I haven't stayed on the strip in years but wanted to show my twenty-one-year-old niece all Vegas had to offer. I had a good experience many years ago at the Flamingo so this hotel seemed the obvious choice.

I booked two rooms. One at regular rate and one at a discounted rate with my player's card. Online check-in was a breeze. We arrived at the kiosk around 7:30PM (well after the 4PM check-in). One room was ready, but the other wasn't. Seriously? 7:30PM and the second room wasn't ready? Since we had the one room, I just stored my things in my niece's room. Her room on the 18th floor was amazing with an incredible view. I had been hoping my room was connected to theirs (spoiler alert; I was disappointed).

We went to Carlos & Charlie's, which was nice, but we were tired from a full travel day and American Airlines losing my niece's suitcase. I checked my email and text messages several times, but there was no notification about my room being ready. It was now after 9PM. I sent my niece and her friend to the gift shop to find a toothbrush while I slipped off to check the status of my room.

The check-in desk line was long so I returned to the kiosk, hoping I could somehow get the keys there without going through the long line. When I used the kiosk, I discovered my room was ready. I was never notified so I don't know how long it had been ready. To my disappointment, my room was on the 15th floor. I went out in search of my room. Once on the 15th floor, it was like a labyrinth of hallways. I felt like I was walking through a basement corridor. My room was on the complete opposite end of the resort from my niece's room. Upon entering the room, I discovered I got what had to be the bargain basement of rooms! Dirty, dingy, and outdated! I may have gotten the room at a discount but, with resort fees, it certainly wasn't worth what I paid. I honestly wanted to cry.

The tub/shower was a nightmare. The floors were fake hardwood. The curtains were shabby. The vents (all of them) were caked with dirt/lint. The television was old school (and not in a charming way). Dirty drawers. And there wasn't a single USB port. Thankfully, I had an adaptor. I was lucky to find an outlet to even charge my devices. The only nice thing I can say about the room is the bed was comfortable. I couldn't believe how dirty the floor was, and I found a tissue under the covers of the second bed. The safe was left open in the locked position so I couldn't even use it. There would be no point calling someone to look at it since I know how that works. Either someone would come at 1AM or not at all.

I received an email at 3am that my niece's bag was delivered to the hotel so I set out to locate it (after an automated message said the bell desk was closed and the main number said to check the front desk). Turns out the bell desk was open. Since I was at the front desk anyway, I asked about upgrading my room for the next three nights. They didn't have anything available for night #2, and I wasn't going to bother moving for the last two.

When my niece came for her bag in the morning, I welcomed her to the bargain basement of rooms. She was surprised at how dated and dirty my room had been. She felt bad and asked if I wanted to switch with them, but I wanted them to have a good time and preferred they kept the nicer room.

After the first night, my bad ankle was swollen so I moved the chair closer to the bed to prop it up. There was so much dirt where the chair had been! I left the chair next to the window, hoping housekeeping would sweep the floor before moving it back. One can only hope!