So, for those who have stayed at Flamingo, and I am basing this on the comments in this thread, what rating would you give the Flamingo if you were a AAA reviewer? Would it be a 3 star property? 2 star? Please list your reasons with comparisons against other similar properties - like Ballys or Cromwell for instance

 

First off Cromwell is far on a level above Flamingo, IMO it is right below Caesars Palace for me. I may take the Cromwell over Caesars most days, I like being from room to the strip in less than a couple minutes.

Honestly I would say 2 stars if I were rating it. All rooms will show their age, more so in the bathrooms when talking about FAB rooms. The dining options range from food court, to average at best, IMO Margaritaville is best option. The casino is aging, the only thing new in the last decade is the carpet, sans the Margaritaville Casino, which I actually like. The check in lines are huge, with horror story of hour plus waits. Only about half of the elevators seem to work, but you have to get through the over agressive time share hawkers first. They are literally posted right outside the elevators. The bars are aging and have sub par odds. The saving grace is the pool, which in the summer months bump the property to 3 star. I do say all of this, with the disclaimer that if I had it for free on a busy weekend with no other options, I'd stay there in a heart beat lol. I actually just checked the AAA rating...low and behold 2 stars!

 

I agree 100% with you on this post. Every place can't be Wynn/Aria. And when my budget conscious friends need a place to sleep this is the go to place for many of them. The pool is a good time and even though I usually stay at Caesars, we join the boys at the Flamingo pool most of the time anyways. The Flamingo does need some touching up but it is a fun low rolling option. Plus I hit a Royal for $4000 in the HL Room less than three weeks ago so it gets a DOUBLE AA PLUS from me for what it is offering. But I would agree, if you have to wait in that Check In line.....good luck!

 

I agree with Macker about the lousy food choices, the Fab rooms are pretty lousy and reno was cheap. The carpet is worn, the hooker's at Bugsy's are generally nasty and aggressive. And yet...you and I are at the Flamingo every trip Macker. So we can't be hating it that much!

 

Oh I'm not hating, just realistic and realize that the Flamingo is not the best thing since sliced bread.

 

The Flamingo elevators look like the happening place to be.

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I will give my thoughts later on the other thread rating the various places I have stayed, just thought I'd include my Flamingo comments here.

Even though I like the place, similar to others, I'd call it a 2 to 2.5 (based on the pool being open or not).

The Fab rooms aren't great, the Go rooms are on par with a basic Mirage room, good food choices are lacking - basic food choices (i.e. the food court) are okay. The casino is good for smaller players, the poker room can be really soft (always a good thing) and the Margaritaville Casino has always been fun for me. Location and pool are great.

I am one of those that has to pay at least a little for rooms in Vegas, so the Flamingo works out to be a good value for me.

 

Flamingo is definitely the one CET property that needs the most love, mostly because of it's name and status. With that said, it probably brings in traffic just based on the name, history and people's familiarity with it. I go to Vegas every year with a group of 20-ish people and even though they know it's a dump, they all stay there. And it's not about cost, I'd say 10-12 of them could be comp'd at any CET property, it's just what they are used to. They know how to get around, they like the pool and are familiar with all the food options. I'm always the "rebel" who stays next door at the Linq or down the street at PH, but out of the 20, I'm the only one.

Imperial Palace didn't have that "name" and never really had a good rep, so CET really didn't have a choice but either improve things or watch things get even worse there. Flamingo may be heading towards being a "dump", but the check in lines are still always full and the casino is still always packed. Until that changes, I don't see CET being in a huge rush to spend money on the place, especially with the casino industry being where it is.

 

Stayed at the Flamingo for the first time in February. The wife and I took my parents to Vegas, which they hadn't been to in 45 years since they eloped and got married there. At the time they didn't have any money so they just drove in, got hitched, and drove out.

We picked the Flamingo because it was the only casino still standing on the Strip when they got married. I had never stayed there before, usually picking Mirage or Mandalay when we choose the Strip (although the last trip [October 2015] we chose the Linq because we wanted to see it). I'm not a huge player but the wife and my FAB room was comped (not including RFs), and my parents, at least, got the casino rate which we covered.

I could take it or leave it. Although I will say it looked as if the surfaces on the bar rail and the chairs had been refinished. It felt like new pleather and the vp machines weren't sticky and seemed to be in working order. As was said here before the FAB rooms were meh, especially the bathrooms. It appeared that only two of the elevators in the Spa tower were working at any one time. Still, the wait for elevators was not as long as it is at the Linq. Since we had a low floor there (2) we usually took the stairs, as did many other people.

Despite my feelings, my parents LOVED it. We hit all of the tourist spots the high-end casinos and my parents thought those were pretty of course, but my mom said that the Flamingo felt more like what she thought a casino would feel like than any other place. For people wanting that old Vegas strip experience that's a pretty important thing.

One funny story about Bugsy's bar. My parents live in a small town North of Houston. My mother has never seen a prostitute, that she was aware of, in person. While she was having a Bloody Mary she struck up a conversation with one. They talked for about 15 minutes before we were ready to go out and start sight-seeing for the day. When we told my mom she was talking to a prostitute she just about had the big one Weezy. We'll never let her live that down.

All I can comment on are the FAB rooms, because I've never stayed in any other. The bed and room were clean though, and housekeeping was relatively consistent so I really didn't have a problem with it. Yes, the bathrooms could be considered original to the building in those but at least the hot water worked (unlike the IP at the end). The bar odds on VP are crap, and I refuse to play 6/5 blackjack so I didn't play much there. To be honest we didn't eat in that casino but we did eat at Cut steakhouse on our last trip and it was fair. Wine list is awful though.

Would I stay there again? Probably, if I got a comped GO room, but since I rarely stay on the Strip any longer it's doubtful.

 

Flamingo....the thing about Casinos on the strip (generally on the strip) is that they are part of History. Once they are gone, you can't bring back what you have lost. The Desert Inn....I have very fond memories of being awed in that place (not the structure, not the service, but how you conducted yourself relative to the rest of the strip casinos). The flamingo has history. No one denies that. Sure, it's not in the best of shape today (and neither is the Monte Carlo, but that's a non themed type casino that if renovated will surely represent a classic hotel feel with a casino rather than a theme park). I go to the Flamingo on the walkabout day - a day which sees me kick stones along the pavement and wondering why my bankroll has gone. You cannot deny the history of the place. As someone pointed out, as long as there is a steady queue of people at the door waiting to check in, there's no rush for CET to start total overhaul renovations to the place, whereas Monte Carlo will absolutely need it, given the planning for the arena and the new area in between the NY NY and the MC, simply because it wouldn't otherwise fit into what MGM are building.