Caesar's - weekend getaway (trip report)

Just returned from a weekend at Caesars in Atlantic City and we had a good time even though we got stuck in the Temple Tower. It was slated to be a nice weekend so the Friday night traffic was abnormally heavy and a two hour trip took us over three hours on the GSP.

We lucked out in the parking department and ended up on level three which is a short walk to the lobby. Check-in was a real breeze as they had plenty of people behind the front desk and we were waited on almost immediately. I had read the hotel reviews and requested a room in the Centurion Tower, but was told it, along with the Ocean Tower, they were booked. Alas we ended up in the dreaded Temple Tower. We were given a room on the sixth floor which has a lovely view of the hotel lobby. I recommend when checking in and getting stuck in the Temple Tower to try and get a room as high as possible – anything above the seventh floor should be ok. The elevators are super tiny and can’t fit many people/luggage in them. The hallways lack a certain amount of pizzazz and I’ve stayed at Comfort Inns that were decorated nicer. The room was extremely clean, but the décor had a 70’s or 80’s flair to it. They love mirrors in these rooms. The bathroom was extremely tiny and my sister and I had to take turns putting on our makeup on. The walls are very thin and we could hear just about everything that was going on in the room next to us – especially at 3:30 AM! Hallway noise wasn’t too much of an issue, but there were a few drunken individuals who thought everyone needed to hear how much fun they were having.

I’ve stayed at other hotels in the Atlantic City area and figured I’d splurge on a room at Caesar’s as my sister and I were celebrating her move to Austin. I paid approximately $265/night and really don’t think the Tower rooms are worth that price. As I mentioned above, the rooms are extremely clean, but a guest should get some sort of discount for staying in these rooms.

We had breakfast at Caesar’s buffet and if you like over-paying for a limited brunch then this place is for you. The meal was comped so I can’t complain too much, but I’ve been to buffets in Vegas that were three times the size of this place. The food wasn’t bad, but there really wasn’t a variety of items. You’re only choice was eggs: scrambled or an omelet along with the basic sides, i.e. sausage, bacon and home fries.

I think I’d only stay at Caesar’s again if I was guaranteed a room in the Centurion or Ocean Tower(s) or I received a free room, otherwise I think I’ll look elsewhere.

FYI: the ';Bikini Bar'; in front of Bally%26#39;s is great. It has a nice atmosphere and you can drink on the beach. The beach was a bit dirtier than I%26#39;m accustomed to, but it was still a nice time

Caesar's - weekend getaway (trip report)

NJdudette,Thanks for the report on the OLD dreaded Temple Towers.Why they don%26#39;t just board them up and put more slots in,is beyond me.Still glad you had a nice time in A/C.

Caesar's - weekend getaway (trip report)

Actually from NJdudette%26#39;s description of these rooms they sound like the perfect place to stick your lower level gamblers there on a weekday comp. From the people%26#39;s perspective, the room is free. Most people who have posted real problems with the Temple Tower rooms (and the Claridge rooms) were either casino regulars used to much nicer rooms, or people who had paid a pretty penny for them and did not feel like they got $300 worth of value.

I have yet to see a post that said, ';I played one afternoon in Caesars over the summer, and got a post card in January offering me a free room. They put me in the temple towers/Claridge and it was awful, I%26#39;m never going back.'; A lot of those people probably don%26#39;t read this board either, so they have no idea that there are better accomodations to ask for.

I%26#39;ve never seen the inside of the temple towers, but NJdudette%26#39;s description makes them sound clean while tired. Small bathroom is something I, also, notice, but just kind of shrug over. Sure, I like the huge Ballys Towers bathrooms, but a smaller bathroom (as was popular in older hotels) doesn%26#39;t ruin the experience.

My first comp%26#39;ed room (2nd trip to) Ballys was in the Claridge. My friend that went with me thought it was nice and was quite impressed that I got it for free!! LOL But reading this forum, and doing a lot more traveling to AC, Vegas, Miami, and New York the past three years than probably the rest of my life combined, have turned me into the kind of witch that sneers at her friends when they are stuck with accomodations in the Claridge when I am put in the tower. LOL (Luckily my friends love me very much and put up with this crap because I am usually very nice. Also cause I took them all to AC and most to Vegas their first times, so they know they owe their gambling addictions to me!!)

Anyway, long story short, I don%26#39;t see Caesars getting rid of OR updating those rooms any time soon. Even if they make the decorations nicer, no one is really going to be pleased to be stuck in the rooms with no outside views. Much easier to stick to a ';no hole that shows'; theme and put their guest that just barely rated a weekday comp in January there. (No hate mail please, I am not saying this is right/nice/moral. But it does make sense from the casino%26#39;s point of view.) The only time this doesn%26#39;t work out so well is when they have to also give some of those rooms out to customers paying high end weekend rates, or regulars that usually stay in the Centurion tower. Those people get mad.

NJD - if you have made it thru my novel, how did you do gambling?

BTW, the buffet in AC is not the buffet in Vegas. I%26#39;ve had some spectacular buffets in Vegas, and nothing anywhere else measured up. The Wynn dinner was fantasic when I was there in Feb, and the Paris breakfast was quite good. I really liked Aladdin last time I went there (bout a year ago), but I%26#39;ve heard that it%26#39;s been relocated and is much smaller now due to the construction.

The Main Street Station downtown has a Sunday brunch that is somewhat equivalent to Ballys%26#39; Wild Wild West buffet. Tho I think I might give MSS a slight edge in quality. You also get all the champagne and/or mimosas you can drink, and it%26#39;s only $12.

Ahhh, sorry guys, I%26#39;m lovin on Vegas right now cause I%26#39;ll be there in about 36 hours! :-D (and I%26#39;ve been on a diet for months so I can pig out at those buffets again! LOL)

Ambrva1: I did alright gambling – came back with $150 more than I went down with. Sort of breaking even in my book, but hey, it helped knock $150 off the room price.

I did alright on the slot machines and then took a trip over to my favorite table game: 3-card poker. On a Saturday night it’s nearly impossible to find $15 minimums and this past Saturday was no exception. I settled down at a $25 table and wasn’t doing so well. I should have gotten up and changed tables (my gambling rule), but I was being lazy and was hoping my luck would change. I ended up leaving because there was a gentleman to the left of me who was really annoying me. He was a Wendy Whiner when he was losing and then wouldn’t shut up when he was winning. I went to another table and my luck slowly started to change. I was down 50% when I hit a straight flush (40-1 odds) and won almost $1,200 on one hand.

Back to the room – I’ll be honest; I’m really not a high maintenance person. I travel quite extensively and have stayed in hotels like the Fairmont and real dives to save a dime, but I have a problem with paying $329/night for a room that doesn’t meet the standards that warrant that price tag. I didn’t mind paying the $199 for Friday night, as I thought that was appropriate, but I have certain expectations based upon the room rate. Had I received that room free of charge I wouldn’t have minded all that much. For me the bathroom wasn’t a big deal, but I know it is for some and to be fair I had to state the facts. As I said, it was very clean and that means A LOT in my book.

One thing that did irritate me was their new drink policy (initiated by Harrah’s I presume). The first table I was seated at served me a bottle of beer, at the second table I was told I could only receive a bottle of beer if I was a “Diamond” member. C’mon – I’m playing $50/hand and they couldn’t give me a bottle of beer?!?! They gave me a draft beer in a smaller cup, but I know the reasoning behind it – it costs them a few cents for the draft beer while the bottle of beer costs them considerably more. I’m only a gold member and will probably reach platinum status in October when I’m in Vegas. I’m sorry, but there’s no way I can reach diamond status – even if I allow myself $1,000/night to gamble with. I don’t know how some of these people do it. They must visit Vegas or AC way more than I do (caught the gambling bug in May ’05). The drink policy really pissed me of. Half their people were following the old policy and the other half were following the new policy. So I got a smaller cup and the waitress came around less. Hello?!?!?!?! If you come around more often I’ll tip you more. Ack! Now I’m the Wendy Whiner.

I didn%26#39;t know about the new bottle beer policy. I usually don%26#39;t drink beer while I%26#39;m gambling......I drink rum and diet coke. LOL

You are braver than I am to sit down at a $25 table! I am platinum but barely. When they switched over Ballys AC last year they sent me a gold card. When they did the Caesars AC conversion I got a platinum card. Most of my play (by a long shot) was in Ballys, so I know I just barely crossed the threshold. Not sure I will make the platinum again this coming year........but really it is not that much of a loss. I haven%26#39;t seen too many benefits because of it.

I have 10 days in Vegas starting Wednesday at 10:30am. Then a definate AC trip in November and a possible AC trip at the end of October. I also have a pretty probably Vegas trip at the end of December because I got comp%26#39;ed two nights at Caesar%26#39;s Palace in the Premium Augusta Tower rooms and would really love to stay there.

I can get a cheap night somewhere nearby either the night before or the night after the Caesars Palace rooms, so if I can get a decent airfare, I%26#39;m going. I really don%26#39;t know if that will kick me over for Platinum again or not. Some people on the Vegas forum write about making Diamond in a day. It%26#39;s ';only'; 2000 base points if you do it in one day, but that is a lot more money than I have to gamble in a day!! LOL I%26#39;ll be lucky if I can hit the 4000 in a YEAR to trip another year of Platinum!

Where do you like to stay in Vegas?

On my (very soon) upcoming trip I%26#39;ve got 4 friends with me the first four nights. We have two (free) rooms at the Flamingo the first two, then the next two nights at the El Cortez downtown for $35 per room per night. They%26#39;re flying home late that night, so we kept one of the rooms for $25 the last night. (We planned this trip in April. I could have gotten some nice deals on the strip over the weekend, but no one but me had stayed downtown before and they wanted to.)

I told my boyfriend our plans and he was sad I was going to Vegas without him (we usually go twice a year together), so he%26#39;s flying in the night the girls leave, we%26#39;re staying at the El Cortez that night and then moving back to the strip for the last 4 nights.

I cannot wait. :-D

BTW, I agree with you on the room rate. I actually think you are quite reasonable to say ';for $199 on a Friday it was okay, for $329 on a Saturday I did not get my money%26#39;s worth';.

The worst dive I ever stayed in was a place called the ';Manhattan Broadway'; in Manhattan. Someone else booked the room for a week. I read the reviews and said, ';We need a different hotel.';

We did get stuck staying there for one night, but it was more amusing than horrible (because it was only for one night). Air conditioner about to fall to the street below, a cartoon dog print shower curtain, and a bed that touched the walls of the room on three sides............ The sheets seemed clean, but we agreed the next morning we would forgo the showers until we arrived at our new hotel!

In Vegas I’ve stayed at MGM (twice), Luxor and the Rio (returning this October). I really enjoyed the Rio and their pools. I hung out at the pool all day (got fried), wandered around the strip afterwards and then gambled at the Rio after 9:00 PM (wanted to conserve my money). You could still find $10 minimums on a Saturday night and I thought the staff was very friendly. I’m really looking forward to lounging by the pool again and just taking it easy. I think I’ll be heading back to Vegas in January and I may give the Paris a whirl.

Hmmmmm, the worst hotel I’ve stayed at????? The Glacier Hotel in Montana was way too expensive for what you didn’t get, which was just about everything, but more recently I’d have to say the Comfort Inn in West Atlantic City. Reminded me of the kind of dive I would have crashed at in my college days. The Quality Inn just down the road is a far better choice and relatively inexpensive.

I got a free room at Harrah’s next month on a Saturday. I’m sure it won’t be anything great, but it’s FREE!!!!!!!

Ask Harrahs for an Atrium Suites room. The bathroom is decent sized but old school (more plastic than marble). But they are two room suites (the one I had was not two bedrooms, but a bedroom and a seperate sitting room/pull out queen sized sofa).

It is two actual rooms with a door between them, so you have more privacy than in the one large room. The view was also great.

I%26#39;ll ask for that room, but I doubt they%26#39;ll upgrade me to anything special since I%26#39;m using a comp and it will be on a Saturday night.

I was there the same weekend as you and ended up in the Temple tower for the first time. I was comped and I am a diamond level so I was a little annoyed. I tried for the the other towers after staying in all of them before, I even got a host on the phone and they said they were totally booked. I went to my room on the fifth floor really angry and actually I thought the room was alright. The hallways I think need the most work but the room was actually nice. I had a very confortable clean room. I would not pay money for the rooms there so I can understand why you were mad. I have stayed at suites before at CP and honestly I was not impressed with those either. The Centurion Tower is the best by far.

Why even comment on a room you never stayed in ambrva.And why don%26#39;t they just give the lower gambler a cot to sleep in the cellar or something.Must be nice to look down on these people,who spend more time in A/C than you ever will.You seem to like to pick everything or every one apart on here lately.I%26#39;ll tell my wife(the lower gambler) she should go to the bank and get a bundle so she can throw it away and get bumped up to your gambling status.