Starwood Preferred Guest - Update on Westin Casuarina Las Vegas

Just got back from a 3 day stay at the Westin Las Vegas. I have to say that the property is certainly not one of the best in the Westin chain, but certainly not as bad as some of the posts here would indicate.

Maybe I was lucky?

On the plus side

The hotel had plenty of parking and I was never more than a few rows from the front entrance. I never had to use the elevated parking structure.

There was no problem with an upgrade, even though my reservation was last minute. I received a very nice suite (room #1721) that was clearly newly decorated and finished. The 48 inch plasma screen TV in the living room was a definite bonus.

Two HS internet ports, so I could sit at the coffee table watch the plasma TV and do e-mail.

Room service was very quick. I crawled in after a very long day and my cheeseburger was there before I could say "medium rare" It was 10 minutes Max, and the food was good and hot.

Casino is small so there is no maze of temptation to negotiate.

Negatives

It took forever for the hotwater to rise from the basement to the 17th floor. I estimate 5 minutes plus. Not a problem if you know, but the first day I thought the hotel was out of hot water and called the front desk wo sent an engineer along right away to check things out.

The elevator programming needs work. I felt I was on the local train that makes all stops when going down one morning. The car was filled to overflowing and still it stopped! (On a positive note, staff tell me that the programs are being looked at and should be done in a few weeks)

The plasma TV was hung on the wall crooked. Seriously it is a small detail, but a $10K toy should at least be mounted properly.

One of the three thermostats in the room was not working properly as a result the sleeping quarters were a little warm for my liking. Not a huge problem as I just left the door open.

Staff at the front desk were friendly, but missing the polish that the best Westins seem to have.

Conclusion:

I'd give the property a 6.5 out of 10, with good prospects for improving in the near future. I classify my experience as acceptable, but i would expect more from a Westin. I felt more like I was in an average Sheraton rather than a Westin. Still it is the only game in town for Starwood, at least for the moment. For a business traveller who needs a quiet, comfortable place to stay and work, while remaining close to the action, the place is a good fit. They will get a second chance from me, but next time I will be expecting an improvement, or I may take my LAS business elsewhere.

DF

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....airline economics: The only industry where the value of a perishable goes up as the best before date approaches....

[This message has been edited by Doc Fraud (edited Feb 23, 2004).]

Thanks for the update.

I'll be checking in this Sat night around midnight for my second stay. I didn't find it as bad as some here, but then again I'm not looking for a casino atomosphere and since I'll only be there 11 hours (flight out on Sun at 11am)-- upgrades don't mean much.

I stayed here 3/21/4 until 3/23/4 with the following observations:

1. Check in was about 10 minutes very few stations manned. Small line and reception people very pleasant but seemed confused.

2. 2 lights and 1 telephone not plugged in - room 1408. I plugged everything in and became obvious the problem stems from too few outlets in the room and poorly located. To charge laptop or cell phone or camera etc. you have to unplug something.

3. Rooms are very nice but as everyone has noted small - at least compared to the big hotels in Vegas - probably half the size.

4. Bathroom good but again - no shampoo at check in.

5. What really surprised me is the doors both room and interior seemed to be very poor grade - door jambs have been beat up already.

6. Flow of traffic through the lobby - very poor signage to get where you want to be.

7. Health club - small but nice equipment - I had a treadmill with malfunctioning cardio-video system. From what I saw looked like half were out of order.

Of course, the heavenly bed was - room without a view but very quiet - expect true for whole hotel. Price was much better than Paris or Venetian so you get what you pay for in location and size.

I guess I don't figure why they branded it Westin but I would return because easy walk to the strip and big hotels. I would not share a room because too small for that. Not large enough for business meeting or conversation with a couple of colleagues.

Would stay again if price better than strip hotels.

I was there 3/19 through 3/21, and to be honest I just didn't have the same horrible experience that everyone here seems to have.

Checkin was fine - we walked up and were 2nd in line, and a manager came over to check us in. .When he saw we were 4 people w/ 2 res, someone else came over to check my friends in.

No upgrade, but I'm only Gold, and the entire city was sold out. .So I didn't really expect it.

The room is fine. .I don't know where everyone's staying in Vegas, but my king bedded room (1336, I believe) just wasn't dramatically smaller than rooms I've had of late, and I've been in Paris, Bally's, Mirage, and Caesar's (old building though). .The room is *very* narrow, but it's long - probably 10 feet from the bed to the window. .2 comfortable chairs easily fit, with plenty of room to meander about (albeit not from the chairs to the door). .My friends had a double-room though, and that was certainly cramped. No issues with hot water or lightbulbs or anything - each of our rooms had a power strip, so plugs weren't an issue either.

The casino is about what it was when it was the Maxim - small. But the dealers were great, and the tables were playable. They at least weren't jacked up ridiculously like every other casino in town, so being off the strip has some advantages, I guess. They also give you $20 of free slot play on your first visit, which my friend turned into a casual 15,000 quarters. So that helped.

As for location, it was literally a 6 minute walk from the front door through Ballys and to the Paris buffet, the best in town. Frankly, it's taken me that long just to wander out of some hotels.

The only disappointments were:

The pool, which was unbelievably crowded. My wife couldn't find a chair. She also couldn't even find a patch of concrete, as apparently everyone was just laying out on the deck.

The elevators, which were absurdly slow. That hotel is too small for the elevators to not be more efficient. Of course, 1 was out of service all weekend.

SPG service. As I mentioned, I didn't get an upgrade, although I was never expecting one. We got a pretty crappy room facing south though, despite asking for something better. What most annoyed me was not being able to use the late checkout - 3 people I talked to flat out refused. Made for a fun afternoon before our 4pm flight.

All in all, it really was fine. Especially for $99 during spring break and the NCAA tournament. It doesn't have the glitz or excitement of the other hotels, but it's definitely a Westin, and you definitely get a Heavenly Bed & Bath. I'm actually going to be there again in 2 weeks, so hopefully I'll get better SPG treatment. We'll see.

Was also there 3/18 3/22. I had some bad feelings about this property considering all the threads posted here...

Overall I had a pleasant stay, nothing to rave about but ok. I found the location to be convenient, just one block off strip and roughly in the middle of it. I think they did a nice renovation, actually the hotel look quite nice from outside. Inside corridors are quite uninspiring. Room decor is also ok without anything special except the HB of course. The general feeling is that it is a sub-standard Westin but being the only SPG hotel in town that does not leave a lot of choices.

I already knew the hotel (and town) was fully booked during the weekend so I did not expect much. Check in was fast and the agent apologized for not giving any upgrade. He told me that a weekend like that they had 60-70 PLT members each night so they could not accomodate everybody and that a number of suite were already reserved and paid for.

As noted I found the room average size,narrow but long but ok(I had a much smaller room the week before at the Westin Washington Grand). I found the window way too small for my taste and it provided a view toward the airport and couple of hotels on the strip. This place is very quiet compared to hotels on the strip which I appreciated.

Yes elevators are slow but nothing terrible, 1 was broken during 3 of the 4 days I was there, I found that unimpressive.

The staff was very nice, I ordered room service twice and the food was good and delivered on time.

Swimming pool was a real deception... Way too small, way too crowded. Don't go to the Westin if you plan to spend some time baking under the sun. Internet connection worked fine and was charged $9.99/day based on a 24 period. I liked that better than other hotels charging from nonn to noon...

Overall will probably return next time but will be tempted by one of the nice hotel on the strip if the price becomes too high at the Westin.

I stayed here two nights ago (Tuesday Night).

Checkin was quick - As a Plat, I was not given a suite (but I had requested a 2 Doubles room), but a 12th floor room. Immediately offered my amenity choice (points).

Elevators worked fine, not the speediest, but seems as though they have to two banks integrated now.

Didn't use the pool, casino, or room service.

In the morning, had the WSJ, USA Today, and local Las Vegas newspapers sitting in front of my door.

Heavenly bed was nice, great water pressure in bathroom.

I'd stay here again - I don't go to LV for casinos, in fact, I hate them for the most part. This was a nice welcome change, and I'll probably stay here again if the rates are competitive.

I would like to try myHotel at Mandalay next time though.

I stayed at the Westin Casuarina Las Vegas on March 13th.

Check-in was about a 15 minute wait. There were two couples in front of me requesting room changes, and that was the reason for my long wait. My colleague who had arrived earlier warned me that the hotel was sold out, so I had called the hotel to let them know that I'd be checking-in late. They did save a non-smoking room for me, but it was a handicapped room with a queen-sized bed. I had no other choice so I took it.

The room is at the end of the hall way, so it's much bigger than the regular-sized rooms. I do not understand why they put a queen bed in there. The headboard and the night tables were built into the wall, and they are spaced for a king-sized bed. Actually even though they say the bed is queen sized, it is narrower than my queen-sized bed at home. I could not reach one of the night stands from the bed. The bed simply isn't up to the Heavenly Bed standard, and the pillows aren't as comfortable. I suspect they used inferior products in that room. I even pulled the pillow covers and sheets off to check. The pillows were made by Encompass Feather & Down, and is 50% white goose down and 50% white goose feathers. The mattress pad is a king-sized pad folded in half, made by HW Baker Linen co. The mattress itself is a simmons beautyrest pillowtop, with no model name. The bed was simply not as comfortable as a regular heavenly bed.

The bathroom has no tub. In fact, the shower area and the rest of the bathroom floor are on the same level. The curved shower curtain results in standing water all over the rest of the bathroom floor. There was no vanity counter-top, so no place to store anything. Soap and shampoo were simply placed on top of the toilet tank. It was a very poorly thought-out bathroom.

The next morning, I had to wait for about 15 minutes for the elevator before giving up. I walked down the stairs and could not find an exit that would take me directly into the lobby. I ended up going through the employee cafeteria and office area, and had to ask an employee for help to find the lobby. The only way to get into an elevator is to take an elevator that is going up, and ride it all the way to the top and back down to the lobby.

Finally, I took my shower fairly late in the morning. I think the hotel simply ran out of hot water. The water temperature was only luke warm.

I would give this hotel another try if I could get a regular king-sized bed, and if the price is right.

The room is at the end of the hall way, so it's much bigger than the regular-sized rooms. I do not understand why they put a queen bed in there. The headboard and the night tables were built into the wall, and they are spaced for a king-sized bed. Actually even though they say the bed is queen sized, it is narrower than my queen-sized bed at home. I could not reach one of the night stands from the bed.The smaller bed is most likely in order to accomodate wheelchairs - the presence of a King bed would limit the wheeelchair-using guest's ability to manuever.

Given that, they should still be using Heavenly-bed-quality matresses, IMHO.

We are thinking of heading there this May. Can anyone comment on the following concerns:

1. Travelling with our infant - we have a 4 month old going with us - I'd like to be able to put him in another room and could accomplish this in a number of ways perhaps:

- reserving a suite either paid or with points...does anyone know if the Suite has a living area that closes off (so when he goes down at 7pm we don't have to also...)

- reserving 2 rooms that have an interior connection (I doubt it but thought I'd ask)

Any other suggestions?

2. The pool - it sounds small and crowded, and yes, we'd expect to go down and read for a while. We won't have a problem getting there early and getting space since our son will be up early given the time change from the East Coast - but even getting the space early - will that really not be an enjoyable pool experience? Would you expect Friday or Monday during the day to be any better than Saturday and Sunday?

We are SPG Gold with more than enough points to handle a Suite or 2 Rooms for 56,000 points. The question is...is it worth it...

Thanks!

I have stayed at this hotel and my advise is don't spend the points for 2 rooms or the suite. They only have 10 suites which I'm told are not that great and 7,000 points is way too much for a night here given what you get.

I will say that when I stayed there my room did have a connecting door to the room next door so if you really want to stay here that could be an option.

Las Vegas is full of hotels that have suites with a separate bedrooms or connecting rooms so you may find a better deal at another hotel.

One other bit of advise. Las Vegas starts to get really busy during some parts of May and room prices go up. Book now as I know of several dates in May where many hotels are already sold out due to large conventions, etc.

That link is posted on several sites and it a bad link.

From everything I read about this Westin hotel... it sounds awful.

I have a res booked for Memorial Day Weekend there. It is Madonna Concert Weekend and it is also Viva Las Vegas - A Gay Circuit Party. The Host Hotel for the Gay Circuit Party is The Westin. I have been thinking of attending the circuit party and staying at the Westin because I have a ticket to see Madonna on Sat, May 29, but I don't know if I want to endure all of the awful amenities at the Westin.

It is a long walk to the strip... no doubt.
The pool is tiny... even the hotel desk clerk (I called) said "Do not come here for the pool and do not expect much - it is very overcrowded"
The Spa will most likely not be opened in time for Memorial Day Weekend... I asked the reservationist.
The Gym is small (but free) and with all of those buff steroid gay circuit boys staying there... the gym is going to be soooo over crowded.
The restaurant sounds awful.

Honestly, I can keep going on... but I have not read any real reason to want to stay here unless I was trying to earn points.

I am thinking I should stay at Caesars or Four Seasons instead. The MGM is over $300 night that weekend and I know that the MGM is NOT worth over $300 a night. So, I am going to wing it.

Has anyone really LOVED the Westin Las Vegas???? God, I am torn because I do want to be in the thick of all the Gay Circuit Action... but I do not want to waste my money on a DEATH TRAP!!!! Sounds like it is ready to collapse.. with all the controversy about bad elevators, asbestos, bad water, bad electric wiring... God help the WESTIN!!!

From everything I read about this Westin hotel... it sounds awful.

I have a res booked for Memorial Day Weekend there. It is Madonna Concert Weekend and it is also Viva Las Vegas - A Gay Circuit Party. The Host Hotel for the Gay Circuit Party is The Westin. I have been thinking of attending the circuit party and staying at the Westin because I have a ticket to see Madonna on Sat, May 29, but I don't know if I want to endure all of the awful amenities at the Westin.

It is a long walk to the strip... no doubt.
The pool is tiny... even the hotel desk clerk (I called) said "Do not come here for the pool and do not expect much - it is very overcrowded"
The Spa will most likely not be opened in time for Memorial Day Weekend... I asked the reservationist.
The Gym is small (but free) and with all of those buff steroid gay circuit boys staying there... the gym is going to be soooo over crowded.
The restaurant sounds awful.

Honestly, I can keep going on... but I have not read any real reason to want to stay here unless I was trying to earn points.

I am thinking I should stay at Caesars or Four Seasons instead. The MGM is over $300 night that weekend and I know that the MGM is NOT worth over $300 a night. So, I am going to wing it.

Has anyone really LOVED the Westin Las Vegas???? God, I am torn because I do want to be in the thick of all the Gay Circuit Action... but I do not want to waste my money on a DEATH TRAP!!!! Sounds like it is ready to collapse.. with all the controversy about bad elevators, asbestos, bad water, bad electric wiring... God help the WESTIN!!!

That hotel is the worst. I cant find anything good to say except my car came from valet every day within 5 mins. That is with one valet working. The hotel stinks compared to the mainstream properties.

Rob

Disclaimers: I hate LV hotels in general, I was there in November and had set my expectations accordingly, and I'm more tolerant of certain problems (elevators being wonky, life safety system testing) than others (cluelessness).

I had a great time. I like the rooms, despite them being smaller than the LV average. I think the bathrooms are great, I like the vanity, I liked the color schemes, and I liked the high-speed Net access. Per the brand standard, I love the Heavenly Bed. I like that I can park in their structure and be in my room in three minutes if desired. It's not that far from the strip. I mean, it's a longish few blocks, but I've parked further out than that at TI and NYNY.

I like the more "business" attitude of the hotel. While I love to game, and I like the themeing concepts in LV, I hate the way they run the lodging side of the house. I'd return to the Westin in a heartbeat.

E

What are the Brand Standards for Westin?

Before I was a Starwood person I thought that Westin was an "upscale" brand standard. However, based on some stays (I am currently at the Westin LAX - which I think is really disappointing), and based on this thread, I wonder whether Westin has become a much lower quality brand?

The casino is about what it was when it was the Maxim - small. But the dealers were great, and the tables were playable. They at least weren't jacked up ridiculously like every other casino in town, so being off the strip has some advantages, I guess. They also give you $20 of free slot play on your first visit, which my friend turned into a casual 15,000 quarters. So that helped.

It was $10 when I stopped by in early March. We weren't staying there, so maybe that's the difference, or maybe the policy has changed. Two of us signed up and made $12 off of their free slot play before we cashed out. There were very few people playing there when we were there.


I would like to try myHotel at Mandalay next time though.

It's "theHOTEL at Mandalay Bay", just so you don't run into confusion when looking for it. Haven't stayed there and probably won't because I just can't pay that much for a room. :)

What are the Brand Standards for Westin?

Before I was a Starwood person I thought that Westin was an "upscale" brand standard. However, based on some stays (I am currently at the Westin LAX - which I think is really disappointing), and based on this thread, I wonder whether Westin has become a much lower quality brand?

IMHO, just about all the Westins I've visited have upscale amenities and, of course, the Heavenly Bed and Bath. I think the key is that many front desk clerks are undertrained and are not equipped to handle the unique requests of loyal frequent guests. An example would be St. Louis Westin, where the front desk clerk didn't know how to set up a second folio for a shared room.

As for Westin LAX, I may be going off on a limb here, but most of the airport properties near LAX (other than the 4-points) are half a notch below the usual standards, but I always enjoyed my stays at the Westin. Last time they were oversold, and, in addition to the comped room at the Hilton (bleah), they offered AND posted a generous amount of SPG points as compensation.

It sounds to me that Westin is not that great of a hotel in general. It is not a W and it is definately not a Four Seasons.

The Westin LAX looks like a dump too. I would never stay in the LAX area.

My concerns about the Westin in Vegas are pool area, spa and safety.

When I go to Vegas, I like to enjoy myself and live the Vegas Experience. This Westin is sounding just plain awful and wrong for Vegas. Who really wants to be off the strip in a sleezy area??? I would rather stay at the LV Hilton for half the price.

Why Atlantis Events chose this hotel as the host hotel is beyond me. Bad choice.

www.atlantisevents.com
link is for the Viva Las Vegas Memorial Day Circuit Party

When I go to Vegas, I like to enjoy myself and live the Vegas Experience. This Westin is sounding just plain awful and wrong for Vegas. Who really wants to be off the strip in a sleezy area??? I would rather stay at the LV Hilton for half the price.


While I had issues with this Westin, it's 10 times better than LV Hilton, both in terms of location (if you like to live the Vegas Experience) and room comfort. Rooms in LV Hilton is such a dump that I told my friends I'll never stay there again.

Hi. I just thought I would mention that today I received a direct mail piece from Caesar's Palace Las Vegas offering $79 2-5 nights Sunday-Thursday... I guess that doesn't really help your saturday night, but lower prices are out there somewhere...

Note that I have stayed at Caesar's before, and they are probably trying to develop customer loyalty... not sure if you could sweet talk your way into a discounted rate by telling the reservations agent about how your friend was telling you all these wonderful things about caesars and had mentioned this mailer....... Now, the other thing to consider is that there are a few different types of rooms, and usually for just a few dollars more per night (depending on season / rates / etc) you can stay in a room that has larger tub, etc.... Granted, it is no 4 seasons (have stayed there in LV, too), but you sound pre-programmed to not enjoy the Westin...

Just a thought.