12/21/10 Las Vegas Resort Fees

    In an era of online discounted travel via air, cruises, hotels, and cars, Las Vegas is no exception. Considering the amount of competition on the strip alone, casino hotels have had to get creative in order to present bottom-line prices so as not to be buried several pages in any given travel search engine. Thus has arisen the "resort fee", an additional cost paid upon check-in with any major credit card that is accumulated based of the number of days one stays. So what is exactly a "resort fee"? It is a fee ranging from $4.95 to $25.00 a day that covers the guest's use of hotel amenities.
      What are considered hotel amenities covered by resort fees vary from hotel to hotel. They can be things such as having newspapers available in the lobby to "complimentary" bottled water in the rooms. Other popular resort fee items include spa and business center access, free internet, and free local telephone calls from the room. As I am looking at my "complimentary" Monte Carlo Key holder and welcoming info card, I am struck by a fine print paragraph above where the key would be placed. It says, "For your convenience, a resort fee is added each night to your room account and includes the following hotel services: in-room wired internet, fitness center access, daily newspaper, complimentary copying and faxing, boarding pass printing, and free local and toll-free calls. I can honestly say that I did not use any of those amenities on my trip other than picking up a newspaper one day to peruse the headlines. None-the-less, I incured the $9.95 fee.

It is useless to ask for the resort fee to be waived as they will never do this as far as my research has concluded. The only way one can fight this is by staying at hotels in Vegas that don't charge the fees. Three casino hotels to this day that do not charge a resort fee include Planet Hollywood, Paris, and Cesar's Palace. However, when it all said and done, one must do a cost-benefit analysis to determine if the savings from booking a Las Vegas casino hotel with a resort fee on an online search engine negates the costs incurred from the daily resort fees. I guess if one is willing to drop a few $100 on a game of chance per day then what really is a resort fee? My only concern is that when products are "marketed" as being great values, only to be realized that the final price does not agree with what was originally offered, we should take a step back and see if we really want to provide that particular company with our business. If we accept these nuances more and more, than I fear for the way business will look 5, 10, or 20 years from now.

Along with Planet Hollywood and Paris, Cesar's Palace does not pass on resort fees to its customers.

                                                                                 

Monte Carlo Casino Hotel Las Vegas, NV 11/15/10-11/17/10

The amenities and location are the highlights of the Monte Carlo hotel. In terms of location, it is connected to the relatively new and exquisite Aria hotel and City Center (several architectural marvels to be enjoyed). From there one can catch a tram to several places on the strip. This can save significant time when trying to jump from spot to spot one typically does when partying into the wee hours of the night. The Monte Carlo is also within easy walking distance to arguably the strip's most popular Casino Hotel, The Bellagio with its spectacular water geyser display performing every half hour. Other Casino Hotels that will not require a cab ride from the Monte Carlo include New York New York, MGM, and Excaliber.

   The amenities are numerous at the Monte Carlo Casino Hotel. There are a variety of dining options from fast food, to casual, and finally to fine dining. The food court has a variety of options such as Starbucks, McDonald's and Rubio's to satisfy the late night needs of the Vegas tourist. I was also surprised to see that the pool was still open so late in the season, and there were actually people using it! In the summer time it is a popular place for a dip as it has a lazy river and wave pool to boot. The Sports Book was a spacious venue to sit down and catch your favorite game or games while placing a friendly wager or two. The casino also sported a convenient lounge in the middle of things decked out in red decor. Drinks were a bit pricey but would be waved if you dropped a $10 in a video poker machine.  

     When it comes to a Vegas room for the hardcore partier, only two things matter: a quality bed and a quality shower. The Monte Carlo achieved a grade of "C" at best. The bed was firm but the pillows were too soft. The bathroom was large and had nice marble floors. However, the most crucial part, the shower, was a major disappointment. It was small, there was not a proper caddy for soap and shampoo, and the water never achieved an optimal level of heat. Furthermore, the drain was extemely slow which would cause problems if there was a line to use the same shower.

     On a final note, many hotels in Vegas are issuing resort fees and Monte Carlos was no exception. They charged a fee of $14.95 per night that was due at check-in. My subsequent blog will talk about the resort fees of Las Vegas and why they exist. In Conclusion, the Monte Carlo was a nice place to stay in terms of the amenities and location on the strip. However, the rooms were less than ideal when it came to comfort. Priceline has rated the Monte Carlo as a 3 1/2 star hotel. I think that is a bit generous by 1/2 star as I consider the Monte Carlo to be a solid 3 star joint.

Grand Junction Holiday Inn 9/5-9/6

A friendly greeting from the front desk attendant welcomed us to the hotel. Although dressed rather casually, it was a nice change from the hustle and bustle of many hotel check-in experiences. My first impression of the hotel room was pleasantbed was a true queen adorned with a variety of pillows and a tufted headboard.  The color scheme was earthy browns that complimented each other well. The spacious bathroom also stood out as it had a home-like shower and a high movable shower head.  The room also showcased a modern 32 inch flat screen television and a comfortable chair and ottoman. 


The only downsides to the room were no refrigerator, being close to the interstate (cars going by all night), and thin ceilings where we could hear the guests above us running around as early as 7:00 A.M. The bar stayed open to 10 p.m. which was a bit early to close. I also felt that the hallways, lobby, and bar the hotel were a bit on the chilly side. Hotwire granted this hotel 3 stars, which I would agree with in terms of room comfortability but outside of the room there were some issues as formerly mentioned. Due to this I am inclined to consider this hotel somewhere in the range between 2 ½ and 3 stars.

Hilton Inn Salt Lake City Airport 9/4-9/5

We checked in shortly after 4 p.m. and were immediately greeted by a lobby full of well dressed people celebrating a family reunion. It was noisy and crowded and seemed that the front desk attendants were overwhelmed trying to manage to overabundance of guests in the lobby and the influx of new patrons checking in. Despite such chaos, the front desk attendants were courteous and very helpful. Upon entering our poolside room on the second floor, my wife and I noticed that no natural light could penetrate the room. In addition, we were in desperate need of a refrigerator for fruit that had been in the car since Wyoming but there was not one available. The rest of the room was quite comfortable with a nice queen size bed and comforter that Jaci absolutely adored. The room had a nice double-cup coffee maker featuring Lavazza coffee, which I indulged in before my workout at the fitness center the following morning. The room had a nice temperature which didn’t need to be adjusted at any point. The ice bucket was stainless steel and the room had nice glasses for beverages. Other items of note that were less than ideal in the room were a low showerhead and a small antiquated television. The amenities outside of the room were good featuring access to a man-made lake complete with geese and ducks. The bar was a cozy spot to have appetizers and cocktails. The fitness center had modern equipment and the outside pool was nice and cool. If there was any amenity I was not sure about it would be the dining room, which had an open plan that did not seem romantic and got a bit loud at times. Overall, my wife and I were pleased with our stay at the hotel and I feel Hotwire has rated this hotel appropriately at 3 stars.

America’s Best Value Inn and Suites Rock Springs, WY 09/04/10

We arrived a few minutes prior to midnight as the date turned from the third to the fourth of September. First impressions were positive for this 2-star Hotwire rated hotel. There was what appeared to be a pool in a well-maintained courtyard and a lobby with breakfast nook sporting tall glass windows and chandeliers. However, that positive impression didn’t last as we approached the front desk and called out, “hello?” to initiate our check-in service.  A man appeared from the back in an un-tucked, stained shirt and he proceeded to hand me a card to fill out for registration. This I was surprised by because I didn’t think hotels used such old fashioned methods anymore. After completing the registration card the front office attendant provided us our set of e-keys that my wife returned shortly because they wouldn’t work on the door. The one thing I did like about the front office is that they had a pantry off to the side stocked with such practical items as toothpaste, shaving cream, and toothbrushes. This was particularly handy as we forgot a toothbrush and toothpaste. I was also amazed when I went to purchase the toothpaste and the attended called-out the utterly low price of 75 cents. The room was not very comfortable at all. The bed although listed as a queen was really no bigger than a full-size. The room had the distinct scent of mold and dust. And although they had made attempts to place “black-out” shades in the room, by 7:30 it seemed as though it was mid-day.

The continental breakfast served that morning was a high-fat affair. There were buttery scrambled eggs, fatty sausage bathing in oil, and biscuits and gravy I wouldn’t have touched with a ten foot pole. There were no traces of yogurt or fruit typically found at a hotel’s continental breakfast. No wonder I don’t blame my wife for staying in the room and catching a few extra zzz’s on that bed truly built for one. So to conclude I will have to say that Hotwire’s rating was a bit generous at 2 stars due to the uncomfortable nature of the room. On a good day I would be inclined to view it as 1 ½ stars at best.