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3 Historic Las Vegas Hotel Rooms – One Serving Since 1906!


Key Points:

  • Very few structures successfully avoid the wrecking ball in Las Vegas, a city that’s in a constant state of reinvention.

  • Three exceptions include Binion’s, El Cortez, and Golden Gate (open since 1906!).

  • The rooms are often no-frills, quirky, and/or not up to today’s standards, which makes them fun!

Las Vegas has a penchant for wiping the slate clean and demolishing resorts to make way for “bigger and better”.

While European buildings often enjoy a lifespan of centuries, Vegas resorts seem to reach “end of life” status after mere decades and are discarded for something newer and shinier.

As a history dweeb, I figured it’d be fun to point out 3 historic Las Vegas hotel rooms that celebrate their rich history that are still reservable.

I’ve stayed at them all and will give you a look inside each – As you’ll see, they often have some unique quirks… but that’s what makes them so much fun.

Binion’s Hotel Apache

Binion’s Hotel Apache opened in 1932, and according to the website, was the first Vegas resort to offer A/C in the hotel lobby, an air-curtained hotel entrance, an electric elevator, and carpet the entirety of the gaming floor.  

A few notable celebs like Lucille Ball, Humphrey Bogart, and Clark Gable even stayed there back in the day.  

Exterior of Binion's during the day.

Over the years, Binion’s expanded its footprint, absorbing neighboring casinos and you can still see the exterior petrified wood facade of one of those casinos, The Mint, on the staircase leading up to Whiskey Licker Up along with the base of the lost resort’s sign.  

Petrified wood exterior that is a holdover from The Mint
The Mint’s petrified wood wall and remnants of its vertical neon sign.

The casino still has a “grimy” old-school vibe and was dealing $5 6:5 blackjack and $10 craps & roulette during the day when I recently stayed. Pretty affordable.  

One of my favorite things about Binion’s is the array of cheap, yet solid, dining options available, many of which offer a 10% discount for All Access loyalty club members, ranging from Binion’s Deli, which specializes in cheap burgers, sandwiches, and breakfast to the Top of Binion’s steakhouse atop The Mint’s old tower.  

Exterior of the Mint's tower that Top of Binion's calls home.
Top of Binion’s is up there.

Meals I’ve enjoyed recently at Binion’s include:

This $22 rack of ribs at Benny’s Smokin’ BBQ & Brews fell off the bone and was worthy of a stop.

A full rack of ribs on a plate alongside baked beans, a partial cob of corn, and cornbread.

A $17 Cowboy Cheesesteak at Binion’s Cafe, which was great for the price.

An open faced philly cheesesteak sandwich next to a pile of french fries.

Most recently, I devoured this $21 Buffalo chicken sandwich and fries from Whiskey Licker Up, which was unreal. Order it. 

A buffalo chicken sandwich next to an overflowing cup of french fries laid on its side.

Enjoying it at their rotating bar with a view of Fremont Street enhanced the experience.  

The view of Circa and Fremont Street from the rotating bar.

The hotel has an elevator, but you can also use the stairs to get up to your room, as they’re right above the casino floor and the hotel hallways have a creepy, old-school vibe. 

Rooms at Binion’s Hotel Apache are rumored to be haunted, and they lean into it by flashing guest-reported paranormal experiences on a TV near the registration desk.

There was even an experience specific to my room posted next to my door.  

A framed testimonial hanging outside of my room that says "I was sitting on the bed and I felt a person sit next to me, but I couldn't see anyone".
Nice touch.

Rooms start at a reasonable $59 per night + tax and Binion’s, along with sister property 4 Queens across the street, don’t charge a nightly resort fee.  

Guestrooms are designed to have a 1930s vibe and leverage historic pictures, hardwood floors, dark wood trim, a working radio, a stained glass window, and even an old rotary phone to complete the look. 

An antique rotary telephone on an end table.

Of course, there are also modern conveniences, like a 42 in TV. 

Wide angle shot of my room at Hotel Apache with yellow wall paint and a king bed.

Keeping with the historic theme though, baseline rooms are pretty “bare bones” by today’s standards as there’s no TV stand, no fridge, no mini bar, and no closet to store the ironing board and luggage stand.  

The king bed with an ironing board and bathroom entrance behind it.
The Bathroom at Binion's Hotel Apache with a black and white tile floor, toilet, single sink, and shower/tub combo.
Pretty tight in there!

While a “no frills” room isn’t my typical cup of tea, it’s fun to experience in this case because the bare-bones nature of the room is part of the experience.  

You will want to note that noise from Fremont Street can be intense into the wee hours of the morning thanks to the hotel’s positioning behind Binion’s iconic neon facade – They do have quiet rooms, but you have to request it at check-in and there are no guarantees.  

I got lucky and had a great stay. No ghost sightings, however. 

See my full Hotel Apache review on YouTube!

Golden Gate’s “Original 10” Rooms

Golden Gate’s legacy dates back to 1906 when the property first opened its doors as the Hotel Nevada, charging just $1 per night, and according to Golden Gate’s website offered “first class” amenities like electric lighting, ventilation, and steam heat.  

Over the years, the property has lived through historic events like prohibition, the great depression, a couple of world wars, and so much more. It’s wild for me to imagine how those events affected the happenings inside this building.  

Exterior of Golden Gate.

Today, Golden Gate’s casino floor is a modern, upbeat spot to risk a few bucks, but it still clings to its roots.

Golden Gate's casino floor, which has modern slot games and a mirrored ceiling.

My favorite ode to the past is a small museum of artifacts from the hotel’s past that includes a guestbook from 1907 and a lineup of vintage slot games just outside the lobby. 

A hotel ledger from 1907 on display behind glass.
Hotel ledger.
A bank of vintage slot games on display at Golden Gate.

The high-limit room is home to 2 awesome historic windows to the past. The first is a small door that, if opened, gives you a look at an original hotel wall dating back to 1906.  

Window into Golden Gate's History
Window to Golden Gate’s Original Bones

Past the slots and around the corner is a tile fountain that dates back to 1909.  

Historic Fountain at Golden Gate
Historic Fountain at Golden Gate – Circa 1909

Bar Prohibition has a plaque commemorating the fact Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Dean Martin once drank here.

Plaque at Bar Prohibition!
Plaque at Bar Prohibition! Noting the Bar’s Historic Significance

Famously, Golden Gate was also home to the first working telephone in Vegas – the phone number was 1.

A plauqe on the ground outside of Golden Gate Las Vegas paying tribute to this being the first working phone in NV.

Unlike anything else in Las Vegas, Golden Gate’s “Original 10” hotel rooms are a treasure and a “must stay”… At least once…  for true fans of Las Vegas history.  

These 10 rooms have been welcoming guests for about 120 years, and are small, unfunctional, and completely substandard by today’s hotel standards.  

A wide angle shot of the room with a queen bed to the right, and the room's entry way to the left.

And that’s what makes them so fun to experience.  

The hotel hallways have a historic vibe, and they even commemorate each of the original 10 rooms with a plaque outside the room door, noting, “If these rooms could talk, you’d be in for a long, interesting story, and now you’re part of it”  

A plaque outside my room denoting it as an "Original 10" room - It was room 10 specifically.

Goosebumps. So frickin cool. 

The room is only big enough for a queen bed, and one end table, and has openable windows. While some Original 10 rooms overlook Fremont Street, mine faced the innards of the hotel, which was cool see.  

The view from my open window, which was the backside of the resort.

Like Binion’s, you’ll want to know some of these rooms will be LOUD until the early morning hours, as some are about 15 feet from one of Fremont Street’s entertainment stages.  

A close shot of Golden Gate's exterior signage, which is still illuminated in the morning.
Rooms overlooking Fremont Street.

I requested a quiet room at check-in and was fortunate to receive one – My stay was fantastic. But there’s no way to guarantee a quiet stay in advance. You’ve been warned.  

The Bathroom was cramped, the door couldn’t open fully as it hit the toilet and they even needed to carve a little notch out of the door to get it to close past the light switch.  

Cramped bathroom, with a view of the toilet, sink, and skinny entryway door.
A close up of how they needed to notch the door to allow it to close past a light switch.
Tight fit!

While absent of any real luxury, I thought the room was in rock-solid condition considering its age.  

While GG doesn’t have a pool, guests are welcome to use Circa’s Stadium Swim across the street, a huge perk as it’s one of the best pools in town with a 143-foot screen broadcasting sports and one heck of a view of surrounding resorts downtown.

View of Circa's Stadium Swimm rooftop pooldeck from my hotel room.
Circa’s Stadium Swim

I’d be lying if I told you this is a room I’d book every trip. It’s not. But it was a BLAST to experience once, and the price is right, starting at about $75/nt after accounting for resort fees.  

Of all the rooms I’ve experienced in Las Vegas, this is among the most memorable.  

See my full Golden Gate Review on YouTube!

El Cortez’s “Original 47” Rooms

El Cortez opened in 1941, exactly one month before the attack on Pearl Harbor, was once owned by a group of mobsters that included Bugsy Siegel, and has landed itself on the National Registrar of Historic Places alongside impressive company like the US Post office and Courthouse, now home to the Mob Museum and the La Concha Motel lobby, now the Neon Museum’s entrance.  

El Cortez Las Vegas exterior

The gaming floor still feels like a throwback to another era although they’re currently completing renovation work now to spruce the joint up a bit.  

El Cortez is one of the few remaining casinos in town that offer real token slots and real coin video poker, both being fun throwbacks.  

A bank of classic coin slots on the casino floor.

The table games pit usually has tubs of beer on ice to quickly serve players and table minimums tend to be on the affordable side of the spectrum.

This is my kind of casino. Grimy, dark, affordable, and old-school.  

Today, El Cortez’s exterior looks almost exactly as it did back then, although the property’s footprint has expanded over the years, adding a hotel tower in 1980 and Cabana suites in 2009.  

The Cabana Suites, while not historic, offer one of the quietest nights of sleep on Fremont Street, as the building is behind El Cortez across the street.  

King bed in the Cabana Super Suite
A Cabana Suite – Very green.

The historic hotel rooms of interest to me though are the “Original 47” rooms, which are located on the second floor above the casino, accessible only by stairs.  

The Rooms were remodeled in 2022, and to say I was shocked by how nice of a job they did would be a dramatic understatement.  

Another wide angle shot that shows the 2 queen beds, and the red entryway door in the background.

Of the 3 historic rooms in this rundown, this one boasts the most modern set of amenities with a large, crisp TV that even had a channel dedicated to the resort’s history, a coffee machine with complimentary pods, and an empty mini fridge.  

Another wide angle picture that shows the 2 queen beds pointed at the TV.

That said, the room’s wall decor was a throwback to Cuba in the 1940s and 50s and I liked the unique color scheme, decorative textured ceiling, and accent wall more than I thought I would.  

A straight on shot of 2 queen beds up against the green leafy accent wall.

Uniquely, no “Original 47” room has the same dimensions, so your room will almost certainly look different.  

Of all the rooms discussed, this is the one I’d most likely return to as it was the triple threat of comfortable, functional, and polished.  

These rooms are nice – They’re also affordable, starting under $100/nt after accounting for resort fees.  

See my full El Cortez Review on YouTube!

While Las Vegas tends to implode its aging structures, often while they still have life left, there are a few throwbacks to another era out there. Hopefully, one of the 3 historic hotel rooms I shared works for your tastes and gets your “nerd endorphins” flowing like they did mine.

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