Hilton Grand Vacations Club Flamingo Las Vegas — Hotel in Paradise

We hit up Vegas at least once a year and every time we stay at a different hotel on the Strip. HGV Flamingo had a good rate, though so did Waldorf-Astoria. While obviously the WA was more expensive, it was a solid rate. I ultimately went with HGV since we could have a larger room for less cost.

Fast-forward to two weeks prior to our stay when I receive an email from the hotel asking me to confirm my reservation, and oh by the way, there's also a charge for daily housekeeping, how many days would you like? I didn't see this mentioned as part of the reservation process as I totally would have made the switch to Waldorf-Astoria given this $45 charge. I then went out to the hotel's website to see if they are mentioning this somewhere and I just missed it. But no, it was nowhere to be found.

I called the hotel and talked to Fontaine at the front desk. She was not at all helpful when I explained that the charge wasn't mentioned as part of the reservation or mentioned on the website. Her response was to read me the new Nevada law. The law doesn't say that the hotel has to charge for it, it says they have to provide the service. She was frustrated that I didn't just accept this hidden fee without questions and punted me to the Front Desk Manager, Will.

I spoke to Will and explained my concerns again to him and again there was no defense to the fact that this fee isn't mentioned anywhere on the website. Not unlike Fontaine, he launched into the law, blaming that for the fee. But I pointed out that I stayed at the Cosmopolitan last year and received daily housekeeping for free and had I known about this fee, I would have made a different reservation. He relented and promised one day of housekeeping at no cost.

I should not have had to put forth this level of effort, and am disappointed that there was no concern on the part of the staff about this bait-and-switch. Instead of looking forward to the stay, I was expecting a battle again when we checked in, expecting other random fees (a Swiffer fee, perhaps?). Thankfully that was not the case. Fontaine was much more pleasant this time around and provided the necessary information and got us checked in well before check-in time since we had arrived pretty early in the day.

We stayed in a one-bedroom unit, Room 200, which Fontaine indicated overlooked the pool. While technically true, all you can see are the trees, not the pool. Not a big deal, but truth in advertising is important. The room was very clean and nicely appointed. The soaking tub was definitely put to use after our long days of hiking and hitting the Strip, and the plentiful drawers and closet space were perfect for us to have enough room for all of our stuff. In the kitchen we really only used the fridge and the counter, but again, appreciated having the space.

I loved the smell of the hotel, it really made me feel as though it was fresh and clean and was a welcome respite after the often noxious smells you encounter on the Strip each day! The pool area is fairly spacious, though it seemed silly to cordon off the outdoor hot tub when people in the larger pool were doing anything but socially-distancing. The location of the hotel was good as well, being right behind the Flamingo made it easy to get to where we needed to go with a much quieter vibe.

There's a lot to love about HGV Flamingo, I just wish the housekeeping fee was handled in a more upfront and...

Who in their right mind wants to stay at a so-called resort, pay a resort fee, and then find out there’s no on-site restaurant and no coffee station or clean pools!!! We had expected a 15-acre pool resort area, instead found an inaccessible pool surrounded by a construction site. Why pay for a resort? It is our understanding that this construction project has been ongoing for the last seven months. I had called several times to the Hilton reservation desk do talk with representatives that had no idea that the resort area was under construction. My last phone call days before our departure connected me with the Hotel who assured me on pool and resort availability during our stay.

On entry, you walk into an uninviting lobby with a sticky floor. My wife said it was like someone had mopped it with dirty water.

The check-in process was smooth, even though we could not understand the check-in receptionist who could not speak in clear English and was asked to repeat the conversation several times.

Upon completing our check-in we were immediately accosted by the Hotel greeting team of a Hilton Hotel lead and a Concierge, how completely disappointing. Why have a Concierge that lacks customer listening skills and has only one thing in mind, “The selling of Hilton Grand Vacations”. Your staff was of no help to us in providing us the basic needed information for a first-time visitor. We stayed our distance and avoided contact with this Hotel staff during our stay.

The elevator? Interesting, security feature that requires you to unlock the elevator with your room key, which required the front desk to check and reprogram our keys. The elevators are old, with crust around the buttons that have definitely seen better days. All of the locks requiring this access were found difficult to use, had our keys checked by the front desk several times.

The room was clean, the bed was uncomfortable. My wife in using the bath tub nearly fell, the tub bottom was smooth and slick, there are no support or grab bars to provide accessibility. The bathroom vent did not work. The microwave oven looked new but made a considerable amount of noise when we tried to use it, ended up not using the microwave and reported it as a service item to the front desk. The small college refrigerator provided no refrigeration for items that we placed in the refrigerator.

Car self-parking is not at the property; you have to walk for the parking. No instruction is provided on how to enter or exit the parking garage and the garage speaker attendant is difficult to talk to and understand.

The total experience was not what I would have expected from a Hilton Hotel resort, I would not recommend this overpriced hotel to anyone. The property lack of basic amenities and the tired condition of the property overall make this a no...

First, you need to know this is not the usual noisy, flashy, smoky, crazy colorful sort of hotel like many of the properties on or near the Las Vegas Strip. In fact, it is apparently poised as a Hilton time share vacation hotel as well as a regular Hilton hotel, which explains why there is no bar, no restaurant, no entertainment, and some other nos. But don't be discouraged! Some of the nos are wonderful! No smoking on the property is great for families, sensitive people, etc. No loud noises during nighttime quiet hours means you can sleep the night through. A warning about no excess glitter means you won't be scraping it off your face or shoes when you get home (I know, an excess glitter warning- but hey, think about the costumes and wildwear some folks enjoy on a Vegas vacation). What are the yes things? Yes, they've got suites with real kitchens! Dishwasher, coffee maker, convection microwave, stovetop, pots and pans, dishes! An apartment sized washer-dryer! A sofa and big screen tv in the living room! Another tv in the bedroom! Soaker tub, separate toilet and shower area, two vanities, closet space, and more. It's really nifty to have all that now because gone are the cheap buffets, and restaurants have extremely limited dine-in hours, and all the food is terribly expensive. We loved grabbing a little something from the on-site convenience store and microwaving it. We enjoyed having coffee in the room every morning. We walked or took a cab to grab other foods or wine and brought it back to the room. It was so nice! Plenty of towels, maid service on request, and a very good stay. The caveat? Yup, there is one. Every day from about 8 or 9 a.m. until 5 or 6 p.m. you will hear the boom-boom bass beat from rock concert loud music blasting from the Flamingo Hotel pool complex, which is across the courtyard. You may not be able to take a nap with all that racket, but at least it stopped by 6 p.m. every day. (The front desk has ear plugs if you want them.) We were warned about this upon check-in and we decided we could deal with it because nighttime was so much quieter than staying at one of the flashy hotels where you're hearing boozed out partiers hollering in the hallways at 3 a.m. So yes, it may cost a little more, but we felt it was worth it. They do have a small pool and hot tub area and you can use the Flamingo Hotel complex also. And note, this hotel is very convenient to all the attractions, shops, etc. The only downer we had was an issue with the front desk at check-out where we couldn't get our final bill. However, a quick phone call to the national Hilton reservation line quickly solved the issue. All in all, a...