I’m a travel lover, not hater and I love Sin City. But at the same time there are 10 things I hate about Las Vegas and here they are, in no particular order. You’ll have to let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments.
1. Bumpy flights
When the temperature rises in the summer, especially around 100F (38C), descending into Las Vegas is no fun. My advice is not to eat anything that’s likely to upset your stomach. And look out the window at the horizon for the last 12 minutes or so, so you don’t feel nauseous.
2. Long taxi lines
The moment you land in Vegas you will surely be greeted by a long taxi line to leave the airport. Get used to it because pretty much every hotel taxi line will be the same. Leave plenty of time to get to your destination.
3. Traffic/Taxi Drivers
Vegas has terrible traffic and most of the taxi drivers I’ve had try and take me the long way from the airport to the hotel. If you want to save money, tell them that you want to take the surface streets, not the freeway. But if you are pressed for time and don’t care that your ride may cost $6+ or more, then tell them whatever is quicker.
4. Taxis charge $3 for paying by credit card
I’m so sick of falling for travel scams and I learned about this one the hard way. If you pay for your taxi ride by credit card, you’re charged a $3 fee and the drivers don’t disclose this in advance. The city of Las Vegas should make the company that owns the machine (VeriFone), change the wording from ‘voucher’ to ‘fee’ (see photo above).
Travel tip: No matter where you are in the world, be sure to ask if there’s an extra charge for using your credit card because I know they do this in England, too.
5. Long check-in lines
Every time I stay at one of Vegas’ large hotels, there’s a long line that snakes around the corner. I usually end up waiting at least 30 minutes but it feels a lot longer since I’m usually in a hurry to meet friends, work or go to the loo. I do know that these hotels have a ridiculously high number of rooms but that’s all the more reason for them to ensure more employees are staffing the check-in desks or offer keyless check-in.
6. Resort fees
Every traveler I know despises resort fees – myself included. I think it’s a travesty that hotels can get away with charging a mandatory nightly surcharge to cover the cost of certain amenities, regardless whether you use them or not. The worst part is that most of these fees are unadvertised and travelers don’t find out until they check in.
When it comes to Vegas, there’s not much you can do about this except try to book hotels that don’t have resort fees or choose another destination since only a handful of Vegas hotels don’t have a resort fee.
Basically, you should just be prepared to shell out an extra $5-$25 a night. Here’s Vegas Chatter’s comprehensive guide to all of the resort fees in Las Vegas and what they’ll get you in return. Use this information before booking your trip.
7. The water tastes like rotten goat cheese
OMG – Las Vegas is so dry and I’m always parched. The one free bottle of water that some hotels leave in the room lasts me five minutes and drinking the tap water tastes disgusting – like rotten goat cheese. I don’t know how it’s even safe to drink in the first place. Instead of shelling out $5+ for a bottle of water from your minibar or buying one for almost the same price in the hotel’s gift shop, walk to one of the chain pharmacies on the strip. I was staying at the Aria and there was a CVS and a Walgreens just a couple (long) blocks away. At Walgreens, a gallon of water costs just $1.99.
8. Minibars have sensors
Most Vegas hotels have those evil mini bars where, even if you just pick something up to read the ingredients, you are automatically charged .. and the prices are not cheap. Advice: When you check out, go over your bill carefully and if you’ve been wrongly charged, dispute it before leaving the hotel.
9. There’s no fresh air
I love many Las Vegas hotel rooms but I don’t like the fact that you can’t open the windows – not even a crack to get some fresh air. When I was walking out to get some water, the person walking next to me exclaimed, “FRESH AIR!!” after she walked through the doors for the first time in who knows how long.
10. The pools are disgusting
When it’s 100+ degrees out I’m betting one of the first things you imagine yourself doing, after checking into your room, is donning your bathing suit and going for a quick dip, right? Wrong! Unless you’re staying at one of the quiet exclusive hotels, chances are your hotel pool is going to be filled with rowdy drunk dudes who are all competing for the one pretty girl who isn’t hired to be there. The worst part is that these guys don’t want to miss their chance of scoring so I suspect they aren’t bothering to get out of the pool to relieve themselves properly. Eww!
Don’t get me wrong, I love Vegas for a couple of nights but there are some things I just despise about the place. Do you think I’m overreacting or do you agree? Would you add anything else to this list? Let me know in the comments section below.
Maybe we should really stop feeding the comps to you every time you head to Vegas. Some 40 millions visitors this year will have a great time here. I think you are seriously overreacting for an experienced traveler.
Don’t go there if you don’t like it!
All 100% correct except Number 4., Credit card surchages happen all over the world, not just in Las Vegas & England. This is endemic and I blame teh credit card companies for allowing it (and legislators)
I lived in Las Vegas for eight years. I liked it for a lot of reasons, even with its issues. As for visiting, here are some suggestions:
While you are correct about the room air and inability to open a window, a number of hotels do have windows that open in the bathroom. It makes a big difference. And you are right about the water: it is utterly disgusting. The locals don’t drink it, that’s for sure. First thing to do after checking in is to do exactly what you suggest: go to a Walgreens, or even a convenience store, and load up. If you have a car, there are also a few Trader Joe’s in the valley where you can pick up water and snacks. You will need more water than you think. The air tends toward 10%-15% humidity so you need to stay hydrated.
It also sounds as if you never get off the Strip. You should consider it. There are many good off-Strip hotels with decent shuttle service just off the drunken lout corridor. Their rooms tend to be larger, and the number of rooms tend to be less than the huge casino-hotels. And, if you care, the gambling tends to be more skewed toward repeat local business and not the high-limit Strip action aimed at the tourists. Their pools tend to be much better, too, if not as fancy. Many of them offer bowling (very nice lanes) and nice multiplex cinemas. And downtown has really improved in the last few years. Worth checking out the good mid-range hotels and casinos in that area.
If you want to avoid crowds in the check-in line or at the taxi stand, make sure you log on to the Las Vegas Visitor and Convention Bureau website. There you will find the convention schedule and the number of expected visitors. Do not book your visit when there are huge conventions in town, or early in March for NASCAR week where the speedway becomes the fourth largest city in Nevada. Some conventions attract over 50,000 attendees (and there may be more than one of these in town). Also, plan your trip for off-season. There are some sweet spots on the calendar, which you can determine by the actual cost of your room. High prices equal large conventions or events.
The taxis even try to overcharge the locals. Again, you are correct to tell them to avoid the freeway journey. Surface streets, especially from the airport to the Strip, usually are faster. On the other hand, if you arrive at around 4pm on a Friday, all deals are off. The route from the airport often gets slammed by traffic from shift changes, the university, and every other weekend activity.
As for the bumpy flights, the same weather issues occur in Salt Lake City and other desert-y cities. Some landings are worse than others.
Why should you go, even if you don’t like gambling or casinos. Well, the shopping is amazing! Everything from the highest end to several really good outlet malls. Worth renting a car for a day or two just for that. In fact, many visitors never enter the casinos at all. They come in from all over the country just to shop. There are many fine restaurants, and many come to Las Vegas strictly for that. And the shows, some of which are quite fun. In addition, there is some fine hiking and adventure spots throughout the Valley, including Red Rock and Valley of Fire.
Anyway, there are ways to go to Las Vegas that will make a huge difference in the quality of your stay. Nothing much to be done about the water, though.
Thank you Geri J. Excellent comment with lots of great info. I’m hoping Johnny Jet picks up on it and builds a full newsletter around how to enjoy LV off0the-strip.
wow
Your right on target. I try to take public bus it only cost $2. And stay away the strip.
You said exactly what I was thinking!
Thanks for the tips. Great timing as I’m heading there on Sunday!
Love the part about the water. It really is disgusting.
Totally agree! Funny post, but true.
I’ve never been to Vegas, mainly because I don’t really get the whole “excess for excess’s sake” vibe (same reason I have no desire to go to Dubai), and now I have ten more reasons to save my money and travel elsewhere. Nasty!
you hit it on the head…as I knew you would. The lack of fresh air and dirty pools are oh so true.
WOW ! You are right on with this on Johnny ! lol.. There is one hotel .. The Imperial Palace on the strip that we stayed in that actually had a balcony that opened up that looked into the Courtyard outside of Harris with shopping vendors outside. lol… my boyfriend couldn’t believe that the balcony doors opened and that he got to stand out and look down at the crowd. We. thought Vegas balconies did not exist do to jumpers ! We got the room at a super cheap rate. 1st and last time we would stay there.
In Vegas right now and both my wife and I hate it more than anything EVER! No wonder why you can’t open a window because you literally want to jump out of it .. ?never come here
I was there in August…That place is disgusting and should be used to test weapons!!!