This was our first time to stay at the Flamingo. We are Total Rewards members and have stayed at other affiliated hotels, and this was our least favorite. After a three hour flight, we arrived at the hotel and were told our room was available, however, it would cost us $20 to check in an hour early. We have stayed at other Total Rewards hotels where we arrived early and have been allowed to check in without being charged. We declined and returned at 4:00 p.m.and stood in an extremely long line to check- in again. Damon, from Hawaii, who eventually checked us in was very courteous, respectful, and helpful! We had a King "Go " room on the 22nd floor. The room was spacious, and updated. We had a nice view of the High Roller and the pools. We also had a refrigerator, and even a TV in the bathroom. However, the closet safe was awkwardly placed in the center of the closet shelf, with it's heavy door swung open, and if not careful, you would hit your head on it. Also, the bathroom had a strange, heavy sliding glass door that didn't close all the way. The carpet had stains on it. There is a large outdoor/pool area. To enter the pool, we had to wait in a long line and then go through security, similar to that at the airport. You have to show a room key and picture ID, and your bags are searched. No outside food or drink is allowed - not even water. We had to down our bottled water before entering. We had never experienced this ever before to get into a hotel swimming pool. Of course, food and beverage is sold at a hefty price once you are inside. It then took us fifteen minutes to find available lounge chairs. You are not supposed to save chairs, but that obviously was what many people had done. It is a lovely pool area, but we were so closely crammed in next to one another, we couldn't enjoy it for very long. The worst part was the slow elevators. There was always an extremely long wait. And when one did become available, people felt compelled to crowd in. The casino area was satisfactory, although it felt dark and dreary. However, there are other casinos close by. With so many hotel/casinos to choose from in Vegas, we feel there are better options than the Flamingo, and on our next visit, we will stay elsewhere.