My girlfriend is going to Las Vegas in May, courtesy of her sister's job. Sister did not want to go alone, so they said - bring a family member. So my friend is getting free airfare, and free hotel stay - at the Tropicana.

Any advice on what to avoid or enjoy at the Trop? Rooms, restaurants, etc?

Also, friend loves interesting food but has a very tight budget. She will have lunchtime on her own. What would you suggest (no car, just public transport)

I am as jealous as can be, but happy for her, of course. :rolleyes:

I used to stay at the Trop alot but that was many years ago.

The pool is/was beautiful.

Three basic room choices are Paradise (front) tower, Island (rear) tower and Garden rooms.

Garden rooms are the oldest, 2-story motel type wrapped around the pool.

Paradise Tower is te older tower and most convenient to the casino, strip, and valet/check-in.

Island Tower is the newest but that's sort of a relative thing since it's probably 20+/- years old.

I always stayed in the Island Tower for it's convenience to the back parking lot and pool.

I haven't heard of any major upgrades in this property for ever, just rumors of being torn down.

I've stayed in all 3 options. I suggest the Paradise Tower for it's convenience. The Garden Rooms aren't locked up very tight at night. Lot's of lost strangers walking the aisles, especially in extreme weather. Ditto for the lower public level of the Island Tower.

Interesting food on a very tight budget? The Trop has none. The first thing that comes to mind is the Burger Bar in the Mandalay Place mall. If she doesn't mind a burger, the choices are endless in picking type of bun, meat, types and numbers of toppings. Prices can be very cheap to very expensive. It's easy to kill time just pondering the interesting options. If she isn't into burgers, their sweet burgers might make a good treat. How about a warm doughnut with chocolate ganache, passion fruit, strawberry, and mint for $3.95?

If she is somewhat a Vegas newbie, the Luxor buffet might give her the buffet experience with a decent variety at lunch. Heck, there are lots of buffets. Somehow the Luxor one would be my guess for a bang for the buck deal at lunch.

You like the Todai at the Miracle Mile. Do they have an interesting lunch? In the PHo, Planet Dalies is not cheap at all, but if they have a lunch special, it might be interesting. And if they serve the warm brownie sundae at lunch time, it is interesting. There is an Earl of Sandwich in there too that I have heard good things about and looked interesting as far as a sub sandwich type of meal goes.

You know how the Coast Casinos and Stations (and oters) often have those seafood bars with the quick steamer/boiler pots? Their food is usually good and they often have lunch specials. It won't compare to a northeast crab boil though. There is a place like that in the SouthPoint. I kinda like the one at the Gold Coast best for that type of meal.

There's a fine pub and grub called Stiener's on the Strip near Warm Springs. Maybe not worth a cab/bus ride, but would be a good place to stop on the way back from SouthPoint, Silverton, ot Outlet Mall.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head for lunch near the Trop.

or walk across the street to mgm-so many places to eat it will take most of the day to decide.my pick-nathans hotdogs,not interesting but certainly good.just happend to think there are usualy coupons in the whats on mag in the rooms.

I've also stayed in all 3 types of rooms at the trop. But have given the place up, after a bad bug problem in one of thier courtyard rooms. Ants, millions of them. I left the property, and never went back.
I've also had a few of the Trops suites. I'm sure they are all worn pretty hard, but at the time, they where/seemed really nice. I'm sure they are all worn out and dated by todays standards.
Cheap food for lunch...doesn't NY NY have a by the slice pizza place??? I seem to recall it being rather tasty! Fatburger is just a short walk on the other side of MGM. Hooters is to the rear of the Trop....what about them ribs, if they are still offered or the prime rib???

My friend Charlie stayed in one of the garden rooms at the Trop a few years ago. It reminded me of an old motel. It was okay but kind of dark and drab. And a tad noisy from the people at the pool. I would think a room in one of the Towers would be better.

Interesting food on a budget, huh? Hmmmm...... NYNY has a nice food court with a lot of different choices - their pizza is pretty good. I also like the Mexican place. There's also Nine Fine Irishmen which is an authentic Irish pub - she might find some good deals at lunch time. Chin Chin has decent Chinese food and might have cheaper lunch prices. Same for Il Forneo's Italian food.

Other ideas - Dick's Last Resort at Excalibur (I haven't eaten there but it looks interesting), Diablo's (Mexican) at Monte Carlo, Witchcraft at MGM Grand ("Gourmet" sandwiches).

Thanks everyone. I will do everything in my power to steer them away from a Garden room, even if it means tipping the desk clerk - especially since its 2 females travelling alone - one not travel savvy at all, the other pretty experienced. By why look for trouble in a darker, unsecured area?

Yes I like the NYNY pizza too. So, the "Greenwich village" food court is still pretty much intact, with the changes going on there?

I also saw the same bug problem at the Trop the last time we were there which is about 8 years ago. Given the room is free you are probably stuck with the Garden room. I would check on how much to upgrade. the Island tower rooms were decent but again it was awhile ago.

I endorse the idea of the pizza at NYNY.

Eric

If security is a major issue, I'd probably ask for teh front tower. The elevators are pretty much right in the casino. It's a pretty good hike back to the Paradise Tower and not as many people late at night.

I just learned that the sister is attending a seminar right at the trop. Any idea where their meeting rooms are, compared to the towers?

years ago when Bippy's caricature convention was at Circus Circus, we stayed in the back tower. Not convenient for getting out to the strip or main casino, but very convenient for the convention - just an elevator ride straight down to the conference area.

Meeting rooms are back by the Paradise Tower

I have no idea what kind of shape NYNY is going to be in with all the construction going on. But I'll be there in 2 weeks and will give you a full report!

Oh Dear! Look what I just found:

BED ALERT! Tropicana employees on the lookout for bedbugs. By Michael Mishak/Las Vegas Sun.

The owners of the embattled Tropicana hotel have placed a bounty on bedbugs, offering housekeepers $25 a pop for each one brought in alive.

The offer was posted in the hotel’s housekeeping offices, raising eyebrows among workers wondering whether they should pull out magnifying glasses while changing sheets.

“Don’t forget to check for bedbugs!” one flier exclaims in English and Spanish. “Check every room — every day.” The posting features enlarged images of the minuscule bloodsucking menaces.


More here:

http://lasvegassun.com/news/2008/apr/04/bed-alert/

Yes, Mike - I saw that too.

but when you read the article, it indicated that the Tropicana was attempting to be pro-active; not that they had any more infestations than any other hotel around.

(and also mentioned its pretty darn hard to catch a live bedbug, so most likely not too many housekeepers are gonna bring home the extra bucks)

No matter where I stay, I always pull back the sheets and look at the mattress, along the top seam - look for tell tale brownish stains. Don't put anything on the bed or carpet until I do that.

Gosh - I NEVER do that! And I stay in A LOT of hotels with my job! Yikes!

Thanks for the tip, Kes!

Well, we're never completely safe. I don't pull off the entire sheet - so I suppose if the critters have taken up residence by the feet I'm gonna be in trouble. And I don't pull the bedspread off and get rid of it, either.

I recently read of a woman travelling alone who always chooses to sleep on the side of the bed away from the phone. She rationalizes that the spot next to the phone is the most slept on area, and more likely to have - whatever.

And now I'm really getting off topic.

Thanks for the Tropicana advice!

The owners of the Trop filed bankruptcy today. I wouldn't expect them to invest much in soap and water or anything else to enhance customer satisfaction anytime soon.

I heard that too. Don't think I'mm going to mention it to Cindy; she will worry!

Kes. I hope the weather is good when you get here. It seems that for the last couple of months, the 3 day outlook has a storm coming in, but the end of the 7 day forecast looks good. But as those good days approach, another storm comes through that ruins that forecast. Still, the 5th-7th day look good until they come into range. And another storm comes. The 5-7th day has looked good for a long time. It'a always a week away.

Usually the "storm" is just winds, cooler temps, and maybe snow on the mountains. By the time it gets near the Gulf Of Mexico, then it becomes a real storm.

I stayed at Wynn again last night. Lots of wind, nasty clouds, and no moths. Good news? The 7 day forecast looks good.

Thanks JMT. It would never occur to me to pack an umbrella for a May trip. Is that a bad assumption?
I've seen rain in Vegas in November, December and March. Didn't expect to see it in May.
The only wind issue for me is I do want to see those moths - and the B fountain shows!
but - once again, your low is our high as far as temperature goes. And I hear they have climate control inside the casinos :-)

This also reminds me. My friends arrive on Southwest Saturday evening, - something like 7:20 pm from Buffalo. What side of the plane should they sit on if they want to see the Strip on their approach? My flights its always been the right side of the plane (from your point of view sitting in the aircraft, not entering)

Planes like to take off and land into the wind. Somewhat of a headwind is better than any kind of tailwind. More often than not, the wind comes from the west or southwest. So sitting on the right side of the plane is the best odds of seeing the strip on a flight from the east. If you know in advance that the winds will definately be from the east, blowing west, the left side would be the better choice.

Thanks - I think I almost followed that!

And what about my umbrella assumption (or any other locals can chime in on that also!)

Kestral,as a former Air Traffic Controller Instructor and one who also arrives from the east it more than likely won't matter much. You'll see the lights from either side.
Without getting technical and for way too many reasons I care to not try and explain, if I absolutely had to make a choice I would lean towards the left side of the plane.

Sorry, I didn't understand the umbrella part. Our storms are wind and clouds. Not really umbrella factors. You might want it for the sun if the forecast is true this time. Always the optimist, I'm hoping the forecast is correct this time.

Here's an experiment you can play and use Bippy for a technical advisor if you like. Get your Vegas map and locate what you want to see and locate the airport. Make sure your airport diagram shows the runways or transpose them to the map using a Google satellite view or something like that. In most Las Vegas approaches I have been in, the planes are lined up with the runway about 7-10 miles out. So you can draw little extension lines out from the ends of the runways about 7 miles. Locate North, South, East, and West. Get a little airplane or something to represent your plane. Have the plane follow the approach lines you drew and look at what you would see if you were on the left or right side. Notice there are two north/south and two east/west runways, and view doesn't change within those pairs. I think that the parallels are seperated by 1000 feet.

Most of the airliners use the east/west runways, which are the ones parallel to Sunset Rd. In busy situations, they can use the other pair of runways that run north/south.

Fly your little airplane on the various approaches looking out both sides. Now factor in that the wind is "usually" out of the west and have the plane fly into the wind.

Taking off is another story. They will take off into the wind. Once they are in the air, it's up to Oneboaters students to find creative ways to get everybody headed in the right direction. They may maintain runway heading for 10 miles or they may turn very soon after takeoff.

I hope this helps.

Kes,

I vote for the right side of the plane, normally a "F" seat. 9 times out of 10 the approach is as JMT said and you'll see downtown first, off in the distance. As you get closer to landing, you'll see more and more of the strip. Same thing on departure. Most often the plane will take off and fly West for a mile or so then make a bug U-turn to the right giving you a great view of the strip.

When Chris said left side, I wondered. But gotta also be clear about perspective.

When I say "right side of the plane" I am thinking what side of the plane Im on when seated, facing the front. I think just about every single flight I've been on, I've sat on the right (facing the front of the plane) and seen the Strip.

I'm expecting a nice view flying in at 1 am Saturday night/Sunday morning - its been years since I've arrived after dark!