Las Vegas - Treasure Island vs Trump

Hey guys, need seem help figuring this one out:

Going to Vegas on the 30th of this month for a friends bachelor party. We're currently booked at TI for 133/night, but Hotwire is offering the Trump for 112/night (at least after checking betterbidding my gut says it's the Trump).

I've heard some bad things about TI and some bad things about the Trump (especially re: distance from everything else).


Based on your experiences, would you recommend that we stick with what we have or should we do Hotwire for the Trump?

FWIW we have 8 guests total.

I have heard that Trump charges for parking, so if you are renting a vehicle you should keep that in mind.

TI is in a better location if you plan on visiting other hotels on the strip. Especially if alcohol will be involved.

And I don't know who owns the TI, but they have to be a better human being than the person that owns the other hotel! :)

The TI is definitely a better location for walking along the Strip, and has casinos. The Trump has no casinos, but is far from the sights of the Strip (unless you don't mind a 15-minute walk through a mall). There are also a very limited number of restaurants in and around Trump, relative to the great number in the TI/Mirage/Venetian/Palazzo/Ceasar's mini-neighborhood.

The rooms at TI are your standard Motel 6/La Quinta variety, nothing fancy.

There's a reason that Trump rooms are frequently on Hotwire: it's undersold.

...for a friends bachelor party... Hotwire...

Trump is usually most recommended to those seeking a bit of seclusion from the loud gaming/drinking/casinocrawling aspects of the Strip.

TI is under new ownership and seems to be doing a good job targeting the younger, drinking, not-into-huge-clubbing audience. And with 8 guys, you'll need 2 cabs to get anywhere from Trump*, so TI will be $$ savings there.

Those two are a bit of an odd couple as far as comparisons go, but based entirely on the parts of your post I excerpted, I'd recommend the TI. If you were going to pool your money and bed/couch share a larger Trump suite and used that for all your "indoor partying", that *might* convince me to go Trump but if it's Hotwire, TI all the way.

*On a shoestring budget I'll do that 15 minute walk. But IMO it'd be a huge buzzkill to slog it more than once on a bachelor party.

I've stayed at TI several times. Way back when it was still owned by Steve Wynn, then several times more recently when it was owned by MGM Mirage. Before they sold it off to Phil Ruffin, MGM did a real nice job renovating the rooms. They are MUCH nicer than a Motel 6 room.

I always liked TI (Treasure Island). OF course, it was my FIRST hotel in Vegas. But even after that, I always enjoyed my stays. Since it's been bought by Ruffin, it's changed up a lot. They added the Giley's. It's a tackier on the outside where they built out Gilleys, and now a Starbucks. It clearly doesn't "fit" with the rest of the design. It's drawing a different crowd now. I probably would never stay there again. But I still would take it over the Trump. The location is good. Easy access to Mirage, Wynncore, and Venetian/Palazzo.

IF you want a good Las Vegas strip experience, I would not suggest staying in a non-casino hotel. If you want to be at/near the strip, but NOT in a casino hotel, the Trump can work. But there are better choices. OF course, not at the sam price point that Trump is asking.

No, the guy who owns TI is a terrible human being, he's the guy who used to own the now-defunct New Frontier. Still...it would be silly to stay at Trump when you can stay at TI. Location is all, and the central strip is best. I should think people who book at Trump are generally noobs to Vegas who feel terribly ripped off when they realize where they are. Especially if a bachelor party means drinking, if you stay at the TI, you can walk everywhere you want to go.

They are MUCH nicer than a Motel 6 room.

That's what I was thinking. I've stayed there many times over the years. The gambling has gone downhill like many of the Strip properties, but the rooms are nice and the location is great. Easily worth the $20 or so to be in a great location on the Strip.