Stratosphere, Las Vegas Review on this budget hotel and Casino

Stratosphere
2000 Las Vegas Blvd South
Las Vegas
NV 89104
(+1) 702 380 7777
Stratosphere Hotel

Location The Stratosphere is the Northerly most Casino on the Strip, it is so far north that it is actually within the city limits of Las Vegas where as every other casino on the Strip is in Clarke County, this was deliberate as tax rates are slightly lower. The area around the Stratosphere used to be known as naked city as this was where all of the strippers used to live. The area around the Stratosphere is still unpleasant and I would not walk around outside this casino alone at night

Theme When Bob Stupak originally built the Stratosphere it was supposed to have had a World fair theme I am not sure if this still supposed to be the case but I don’t think it has anything more than a few flags to suggest this.

Attractions The tallest tower West of the Mississippi and along with the Luxor the most distinctive mark on the impressive Las Vegas Skyline. You can go to the top for a small fee which is only worth doing at night and look at Skyline either from inside where you can get a Starbucks or form the outside observation deck. At the top are what are probably the three most thrilling amusement park rides in the World, Big Shot – Shoots passengers straight up 160 feet at 45 mph (over 4 Gs) until they are 1,081 feet above the Strip., X-Scream – A giant teeter-totter that propels you 27 feet over the edge of the Tower, 866 feet above the ground. Insanity, the Ride – A massive mechanical arm extends 64 feet over the edge of the Tower and spins you at a force of 3 Gs for a truly mind-bending experience.

Pool The pool is better than you would expect it has a little waterfall and plenty of room to sunbathe, there is a second adults only pool that allows European sunbathing.

Shows and Entertainment American Superstars is an impersonators show that seems to have been going for ever it’s on a par with Legends in Concert at Imperial Palace but tickets here are cheaper. American Storm is an all male sexy review and Bite is believe it or not a topless Vampire show! All are inexpensive and only worth what you pay.

Dining The buffet (Brunch $11.95, D$14.25 and a seafood and steak dinner Friday and Sunday $18.25 and Sunday Brunch $14.25) is not very good the queues are usually short and I guess you can be lucky but when I eat here it was terrible. You can usually manage to get the buffet for free if you purchase a ticket to see a show. The top of the world restaurant is Stratosphere’s gourmet offering, located as the name suggests at the top of the tower this is not cheap the food is fair but service is reportedly bad, you are paying a premium for the best view in Vegas. Lucky’s café is open 24hrs and is ok but the coffee is not all that there is an Italian and mock 50’s diner where the staff jump on the tables and sing every so often to take you attention away from the food no doubt.

Gaming It has 80,000 sq ft of gaming space it feels much larger partially due to the high roof, there are about 50 tables with low limits starting at $3 and $5 for single decked Blackjack which is very good. When Bob Stupak owed this he had all sorts of odd games and gimmicks to try to entice more gamblers in such as crapless carps, blackjack where you saw the dealer’s cards and even a chicken to play against at tic tak toe but all of these are gone. There are just under 3000 slots with loads of nickel machines Stratosphere has always aimed at tour groups who are usually low rollers and they still get the majority of their trade from these tours. The place feels cheap and a little seedy throughout its history it has always had financial difficulties and I hear that this may be the case again now it will be interesting to see what happens in the future. I have to say that the new owners of Stratosphere have invested and it certainly does not feel as seedy, dark and scary as it used to.

Drinks service The service very hit and miss depending I think on where you sit we got about 3 drinks in 1.5 hours which is not terrible but neither is it particularly good, it seemed that that orders were taken quickly and then it was about a 20 minute wait not good particularly as I was drinking coffee and by time it arrived it was only just warm

Overall Some would say the best value on the Strip and others it’s cheap! The location is so poor people are not going to come here unless they have no choice. The Stratosphere makes its money from tour groups as a result it is a low rollers casino that knows its place aside from the tower I can see no reason to visit this establishment. I don’t particularly like this place and would rather pay a few dollars more and stay at Excalibur I would probably get the difference back in not needing cabs. Stratosphere has the idea that you have to pay a resort fee, this is so you can use the resorts features like the pool and elevator they do include free rides during the day to the top of the tower. In a nutshell Startosphere si worth visiting for the tower but you are better off staying somwhere with a better location, its usually only a few dollars more to stay at Excalibur, even Circus Circus has a slightly better location.

Good points The website ! Joking aside it has to be the night time view and the thrill rides at the top of the tower not to mention the price of rooms.

Bad points Location, this has always been the trouble with the Stratosphere placed a car journey away from everything except the seedy unpleasant side of Vegas and that is only a very short walk away.

Top Tip Go to the top before it gets dark not only is nice to see the sun go down and the neon come up there will be less queues. If you stay at the Stratosphere you can go up to the top of the tower free between 10am and 2pm.