Tag: resort fees

Surprising Facts about Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos

If you are planning on your first Las Vegas trip there are a couple of facts and or tips about hotels you should be aware of. There are extra costs or surprise fees that you might not be aware of.  Many visitors to Las Vegas are often shocked at resort fees, lack of in room fridges and coffee makers in their hotel rooms. These are all just normal facts about Las Vegas. Lets have a look at some of the surprising facts about Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos.

Surprising Facts about Vegas Hotels and Casinos

      • Mini-Fridges – Mini-fridges in most Vegas hotel rooms are not for personal use. They are stocked with expensive snack and drink options and have no room for your personal items. The fridges will often work off of pressure sensors that charge back to your room when an item is taken out. The hotels will often charge you if they catch you with your personal items in the mini-fridge. You can order a personal fridge in most hotels but that of course comes at an extra expense. It’s best to check with your hotel first to see if they offer a fridge. Treasure Island for example, has personal fridges in their rooms as well as higher end suites in most other hotels. We basically purchased as collapsible cooler from Amazon which is easy to pack and large enough to keep our stuff cold.

Las Vegas Hotels

      • Resort Fees – Resort fees are always a shock to first time Las Vegas visitors. Most hotels will charge you an extra daily fee per room on top of your posted rate. The fee is for WiFi, gym use and other things you will never use in Vegas such as boarding passes and newspapers. The fee is paid directly to the hotel. If you are booking via a third part site such as Expedia and Travelocity you will still have to pay this fee to the hotel at the end of your stay. It varies but can range from $20 – $40. Resort fees are rarely waived unless you are a higher tiered member or high roller. You can see the fees in our Current Las Vegas Resort Fee Guide.
      • Coffee Makers – Much to the dismay of many Vegas hotel rooms do not include a coffee maker. The casinos do not want you in the room drinking coffee. They want you on the floor playing or spending money in their shops. Every hotel has a coffee shop or Starbucks but it is not cheap. Prices are generally pretty high. Many people who insist of having coffee bring a smaller coffee maker with them or even pick one up when in Vegas. We detailed a few coffee places in our Where to get coffee in Vegas post.

Coffee in Las Vegas

      • ATM Fees – ATM Fees at machines in Casinos and along The Las Vegas Strip can really vary from place to place. It’s best to check first as some along the strip can be as high as $10. The Walgreens and CVS stores are reported as being respectable at a few dollars. The best is Casino Royal located beside Harrahs at only being $1.
      • Snacks and Drinks – Buy your snacks and drinks anywhere besides a Casino store. The prices are often very over inflated. The best spots are again The Walgreens and CVS stores which are located all over the strip. You will be very surprised what a Casino store will charge you for a simple bottle of water. We always buy a small case from Walgreens or CVS.
      • Not so Cheap Breakfast – The days of finding a cheap breakfast at most of the casino restaurants is long gone. Every casino and hotel will have a breakfast spot on site. The problem is that the cost of that breakfast is way over priced. We tried a couple of places in hotels and were shocked with a $60 bill for a regular breakfast for two. We would have been better off with the Breakfast Buffet price and food wise. You can still find a McDonald’s or Denny’s on the strip for a cheaper breakfast.  The area around Casino Royale has a few cheaper fast food breakfast type spots or we recommend Hash House at The Linq or Peppermill Lounge. If you want to dine cheap you will really have to do your homework.

Current Las Vegas Resort Fees

If you plan on staying at most hotels or casinos in Las Vegas your stay will be subject a Resort Fee. The Resort Fee is payable directly to the hotel and is added on your bill at check out. If you have booked with a third party site like Expedia or Travelocity  you will still owe this fee to the hotel and it is not included in your quoted price. There is also tax charged to the Resort Fee.

In exchange for paying the Resort Fee hotels state you will get the use of a list of services like the gym or fitness center, property wide wifi, newspapers, local phone calls and being able to print boarding passes. The strangest service offered is under MGM Properties who give you access to a notary, not sure why you would need that. Some of the hotels like the Downtown Grande state you get complimentary free parking which isn’t really free if you are paying a fee for it.

**Remember the Resort Fee is not included in the fee you are being quoted on third party websites.

2018 Las Vegas Resort Fee Guide

This list is a guide to resort fees in Las Vegas but as of late is changing constantly. We will try to keep up, let us know if you find an error or want a resort added. We tried to publish generally what is included with each hotels fee but there could more specific inclusions per hotel.

MGM Properties (Property-wide high speed internet access (public spaces and in-room), unlimited local and toll free calls, airline boarding pass printing, and fitness center access for guests 18+.)

  • Aria, Bellagio, Vdara – $39 plus tax.
  • Delano, Excalibur, Luxor,  Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, The Mirage, Monte Carlo, NYNY – $35 plus tax.
  • Circus Circus – $32 plus tax.

Caesars Entertainment (Daily in-room high speed internet access, all local calls, fitness center access for two daily)

  • Bally’s, Flamingo, Harrah’s and The Linq – $35 plus tax.
  • Cromwell, Paris and Planet Hollywood – $37 plus tax.
  • Caesars Palace – $39 plus tax.
  • Rio – $32 plus tax. *Updated from $30 May 2nd, 2018

welcome to las vegas

Cosmopolitan -$35 plus tax. (Standard high speed internet access, 24 hour fitness center access, tennis court access, unlimited local toll-free and domestic long distance calls).

Hard Rock – $33 plus tax (Internet access, daily newspaper, fitness room, shuttle service to Fashion Show Mall, local and toll-free calls, unlimited domestic long distance calls, notary service, and printing of boarding passes.

The Orleans – $21 plus tax (In-room coffee, Wi-Fi, unlimited local and toll-free calls, daily access to the fitness center, and shuttle to Las Vegas Strip)

SLS Las Vegas – $32 plus tax. (Wi-Fi, local and toll-free calls, pool and fitness center access, concierge services, valet and self-parking).

Stratosphere – $33 plus tax (Daily unlimited admission for up to four guests staying in the same room to the Stratosphere Tower, access to the fitness center, in-room Wi-Fi, 2-for-1 discount tickets to see the PIN UP show, and all-day Thrill Ride pass for a discounted price).

Ellis Island –  $17.99 plus tax (Complimentary breakfast buffet, wireless internet, complimentary airport shuttle).

Treasure Island – $35 plus tax (High-speed internet access, access to fitness center, 2-for-1 cocktail , newspaper, local and toll-free calls, boarding pass printing, and a $25 future stay credit (one per stay.) Note: TV Ad Special booked online allows RF to be waived at check in.

Tropicana – $35 plus tax (In-room internet, daily fitness center, ticket discounts, BOGO cocktails, two bottles of water in-room per stay, faxes, copies, and boarding passes in the business center, local and toll-free calls and free valet and self-parking).

The Venetian/Palazzo – $45 plus tax (Access for two to the gym, in-room Internet access, boarding pass printing, unlimited local and toll-free calls)

Westgate –  $34 plus tax (Wireless internet, local and toll-free domestic calls, access to the fitness room and resort credit towards a future stay).

Wynn/Encore – $39 plus tax (In-room Internet, unlimited local and domestic long-distance calls, and two fitness center passes per day).

This covers most of the strip and some of the surrounding hotels. We will update with Downtown Fremont and the remaining hotels soon.