I had a decent two-night stay here last week while in town for a dreaded Las Vegas trade show. LAS is not my idea of a fun destination, so I tried not to let that color my experience at the Westin.

I must admiit that I had low expectations of the property going in, given all the doom-and-gloom posted here. But a phone call in advance of my trip included helpful, professional assistance from one employee, plus my early check-in (10 a.m.) required just a short wait and resulted in an upgrade to a two-room suite on the top floor, which turned out to be very nice.

Since I was in town on business, I wasn't at the hotel much, so I didn't pay attention to certain things. Being in a suite gave me the luxury of spreading out my work one morning while eating breakfast. The suite's living room had a huge plasma flat screen TV mounted on the wall, which
made watching the news and ESPN all the better. (Lots of other channels here too.) This room also included a small wet bar with additional counter space, so that would have been nice had I been in town on vacation or simply spending more time there.

Other positives:
* A very friendly manager who assisted me with my check-in when the lines began to grow. This guy was a pro.
* A small business center near the front desk that was handy a couple of times during my visit.
* A decent restaurant - I had lunch there one day and room-service breakfast the next morning and it was actually pretty good each time.
* A new Westin property with a location close enough to the strip (a quick walk to the Bellagio, Paris, Bally's and other neighboring hotels) but just far enough away to be apart from it all.
* And, of course, the Heavenly Bed and bath.

The negatives (IMO):
* The location is as bad as it is good. The Westin is sits among several seedy looking hotels and restaurants (perhaps my definition of "seedy" is more common in standard Vegas life, where a $4.95 steak-and-eggs platter is considered an attraction). In addition, Flamingo Blvd. is one of the busiest streets in the strip area. The latter makes for long waits when cabs try to pulll out of or into the pick-up/drop-off points.

* The hotel does have kind of an odd feel to it. It seems like a small casino masquerading as an upscale Westin property. It's an oddity - a tough one to describe. Overall it's not as upscale IMO as other Westins, including the new-ish ones in St. Louis or Westminster, Colo. (Denver area).
* The elevators - this has been covered. They really suck, even though there are six of them.
* A month or two after opening, some rooms and public areas are still under construction. This may be near an end, though - a staffer mentioned that a "lounge" (assumably a club lounge?) is being finished and will be open soon. I assume this will be a place to have drinks/snacks and breakfast in the morning.

All in all, it was an OK visit. I would recommend the Westin if you are a devoted Heavenly Bed fan or in need of points/stay credits. But I would think twiice about retuurning, unless I were on a quick biz trip. On a vacation trip to LAS (which is not likely for me) I would opt for another property - perhaps Mandalay Bay or, if I had the money, the Four Seasons - if the Westin's rates are around $135 or higher. I was able to take advantage of a pretty low rate despite the large trade show. For sure, the low rates noted here such as $48 would be a real deal.