El Cortez Hotel and Casino — Attraction in Las Vegas

Tower, south view. Quick outline, more details will follow:

4 stars for the hotel just by itself (clean, room awesome, amazing staff, great amenities outside of wi-fi, restaurant ok). We asked that they not provide daily turn-down service and they didn't listen. I know some people like this, we absolutely do not like our room entered during a stay. DO NOT GO TO THE SPA THERE (see below). Terrible location if you're not into club music getting louder each night (Tuesday was fine, Wednesday also, but Thursday it got a bit louder and Friday night was 3 different clubs playing as loud as they could to the point our walls were rattling!!!)

Full disclosure - I read the reviews before we stayed and saw many that said obnoxiously loud outside. I'm thinking - I sleep with a sound machine, and I'll pick a room away from where they say it's too loud. Yeah, didn't work. If you want to sleep during your stay before 3 AM on weeknights and 4AM on the weekends, don't stay at this hotel. Multiple different base lines running so there's not even a method to the madness...

But seriously it was so clean in the room and the hallways and even the casino. Valet and bellhop services were top-notch! Front desk was awesome. Turn-down service (if you like that) was top-notch, and housekeeping staff was so nice!

The restaurant was ok. Food was delicious but service was lacking a bit. On Friday morning, we weren't greeted or given water for almost ten minutes and it wasn't even busy. Saturday we were not checked on after the initial, "how is everything" and had to go up to request our check, again, not even busy.

The spa. Oh... my... gosh... I've never had a worse experience at a spa. My sister and I decided the best thing for us to do after over 8 hours on the road would be to book a massage, get dinner, and crash. However, when we were checking in, they upsold us. We figured, "why not, we're splurging", their prices aren't unreasonable for the services provided and the location. We get to the room which has an open ceiling and obnoxiously bright lights beaming directly into your eyes when you're laying down. The ladies come in and at first it's nice, they're quiet and the music is calming. However, the loudest clock I've ever heard is ticking on the wall. Then, they start visiting with each other. No matter who you are, you can't tell me that people talking in another language and giggling doesn't make you feel self-conscious. We paid for 90 minute full body massage with hot stones, wherein the count down apparently began from the time we walked in until we checked out. We laid on our backs for an hour, got mostly shoulder and arm massage, barely any back work, and the hot stones were for less than 5 minutes! We also got to listen to someone on a phone call in the hallway most of our time there. The worst part (if you can believe it's not over yet) is that when checking out she's pointing to the tip sign. It has a scale of $15 if you're happy or for a 60 minute massage, $20 if you're really happy or for an hour or more. She then states, no, it's more than $20 if you had a 90 minute massage. I'm sorry.... tips are not required ANYWHERE, nor should you be bullying anyone into tipping more. We weren't satisfied, I don't care how long it was for (or wasn't for, in this case), therefore I will not be forced into tipping any amount more than what I feel was fair for the service (IMHO should have been $0 but my sister is generous). Do yourself a favor and find a...

I stayed at the El Cortez from June 4th -7th. I usually visit Vegas 3-4 times a year and when I visit I always stay at the Mandalay bay casino. On my previous Vegas trip I made my way down to Freemont street and really enjoyed the vibe down there. I happen to follow a youtuber who films gambling content at the El Cortez Casino and he is the main reason I wanted to visit The El Cortez. The vibe was real cool. A few days later at my house I received a letter with comps for some free rooms since I lost a few thousands over there. I called the casino VIP service and ask her how the casino rooms are and she told me they have been remodeled recently and are real nice, so I said that sound good lets reserve a room for a few days.

So here is my experience at the El Cortez. I checked in on a Wednesday. I was given the tower rooms. Once I got into my room, the room was ice cold, 63 degrees to be exact, I tried to heat up the room but it would not work so I turned off the A/C. and tried to put the heat on but that did not work, so I called the front desk to ask them to fix the issue. Nobody ever showed up . The next day I go to the front desk and let them know my displeasure with the room. I ask them to change my room. The next room they gave me the room was 82 degrees which is way to hot and the A/C did not work. I went back down to the front desk and let them know the issue. I then ask them to give me a different room, so they did. So now I am entering my 3rd room . I get to my room and the bed pillows and sheets had hair on them and looked dirty, at this point I am not happy. I went back to the front desk and told them the issue. The lady said she would send the maid to put new sheets. So I went back to the room and marked the pillow and sheets with a X mark on the corners of the sheets and pillow case. I then left to eat and do some gambling . 6 hours later I get back to my room and I noticed the maid leaving my room and I ask her if she was done with the room and she said yes. I get into the room and I immediately check my pillow and sheets. Well I am sure you can guess what I found . The X mark was still on the sheets and pillow case, which means nothing was cleaned or changed. The hairs were not there anymore which means they just brushed them off. A few hours go by and I went to the bathroom ,we noticed there was a poop smeared on the toilet cover which we did not see because the toilet seat cover was up and the only way to see it would be to have it closed. I went back down to the front desk again to tell them the issue. They really did not tried to accommodate me in any way. When I ask them if they could do anything to make up for all of the inconvenience I have experienced, the front desk worker said " well your not paying for the room, you booked the room with free comps. I was like WOW, that is not the point. I grabbed our things and we checked out. There was also issues with the valet releasing my rental car as well, but that's a whole another story.

I would not recommend the El Cortez Casino for any vacation overnight stay. There are so many other Vegas Casinos you can choose from.

The El Cortez Casino staff completely dropped the ball at my stay including there General Manager Adam Awiesberg I emailed Adam when I got back home from Vegas, No surprise Adam never returned my email.

I hope this helps anyone who is thinking of staying at the El...

Upon arrival, check-in went smoothly, and we were surprised to receive wristbands as our hotel room keys. While I didn’t mind the wristband, my son wasn’t a fan. Our room was lovely, and we came and went a few times throughout the day. Later, we went out for a belated birthday dinner and returned just before midnight, ready for a good night’s sleep and excited to explore the area the next day.||First, my son took a shower. Then, as I was in the shower, security showed up with a notice stating that the room sensor detected smoke, resulting in a non-negotiable $300 charge. We don’t smoke, vape, or use any THC products, so this was entirely unexpected. Shortly after, my daughter received a text alert showing her card had been charged for the fee. I quickly dressed and went to the front desk to resolve the issue, only to be told I’d need to speak to the manager in the morning.||Unable to sleep, I contacted Booking.com’s customer service to report our experience. They advised us to speak with the manager first, assuring that they would advocate for us if the matter was not resolved. The following day, we met with the manager, who wore a blue shirt and black-rimmed glasses (no name tag). He insisted the sensor technology was precise and claimed we “must have been smoking,” as it detects even the smallest amounts. We again explained that none of us smoke, yet he stood by the charge, saying it was non-negotiable.||We requested a detailed report, which he printed but was vague. It provided no Y-axis data or information about subsequent alerts after the initial one. When we mentioned that online reviews reported these sensors can pick up third-party smoke, he dismissed this, saying, “No, it can’t detect third-party smoke.” We asked if we’d be charged again if the sensors triggered during the rest of our stay; he confirmed, “Yes, you will be charged every time the sensor detects smoke.” Since the charge was already inaccurate, we decided to check out early.||Afterward, we contacted Booking.com and will continue following up with them. We also submitted a formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau, stating the facts. The hotel responded by claiming they had video of us returning to our room, shortly after which the sensor supposedly detected smoke. But to us, that only proves our return time, not any evidence of smoking. Additionally, no one actually inspected our room upon delivering the notice, leaving us with no clear answers.||We’re convinced that, if anything, the sensor picked up third-party smoke or even steam from the shower, given there’s only a shower door for privacy without a full separation from the sleeping area. At this point, it’s not about the $300; it’s about how many guests may be wrongly charged. When we initially tried to resolve the issue, there was another guest ahead of us dealing with the same smoking notice, and on the shuttle to the airport (October 8th, 12 pm), a couple from Texas shared they’d been charged too, though they managed a partial refund due to their membership status. It seems the hotel has a recurring problem with these charges, potentially affecting many guests. ||We do not recommend staying here while they have faulty smoking sensors when non-smokers are wrongly accused and charged for smoking...