Before I begin my review, let me explain just a little bit about myself so those of you reading this will understand where I'm coming from when I tell you about my experience at the Sahara. I'm a very casual and usually low-budget kind of guy and I like things that are "retro" such as old motels along US Route 66. Thus, I don't expect every hotel I stay at to be perfect. That being said, I simply cannot recommend the Sahara to anybody for any reason.
The planning for this trip began right off the bat with a bad omen. While attempting to use the Sahara's website to make my reservation (for a Friday and Saturday night), something went wrong and I had to call in to get things right. I will admit that the person I got on the phone dealt with the snafu promptly and in a friendly manner.
I chose the Sahara because I wanted to go to one of the last "old school" places left on The Strip. I also liked the fact that it has its own monorail stop. With every place both cheap and fancy, old and new receiving so many divergent reviews here on TripAdvisor, I figured that the Sahara couldn't be all that bad especially since I am by no means a particularly picky traveler.
There was plenty of available parking all through the weekend. But, the people who accompanied me and I knew something was amiss as soon as we took our first elevator ride in the parking garage. The elevators were all seriously beaten up, laden with graffiti, and made sounds that really made one wonder if they would either leave you stranded or suddenly plummet to the bottom. The old style ornamentation on the doors to the casino was nice to see, and we all hoped for better things inside.
As usual for Las Vegas, the line for check-in was long. What irritated me about it was that only two people were working any of the many windows built to accommodate the incoming guests (not the right thing to do for a Friday in my opinion), and those who were actually on duty seemed to be disinterested and in absolutely no hurry to speed things along (much time-wasting chit-chat was going on between the two actually working and other employees wandering behind the counter for no apparent reason). It took us just shy of 90 minutes to complete the check-in process after having first gotten in line at about 2:55 PM.
When we finally got into our room, I was aghast. The room was full of dust and very musty. The carpet was torn and stained, and the floor it was on was uneven -- leaning toward the window which gave a slight feeling that one could roll out of there at any moment. The bathroom was dingy with a torn shower curtain and the floor did not appear to be fully cleaned. We had a decent view of The Strip, but it had to be seen through a window that hadn't been cleaned in at least two weeks. The walls were beaten and stained, and even the ceiling had large, crusty brown blemishes. The air conditioner took a long, long time to cool the room, but it did eventually get things comfortable temperature wise (admittedly, it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit during our stay). The beds themselves were OK, but the sheets and blankets had the same musty smell as the room, only stronger. The television had awful reception on almost every channel and they failed to check the batteries in the remote control (they were so weak that one had to sit on the edge of the bed to get the channel to change).
As luck would have it, the ice machine on our floor was not only broken, but also leaking water so badly that I thought it was trying to create another Lake Mead. A very nice security guard with a thick eastern European accent apologized profusely and I saw him call in at least twice to request an immediate repair. Sadly, that call was never answered and I spent the whole weekend trying different floors to find a machine that still had some ice left in it.
They were also very slow in picking up the leftover dishes from those who ordered room service. The room next to us had their stuff left out for at least 16 hours and it began to stink from fish -- not a peasant smell to deal with when trying to get to one's room.
The casino itself is darker and dirtier than most, and I can only assume that the extra low lighting is helping to hide more filth and other things needing repairs. Other than the entry doors and a few other minor things, the Sahara does not give off any sense of its past, glorious history. It just seems to be sitting there marking time and taking in what it can before it goes the way of all the other classic spots on The Strip and gets "blow'd up" to be replaced.
The one good thing I can say about the Sahara is for the bartenders at the little "island" bars within the main casino area as well as in the NASCAR Cafe. Each one was very friendly, respectful, made us all feel appreciated, and put together some great mixed drinks. All of the other employees (minus the one security guard I mentioned above) seemed very gruff as opposed to most of the other major casinos we went to during this stay.
I am by no means holding against the Sahara the things it cannot control -- you know, the usual Las Vegas "sideshows" such as the time-share pushers, the various means males are offered "companionship," and the like. However, I do blame the Sahara for letting itself go like a fat-era Elvis. If you can plan far enough ahead and search properly, you can get a similar price at another big casino, or you can pay a little (or a lot) more and get something more fitting. Yes, Las Vegas is not a place intended for spending a lot of time in one's room. But, that time one DOES spend in the room should be better than what the Sahara now offers. For those of you who have stayed there recently and got better accommodations, I am sincerely glad that you had a better stay than my party and I did. But, I just cannot recommend the Sahara in good conscience even for budget travelers.
