Budget Accommodations in Las Vegas

Motel 6 has three different properties in Las Vegas, and I've stayed at them all. Motel 6, as you may know, is a very "basic" type of motel. All of the motels throughout the country have the same bedspreads, draperies, carpeting, desks, chairs, and luggage racks. Therefore, the guest rooms pretty much look the same from one motel to another, no matter what city or state you might be in. Obviously, though, I like this chain, or I wouldn't keep staying in them. I'm not a "stay in my room" kind of person. I can lounge around plenty in my own house, so when I'm away from home, I stay on the go. I never see much of my motel room, so I don't feel the need to pay much for it. It just has to be clean and safe, allow free phone calls, and have a free parking lot that's not a half-mile away, like most hotels seem to have.

This chain has drawbacks, though. The maintenance level varies from one Motel 6 to another. In the past year alone, I've stayed in locations that were well-kept, so-so, and really needed work on either room repairs or grounds keeping. Before you book a room at Motel 6, the thing you should decide is whether or not you're willing to take a chance with such drawbacks in order to save money. If you're not, don't even try to stay in a Motel 6. There's no sense of luxury here, and you're not going to return home from your vacation feeling like you've "pampered yourself." Unless you're a budget-minded person, you'd really be happier somewhere else.

Now, for the specifics… The motel at 195 E. Tropicana Ave. is the chain's largest property, with over 600 rooms. It's really, truly within comfortable walking distance of the Strip. This property has a nice pool, and even a little on-site store selling snacks, newspapers, and souvenirs. For sightseers, I would recommend trying this Motel 6 first.

Almost as close to the Strip is the property at 5085 S. Industrial Rd. It's not as well maintained, it only has 139 rooms, and the walk to the Strip involves climbing the I-15 overpass. Still, for a budget motel, that's not a bad location if the other one is filled up.

The third property, at 4125 Boulder Hwy, is really way out of the way for a sightseer, even with a rental car. It's good for people like me, with business elsewhere in town. This location successfully avoids traffic jams and pedestrian hordes. ALWAYS call ahead or check the price via the internet. For the Labor Day weekend, the highest rates mentioned in their published directory don't top $65. In actuality, the rate at all three properties is $80! Now, that's not "budget" anymore!

I stayed at Whiskey Pete's, one of the three Primm Valley Resorts, on January 15, 2005. That was the Friday that started the busy Martin Luther King holiday weekend. I came to visit relatives who lived in Las Vegas, but the cheapest room I could get for this night was $60 in town! So, I went to Primm, only a half-hour south of Las Vegas, where I got a $29 rate from the Internet discount-travel company Travel Worm.

The Primm Valley Resorts are known for their budget rates, which they use to lure tourists away from the Strip. Whiskey Pete's and its two sister hotels are all clean, cute, likeable hotels. We chose Whiskey Pete's because it's the cheapest of the three. The hotel lobby has an Old West theme.

The room itself was attractive, with a coral decor. The room had two double beds, a table with two chairs, an in-room coffeemaker, and a hair dryer, plus free shampoo and conditioner. There's a charge for outgoing calls (even 800 numbers), but no charge for incoming calls.

We ate a late dinner at the 24-hour Trail's End Coffee Shop. Unfortunately, the food was not tasty.

The next morning, we looked around Primm before leaving the area. We have fond memories of Buffalo Bill's, a really darling Western-themed hotel that's as theme-decorated as Disney's Frontierland! We never stayed there, but in the past, we've ridden the Desperado, a super roller coaster featuring a 225-foot drop—and a track that's over 1 mile long! It was the world's tallest coaster for a short while, and the ride experience is theme-park quality! We had also taken the Log Flume ride, which actually meanders through the casino in parts! The Primm Valley is the highest-end hotel of the three. It resembles an old-fashioned resort, like the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego. It's more adult oriented, having an arcade for the kiddies, but no rides. It does, however, display the Bonnie & Clyde and the Al Capone cars.

Besides the three hotels, Primm has an outlet mall (with many name-brand outlets, such as Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Polo Ralph Lauren, Williams-Sonoma, etc., with over 100 stores in all.) There's also the Primm Valley Golf Club, which has two courses, and both of them have had various awards bestowed upon them. Guests of the three Primm Valley Resort hotels receive a nice discount at the Golf Club. Lastly, the Star of the Desert arena features concerts, boxing, and rodeos from time to time.

First, I'll warn you: Arizona Charlie's CAN be a budget hotel, but it can ALSO be expensive! The hotel's web site lists rates from $32 to $150 for the rest of 2005 FOR THE SAME ROOM, depending on what night you want to stay there! (Of course, wildly fluctuating room rates are the RULE for most Las Vegas hotels, rather than the exception.) Weekdays tend to have reasonable rates, and the weekends... well, you might as well enjoy a luxury hotel for the price you'd fork over here! Another warning: this hotel is FAR AWAY from the Strip. (I stayed here to be close to family members.) It's located on the northwest side of town. It's close to a major mall and is within several blocks of a freeway. (Arizona Charlie's has another property, "Arizona Charlie's Boulder," but it, too, is far from the Strip.) The hotel has a "Northwestern" theme, both in the lobby and in the rooms. I got a kick out of the room's furniture: it's so cute and rustic looking! (See photos below.)

My favorite experience at this hotel was eating at the 24-hour Sourdough Cafe. It features down-home American cookin'. The prices are great, too. For breakfast, I had two eggs, hash browns, and toast for only $3, PLUS, somehow, they made this very standard, routine dish taste so flavorful! For dinner, the entrées range from $6 to $14, with plenty of choices at the lower end. However, each night there's a different daily special for only $6, also. The special that night was roast turkey with dressing served with mashed potatoes and veggies. The mashed potatoes were made from fresh potatoes, too—all for $6! For a late-night dessert, I returned for the homemade bread pudding, which was melt-in-your-mouth delicious. It was served with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, and was really a meal-sized snack ($4.) The food was so good in the café, I didn't even try out the Frisco Market Buffet. The buffet prices are good, too, ranging from $5 for breakfast up to $8 for dinner.

There's also the Yukon Grille, a fancier restaurant with beef, chicken, seafood, and Mexican entrées ranging from $12 to $25.

But, aside from one fancy restaurant, Arizona Charlie's is a cute, but UNpretentious hotel. It won't give you a luxurious, pampered feeling. All the room views are dull, with Decatur Street, a shopping strip, or the hotel roof. None of the parking is shaded, which means that your car will be roasting-hot during the summertime. In summary, it was conveniently located for me, I enjoyed the food, and I'd stay there again, but ONLY when the budget rates are in place. It's definitely not a $150/night-type experience here.

Most places, over time, seem to go downhill rather than upgrade themselves, but The Orleans is an exception to that general rule. It's always been a nice place, but had to offer lower rates to lure people away from the Strip. As time has passed, this attractive facility has built up their own clientele. Plus, in the past year, they opened a lovely, new 9,000-seat arena and started bringing in some top-flight entertainment (geared towards the locals as well as the visitors.) So, things are looking up for The Orleans, and so are their room rates! Fifty dollars is the LOWEST rate available, and most days it’s even higher (up to $160.) But, since The Orleans is a good value for the price, and since they still DO have those few budget dates, I'll include it in this journal.

The rooms at The Orleans are larger than standard rooms and set up on a mini-suite plan, where a portion of the room has been turned to a sitting area with a couch, easy chair, and table. The decor is attractive and the beds comfortable. In the bathroom, you'll find complimentary mouthwash, lotion, shower gel, and specialty soap in addition to the usual shampoo and conditioner. Room service is offered.

As for the hotel itself, it's like a mini-city. The amenities include a swimming pool and hot-water spa, a kiddie wading pool, an 18-theater cinema showing first-run movies, a 70-lane bowling center, a workout center, a spa featuring saunas and hot tubs, and some cute gift shops for browsing and buying souvenirs.

My favorite Las Vegas buffet is at this hotel. I've eaten here many times with various combinations of relatives and in-laws, and it has always proven to be a crowd-pleaser. That's because there's such a wide variety, especially so for a budget buffet. They offer separate service areas for barbeque, Mongolian, American, seafood, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, salads, and desserts. (Depending on how many of these you try, you'll stand in line THAT many times. But, the crowd is all spread out between them all, so each line is short.) Typically, I try some barbeque beef or pork ribs and grab some Jambalaya (they usually have a Creole/Cajun selection), some broiled fish, and maybe some enchiladas. My stepdaughter heads straight for the huge serving bowl of cooked, peel-it-yourself shrimp, or the crawfish that they sometimes offer. (She eats so many at a sitting, I'm sure they're glad when we leave!) My grandchildren invariably head for the pizza or fried chicken. As you can tell, they offer a high-quality variety, and I've only been there during the cheaper LUNCH hours! If you don't like buffets, The Orleans has plenty of other restaurants (Italian, prime rib and seafood, sushi, fast food, oyster bar, Irish pub, 24-hour café, and ice-cream shop.) A free shuttle runs to the Strip on a regular schedule.

Both the Stratosphere and Sam's Town deserve their own articles, but I don't have photos of either of them. (The photos below are of the Primm Valley resorts, which I talked about in a different article in this journal.) So, until I can adequately illustrate articles about these two hotels, I'll lump them together.

The Stratosphere is at the north end of the Strip, which means that you can both pamper your budget AND stay in the "famous" district. Like many Vegas hotels, the Stratosphere only offers budget rates during the off-season, but the off-season is quite long, being most of the year except summertime and holidays. It's right off of a freeway exit, so you'll get that Strip location without having to deal with the usual traffic.

The rooms are standard-looking: two beds, TV, dresser, table, and two chairs. They're neither shabby nor luxurious, but simply "middle class."

There are, however, some unusual things to do. This hotel owns the tallest structure in Las Vegas, the Stratosphere Tower, which you can see from miles around, almost anywhere in town, actually. At the tower's top there's a viewing area, fine-dining restaurant, and four thrill rides that have become quite popular, including the world's highest roller coaster. More usual activities at the hotel include a swimming pool, fitness center, large children's arcade, and shopping mini-mall. I've eaten at two of their restaurants, the Courtyard Buffet and the 24-hour Lucky's Cafe. The food at both was neither poor nor gourmet, just "middle class."

Sam's Town is also a middle-class hotel. Its location is way OFF the Strip, at 5111 Boulder Highway. Its decor centers on a cutesy Western theme. The room tower is built around a tall central atrium courtyard, which is filled with lush greenery and waterfalls. A laser light show is shown at intervals in the courtyard area. Other amenities include a huge 24-hour bowling center, a swimming pool, a number of restaurants (including a buffet), and room service. A new 1,000-seat arena has opened which features concerts and sporting events. Like the Stratosphere, its rooms are only budget-priced SOME of the time, so be sure to research their rates for the day of your vacation BEFORE you head there.