Casino Reviews

Ballys Casino and Hotel in Atlantic City is located in a central area on the boardwalk. Just beside Michigan ave, you have the boardwalk to enjoy and the beach of course, and also the outlet stores. Just walk up Michigan ave away from the ocean 3 blocks, past the hospital and you will be in the middle of the outlet mall run by Tangiers. There are over 250 stores to shop in with all of the usual outlet stores selling their products. There is also  a Starbucks, McDonald’s and Subway if you are hungry or are just looking for less expensive food compared to the restaurants on the boardwalk or in the casinos.

We really liked the look of Bally’s, the casino and the hotel area. We decided to stay one night to check it out and discovered that it is part of the Harrah’s chain of Casinos. When we used our slot card, we were given a free room for the night. We still had to pay the $13 room tax and the $5 parking fee.

Avoid the Old Claridge Hotel Tower

Ballys has a tower and they also own the old Claridge hotel. This was not known to us when we checked in and although the room was free, they gave us a room in the Claridge tower which is really the Claridge Hotel.  It is very dated and decorated in a 60’s style, with a very small bathroom. We did have a corner view of the ocean and the boardwalk with a flat screen TV and a Coffee machine. It was not all bad, however we would not stay at Bally’s again if we had to stay in the Claridge tower in Atlantic city.

Bally’s has closed their buffet and refer patrons to Caesars Hotel, next door, which is also a Harrahs hotel. We ate instead at a restaurant called 6IX on the 6th floor which advertised all you could eat steak and crab legs for $29.99. Lot’s of food, more than we could handle since they also served a large salad and seafood pasta with it. It was great, but we would not go back, preferring to try another place next time.

It is also located on the boardwalk and has a fantastic beach area in front of the hotel. Refer to the picture. this was taken at low tide around noon as we strolled along the beach. A great day with lots of sunshine, little wind and great sand, what more could you ask for.

Ballys Casino and Hotel Atlantic City-Slot Machines

The casino is very modern and has all of the machines that everyone looks for these days, with the exception of keno machines. They have lots of poker machines with some keno as one of the games that you can play on the slot machine. There are probably in excess of 2000 slot machines at this casino.

Table Games

There are table games as well with all of the usual suspects.

Restaurants

There is no buffet at this hotel. They have closed it and now refer customers to Caesars buffet next door. There are a number of restaurants including a restaurant called 6ix which we enjoyed, had more than enough to eat and it was decent quality.

What We Liked

• Variety of slot machines
• Free drinks while gambling
• Hotel rates are very reasonable
• Covered garage parking
• Easy access from all highways
• Safe environment in the casino, hotel and parking areas
• Close to the outlet mall, 3 blocks away
• Check in and check out was quick

What We Did Not Like

We do not like the $5 / day parking charges and the $13 per day state taxes that all of the hotels are forced to charge their customers. We also did not like staying in the Claridge tower hotel. It really needs to be updated and it is a long way from the front desk.

Slot Player Card

They are part of the Harrahs slot players card system. Slot members can take advantage of benefits at many Las Vegas hotels,  as well as sister hotels in Tunica, Biloxi, Laughlin and Reno.

If you have not taken advantage of slot player cards, there are a number of benefits that many slot players should consider. Free or discounted rooms, email mailing list of promotions, free or discounted meals, access to entertainment, and a tax report outlining your losses and wins for tax claim purposes.

Parking

There is ample parking at the  Bally’s hotel & casino in a large parking garage beside the hotel. There is no surface parking that we observed. You can access the hotel from the garage via an elevator from all levels. The parking garage is also patrolled on a regular basis and it also protects your car from the weather.

Directions:

Getting to the hotel is pretty easy once you come off of the Atlantic City Expressway. There are lots of signs to direct you to either valet parking or self parking whichever you prefer.

Resorts Casino Atlantic City – This particular photo was taken from the beach in front of the Resorts Casino in Atlantic City. The Resorts is the building on the left, and the Taj Mahal is on the right of this picture.

This is an ideal location with four hotels located close to each other. They are the Resorts International Casino, the Taj Mahal, the Showboat, and the Revel Hotel. They are located at the north end of the boardwalk. We have not stayed at the Resorts, however judging by the casino, this hotel has been greatly updated. It actually glistens! The casino and hotel also won the Casino of the Year award as well. Readers should note that this particular casino was the first casino built along the strip and I can tell that employees are very proud of this. Last time we checked it was still open, while at least 4 have declared bankruptcy.

Buffet at the Resorts

We also tried the buffet at the Resorts. They were offering all-you-could-eat crab legs. The price was $29.99 per person, and the crab legs were pretty good. We would have preferred them to be pre-cut to make getting the meat easier. We had to wait at least 45 minutes in line since it is very popular, and they have a relatively small dining room as far as buffets go.

Not sure if they are associated with the resorts; however, you can rent bicycles to ride on the boardwalk just outside the hotel from 6:30 am until 10:00 am. We also ate at the Breadsticks cafe, a nice little place on the boardwalk inside the Resorts casino building. We had Corn chowder soup which was excellent, and a Caesar salad along with a seafood diablo linguini which was also very good. We split everything since the quantities were just so large.

There are two towers, and after checking with the front desk, they seem to be reasonably priced; however, if you have a slot card and play a bit, you can probably receive offers from them for food and room comps.

Resorts Casino Atlantic City – Slot Machines

We could not find the exact information about the number of slot machines at this casino. However, this is a very large casino, and we would estimate that there are over 2000 machines for patrons to play on. These include the modern machines that have become popular recently, such as many penny-style machines. We did find that keno machines are not very popular in Atlantic City in general, and in this regard, the Resorts Casino is no different. There were also lots of poker machines of all types to play.

Resorts Casino Atlantic City – Table Games

The same thing applies to table games. We did not see any information outlining how many of each type they have. However, they do have lots of table games and all of the major varieties as well.

Resorts Casino Atlantic City – Restaurants

We ate at the buffet and also at Breadsticks coffee shop. The buffet is relatively small, so there are more lineups than there would be at other buffets that have a large seating capacity. We stood in line for approximately 45 minutes around the 5 pm time frame, the prime supper hour time slot.

Breadsticks restaurant is located on the main floor beside the boardwalk. You can ask for a table looking out onto the boardwalk. This is a standard cafe with great food and large portions. We ordered the corn chowder, which was great, along with a salad and a seafood pasta dish. All were very good and large.

What We Liked

• Variety of slot machines
• Free drinks while gambling
• The buffet was ok, long line ups though
• Hotel rates are very reasonable
• Covered garage parking
• Easy access from all highways
• A safe environment in the casino, hotel, and parking areas

What We Did Not Like

There are no real complaints about the  Resorts hotel & casino. Note that we have not stayed at this location. Comments are welcome from anyone that has.

Slot Player Card

They have their own slot players’ card system. Slot members can take advantage of benefits at this hotel only, as far as we are aware.

If you have not taken advantage of slot player cards, there are several benefits that many slot players should consider. Free or discounted rooms, email mailing list of promotions, free or discounted meals, access to entertainment, and a tax report outlining your losses and wins for tax claim purposes.

Parking

There is ample parking at the Resorts Hotel & Casino in an oversized parking garage beside the hotel. There is no surface parking that we observed. You can access the hotel from the garage via an elevator from all levels.

Directions: Just follow the directions as you come into the city along the Atlantic city expressway.  The Atlantic City expressway can be reached from all of the major highways from points north, such as New York City and Philly in the east. Bring cash to pay the numerous tolls on the way.

This is our first post about Atlantic city and some of the casinos we visited recently. We have not been to the Atlantic city area for some time, but always have fond memories of biking along the boardwalk and visiting various restaurants in the casinos and on the boardwalk. We titled this post as our Atlantic city casino guide, since it is our first post and we thought it would be nice to include a few general pictures and some information about the casinos. Here we go. This is our Atlantic city guide.

Atlantic City Casino Guide – The Boardwalk

The boardwalk is really the center of the action as far as we are concerned. It stretches for approximately seven miles we are told and the casinos are along the north end of the boardwalk. You have a beautifully wide sandy beach with the Atlantic ocean on one side and the casinos, shops, restaurants and homes on the other side. The picture above is an excellent early morning picture when there are not many people around.  You can rent bicycles on the boardwalk and ride them from 6:30 until 10:30 in the morning. After that there are just too many people strolling along the boardwalk to make it safe.

We noticed that there were lots of Atlantic city staff cleaning, emptying garbage, watering plants and maintaining security along the boardwalk. We felt very safe while strolling along. There are also three wheeled buggy style push carts that can be rented if you do not want to walk. They start at $5 per 5 city blocks and go up from there. You can find these in front of every casino entrance along the boardwalk. Watch a video of the boardwalk on YouTube, click here

The Casinos

Here is a list of the casinos in Atlantic City that we are aware of:

• Revel (brand new and just opened – April 2012)
• Showboat
• Taj Mahal
• Resort International
• Caesars
• Ballys
• Atlantic Club
• Harrahs (at the marina)
• Borgata (at the marina)

There are shuttle buses to take from the hotels at the marina to the boardwalk, although sometimes you have to wait quite a long time for them. If you plan to walk from hotel to hotel along the boardwalk, take good walking shoes. The distance is pretty long and the casinos are actually quite large themselves.

The Beach

The beach is really great. Great sand that is kept clean and it is large. They have lifeguards as well and most days the swimming is also great. As with all ocean beaches, waves and under tow can become a problem as do jelly fish. check with the life guard before you go swimming if you are concerned.

We walked for a mile along the water one day. The tide was out, people could easily wade a 100 feet out onto sand bars and several ladies were searching for metallic items using metal detectors.  A beautiful day when it is sunny and warm.

Getting to Atlantic City

Getting to Atlantic city is pretty easy. There are all of the usual modes of transportation, however we will focus a bit on traveling by car to this ocean side city. If you want to get their quickly, the Atlantic City Expressway, the New jersey Turnpike and the Garden state Parkway are the major routes leading into the city from new york and Philly.

Be prepared to pay tolls along all of these roads to the tune of up to $10 or $15 depending on where you are coming from. In addition, you get to pay $5 for parking and if you stay at any of the hotels there is also a $13 state tax even if your room is comp’d! New jersey is bound to get some of your money either through the casino taxes or via tolls and taxes that are levied on tourists. Sorry to be so negative on taxes like this, but it really does make you think twice about going back to Atlantic city with all of these taxes.

The Outlets

Atlantic City has become a lot more modern in the past few years, cleaning up the downtown and making it much more attractive to families and tourists. There are now 250 outlet stores within walking distance of the casinos. In fact if you are staying at Bally’s, just walk 3 blocks up Michigan avenue and you are in the middle of all of these outlets. All of the popular stores and chains are there as well. Starbucks and McDonalds offer free WiFi, which is about the only place I could find that offers  this service. The Casino hotels charge ten or eleven dollars for this service per device.

Watch for more posts with lots of pictures in the coming weeks about Atlantic City.

The Wynn Hotel & Casino is by far the best hotel and casino from almost every aspect including the Wynn Casino Shops. We try to stay at this hotel every time we go to Las Vegas.

Pictured on the left is the corridor that leads in from the strip past all of the high-end shops. They are nice to look at, however way beyond our price range. I am not sure why all of the hotels do this, the Wynn hotel is no exception, but they all have these shops that the average person cannot afford to shop in. They have beautiful clothes, purses, diamonds and even cell phones that you would never even look at because of the price. Great place to window shop.

Wynn Casino Shops – Casino Entrance

As you near the end of this corridor of shops, you will be approaching another really beautiful area just before you reach the casino.  Wynn has designed a garden area were many people take pictures and spend time admiring the plants during the day and the flowers and lights at night. This is near the Wynn Casino Shops.

These flowers are constantly updated and kept flourishing by perfect care each and every day. Since we are easterners, we get up early when we are in Vegas and often are down stairs by five or six in the morning. The gardeners are still there working on the flowers making sure they are looking perfect for the coming day. They have probably been there all night working on the flower beds, trimming flowers that have matured and even changing plants that need to be recycled. Many people stop at these gardens every day to have pictures taken with their families.

Gardens are Beautiful

We will show one more picture that we really enjoyed. These flower gardens run the length of the casino along the front of the hotel facing towards the mountain with its cascading waterfall and lake. There is also a bar in the middle of the gardens which looks out onto the casino on one side and on to the gardens on the other.

All of these pictures were taken during the day, however can you imagine how beautiful this area is at night with all of the lights etc. We find that this is such a beautiful area to stroll through. The only thing missing are benches were people can sit and taken in everything around them. They really should have benches for people to sit on. The Casino of course does not want you to sit among flowers, they would rather have you sitting in the casino and playing the slots for a while to help make them some money and pay for all of the beautiful things in the hotel.

More to See at the Wynn Hotel

There are many other features to take in while visiting the Wynn casino. for example there is the championship golf course, there are many restaurants to dine at, bars to visit and even a Ferrari store. You have to pay to get into the latter, if you want to visit this particular store. I guess they really want to keep kids and the riff raft out of the store. You have to be really interested to want to pay to see this particular store.

The hotel is also well situated along the strip. Across the road is the fashion show mall. On the other the corners are the Venation hotel  and TI or Treasure island. These are all great places to visit . Spend some time at either going to shows, watching free entertainment or playing in their casinos.

The Wynn hotel and casino is a must see if you are spending time in Las Vegas. Even if you are just visiting and staying at another hotel take some time to visit this hotel. It is definitely worth the walk. We actually go to Starbucks every morning across the street at the Fashion Show Mall. Coffee is a little less expensive and you get out for a walk. It is approximately a 20 minute walk to get from your room, walk through the casino and the hotel, across the street and over to the Starbucks store.

Imagine and it is just across the street. Always take good walking shoes when you are in Las Vegas. You will need them even if you just stay within your own hotel. They are huge and designed to keep you on their property instead of staying to other hotels. Have fun and enjoy Las Vegas.

One of our favorite things to do every time we visit Las Vegas is to go to the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens at the Bellagio hotel. The gardens are located just off the main lobby and you can also access the restaurant as well by walking thought the gardens. The Bellagio changes the gardens to coincide with the seasons so there is always something new to observe.

We have included several pictures of the conservatory at various times of the year. There is always something different  to see and I would recommend at least half an hour to really see all of the gardens. There are usually lots of people taking pictures and looking at the flowers and arrangements of flowers etc in the gardens. This is definitely a must see while you are in Vegas regardless of whether you are staying in the Bellagio or not.

Bellagio Conservatory – Imagination and Originality

You have to really give the designers of these gardens credit. They have a lot of imagination and they definitely are original in their designs.  While the Bellagio does not encourage children at this hotel, this is a place you can bring your children and we are sure they will enjoy the Halloween and Christmas designs and decorations. They really pay attention to detail.

All of the flowers are real and they are watered and manicured every day. Any flower that is not doing well is replaced and any that grow too fast are trimmed. There is a lot of work to maintain these gardens and the folks at the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens do a fantastic job. Again we encourage you to visit and enjoy these gardens.

Other Things to See at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino

This is one hotel everyone has to visit and spend some time at, even if you are not a gambler. As you walk along the strip in front of the hotel you cannot miss the lake in front of the hotel. During the afternoon and evenings, they run regular shows playing beautiful music which the water fountains follow in sync.  Definitely something to see while in Las Vegas.

Inside the hotel there are at least 5 pools that customers can visit and spend relaxing afternoons at. There are several viewing areas for people to step out on to observe the pool area if you are not staying at the hotel. Guests of the pool area must show a valid hotel key in order to enter the pool area.

There are many restaurants at the hotel spread all over the property. This is a 5000+ room hotel plus a large conference center area so there is a lot of walking involved and many restaurants spread around the hotel. One that we enjoy and try to visit every time we go is the little coffee shop just down from the guest elevators. They have really great muffins and coffee among other things and fantastic jam to go along with them. Windows look over the pool area as well so you can enjoy your coffee with a view.

Getting to the Bellagio

If you are driving to the Bellagio, the entrance can be found off the Las Vegas Strip. Use the same entrance for the valet parking or to the parking garage. There is ample parking. It is very safe with an entrance from the garage directly into the hotel lobby area. They now charge for parking in the publich parking garage. If you are walking,  it is a bit of walk. However you can enter from the strip and walk through the shopping area from one side. Or along moving walkways from the other end of the lake.

Both are very enjoyable and there is lots to see as you enter the hotel and the casino. We really like the Bellagio and stay there every chance we get. If we are staying somewhere else at another hotel we always take the time to go to the casino, the gardens and the coffee shop as a minimum. It is almost a tradition now for us to visit the Bellagio Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, the Bellagio Casino. We think you should too even if you do not spend any time gambling, it is well worth the visit.

Other pages on our web site that you may want to visit about the Bellagio hotel can be found by clicking here.