We have stayed twice at the Grandview, once in November of 2006 and again in October of 2007. While this property is basically an RCI timeshare it is offered on many of the standard travel sites and can be booked just like any other hotel. Which makes me wonder why anyone would pay a large up front price for a timeshare unit and then have the annual maintenance fees only to be locked into the timeshare restrictions of dates and durations of visits? Anyhow the bottom line is that I sort of like this place and I think most people that stay here will also if they are prepared to deal with the location which is about six miles south of the main strip action.

The rooms are really the best part of the resort. Each one bedroom unit is a well equipped apartment, in fact they are larger than some one bedroom apartments that I am familiar with in Southern California. Each unit has a well equipped kitchen, a washer and dryer in the unit, a king bed in the bedroom and a queen sized sofa bed in the living room. There is a large bathroom with a shower and a Jacuzzi just off the bedroom. The two bedroom units are an exact duplication of the one bedroom units with all the same equipment and amenities. In fact they are completely separate units with separate entries which is ideal for two couples, but may provide too much isolation for parents wanting to keep a close reign on smaller children – teenagers would love it. There are also two large screen TVs in each unit with a DVD player attached to the living room set. The resort has a selection of DVDs that they lend out at no charge to the guests.

There are two nice pools (one heated) and a small deli on site. There is no restaurant; however, there are several options at the South Point casino right next door as well as another restaurant, the Boulevard Grille, across the street.

They now have wireless in all the buildings, but I consider it very expensive. They want $10 per day, $25 for 3 days and $50 for the week. They do still have the public computers in the lobby which I was able to use about anytime that I wanted although others have mentioned having a problem with access to these. They no longer have FREE wireless in the lobby as they did in the past.

Most people will probably want to rent a car; however, we did not and got along just fine by allowing the extra time required for public transportation. If you drive in from California the new exit ramp from I-15 is now open and is very convenient to The Grandview. Cab fare from the airport will cost you about $25. There is a shuttle service (CLS) that we used for the trip back that will take you to the airport for $8 per person. You have to schedule it 24 hours in advance and allow a couple of hours before your flight and this works out great. We saw several people use this throughout the week. They were right on time and only made one more stop prior to going to the airport. Took us about 25 minutes total. During our stay we used the South Strip Trolley which picks up right at the Grandview and you can transfer to the Main Strip Trolley at Mandalay Bay. This requires planning and allowing extra time as they are not always on schedule, but we got along fine. They have a strange fare schedule that requires you to buy a Day Pass for use between 8:30AM and 5:00PM and a Night Pass to use between 5:00PM and midnight which is sort of screwy if you want to go to the Strip at 3 PM and come back at 8 PM you have to buy 2 passes. But they are only $4.25 each and they allow you unlimited use of the trolleys on all the routes during the time that they are valid. They do have one way passes, but they are only for one trip and do not provide transfers to other trolleys.

Along with the transportation issue there are a couple of other things that you might want to consider about The Grandview. For instance, there is still construction going on not only at Grandview, but also at the casino next door, South Point. This can be noisy, in some locations although during both of our stays we have been fairly close to the construction area and have not been disturbed too much by it. You just have to take your chances and asked to be moved if it is a problem for you. Also some reviews have complained about the exterior lighting being a problem in illuminating the units at night. Again this hasn’t bothered us mainly due to the location of the units that we have stayed in. It appears that the exterior lights that are the culprits are mounted just below the 4th floor and the 4th and 5th floor rooms probably get the worst of it. The buildings do look nice all lit up, but give us a break and turn off the decorative exterior lights at 11PM.

There were several planned activities every day, mainly for the kids. While I am a strong proponent of NOT taking kids to Vegas, if you insist then this is a good place. You are away from the strip and there seems to be enough activities to keep the youngest ones entertained. Teenagers will be hopping the trolley to the strip anyway so don’t worry about them they will make there own entertainment. For the smaller children there is also information on child care facilities in the area. So if the kids have to come this resort should work out better than most as you have a lot of room and there are things for them to do either supervised by you or someone you hire.

One other thing that we really liked about the Grandview was with the South Point casino right next door we had lots of dining and gambling choices without the hustle and bustle of the strip; so a couple of days we didn’t even leave the area. We ate at the buffet which was not outstanding, but a good variety and inexpensive. The Silverado steakhouse also serves a good meal at about half the price that you would pay on the strip. It was really nice to have your own casino with lots of friendly people and machines that would take your money and you could walk back to your room in 5 minutes – it takes me longer than that in some of the mega resorts on the strip when your room is in the same building.

The bottom line is if you don’t have to be in the heart of the action on the strip and want a large comfortable place with lots of amenities and a friendly staff the Grandview should suit your needs just fine.