Stayed here over the Xmas vaction. We had two rooms that overlooked a generator with a balcony that opened out onto a bird's eye view of a giant fan!! It was the Mardi Gras Tower. Asked to change rooms but was offer only smoking rooms or waiting till after 5 pm to check in (it was 11 am!) Rooms were fine typical, clean standard fare. I must admit the staff was very nice but the hotel is kinda dumpy....and very SMOKEY. If you have breathing issues stay elsewhere. The cafe leaves a lot to be desired...warning the "refill coffee" is a ripoff we had three orders they charged us $7.50 for them (how is that a deal?)
Good location but I would not return there again.

I wasn't expecting too much so it was ok in my standards. However, my bf who had stayed at the MGM Grand several years ago was pretty disappointed. After visiting the other hotels, this was probably one of the worst ones just looking at the lobby alone. But the casino itself was seemed to be fuller than the others, and smokier too. Stay here if you don't want to spend too much and can tolerate smoke!

We stayed at Harrah's on 12/18/04-12/23/04 with the mostly $35 rate. We had two rooms in the Mardi Gras tower, one smoking on the 11th floor for the parents, and the 10th floor room 1048 (end unit) nonsmoking room for my fiance and I. From our room we could barely see over the Casino Royale facade for a view of Mirage's volcano, but I wasn't there to see volcanos, or for a wonderful stay in a room.

For $35 a night on the strip, the hotel could not be beat. The beds aren't great, but they're not travelodge foam pads either. I personally didn't have a problem with them, and neither did my fiance who does extensive travel for work (usually staying at the Westin). The room reminded me of a trailer, the central air was loud when running and was activated by motion sensors that didn't sense anything when you were sleeping so I imagine it could get uncomfortable in the summer.

We experienced a maid coming in on us in the morning, but that's what we get for not putting the privacy sign out. They did a good job, even folded the toilet paper into a triangle. The hotel had the Gilchrist Soames variety of toiletries with the godawful shampoo/conditioner combo goop, I recommend bringing your own travel variety. My hair was matted for five days. The shower curtain was another godawful component of the bathroom, there was so much???? caked on it that the curtain was stuck together at the bottom and would not allow for adequate protection around the tub. I could not bring myself to bend over to inspect or correct, I have poor eyes and enjoyed my ignorance.

As for the common complaint of noise... This is my opinion, may not be a fair representation... We had an end unit (room number 1048 for your convenience) and was quiet, until Monday (20th). Then we had neighbors who liked to play Keno from their room on the TV. How did we know? Because we could hear them repeat the numbers on the TV and exclaim voluminous epithets to describe their losses. Again, for $35 a night, I could tolerate it and it reminded me that I wasn't here to sleep so I went down to play. My opinion is the larger hotels book every other room in a hallway to avoid this noise problem, there are tradeoffs though, it was a very short walk to anywhere within and out of the casino. I traveled with someone I met there to his room in the nearby Venetian and went through two separate elevators and wings to get to his room, in addition to two guards. It was a hike, and they pump some kind of funny smell in that place, my fiance liked it, I didn't care for it. I have stayed at the MGM and had a similar hike but no smell, still didn't care for it.

Anyways, I was not intending to enjoy the room... While in Vegas I played craps at the Venetian, Casino Royale, Flamingo, and of course Harrah's. I found myself returning to Harrah's every time because of the people playing there and the quality service from the hotel staff. Drinks were fast (everywhere else was slow or fair), I drank Cointreau on the rocks so that they couldn't fool with it. After a couple of tips in Harrah's the drinks went from a shot of rocks and a dab of honey to a full glass of the good stuff. I was impressed. You can find $10 mins here from the hours of 10pm-2am, $5 and up otherwise. I played until 6am for three nights and managed to catch a cold in the process, so in those three nights I managed to get something like 477 credits for my play on mostly $5 min craps. 18+ hours of play for 477 credits, what did I do wrong? I think that could get me a breakfast comped. Some posts have complimented their comps but I can't agree. In addition, I think the points expire in 6 months so there isn't much use unless you are close to a Harrah's establishment. Someone else can confirm that.

The food was fine, service within the restaurants was fine, nothing exceptional but these restaurants are designed to feed you and move you, I personally like the efficiency because there wasn't ever a wait (given 12/18-12/23). Time is money, no?

We went to Cirque's "Ka" for $100 a head, it was good. I'm not a big fan of theatre altogether (we went to Chicago and saw Blue Man Group which was another godawful event) but I felt my money was well spent. They did a very good performance. My fiance is a Cirque fan and she said she loved it. It took 20 minutes for the valet to get our car at the MGM, another reason I would not return to the "city".

The four of us decided to make one more night out of something so my dear mother, bless her heart, decided to go to a dinner theatre west of the 15 at a restaurant called the "Egg and I" for $50 a head. We thought that would include wine but we were mistaken to the tune of another $60. The food was prepared like one of those all inclusive resorts, you know what I mean, it was hard to swallow, and I had the cold then too. It was terrible, everything. I do not recommend it, especially for $260.

For $35 a night this place can't be beat, I think when it reaches up into about the $80 mark I would begin to seriously consider weighing other choices. Big plusses for this place is the size (no hiking), the staff, the efficiency (no waiting anywhere from the elevators to the check in desk), and just plain fun. My fiance will not return because she does not gamble, so if fun=gambling, this is your place. I would go back. My budget for travel would scream at me for blowing $150+ a night when I could stay across the street for $35 and have a bigger bank roll for play.

Casino Royale next door claims it gives you $50 in free slot play, I thought 'hey what the heck', it was $50 on a $1 slot machine sectioned off as 'promotional' and the only way to win was to hit jackpot. Time is money, I wasn't wasting my time...

If you have read all of this thank you, and thank you all who have posted before, it was a major help in deciding where to visit in Vegas. If you have read this and you are the groom getting married in Vegas, make sure you get a limo, it is very tasteless for you to be dragging your wife across the street everywhere to get silly pictures of "landmarks" that will eventually implode in another decade or two.

Thanks and enjoy your eventual/inevitable stay in Vegas.

i wasn't expecting much from harrah's and that's exactly what i got. i must say the front desk staff was very "real" and helpful and the location on the Strip is pretty sweet, but the beds are terribly uncomfortable and the rooms are noisy (i could hear my neighbors talking and people going by in the hallway). on top of that the maid came in twice in the morning to check on the room. she just opened the door with her key (granted she went away when i told her we were still there) but still...weird! it's a decent place to stay if you get yourself a good rate, but keep in mind you pretty much get what you pay for.