Rooms were large, with two double beds, and an impressivly large bathroom with large tub, shower, and seperate toilet area. Everything was very clean, and maid service was very accommodating about scheduling a convenient room cleaning time. The location on the Strip is excellent, situated between the Paris and MGM Hotels. In my opinion, it is right in the middle of the main action on the Strip. Everything is in walking distance, and even in 115-degree weather, we made the trek to each end--the new Wynn at one end and Mandalay Bay at the other.

Desert Passage Shops are attached to the hotel and casino, offering typical chain retail shops, although I felt that the quality of the shops is on the decline from when it first opened. Two swimming pools are located on the 6th floor. Lifeguards were friendly, but pool attendants are not available after 4pm (about the time you really wanted a cold refreshing drink). The pool closes at 6pm and sometimes shuts down earlier in extremely hot weather (the concept of closing a pool in hot weather when that is when people want to enjoy it the most is unclear to me).

We stayed mid-week, and the rates were very reasonable but varied each night: Monday $79, Tuesday $89, Wednesday $99. I would recommend it for location; however, if you want other amenities like a fabulous pool and dining options, other hotels rise far above the Aladdin.

That’s where the love affair with this hotel ends. The rooms and hallways are shabby. I was excited to hear upon check-in that, due to my status as an Elite member of Starwood, I was upgraded to a Strip-facing room. This was like being upgraded at HoJos – not impressive. The rooms were dark and the carpet was filthy and worn (even after changing rooms twice). The bathrooms looked like they ran out of money during building and so they went with the cheapest tub they could find. In the middle of the bathroom floor, there was a section where, instead of marble tiles, was a patch of dirty carpet. The beds were the worst I have ever slept in. The mattress was hard as a rock and squeaked every time you turned over. The rooms are furnished with an armoire that contains the TV and safe. All rooms also have computers, where you can access the Internet for a small fee of $9.95 for 24 hours.

Despite this, there are some valid reasons to stay at this hotel. If you are just looking for a place to crash and don’t plan to spend time in your room, this is a good hotel. It’s in a prime location being mid-Strip and has a pretty nice pool area. For the price, it’s a steal compared to what the nightly charges are at the Paris next door or the Bellagio across the street. Room service is also prompt and quite good, plus you can order from P.F. Cheng’s. I like the fact that you don’t have to walk through the casino to get to the rooms and there are elevators throughout the casino to get to the different towers of the hotel. Plus, if you are a point junkie, you can get Starwood points for staying at the Aladdin. This hotel is now part of Planet Hollywood, and they are going to build a new luxury tower in conjunction with Westgate resorts. Hopefully, they will refurbish the rooms in the rest of the Aladdin as well.

Normally we do the Luxor, but at the time, the Aladdin was quite new and offering good deals. The original hotel was blown up (imploded) in 1998, and this new one built in its place. I just loved it, though the rumors circulating Las Vegas are that it is already suffering financially. Apparently, the major problem is that it has a Middle Eastern theme, which is "just not so popular these days." That seems quite ridiculous to me, and I would certainly return here.

Room prices can vary wildly from website to website. I have found them as low as $59 on travelworm, but you can also see what the hotel website has them going for. Usually the cheapest hotel prices come when you book a package hotel/flight.

The rooms at the Aladdin are lovely. They have a Moroccan theme without being over-the-top and all the modern amenities you would expect, such as safe, hairdryer, radio, TV, desk, and phone, as well as a few extra touches, like marble vanities and a computer set-up.

The Moroccan theme runs throughout the hotel. The outside looks like Arabian Palace with golden domes and turrets. Our room actually overlooked the pool (there's two heated pools), with the domed roof tops in the foreground and the mountains of Nevada in the background. Quite stunning.

Inside the hotel, the shopping area is set out like a market street. They have all the regular shops, as well as many Indian market stalls selling ethnic wares. The shops are set on a "cobblestone," street and the ceiling is painted like an Arabian sky.

There are plenty of great restaurants within the hotel, including Italian (Tremezzo), Elements (seafood), and the Spice Market buffet, which has a breakfast buffet for $13, a lunch buffet for $16, and a dinner buffet for $24. We only did the dinner one, and I really thought it was great. As well as all the usual buffet items, they had a great selection of Middle Eastern and Moroccan foods to choose from.

Another cool thing about the Aladdin was the oxygen bars situated in the casino. You choose your oxygen mix (from invigorating to relaxing to passion-fueled) and clip little plugs in your nose. Sit back and enjoy the aromatherapy. I'm not sure if I felt extra invigorated afterwards, but it sure made for great photos.

The club Krave is also in The Aladdin, though this caters more to a gay/lesbian crowd. It does play some of the better house music, so it’s well worth a visit. The 24-hour café is also very handy for snacking between clubs.

Check-in on a Tuesday morning (approximately at 10:30am) was a breeze. They did not have a nonsmoking room available, but we were offered a smoking one as an option. We accepted and did not regret it.

Our room was spacious and did not smell like smoke at all. The bathroom was huge, with a separate area for the toilet. The tub (see pic below) and shower stall were also separate. If you are staying here, be sure to bring your favorite bubble bath to soak in the tub after a long day of walking.

One of my favorite parts was the computer in the room. The fee is steep at $10/day, but I felt we got our money’s worth. We looked at the Las Vegas maps and checked prices on restaurants. I loved being able to check my email on vacation. It's so much better than the Internet access via the TV.

Check-out was easy. I just dropped our room card and a form provided at check-in into an express checkout box next to the elevators. Luckily for us this option was available; the registration desk on Friday looked overwhelmed by new arrivals.

Click here to go to the Aladdin website.

Love Me Tender

If you are an Elvis fan, you already know he wed Priscilla at the old Aladdin Hotel, where guests were treated to a six-tier cake costing $3,500. The groom wore cowboy boots, the bride designed her own gown, and the couple danced to "Love Me Tender" (purportedly the song that caused Priscilla to fall in love with Elvis before she’d ever seen him).

Historical Site

There is history lurking under the Desert Passage’s 500,000 square feet of shopping in 140 shops and restaurants. Johnny Carson tried to buy the place once, and Wayne Newton actually succeeded in doing so. In the late ’90s, the hotel was imploded to make room for an all-new themed version of itself, hoping to join the ranks of Bellagio, Venetian, Mandalay Bay, and Paris as Vegas’ new image-makers.

Unfortunately, Aladdin’s carpet never took off after its ultimate makeover.

Best-Laid Plans

It didn’t make sense. We enjoyed our spacious room, loved the super-low rates ($69 to $109), and with the exception of the trickle-drip shower, found everything to our satisfaction. I polled some locals to get to the bottom of Aladdin’s bad rap. (It’s being redone again, owned now by Planet Hollywood.)

According to legend, Aladdin didn't fly due to bad timing. Opening shortly after 9/11 turned the Arabian theme sour, showing just how difficult it is for many people to sort out fantasy from reality. The other problem plaguing Aladdin was self-imposed.

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Aladdin boasts that, unlike the gargantuan layout of rival hotels, no guest room is more than seven doors from an elevator. Yet, the hotel’s main attraction, The Desert Passage, is a 1-mile circle loop filled with eye candy, thunderstorms, exotic bazaar clichés, changing light conditions, and entertainment. Hotel rooms may be convenient, but the large loop generates complaints since the only way back -- is all the way around. Geeky people-moving machines and pedi-taxis have been added to assist in the problem but to little avail. Ironically, the new Aladdin 2000 was intentionally designed in response to guests’ complaints against trekking through the casino to access shopping and rooms.

A Good Walk Unspoiled

Even though it lacks the sizzle of Caesar’s Forum Shops and the upscale drama of Bellagio, I like the Desert Passage. It's not crowded! I like that you can take a calculated 1-mile power walk/power shopping, multitasking session before entering the beautiful, tranquil, exotic Elemis spa. Usually encountered only on luxury cruise ships, Elemis at Aladdin offers a refreshingly upscale oasis in the Vegas desert.

All’s Well

Who would complain? We got lucky in Aladdin’s casino, enjoyed Elements and Tremezzo restaurants, and found the staff, including waiters and hosts, to be ultra-accommodating. Overall, for $69/night, we thoroughly enjoyed our 4 Arabian nights. In fact, we’ll miss this little oasis in the desert when it turns itself over to Plant Hollywood’s image-makers.

I wonder what Elvis would say?