I booked May 31 to June 5 at the Golden Gate. Because I wasn't sure I'd like it, I also booked a couple of nights at the Golden Nugget. After one night at GG, I cancelled that other reservation.
I arrived at the GG early on a Sunday. They did not have anything ready facing Fremont, so I left my belongings with the front desk and went out to wander Fremont Street. When I came back, it was still early and they only had smoking rooms available so far. The head housekeeper told me that since the rooms were newly renovated, I would not smell anything. And she was right. I had room #207 - second floor facing Fremont. It was small, but perfect for one person who wasn't going to spend a lot of time in the room anyway. I liked the way it was decorated, too. There was a small closet, but a large dresser with plenty of room for clothes. The room had a flat-screen TV and a coffee maker (with coffee, cups & etc). There was also a clock radio with an iPod dock. I've read some reviews that say paper-thin walls, but no one complained when I played my music, so they couldn't have been that bad.
The front desk has irons and hair dryers available. If the place is busy, they only let you have them for a certain amount of time, but I opted for wet hair and wrinkled clothes anyway.
The bathroom is kind of dated, but clean. I'm not a fan of separate hot and cold water knobs, but the old fashioned style added to the ambiance. I never did seem to get the shower water temperature just right, but I didn't get burned, so that's all that counts.
I would have like a more comfortable bed, but at $19.06/night we're not talking Wynn quality mattresses. The only thing I didn't like was that, being short, I couldn't get close to the bathroom mirror to apply makeup. I had to use the large mirror on the wall by the bed, but the lighting in the room was kind of dim and not useful for that purpose. So they could use some of those swing-out makeup mirrors or brighter lighting near the mirror.
Overall, I liked my stay at the Golden Gate. I wouldn't hesitate to stay again. Everyone I came in contact with that worked there was super helpful and friendly. And Valet was fast and friendly, too. They have one small lot with Valet and you never wait more than a minute for your car.
(I ate downstairs at the Bay City Diner and the food & service was good both times)

We reserved a room for $20 solely for the purpose to have a place to hang out between light shows downtown. We were given a room overlooking Fremont, which was exactly what we wanted. We opened both windows and enjoyed the music and people watching from the street. The room was very small, but clean and updated. The beds were very comfy although we didn't spend the night. We just enjoyed drinks and the views with two other couples. The hotel & casino were clean and everyone was nice.

My stay was overall poor. When we arrived at the hotel, I asked valet where can we park? He tried to direct me to the self-serve parking down the street. In my head was why do I have to park down the street when I can park here? Did he feel he would not be receiving a tip??? We pulled up into 'valet' and let him park our car. We had to hurry and get all our bags out since he just stood there standing there demanding we get everything out.

At check-in, the first thing said was I need your photo id from both and a valid credit card. Barely a 'hi' or even a fake courteous gesture given. I tried to ignore that as well. When we got our keys, we went through the smelly hallways on 2nd floor and into the far corner. Low and behold, our room as previous people have communicated in their reviews, tiniest room, but clean. We asked for a quieter room and 2 beds, got completely opposite. I phoned my sister long distance to ask her to check with expedia online to see if there were room availabilities for this hotel, and she said she was able to book for the same night. When I went back downstairs to ask for an alternate room, we were told they were all sold out for the night. When I mentioned that if I am available to still book, does that not mean there are rooms available? Alex kept mentioning, rooms are all sold. That was the second time in the same night, on first impression, most of the staff are willing to re-direct you to 'find your own way around'. Very unhelpful both valet & staff. Front desk and valet service are classified as providing customer service for their customers. Certainly, this hotel is rated a 2-star for a reason. Not only for their small and barely updated room, but as a first and last impression -- poor service.

Also to note, this hotel does not have room service. When we phoned in to get 2 extra towels. Housekeeping is only open from 7am-3pm! If you want towels, go downstairs yourself!

Also can't describe this hotels style besides poor and NOT incredible staff. Poor impression. Would NOT recommend anyone for even 1 night merely because of the cheaper rate.

I stayed at the Golden Gate for five nights--May 15 through May 19. The rooms have been recently refurbished and IMO look very nice. The room I had (# 252) was small but very good for a solo guest. The room faced the Plaza and was quiet. The room was clean, the bed was very comfortable, the water was hot and cold as needed, the television was a new flat screen with limited channels but OK with me, and the room was cleaned every day.

I enjoyed my stay at the Golden Gate and took advantage of the diner and the great sandwiches and shrimp cocktails at the snack bar. I played slots for many hours with no big wins but several small ones. The drink service while playing slots was excellent. I would certainly stay again.