Rio Hotel Las Vegas - Hotel Review
By traveltripz on Feb 28, 2008 in Las Vegas, Hotel Reviews, Reviews, USA, Hotels
The main reason for our trip to Las Vegas was to attend The Affiliate Summit which was held at the Rio Hotel so it made good sense for us to stay there during this time. As we found out when we came over to the States for the Affiliate Summit in Maimi in 2007, it is so much more convenient if you stay at the venue.
The airport shuttle dropped us off right outside the door and there was a queue to check in. Check in was quick and simple and the chap behind the desk was pleasant. We were given the keys to room 1534 along with a folder of special deals for shows and meals.
We walked through the slot machine area to the elevators and came to a somewhat confusing muddle of corridors and it took us a moment to work out which direction we had to head in to find the room. Mind you at this stage we were a little stir crazy from the constant travel.
The room was very large, with two queen sized beds, (love how the beds are all queen sized here in the States, so far), a 
lounge, coffee table, table for the computer and two chairs, a seperate dressing area and bathsroom with shower over the bath.
The toiletries were a bit sparse, only one small vial of shampoo, which isn’t quite enough between two women. Also included was a small bottle of body lotion and a bottle of mouthwash.
The bathroom was separated from the dressing room with a lockable door. It was large and the bathtub was bigger than what you would find in most hotels. The shower water pressure was excellent and it was easy to control the temperature of the water.
The toilet was nothing out of the ordinary apart from the fact that it had a label which stated that each flush would use 1.6 gallons (6 litres) of water. For the uninitiated, toilets in America are similar to those in Asia in that the bowl is full of water that drains away when flushed and bowl refills.
There is a single cup coffee making machine and coffee provided. We left a note requesting some tea bags and the housekeeper obligingly left these for us each day. There was a mini bar in the television cabinet and also a seperate (empty) fridge in the dressing room area, which we found really convenient for drinks and fruit that we brought during the day.
There were no problems with housekeeping - the room was well cleaned each day and the various toiletries and other bits and pieces were replenished.
The safe was big enough to take the laptop, bearing in mind our laptop only has a 14″ screen. The safe has an electonic keypad where you enter a four digit code and the instructions were easy to understand.
The internet wired connection cost $9.99 for a 24hr period and the connection was reasonably quick. We never had a problem with the connection dropping out.
The dressing room area also had an ironing board, iron, hair dryer and a separate sink from the bathroom.
The TV cabinet contained a 26in (68cm) TV which faced towards the window rather than towards the beds. Paula, thinking she wouldn’t be able to watch TV from her bed was most concerned, however we realised that the TV was on a pullout platform that enabled the TV to be rotated to face the beds.
Lighting was very dull. There were no ceiling lights but instead a series of lamps which really weren’t terribly bright. This may suit the holiday maker but for business people who want to do a bit of work it really isn’t bright enough. The dressing room area on the other hand was very well lit with Hollywood style lighting over the mirrors.
The view from our room was out of Las Vegas towards a mountain of which we have no idea what it is called. Quite spectacular!
The rooms were quit quiet although we could hear our neigbours next door at times as we had a connecting door.
The hotel is huge, like most Las Vegas hotels, and the Affiliate Summit was held in the convention area of the hotel which was a good 10 minute walk from the hotel rooms. Although the convention area is in the hotel it is set apart from the casino so there is no noise or distractions from the slot machines.
We found that in general the staff in the hotel were friendly and helpful. The shuttle bus drivers were helpful and pleasant and the restaurant staff were much the same.
The casino itself is large and noisy and a typical casino. If you are a male you will have fun watching the drink hostesses wandering around the casino in the smallest of outfits. In fact, of all the hotels we went into, the girls at the Rio where the least.
One thing not to miss in the casino areas is the Masquerade in the Sky Show which is held on the hour from 6pm till midnight in the Masquerade area. It’s free but if you would like to star in the show it will cost you $12.95.
The Rio Hotel is not on The Strip but you can walk it in about 20 minutes or there are free shuttle buses which run every 30 minutes from 10am till 1am and take no more than 10 minutes. They travel to Caesars Palace, Harrah’s, Paris and Bally’s and back again. You don’t need to show proof that you stay in the hotels to travel on them.
We only had one meal at the hotel which was at the American Bar and Grill. This was reasonably priced at about $35 for two, for quite a large, tasty meal (of burgers and fries with a milk shake) and the service was fine.
Checking out was very smooth and the attendant behind the counter was very friendly and genuinely showed an interest in how we were doing and where we were heading.
Our Rating of the Rio Hotel:
Checking in and out 5/5
Room 5/5
Position 3.5/5
Price 3/5
Cleanliness 5/5
Booking this hotel is easy through: Expedia.com!
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