Rio All Suites Hotel & Casino — Hotel Review Rating: 4.0 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reporter: Corina Z.
Updated: August 19, 2009

 Scene

With its sensual Brazilian theme, the 2,526-suite Rio is home to lingerie-clad cocktail waitresses and the "Show in the Sky," with Victoria's Secret-clad dancers writhing around on suspended Carnival floats. While parents do book here -- young kids can be found splashing around in the waterfall pool -- vacationing couples and conventioneers are far more prevalent.

Rio doesn't have MGM's lions or Paris' Eiffel Tower, but plenty of Strip traffic comes over to the two shimmering purple-and-red glass towers for the popular Village Seafood buffet. Fortunately, traffic goes both ways -- a free shuttle to the Strip ensures that guests at this off-the-Strip hotel aren't isolated from the action.

Rio welcomes the annual World Series of Poker, but the hotel has seen some unfortunate closings of late. The Lucky Strike bowling alley has shut down, and after prostitution arrests, the strip club-sponsored topless pool was shuttered. And Prince ended his club show recently.

 Service

Though they seem to have no shortage of staff, Rio suffers from what ails many 2,000-plus-room hotels: a too-heavy volume of guests. The front desk, staffed by more than five receptionists, tries to move guests through check-in and checkout quickly, but the wait in line can be 15 minutes long. Calls to the front desk and concierge aren't always answered promptly (after calling the concierge twice, I was asked to leave a message). When I had a problem with my Internet hookup, the front desk connected me to the hotel's IT department, which told me it was a problem in the entire wing that the front desk had been alerted to. Yet the woman at the front desk was unaware of a problem, adding, "It's working fine here."

Other services run more smoothly. Bellhops always linger around the entrance, ready to hail cabs or store luggage. And the prompt, reasonably priced room service runs 24 hours a day. Room-service charges are low: a $2.50 surcharge plus tip. Like with many Vegas hotels, concierge service closes by 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.

 Location

On the corner of West Flamingo Road and Valley View Boulevard, Rio is about a mile west of the Strip, the densely packed three-and-a-half-mile-long stretch of hotel-casinos. Guests often head across Valley View to Gold Coast for its lower-stakes casino and authentic dim sum restaurant. Catty-corner to the Rio, the party-hearty Palms attracts visitors with its celeb-frequented clubs and casino. Otherwise, the area directly outside Rio can feel isolated. Few people are on the streets (most come and go via cabs or cars), nor is the area very well lit.

To get to the Strip, guests can take the free Harrah's shuttle, which leaves every half hour from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. and stops at the Rio, Harrah's, Paris/Bally's, and Caesars.

The Rio is about a $16 to $25 cab ride from the airport.

 Rooms

What you'll find at the Rio are no-frills suites ideal for cramming in friends or family (the limit is five people per room) for relatively cheap rates (a little more than Bally's, but usually less than Paris and Caesars). Therein lies Rio's appeal. Huge, 600-square-foot suites make up in size what they lack in style. My standard suite in the Masquerade Tower had enough room for a sitting area and two-chair dining table, but the dated beige sectional couch and old GE alarm clock screamed out for replacement. The 32-inch Zenith tube offers no free movie channels, just the usual selection of pay-per-view new releases ($13.99 each).

The bed, a Serta Perfect Sleeper with no extra feathertop mattress cushioning, serves its purpose well enough -- but it can't touch the thickly padded, high-thread-count dreams at Trump or Bellagio. The two-sink, two-room bathroom is set up so that one person can use the sink outside while someone else showers behind a closed door.

The room decor might have changed since my stay because the Masquerade suites are currently undergoing a "mini facelift" -- changes in bedding, furniture, and the like. Still, a safer bet is to book a suite in the Ipanema Towers, which were given a full renovation -- not just a facelift -- in 2006.

The one luxurious feature of Rio is the wall of windows that spans one whole side of the suite. Although mine overlooked a less-than-scenic highway and Outback Steakhouse, at night Vegas' neon lights illuminated the room.

 Features

Rio's pool area might be called Voodoo Beach, but beachcombers won't find too much beach -- just a small ring of sand attached to the largest pool, which attracts most of Rio's kiddie contingent. Young and middle-aged couples swarm around the three main pools for a lively pool scene. Maybe too lively. Rio's topless pool, sponsored by local strip club Sapphire, has been closed in the wake of prostitution arrests on-site. The pool area closes at the strangely early hour of 6 p.m.

Rio houses a gigantic, 160,000-square-foot convention center -- and consequently a big business center catering to that crowd. The extensive services include shipping packages well over 100 pounds (even crates), binding and laminating, and printing signs, banners, and business cards. Guests who just need to go online would do better at the Internet kiosks ($.35/minute) rather than the business center's Internet suites ($.50).

The Rio's fitness center is nicer than the ones at Paris or Bally's, if only because the gym's windows let in light and afford a view of the pools. As with many Vegas hotels, the fitness center is part of the spa and costs extra. The $22 day pass includes access to the spa's Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and common areas. Plenty of strength training machines and treadmills here, but expect a wait for the only two ellipticals.

Rio's somewhat cookie-cutter spa offers the full gamut of services (massage, body treatment, waxing, etc.), but with its basic wooden cabinetry and ho-hum Jacuzzi, this is not what you'd call a luxury spa. Massages are about $20 more than at Bally's, but the overall look of the place is not that much different. I'd save the money for a trip to the top-notch Spa at Trump or Spa at Bellagio.

The two-floor Masquerade Village is more a space for Rio's a la carte restaurants than a real shopping mecca. The World Series of Poker store and Chippendales store, proffering much in the way of campy bachelorette-party mementos, are the two main shops of note.

 Casino

At more than 100,000 square feet, Rio's substantial casino offers around 1,200 slot and video poker machines, 80 table games, a keno lounge, and a stylish race and sports book with six big screens, a dozen 70-inch TVs and more than 20 32-inch TVs. Rio is also home to the annual World Series of Poker and hosts a daily no-limit Texas Hold-'em tournament in its poker room.

 Entertainment

Four nights a week, Masquerade Village is home to the free "Show in the Sky." Dancers clad in Victoria's Secret lingerie and slinky Bebe garb swing through the sky on Brazilian Carnival floats suspended from the casino's ceiling.

The music at the rooftop VooDoo Lounge -- mostly local bands and DJ night -- isn't always worth the $20 cover, but the patio view of all of Vegas is. Unfortunately the best viewing spots are taken up by bottle-service couches.

Penn and Teller perform several nights a week at Rio's Penn and Teller Theater. Tickets are $75 to $85. Chippendales also has its own theater here -- the 12 dancers perform 7 nights a week, and tickets are $39.95 and $49.95. The Chippendales bar, Flirt, stays open afterwards for post-show cocktails.

Other nightlife options include McFadden's, an Irish pub in Masquerade Village; i-Bar, the lobby lounge equipped with Microsoft Surface-enhanced tables that customers can play games on; and the Latin-themed ND's Fuego -- the Evolution of Nightlife.

 Family

One look at the casino cocktail waitresses -- clad in nothing but a butt-grazing lace negligee held together by the grace of God -- and the message seems clear: This ain't a family resort. But the occasional family does book here, likely for the spacious suites. I saw several kids at Voodoo Beach, playing in the sand around the shallow end of the big pool.

The Rio will allow up to five people to crash in even the standard 600-square-foot suite, which is available with two queen-size beds. The couch doesn't pull out into a bed, but rollaways can be rented for $30 a night and cribs are free. The bathroom's separate vanity area set off from the shower/toilet room allows for multiple family members to share the space.

Parents will find a couple of great kid-friendly restaurants here, from the burgers at the All American Grille to the Carnival World Buffet with its mac and cheese, pizza -- and 70 types of pies.

 Cleanliness

Overall the common areas are very clean: pools and Jacuzzis clear of dirt and debris and the buffet tables are kept clean. In my room, I spotted some dust on the Ethernet hookup and alarm clock, and the corners of the tub had a bit of mildew -- but overall, no real cause for alarm.

 Food

Rio's restaurants are, no question, a notch above what you'll find at similarly priced hotels like Paris or Bally's. The buffets are among the best in Vegas, and branches of well-regarded restaurants like New York City's RUB BBQ and former "Sopranos" caterer Steve Martorano's Cafe Martorano have recently opened. Instead of offering up a single pan-Asian spot and calling it a day, Rio has Chinese and Japanese options along with Gaylord -- the only Indian restaurant I've seen at a casino.

Rio regularly scores high marks for its Carnival World buffet and Village Seafood buffet. But while the Carnival World buffet pulls out the stops with 300-plus dishes, I found that the tasteless mac-and-cheese and so-so pizza pales in comparison to what's offered at the smaller and not-much-more-expensive buffet at Bellagio.

The more impressive Village Seafood buffet pulls in a fan base far beyond hotel guests with its all-you-can-eat crab legs, shrimp, mussels, oysters, and anything that once roamed a seabed. I found the crab claws to be on the dry side, and though the seafood is said to be flown in daily, the gigantic pile of raw oysters gave me pause. But the succulent crab legs, revolving wheel of gelato and seafood dishes from around the world (from Cuban shrimp stew to Baja fish tacos) ultimately sold me. Village Seafood lacks the all-you-can-eat caviar and filet mignon of Bally's Sterling Buffet -- but at $38, it's also $60 cheaper.

Room-service costs are cheap: a $2.50 delivery fee plus tip. Breakfast and lunch prices hover around $12 to $14, and the huge $11 chicken Caesar salad was a meal unto itself.

 Bottom Line

The roomy standard suites at the 2,526-room Rio sleep up to five, making them a tremendous deal for small groups. The restaurants and seafood buffet offer better fare than many other budget-priced hotels do, and the view from the rooftop bar is memorable. The off-the-Strip location is a drag, but a free shuttle helps.