The rooms are old and worn out. We came back from a day out on the strip to a toilet backed up with crap. It was empty when we left. Went to the front desk and they changed our room. No apology or anything. Oh, did I mention I am a platinum rewards member. Maybe you will have better luck if you are a diamond. The rooms were not cleaned very well. I was also charged 6 extra times at their buffet. I would complain to the hotel but really there is nothing they could do to get me to go back.

I stayed at the Rio for a tradeshow that we were having at the hotel. At a glance the room looked nice, but for the price, a coffee maker in the room would be nice. I also realized that my TV was going from black and white to color, which was just slightly annoying, but not a big deal in my book. The reason this made this hotel one of my worst stays is, on the third night, the power went out at 2am. I was in my room watching TV and it took me a minute to realize that the power was out. I just don't expect something like that to happen. I called the front desk and they were very nonchalant about it, telling me it would be fixed in an hour. I am not a person to easily scare, but it was an hour that I was really scared, which is unacceptable to me when I am suppose to be safely in my room, watching TV, and getting some sleep before the tradeshow the next day. The part that really ticked me off is the next day when I found out that it was a planned power outage for some renovations they were working on. Why would a hotel like that not leave a note in each room notifying the guest, so it wasn't so surprising? I bet their slot machines were not shut down for that hour. GRRR. Then, when I checked out, I complained at the front desk about it, and the guy told me that I should go to the Harrah's website and complain and maybe they would send me a check back...I doubt that will happen very much. Why didn't he do something right then to make it right? I did try the website, but funny, there was no section to make a complaint or comment. I thought they handled the whole thing very unprofessionally and they didn't even attempt to make it right when I did complain. I can't explain why I was so scared that night for that hour, but if I knew it was planned, it wouldn't have been so scary to me. I have never been so scared while I was in my room in any of my travels.

Rooms were bare minimum for a hotel; clean, but with no extras. Sundries (toothpaste, conditioner) were available at a premium price in the shops. Only one restaurant option for breakfast (food was okay). The worst was the taxi assistant on Sunday, May 18 at approximately 10:00 p.m. Long line waiting for a cab, and this man took his time doing his job, leaving people to wait while he did little dances in the street, etc. When confronted about his lack of efficiency, he responded by saying "If you disrespect me, I will work even slower." He then proceeded to use derogatory sexist statements. Shame on Rio for employing such a person.

I stayed at the Rio Hotel & Casino May 14-17, 2008 in Room 29004. The check in was simple and fast and the elevators are pretty fast and frequent too. The room was bigger than average with two twin beds and a full couch for another person to sleep on. Bathroom has 2 vanities and a refridgerator. There is a safe in the closet too. The floor to ceiling windows are really nice for a view of the strip, the Palms or the desert mountains depending on your room. We ate at the seafood buffet and it is excellent. Get the blackberry/chocolate gellato, YUM! We saw Penn & Teller which was very entertaining as well.

The only bad thing about the Rio is the location. You are not really in walking distance of anything except the Gold Coast next door. The strip looks close but trust me, it's not. For low-roller gamblers, this is not the place to play. Tables were $10-$15 minimum even on Wednesday afternoon. You also have to watch out for the "working girls" roaming the casino.

Overall, this is a great place to stay, eat and watch the people. I would stay here again but make sure you have a rental car.