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My Comical (& Wet) Stay at Casino Royale Las Vegas


Key Points:

  • Casino Royale has long been a favorite of mine thanks to its old-school casino vibe and $3 beers.

  • I booked a standard king room for $115.98 after tax – Casino Royale doesn’t charge a resort fee.

  • My stay was underwhelming, with multiple unique (and humorous) issues.

Casino Royale has been a staple stop of mine on the north end of the Strip for years.

It has old-school charm, low, reflective ceilings, and slings cheap bottled beer at the main casino bar.

Part of me has always been curious about their Best Western hotel offering, and I finally took it upon myself to snag a room.

I booked a Standard King room for $115.98 after tax. A perk, Casino Royale is among the few Vegas resorts without a nightly resort fee.

While rooms at Casino Royale start in the mid-$90 range mid-week, rates often jump north of $200 per night on the weekends, which has always surprised me a bit as it looked like a “no frills” experience.

Time to see it first hand!

Casino Royale Exterior
©aneese/123RF.COM

Checking In at Casino Royale

I stopped in at 8 am to store my bag with the bell desk but was told my room was ready if I wanted to get checked in.

A nice surprise, and I wasn’t charged an early check-in fee.

A bonus, the lady working had a fun sarcastic sense of humor I enjoyed as I share an affinity for sarcasm.

The hotel lobby at Casino Royale, which is very basic and has a big plastic shield between the employee and guest.

The hotel entrance is steps away from the lobby off the casino floor and the hallways had a budget vibe, but were basic and fine.

A hotel hallway with 3 pieces of textured abstract art on the wall.

My Standard King Room

At first glance, the room felt pretty solid, albeit unfancy and not all that exciting.

A wide angle look at the room, with a king bed on the back wall flanked by end tables.

The king bed was flanked by end tables that each had traditional outlets, and there was a little chair with an ottoman in the corner near the window equipped with wooden shutters, although my street-level room didn’t have much of a view.

A king bed with white comforter with endtables on either side that have illuminated lamps atop them.

There was a work desk with a rollie chair equipped with traditional outlets and even a bank of USB charge ports.

A workdesk with a mirror above it.
A bank of outlets and 4 USB A charge ports atop the workdesk.

There was also a binder in a drawer with some light reading about carbon monoxide poisoning.

A sheet of paper educating on the dangers of carbon monoxide.
Safety first.

In the corner of the room was a 42” TV with a modern guide atop a dresser.

A TV in the back corner of the image, with the king bed in the foreground.

Atop the countertop leading into the bathroom was a Keurig coffee machine with complimentary pods – A rare amenity.

A counter with a kueurig coffee maker and pods atop it, and a fridge below.

Underneath the counter was an empty mini-fridge which can be stocked up at the Walgreens integrated into the resort steps away.

An open mini-fridge, which is empty.

Inside the closet was a safe, iron, ironing board, a hair dryer, and hanger space.

Appearance-wise, nothing really “popped” in the room, which was a bit of an aesthetic yawner.

The room - A king bed in the back corner, the countertop with the coffee maker to the back left.

The bathroom was about as utilitarian as they come but adorably matched the facial tissue holder with the countertop material.

A small bathroom with a tub, toilet, and single sink vanity.

Also atop the bathroom counter was a lineup of bath products from Pharmacopia.

6 miniature plastic bottles of toiletries lined up on a granite countertop.

There was a shower/tub combo with a fabric shower curtain and a long grip bar.

Inside of the shower, which has a long metal grip bar on the back wall.

It was at this moment though, standing in the bathroom, that things took a weird turn… More on that in “What’s not to like” below…

What’s Not to Like?

When I review rooms, I don’t only share the good. I show you everything so that you can make an informed decision.

While in the bathroom, I realized I was standing in a puddle of yellow-tinted liquid between the toilet and the shower.

I sopped it up with a towel and my immediate assumption was that someone urinated on the floor and it was missed by housekeeping.

A yellowed, wet rag displayed for the camera after sopping up the puddle.
Yikes.

That, fortunately, (or unfortunately) turned out to be incorrect – More on that in a second.

Another odd twist, almost every folded towel in the bathroom was damp – This one was wet and also had light yellowish-brown staining on it.

A white towel layed on the floor displayed to show brown stains.

After seeing the towel discoloration, I made my way over to the bed, ripped it apart, and while faint, there were clearly tan stains in several spots.

A light tan stain on a sheet.

And yes, I sniff-tested them… and detected no odor so I assumed (or hoped I guess) it wasn’t fresh.

At this point, I’m just grossed out and was on the cusp of booking a complimentary room at a nearby Caesars property.

But, I found it within me to persevere, covered up the staining on the bed as best I could, and cuddled with the comforter, thankful that I had a couple of stiff speakeasy drinks in me acting as a sleep aid.

The next morning I was awoken at 6am by my upstairs neighbor taking a shower as the plumbing sounded like someone playing a trumpet loudly in my room.

Still a bit groggy from the night before, I figured it smart to proactively get up and grab some Pedialyte at the Walgreens steps away.

I stepped into the bathroom before leaving and solved the mystery – I could hear dripping.

Water was dripping from my bathroom ceiling onto the floor between the toilet and the tub. The rain from the ceiling was also hitting the towel rack, which explains the wet/stained towels.

Mystery solved.

Drips of yellowed water emerging from a crack in the ceiling.

Now, I’ve stayed in a LOT of Vegas hotel rooms but have NEVER had water coming out of my ceiling. A first, and I’m chuckling pretty hard at this point.

Although I never complain at hotels or “demand compensation”, I figured the right thing to do here is alert the front desk that water is coming through my ceiling at check out so they could take the room off-line and fix it.

To my surprise, there was minimal concern – The employee said “Oh my, I bet they aren’t using their shower curtain correctly!”

I expected a higher level of urgency… I’m no structural engineer… but water inside the walls cannot be a good thing.

In addition to the water intrusion, the room had a few other defects including a gouge in the wall.

a chunk of the corner of a wall that's missing.

A few paint scrapes.

A scrape in the paint that has been covered with mismatching paint.
A scrape in the paint above the sink faucet.
Scraped paint behind the toilet.

A couple of generally unclean/dirty corners and crevices.

A dirty drain cleanout underneath the sink.
A dirty base of a door frame.

Dirty and/or damaged grout lines in the shower and on the bathroom floor.

Rough floor grout.
Rough grout in the shower.

And this greenish splotch inside the bathroom’s ceiling light that I assume has something to do with moisture getting in there.

A green splotch of mold growth inside the ceiling light.

There was also a mysterious message scribbled on the inside of my room’s door that I tried to decipher for longer than I’m proud to admit.

Mystery scribbles in pen on the back side of my hotel room door.
Can anyone make sense of this?

While not a critique of Casino Royale, this was kind of funny.

I was nursing my moderate hangover the morning after with a Pedialyte in the chair near the room’s window when I sensed motion outside at the McDonald’s next door which is up on an elevated platform.

I looked out to see a rough-looking dude pull his pants down to his knees to urinate off of the platform in my direction.

I slowly turned my head back to the local news.

Resort Experience

Dining options at Casino Royale are primarily on the budget end of the spectrum and include a White Castle, Denny’s, and a food court at the back of the casino that’s home to a Subway, a Pizza Hut, and a $3.49 foot long hot dog joint.

There’s is even an Outback Steakhouse upstairs.

A food court at the back of Casino Royale with a subway, pizza hut, and a hot dog stand.

Famously, the main casino bar serves 10 varieties of $3 bottled beer – One of the best deals you’ll find on the Strip – One I take advantage of often.

The bar, which is positioned in the middle of the casino floor.
$3 beers, and some great bartenders here.

Don’t stress it if the food options at Casino Royale don’t appeal to you, however.

The resort’s location couldn’t be more advantageous and you’ll be within walking distance of more options than you can handle at surrounding resorts, which includes a McDonald’s next door and a small food court below it on the street level.

The exterior of Casino Royale and the exterior of the McDonald's next door.

I’ve long been curious about Casino Royale’s pool and found it to be a polished enough scene and uncrowded although it was a pretty chilly fall day.

A small, kidney-shaped Pool surrounded by a few loungers.

Next to the pool, I stumbled across the fitness center which seemed solid for how small the hotel is.

Several workout machines in a room with a TV.

My first-floor hotel hallway had a small vending room equipped with a tandem of microwaves and a business center with a few computers and a printer.

3 vending machines and 2 microwaves in a small room.
An L-shaped desk with two computers and a printer on it.

I’ve always enjoyed the look of Casino Royale’s casino floor.

The low reflective ceilings and dark environment always get my endorphins flowing.

The casino floor, with plenty of slot machines, low reflective ceilings, and and over all dark environment.

If you have yet to do so, sign up for Casino Royale’s loyalty program as they’ll instantly refund your first $20 in losses onto your card as free play.

A neon sign that says "1st $20 on us".

A bonus, they have the cheapest casino ATM on the Strip at just $3 per transaction.

An atm on casino royale's gaming floor.

In a move that devastated me a few years back, Casino Royale removed their table games, so Ike and I bellied up to a bubble craps game with 5x odds. Unique, as most Strip games are capped at a measly 2x.

My view of the bubble craps game, with the betting screen in the foreground and a pair of bouncing red dice behind it.
5x Odds!

Even without table games, I enjoy the casino as it sports a different look than fancier resorts on the Strip.

The Verdict: Is Casino Royale Worth the Money?

There’s plenty to like about Casino Royale, but I think it’s fair to conclude the hotel product isn’t one of them.

I’d rather book a low to mid-tier Caesars Entertainment or MGM Resorts property any day of the week.

They may charge a resort fee, but they’re usually comparatively priced or even cheaper, sometimes significantly, while also delivering an elevated resort experience and… in my opinion… a better room for your money.

Related Vegas Hotel Reviews:

STRAT Elevate Room

Luxor Pyramid Premier Room

NYNY Soho Room (renovated!)

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