Deciding between Monte Carlo and Golden Nugget

tg89

The girls and I are staying at the Venetian for our bachelorette night and for getting ready, but I'm not sure what hotel I want to switch over to after the wedding. The Monte Carlo has a room with a GIANT tub in the bedroom, which seems like a opportunity for lots of romantic fun. (Plus, I'm a sucker for great bathtubs). The Golden Nugget has the fantastic pool with the shark tank, which I feel like would be really awesome to swim near and lay out next to. I can't decide! Any experiences with either hotel?

KatCtoKatA

I think it really depends on what kind of experience you are looking for.  Golden Nugget is down on Fremont street, where the hotels tend to be smaller and older.  I stayed there a few years back, and it was fine. About the quality of a Holiday Inn in any major city.  I think going there from the Venetian is going to feel like a major downgrade.  Monte Carlo is a little south of the center of the strip, so if you're wanting to be in the thick of everything, I think you might be happier there.

vegasgroom

Golden Nugget Rush Tower rooms are much higher end than a Holiday Inn room as described in the previous post.  The rooms in their other towers are like a Super 8 garbage room.  The tower you choose plays a huge role.  The Spa tower is the two story luxury rooms, but they're still dated; although they do have a huge jacuzzi tub overlooking outside/pool.

Regarding the Golden Nugget pool, it is pretty nice.  However, there are different aspects of it.  At ground level, it feels like you're at any water amusement park around the country.  It's busy, kids are running everywhere, drinks are slow to show up, you worry about your stuff, etc.  There are vip areas around the edges of the ground floor that solve that problem, but reserving them is not cheap, and at least on the north side, you're up against glass walls that allow everyone walking around inside the casino to come stare at you.  The second and third floors are much better.  Second is a small level of just private cabana style suites.  Third is the Hideaway.  You can book one of about ten to fifteen private suites with curtains, safe, tv, fan, fridge and bottle service, or you can just reserve a chaise lounge or round party sofa.  There's another pool on that level you can hang out in.  Drink service for the non-suites is much quicker than down below.  You don't get priority access to the slide but at least you can come and go from the slide entrance as you please, so just watch for breaks in the line and jump in.

I tend to stay at GN a lot since I like to gamble a lot and they take very good care of me, but if I'm there with some friends and we're going to be doing more partying than gambling, I'd probably stay on the strip.

goin2vegas

Like another poster said, it really depends on the experience you are looking for. I personally would never stay on Fremont because I find it dirty and I just couldn't handle the atmosphere for much longer than a few hours. But that's just me. Lot's of people love it, including my future in-laws. It's just a different atmosphere down there.

Garnet113

I've stayed at The Monte Carlo a couple of times. It isn't flashy, but it's a nice hotel in a good spot on the strip and is usually a decent price. There's a tram that you can take from the hotel all the way down to Bellagio I think. I forget where it stops exactly, but it's really convenient. I'd personally stay there before Golden Nugget.