One Bad Moment Ruins Positive Orleans Stay
Hotel Still Gets High Marks Overall
LAS VEGAS -- It's amazing how one bad moment in an otherwise excellent visit to a hotel can color your entire opinion.
My recent visit to the newly expanded and remodeled Orleans was almost entirely positive, but it ended on such a sour note that I want to do nothing but bash it. Of course that's not fair, so let's start with the good stuff.
The Orleans is primarily aimed at the local Las Vegas market but has built a good following among Vegas visitors for its excellent accommodations, relatively low prices and vast entertainment offerings. Since it is located about two miles west of New York-New York, it really isn't within walking distance -- or even within view -- when you're standing on the Strip, so it is often overlooked. That's too bad, because the hotel does have a lot to offer.
As you may have guessed from the name, New Orleans is the theme, with faux Bourbon Street detail work like wrought iron railings and plantation shutters. The decorators really didn't go for authenticity since most of it looks like a street scene at Disneyland, but if it is authenticity you looking for, go to Louisiana.
The owners recently expanded their already large, bright casino that lets in lots of natural light -- a rarity in Las Vegas, where they'd prefer you don't know what time it is. A very high ceiling adds to the overall feeling of spaciousness. Being a local-oriented place, video poker dominates much of the floor space, but there are all of the latest slots and table games, a small high-limit area, and plenty of room to stretch out. Surrounding the casino are a variety of restaurants, entertainment, lounges and bars.
A new wing has added hundreds of rooms, bringing the total to just over 1,400. The standard rooms are very large and quite lovely, with one king- or two queen-sized beds, a writing desk, a sitting area with a couch and chair, and an armoire with a TV equipped with pay-per-view movies, cable, and wireless Internet.
These are among the best-equipped rooms in town, with all of the extras you need and want including a hairdryer, iron and board, clock radio, and much more.
I have stayed in both the older and newer portions of the hotel, and they all fall into the top levels in terms of quality, cleanliness and comfort.
There are a lot of extras to the property, such as a 70-lane bowling alley (open 24 hours a day), an 18-screen movie theater complex with stadium seating and THX sound, a showroom, a large video arcade for the kids or really bored adults, a nice pool area, and a spa. If you're hungry, there are about a dozen restaurants, including a fantastic buffet and Sazio, a terrific Italian eatery from Gustav Mauler.
Price is often a very positive aspect here, also. We have gotten quotes for as low as $39 for one of the rooms described above, however normal rates hover around the $100 per night mark most of the time. The former is an amazing price for this much stuff on the premises, while the latter is still a pretty good deal in comparison to Strip prices.
So what was the bad thing that ruined my stay? Poor customer service.
Apparently, I pushed the wrong button on my TV and started one of those pay-per-view movies. Despite the fact that the records clearly showed that the movie was on for less than one minute, they demanded that I pay for it, and no amount of reasoning, pleading, or threatening would make them change their minds. After the amount of money I spent in their casino, you'd think writing off a $10 movie charge wouldn't be that big of a deal, but apparently it was.
All of which I probably could've gotten over if the people I dealt with weren't so brusque about the whole thing. No smiles, no apologies, no friendly "I understand, but ..." Instead I was brushed off as an annoyance, and it made me want to never go back to that hotel again.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't. For value, entertainment, and accommodations Orleans is top notch, so this is a hotel you should think about for your next trip to Vegas.
Just be careful with those TVs.
Click here for contact information, ratings, Web site, and more info on the Orleans.
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Rick Garman is the head writer for Vegas4Visitors
