Las Vegas General Discussion Thread (Westin vs. Planet Hollywood?)
 

Las Vegas for 4 days: Westin or Aladdin?
(used to stay @ 4seasons but FT makes me think points first:D ).

It depends on what you are looking for. If you value room quality/bed comfort than proximity to the strip, than Westin wins handsdown. However, if you value the convenience for meals, view, and things to do, then go with Aladdin. Westin isn't that far offstrip. It is next to the Flamingo's. It is only a short walk to the strip. Since vegas never sleeps, it wouldn't be a problem ;)

I personally am not a big fan of Aladdin, even if I get the suite. I have stayed at Westin before and find it to be a very good hotel. I would pick Westin over Aladdin but thats just me. However, there is another property on the strip that I usually stay (and am willing to give up the points ;) )...the Hotel ;)

Had the same dilemma recently but ended up at THEHotel at Mandalay bay... More to life than points :D.

There are a large number of threads on this topic but for me I decide based on the following:

Westin: Smaller hotel with less of a Vegas Zoolike feel. I personally like this but others complain that the casino is too small and it just doesn't feel like Vegas! Westin Heavenly bed a plus but you are likely not to get upgraded.

Aladdin: Big Vegas hotel feeling. More likely to get upgraded but you might also have to deal with ongoing renovation/rebranding to Planet Hollywood issues.

I prefer the Westin because I usually go to LV on business and like the quieter feel.

I would agree with the previous post. More to life than points (sometimes)...I would stay at The Hotel.

If you are really thinking about points (and stays) you could do as we did last time--

switch back and forth between hotels.

You could use the socal points promotion and really rack them up. We're thinking of doing this again next month.

I personally prefer the Westin-- they also have an added point bonus:

They have you roll dice at at check-in! On our first night I rolled a total of 8 between the 3 dice and they added 800 bonus *points to my acct. The next time I rolled 3 sixes and they added 2300 points-- 6x3x100 + 500 (a special when you roll 3 sixes)

Sounds like fun. Is this just a temporary promotion or is this the norm for the Westin?

One other item to consider if it's important to you: Aladdin has views; Westin does not.

One reason I like Aladdin is the ability to watch the Bellagio fountains - from bed in many cases.

Hard Rock Hotel.

I did see Phish at the Alladin though back in 95. It was a blast.

I Never thought there was another Option but to switch back and forth. Heck over 4 days thats an extra 2000 Pts for us Plats that alone is reason enough, the gravy is ending up with 4 stay credits instead of 1 to boot.

My personal favorite is to do a mattress run if these 4 days are in January - to earn 10,000 West Coast stay bonus for the 4 different night stays and also the Starry Night bonus for 3,000 points.

But if there are no bonus points, Aladdin is centrally located and that is what I like.

I was in LAS on business in July and I bopped back and forth between the Westin and the Aladdin (I did two stays at the Westin and one at the Aladdin, and over to the Hilton too). I preferred the Westin because it was a little quieter. It's not that far from the strip and the monorail is close. They had a promo where you rolled dice at check in and you got 10 times the points. Both times the person took pity on my bad rolls and gave me 1200 points, so that was worth a few extra *wood points. My Aladdin room was super-huge, but that was my weekend stay and my Flyertalk friends kept me out all night, so I only actually changed, went out, slept for a couple of hours, showered and went to work. :) I'm back for the same conference this summer and I think I'll do the same thing with the stays.

They never let us roll
 

I'm just back from a week at the Westin and they never let us roll any dice for points, not last year either when we also stayed a week. :( They did not even offer us any platinum amenity and had the wrong bed type for us at first too, even though we booked months ahead.

Service at this hotel is very, very weak. More like 4 Points grade of attitude and service than Westin. In fact, I stayed in a 4 Points this week, in PHX, and the service was far superior to Westin Casuarina. Much better platinum recognition, platinum amenity, suite upgrade, free drink and full breakfast coupons already in key sleeve even though I booked an hour before arriving.

Westin Las Vegas pool is closed for the season. I called to ask them to arrange for my family to be able to use a pool at another hotel while I was at my conference. I had read on Flyertalk that they would arrange that. Woman at the desk said she would talk to a manager then call me back, she never did. 4 days went by, no call. I was busy or I should have pursued this more.

Room cleaning service was quite poor. Room was not cleaned til very late in the day, then we'd call to ask to have it cleaned and it would be done poorly. There was coffee but no coffee maker in the room when we checked in, so we called to have one brought. They were very erratic about which coffee supplies they restocked daily and I took to taking things off the maid carts to restock myself. Also erratic about replacing some but not all missing bottles of toiletries, for example mouthwash was only given some days.

Hotel is all "no smoking" but the entire first floor is a casino with smoking allowed. Smoke from the casino wafts up through the elevator shafts and pervades hallways, even on 15th floor where we were, though the actual hotel room did not smell of smoke.

Hotel is in a bad neighborhood. I was panhandled in the parking lot, there is a bus stop and a convenience store adjacent to the hotel property and an "employment center" across the street, all of which attract a rather rough looking crew, most of whom, I am sure are terrific human beings just struggling to make ends meet and I don't want to judge them. But for traveling with my family, I find the location to be less than desirable. I definitely would not let my wife and son walk anywhere outside the hotel at night. And during CES it's tough to get a cab, and the mono-rail station is a 5-6 minute walk across a very busy street with no crosswalk to the South, or through a dark alley to the North. The CES buses run there on a regular schedule, but it can be about a 30 minute wait if you just miss one and then the buses are slow.

I do totally appreciate Starwood's policies for the fact that I can stay for free on points at the Westin during CES week, and that's the only time we stay there and the only reason. I think that Starwood is probably the only chain that allows free stays during CES on points without charging extra points or requiring the highest status to use them. I'm sure that the fact I can stay there at this Westin on points CES week has everything to do with Starwood and nothing to do with this hotel, so as usual, my hat's off to Starwood.

I would avoid this hotel otherwise. The Westin Casuarina is a turkey of a property.

Next year, I may well plunk down 2-3 grand to just stay in a suite at the Venetian for CES. We would certainly be a lot more comfortable. But of course it gives me real pleasure to get great value for my points--40,000 points for 5 nights in a room that is going for about $400/night plus tax is at least 4 and probably 5 cents a point in value. Less I suppose if you factor in the tax deductibility of the paid stay.

And I should say too that while the suites at the Venetian are MUCH nicer than the Westin rooms, smoking in the hallways there was rampant and I found the air to be actually worse there than at the Westin.

My vote is for the Westin. Much more modern rooms, though you can get upgraded at the Aladdin as a plat.

Biggest difference from my perspective is the ease in which you can get in and out of the hotel. The Westin self parking is pretty much right outside the door. The Aladdin's is about a mile away (no joke) through their mall. They have complimentary valet parking, but that can take a long time to get your car. In addition, at the moment, there is a lot of construction going on at the Aladdin and across the street.

Though if you are taking cabs, then that's not as big of an issue, but I usually rent a car when there.

Either way, you can't really go wrong and switching back and forth may be something you want to think about especially if you're focused on points/status.

PCTraveler is right about this, and it IS one thing I like about the Westin. I drive a Ram 2500 with a Cummins and a stick and I don't let valets drive my truck. If you are not used to driving a rig like this it's dangerous.

We were going to stay one night at the Aladdin for the stay credit after our 5 nights at Westin, but my wife talked me out of it on the basis of the distance/hassle involved with parking. At the Westin, I got a spot right out front every night even during CES which is one of the busiest weeks of the year in Vegas. Ands there are many spots I can't fit my truck into, so finding one every night is saying alot.

And the Aladdin parking is so low it's terrifying in a rig like mine, so a nice big free outdoor lot is a huge plus for the Westin! You can even park Uhauls, buses and RV's there if you park in back (though that limits ingress and egress somewhat--my truck is low enough to fit through the Westin's garage entry lane so I can use both front and back entrances).