I don't feel safe on the Strip anymore,take it from someone that knows this town better than himself.


But ...is there a positive note ? Yes there is ! There is that new resort in town most older resort should now learn from : The Cosmopolitan . Hated it last year,understanded and loved it this year. The place is clean and smallish,smallish because of the multilevel thing,and it has a general feel of intimacy. We really loved the idea of being able to grab a slice of pizza and eating it while inside the hotel sitting on a wooden bench and NO slot machines in sight !!|

Other than this positive note it's sad to say it but I don't see any more reason for me to go back to Vegas for a while,not until resorts will pick up on the economy again. It's funny tho, because Vegas newspapers reports 10% increase in room occupancy and room prices month after month,while an insider very good friend of mine tells me most hotels with 3000 and plus rooms inventory keep at least 2000 rooms closed during the week or during very slow weekends.....is that how you make +10% occupancy every month....... ?

What else ?? The Las Vegas Hilton is now called LVH and it's bank owned,so is the good old Palms. Lot's of half built and not completed buildings throughout the valley,a true sad vision.
The Loft 5,a trendy apartment complex I was very interested in few years ago sits in the middle of the desert and poor maintenance is taking a toll on it's facade,here and there you can see some curtains open or closed,a sign that someone managed to buy a small unit unit for a whopping 170K$ back in 2003 or 50K$ in 2011....