A rule I try to follow is: Don’t check Slack or social media in the middle of the night. I have a kid, a cat, and a fortysomething bladder, which means I’m often up at least once. There’s always the glowing temptation of the phone, beckoning me to see what’s going on with the world.
For whatever reason, I decided to pick up the phone around 1:40 AM to discover that David had booked our room for SEMA in Las Vegas. In general, I try to avoid David booking our hotels for… reasons. He does not always have the same expectations out of life that I do; let’s just say that.
On the other hand, we are trying to be extra thrifty these days, so when David offered to get the hotel, I just went with it.
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I used to be a Vegas regular in the early 2000s and back then Ellis Island had one of the best steak dinner deals in town, and their cocktail waitresses gave famously strong pours at the slot machines. That may have been how my friends and I ended up in a bar with karaoke there. I will never forget my friend’s death metal rendition of “Millions of Peaches.”
My last business trip to Vegas a number of years ago (2019?) involved a stay at the Flamingo. Despite having been a “non-smoking” room for years it still reeked of tobacco and there was blood on the wall in the bathroom. Man, I hate Vegas with all my soul. And don’t get me started on mandatory resort fees for “amenities” I don’t have time to use. If it can’t be declined and it isn’t negotiable it should be rolled into the room rate.
Meh, I’ve stayed at worse. The funny thing about Vegas is a lot of the themed hotels are over 20 years old now, better to stay in the newest Holiday Inn Express or what not to save on unexpected surprises.
Sure it is three hours away yet…. https://www.theclownmotelusa.com/
I’m not saying that arson should ever be condoned, but…
I’ve had the misfortune of staying in this place
I can’t quit lololing at Torch’s only contribution to the conversation, a 6:17am “Hell Yeah!” in regards to unrestricted porn channels.
I’ve been travelling for a living for 30 years now. And for much of it, to some pretty God-Forsaken places. The most amusing being one town in SD where there was not even a motel for over an hour, so I had to stay in the client I was working for’s spare bedroom. Nice people, if very much Bible-thumpers. No, I do NOT have a *personal* relationship with JaySUS.
This doesn’t look THAT bad, I have stayed in much worse.
Though I would love to meet who thought “Ellis Island” was a good name for a hotel and casino. Odd, that one.
It’s good all of you
carsguys are still in the early part of middle age. I don’t think I could deal with all the planning/discussion/debate, let alone the travel/slogging/experience itself.PS: I typed cars w/o thinking and didn’t notice till I reread what I’d typed. See? I told you I’m old.
PPS: Per my email to the relevant parties, I’m too sick (some hacking and chudding) to come to the Galpin show today. I’m sorry to miss it, but not sorry to have not washed my car. Hope you all have a great time and see lots of interesting stuff. 🙂
The only place I ever checked out of early was a decade ago in Portland, OR. I was there for a 4-day work project. Multi-million dollar company but I was always hounded to keep my room budget under $100/night. It was a national chain (Days Inn?) so I figured it couldn’t be that bad. Lobby was really shabby and deep dirty, with only surface cleaning for a long time; elevator had fake ostrich hide walls and handrails; bedding had cigarette burns; obvious junkies in the parking lot. Stayed the first night because we got in late but at breakfast the next morning my very tolerant colleague and I decided we had to move.
Summer 2024 I worked a seasonal job for the state of UT. Not much budget and very low pay, but I got to drive a 2-door JL Rubicon to record/document many of the most remote “roads” in the state. Pretty much every other week I’d pick up the vehicle from SLC on Monday morning and head out to some far-flung area for recording; camping most nights, usually at least an hour or two from a town with a motel/hotel and also heart of tourist season/prices. If the weather got bad (heat or monsoons) we could get approval to find a room for a night. However, the tight budget also usually meant the cheapest (or only) place in a very rural small town (Hanksville, Bicknell, Blanding, Monticello, etc.). Usually the staff was friendly, but sometimes not so much. I saw and hear just how hard it was for these places to get staff, for cleaning, front desk, maintenance, anything. If they can, many people in these small towns commute an hour or more to bigger tourist areas where they can make a lot more money (Moab, Kanab, St George). That shower, cheap mattress, and solid roof were always a big morale booster but I had to learn to step down my expectations. Most were also a one-night stop and motivator to get back into my tent.
Has a pretty good stout in their former brewery (it moved somewhere north, but the beer still gets poured).
Some local recommended the restaurant. Eh. Not too expensive. The whole city is so much more expensive now. Instead of a symbiotic relationship of cheap food and rooms so people will gamble the savings away, it is instead a bunch of silo businesses: every business unit must make its own profit. Even the “rewards” are chintzy unless you lose a lot. And they know who loses what with those cards.
Last time I was there, I stayed at Tuscany. Nice, just down the street from Ellis Island on Flamingo. Walked down to the Horseshoe and won my hotel room expenses playing poker.
January 2024. Our birding/camping adventure WI to New Mexico. The entire country was 30 degrees colder than normal. Expedition tent on top of SUV got exactly 0 use. We stayed in some cheap shit motels and they were all the stuff nightmares are made of, like sleep on top of the covers using our own sheets etc nasty. NFA. Never fucking again. PS. Got to las Cruses NM, went to a “birding” hot spot along the Rio Grande. Gray, miserably cold and windy and there was no water in the river bed therefore no birds. We found the ranger who told us they turned the river off. WTAF? Spouse kept saying it’s an adventure. I suggested it was a complete cluster f-ck. Returned home to -13 and a broken furnace. Made a pact with a certain god to never stay in a cheap shit hotel ever again.
I woukd assume the furniture came from the same place any sketchy motel gets their new furniture for renovations- from a better hotel auctioning off its old furniture before its own renovation or demolition
Can confirm. I was surprised how much my hotel got for its 7-year-old furniture when we renovated.
Ellis Island? It’s a bit of a dump on Koval (plus weird vibes about my grandparents who came through its namesake in the 1890s) but you could do worse, and it’s at least conveniently located. There’s some really scary shit off strip. I lived in Vegas for 23 years until I escaped in 2012; we still go down there several times a year to see friends and etc but since the pandemic anything actually on the strip has gotten stupid expensive (Vdara is wonderful and no gaming but good luck with prices). Next time (if there is one) try Tuscany Suites around the corner on E Flamingo – they also haven’t redecorated since 1975 but decent prices and nice rooms and good bars/restaurants.
RE the Strat. Oh, god no. There’s a picture in the dictionary under “shithole”. I’d rather stay in a no-tell motel in Boulder City and eat the drive time…
The grandstand roof plays videos that oddly face away from the Strip. Don’t know who it’s aimed at, as there are no tall hotels on that side. Landing planes I guess?
I think the Strat takes the cake among “hotels” meaning not including every shithole motel off-off strip. The room had literal head indents in the headboard vinyl, cracked, shiny and discolored. My room stay smelled like vomit (not hard to imagine now, it’s Vegas) and the hallways looked like room-by-the-hour kind. (As least what I imagine, they looks like okkk?)
The room was $29 + resort fees etc, so I cut my losses and found a decent deal elsewhere.
I stayed at the Strat once, got it on Hotwire and was immediately disappointed. The stay wasn’t so bad. I think my expectations were so low that it couldn’t do anything but surprise me.
Crappy hotels/motels/hostels/park benches make for good stories later in life.
In about 2001-2, the wife and I had a layover in Sukhothai, Thailand. The first lodging place we came across was the T.R. Guest House. I ponied up for the best room in the joint. It cost $7. Upon checking in, the front desk clerk gave us one of those green mosquito coils to burn. The bathroom was sort of outside on a enclosed patio. Our flight the next day was several hours after our check out time and I asked the front desk guy if we could stay a couple of extra hours. He said it’d cost half a night’s rate – about $3.50 and I for some reason thought that was unreasonable so we dragged our shit to the near by wet market, ate pad thai, and watched local soap operas until it was time to go to the airport.
The restaurant is also known for cheap
prime rib.
Fun fact – if you could afford a 2nd class ticket or higher you didn’t have to visit Ellis Island when immigrating to the USA.
Also, shipping companies were required to provide free return sailings for anyone rejected for entry, which is why some of them operated their own Ellis Island-type facilities in Europe to prescreen everyone and make sure their paperwork was in order before sailing
The Global Entry of its day
Money has always eased the way.
True then. True now. True forever.
Another thing this place has in common with its namesake.
Did you check the Rio? I’ve stayed there and it’s…fine. Certainly nicer than this hotel, though probably also a bit more expensive. The room did have a window in the shower that looked out into the room which I found odd.
Also it appears there’s currently a Star Wars themed burlesque show at the Rio called “The Empire Strips Back” which is intriguing. Does George Lucas make money every time that runs?
I’ve stayed in several high end hotels in Asia where the entire walls for the bathroom are floor to ceiling glass. Just a piece of glass between the tub / shower and the bed. A direct view to the toilet as well. For some reason they did have a door – but it was glass as well.
A bit odd for my Midwestern upbringing
Those bathrooms are somewhat popular among Asian hotels. It’s extremely awkward if you’re staying in the hotel with your parents or kids, so always check out the bathroom pics before booking if so.
Recently I stayed at a 5 star hotel in a very desirable part of Shanghai. Extremely reasonable rate, great breakfast buffet, would generally recommend. However, the bathroom is accessed via a pocket door and the door and frosted glass looked into the bathroom do not quite line up, so no matter what you will get a gap. I was staying alone so it was okay, but man that was weird.
I’ve had those type of pocket doors as well – but in the USA and Mexico.
My wife and I don’t have kids and when we travel with others we get our own room so we make things work but having the toilet visible to the whole room is still very odd
No, but I bet Disney does. Which is definitely funnier.
At least it was by the night, not by the hour.
Welcome to Ellis Island. Name?
Matt Hardigree.
That’s too hard. You’re Matt Hardy. Next?
David Tracy.
Dave Trace. Next?
Jason Torchinsky.
Jesus Christ! Are you kidding me?
Are you going to call me Jesus Christ?
No, Jay Torch. Don’t be a wise guy. Next?
Mercedes Streeter. I will punch you in the throat.
Welcome Ms. Streeter. Here’s $50,000 and a badge. Keep an eye on your friends, OK? Next?
Adrian Clarke.
What? Do you speak English?
Adrian Clarke, you knob!
Whoa! Calm down, Andy Clarkson. Next?
Oh come on! There wasn’t even crime scene tape in any of the pictures! You guys have gone all snooty on us!
AVANT GARDE Issue 9 votes no.
I’d never stay in a motel where the beds aren’t made and the sheets are yellow.
So still warm is a definite pass?
Especially in Vegas.
The reviews of Ellis Island Hotel are surprisingly unterrible. However, I imagine the clientele of a $60/night off strip Vegas casino & hotel are not exactly a discerning bunch. I’m not sure the reviews could be positive enough for me to consider staying there. I am a bit of a hotel snob, though.
To me it depends on who is paying. Vegas just recently started realizing they were overpriced and under visited.
If you’re going at an off peak time you can get nice hotels for $60/night though. So it’s not just the cost that’s the flag. The location is a bit, and if it’s the cheapest of all for the needed dates that is for sure.
OK, it doesn’t look luxurious, but in general a hotel is just a place to sleep. The problem I have with reviews is that, a. Nobody writes a review unless they have strong feelings, so their stay was either horrible or excellent, and b. other people have different expectations than I do. This is “The cheapest hotel in Vegas”, so it shouldn’t be evaluated the same way as a penthouse at the Wynn (does that still exist? Haven’t been to Vegas since ’05). For me, is it clean and comfortable? Is it safe? If it meets those criteria, it’s good enough to sleep at for a night or two.
I think the Wynn was torn down and they are building a new hotel
The Wynn is very much still there:
https://www.wynnlasvegas.com/?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=10317733812&gbraid=0AAAAACv2PD9Gd60wbF0VpGo5_ikSyveAT&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpNK_j8TjkAMVRUdHAR29QAbMEAAYASAAEgKVX_D_BwE
Tropicana was torn down for the new A’s baseball stadium
You would be surprised at the number of people who routinely review even the most mundane experiences. “Gas was reasonably priced. Free air. But a meager selection of energy drinks, and no hot dogs on little roller thingies. I got a diet coke and protein bar instead. 3/5 stars.” Review accompanied by 17 photos.