We stayed at the strat for a week and had a great time. As most families we were on a budget and wanted something on the strip within our price range. The strat is great for 'breathing' away from the hussle and bussle of the strip, and we found once we had done the strip a couple of times, we were happy to be away from the crowds! We didnt order room service as it was too expensive even for basic food orders, so we were delighted to find a McDonalds on the 1st floor of the hotel where we had our breakfast and coffee every morning! I would suggest that if your buying fizzy drinks that you go to Maccy's as you can have free refill's and it saves on the pennies! On check in we were automatically up graded to a premium room from a standard. The room was really spacious and very clean. Our room was cleaned daily with fresh towels, soap, shampoo etc. There are vending machines on each floor which have snack food, and a complimantary ice vending machine which is great for cooling drinks (even sunburned skin!). We found the entertainment in the hotel fab, live bands every night so we didnt always feel the need to leave. You must take advantage of the free viewing of the observation deck between 10-2pm, we saw crowds of people from other hotels who had to pay $18 to go to the top and its free for people staying at the strat. All the shows in the hotel are buy one get one free, (residents of the hotel only) which saves you loads as each show is $42 per person. The pool is on the 8th floor and there are plenty of sun loungers, I didnt think many people would be sunbathing in vegas...how wrong was i!!! We were in the pool ever day, they have a great little snack bar which serves food from 10am, I loved the chicken fingers which you get with fries for $8, very filling. The gym equipment is by the pool too which you can just walk over and use. They have a little jaccuzi pool too which is by the gym machines which we didnt discover till half way through the week. Im going to write prices below which we payed for things as I hope this will help other families who need to plan there budget. Just a little tip, when using taxi cabs, get them to take you via the 'freeway' as it cuts out all the traffic, although it takes you around the strip it cuts out the traffic and the meter goes up and up even when your stationary in traffic jams!
Taxi from the airport to our hotel: $27
Taxi from hotel to Fremont Street $13
Taxi from Hotel to Belagio fountains $17
Meal for 2 in Roxy's Diner $42 ($50 with tip)
Big Mac Meal $6
Rides at top of the tower varied $11-15 they has a pass which cost $33 which allowed you to go on all 3.
We had a fantastic time at the strat and I would reccomend this hotel 100%. I read reviews saying that it was too far up the strip blah blah blah, it isnt. The taxi's are cheap if you want to go to mandalay bay bellagio etc. Believe me, when you have done the strip a couple of times, you just want to be away from the crowds!! The location of the strat is ideal for the strip, fremont street and those getting married as its right by the wedding chapel district. We got married on this trip in the 'shalimar wedding chapel' I think i need to write a whole new review for that! we had a great time, hope you do too!

Please have no fear about staying at the "Strat" like most of you, I too read some of the not-so-pleasant reviews about the Strat...and was somewhat worried about the "Bedbug" situation, but all was well!
Me and my two friends enjoyed our stay. We are in our late 30's and wanted to experience Vegas on a budget, the Strat was perfect. The place was clean, comfortable and everything we needed was in the Hotel. We stayed in the Premier tower on the 15th floor, the room was nothing fancy but very suitable. (Check out the upper level for some great deals on "Vegas Stuff") and food was great at the buffet.
the staff was helpful, the drink lady was a little slow at times...then got better after the 1am shift change! LOL the tables weren't too steep on the min. bet
the location wasn't the greatest but the cabs and "Deuce" kept us on the move.
all in all, we had a great time and met some wonderful people from all over the country...and just in case you were there on July 29th-Aug1st and played "Pai Gow" with three crazy Canadian women, I say "CHEERS!" we had a blast!!
Kerry~

I'm not going to be overcritical as it was our first time to Vegas and we were there for a wedding and stayed at the Stratophere as that's where the wedding party stayed. It was clean, check in did not take forever (though others in our party waited about an hour), and it's a $17 cab ride (with tip) each way to mid strip. The monorail from the Sahara was cheaper, but it took me about an hour to get from my room to the pool at Planet Hollywood and I wished I'd just coughed up the $15 for the cab ride and had another hour at the pool. Overall it was a decent hotel for cheap ($50 a night) and you get what you pay for. We won't go back - I would pay more to stay in the middle of the action - but if you're looking for cheap and not picky and patient then you'll be ok here.

The thing I wanted info on when we were going was the pool - and I couldn't find any, so here's more than you want to know. The pool is nice. It's on the 8th floor, good sized, and there are rows of chairs to choose from. I never went without a chair. There are cheezy little cabanas you can rent for $40 a day that include shade, a window-type air conditioner, pop and water on ice, and 2 nice pool floaties. There's a snack bar and a bar-bar at the pool, as well as a little c-store. The water was cold but bearable, and there was a volleyball net as well. I spent a day at the PH pool, which was nicer, but probably just because you knew you were at a nicer hotel - it really had no more amenities. If you're worried that the pool isn't going to be decent don't worry - it will do just fine.

WOWZA!!
i know a lot of Vegas 3* hotels charge $1/day for use of the phone (local calls)
approx 5 weeks ago i stayed @ the Riviera hotel in Vegas and they chaged like $3day for a resort fee
my room @ Stratosphere was one of the most basic 3* hotels i have staed @ in Vegas. The remote control for the tv didn't work.
The bathroom was like 2 feet by 2 feet. The sink was actually in the room. Almost all the plugs in the room didn't work.
Unless you're getting this place for a smokin' dealio I would recommend staying closer to the middle stirip or even the South end where a lot of casino's are connected!