I used to love the Luxor when I was a kid. I was always fascinated with the pyramid, I mean how many modern buildings are pyramids? Indeed, it still is a modern example of engineering and unique architecture, and stepping into the atrium is always awe inspiring.

However, tough times have fallen on my beloved hotel. Luxor is one of the budget friendly options within the MGM Resorts conglomerate, along with Excalibur. We chose to stay here on a whim, since it was going to be comped with a generous resort credit. One thing that makes staying with an MGM property easy is being able to check-in using the mobile app. Our room was ready well before we arrived, and all we had to do was get keys. The registration line was long on a late Friday evening, so do the mobile if you can.

Our comped room was a tower one bedroom suite. I usually like staying in the pyramid because of the views from the hallways and taking the inclinators (now called just regular elevators). We were put in the Silver, or East Tower. Its quite a maze to get to the elevators, down so narrow and dark halls. The elevator bank was terrible, two of the 8 elevators were not working, and those that did was a roulette wheel on whether or not the hotel key card scanner would work. Every time we got on, there was an issue getting to our floor because the scanner wouldn't work. You will go up and down like some sort of escape room trying to get to your room, and everyone else we meet complained about the same thing. With 2 elevators not working, and the rest of them a roll of the dice, evenings had the elevator packed. If you are on floor 5 or less, its probably better that you take the stairs.

The room itself was impressive upon first entering. The ceilings were very tall, giving a sense of airiness. The furnishings were dated and worn, but the overall flow of the room was weird, with empty unused spaces. The bedroom doesn't have a side table on one side, but instead a desk. There were no easily accessible outlets on either side of the bed to charge our phones, no USB connectors either. The bathroom was large, but again lacking. There is no door from the bathroom to the room, but there is a door to the water closet. There is plenty of counter space, but again, everything was dated. Worse, the shower pan was smooth and slippery, my wife slipped on it when entering. The shower surround also leaked profusely on the slick marble flooring. IF YOU STAY HERE BE CAREFUL OF SLIPPING IN AND OUT OF THE SHOWER. In addition, they switched over to bulk toiletries with no separate conditioner. They also didn't give us any face towels/wash towels, only bath, floor, and hand towels.

The mattress is a standard spring type, on the softer side probably because its so old. There were adequate pillows which held their shape nicely, of the alternative down type. In the afternoon, the room became unbearably hot. Our room faced the West, and even with the AC cranked all the way down, it was easily 80 degrees inside our room; it didn't cool off until several hours after sunset. Ask for a room the doesn't face the West, either in the tower or pyramid, the dark glass makes the room an oven during the warm months.

The rest of the hotel is very pedestrian. The removal of ancient Egypt theming really doesn't give this hotel any heart or soul. The casino has low ceilings, is strongly scented of cigarettes, and just doesn't have a good vibe. Excalibur and Mandalay Bay are short 10 minute walks inside connected corridors, and have a much better atmosphere. The food court has several underwhelming and expensive places; I opted for the Backstage Deli instead which was OK, nothing good or bad about it.

Bottom line, if its your first trip to Vegas, pick a hotel towards the center of the Strip (Like Planet Hollywood or Linq). Luxor is a decent walk to New York New York, MGM, and Park MGM/T Mobile Arena. Its a cheap option if you are in town for a game at Allegiant, its one of the closest mega resorts that you can walk from (but its still a 20+ minute walk).