Stratosphere Hotel and Casino Rating: 3.5 Pearls

The Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada

View on a Larger Map

Located on Las Vegas Boulevard, but just beyond the now closed Sahara Hotel (often considered the northernmost end of the Strip), the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino is slightly removed from Vegas frenzy. There's not much in the immediate vicinity, save for an IHOP restauarnt beside the hotel and the AJ's Steakhouse across the street. Excluding the less-popular hotel-casinos like Circus Circus (about a 15-minute walk), most of the major attractions and dining is a short drive away. But once construction resumes on the upcoming high-profile Fontainebleau Las Vegas hotel, it's likely that this neighborhood will change.

Most Las Vegas visitors want to explore the big properties along the densely packed three-and-a-half-mile-long stretch of hotel-casinos known as the Strip. Cabs are easy to find at virtually any time of day or night. A generally less expensive option is the Deuce, a double-decker bus that runs up and down the Strip 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and costs $3 to ride. There's also a monorail system, which stops at MGM Grand, Bally's/Paris, Flamingo/Caesars Palace, Harrah's/Imperial Palace, the Las Vegas Convention Center, and the Hilton. A single-ride ticket is $5; a one-day pass is $13. If you're traveling along the Strip with at least one other person, a cab is often the least expensive option.

• 15-minute drive (or $25 taxi) to McCarran International Airport
• Three- to 10-minute drive to the casinos, performances, incredible restaurants, nightclubs, and designer shopping on the Strip
• Five-minute drive to the Las Vegas Convention Center and to the Fashion Show Mall
• Free on-site parking

Bikini blackjack

• 24-hour room service provided by the on-site restaurant, Lucky's
• No poolside food or drink service, but there's an outdoor poolside bar and café as well as a bikini blackjack station
• Concierge and Budget Rental Car desk available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Nightly turndown service, by request
• Free valet parking; expect to wait about three to five minutes (10 minutes or more when it's busy)
• Next-day dry cleaning
• No free shuttle to the airport or the more central part of the Strip

A Premier Room

• Studio King and Tower Premier Rooms (on a higher floor, with better views) start at 340 square feet -- about average, for Vegas; Strip-View and Pool Level Premier Rooms have better views and are a touch larger (360 and 365 square feet) (likewise, the Luxury Oversized Studios are 396 square feet)
• More elaborate suites -- Luxury Tower Suites (610 square feet); Romance Suites (700 square feet); Star Suites (775 square feet); Presidential Suites (980 square feet); Luxury Grand Suites (1,097 square feet); VIP Suites (1,550 square feet); Penthouse Suites (1,950 square feet); Premier Suites (2,165 square feet) -- include additional perks, like a marble entrances and a larger bathroom with a whirlpool tub.
• Wi-Fi costs $12 per day.
• Old, tube TVs in the standard guest rooms; higher-level suites (from the Star Suite and up) have flat-screens and iPod docks
• Smoking rooms available
• The hotel renovated the Premiere Tower rooms and some bathrooms in 2010.

The tower features multiple rides

• Two pools: the Resort Swimming Pool (open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), has a 67,000-square-foot deck, Jacuzzi, poolside bar and cafe, water volleyball, and pingpong; the topless, adult-only (21 and over) Beach Club 25 pool has closed indefinitely for renovations. Pools renovated in 2010.
• The Roni Josef International Salon and Spa (open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.) offers various massages, mani/pedis, body treatments and facials, bridal treatments, and in-room and poolside massages.
• Spacious gym (open 24 hours) with a variety of cardio and weight machines as well as free weights
• Three excellent rides -- Big Shot, Insanity, and X-Scream
• Shopping center with "culturally-themed" streets
• 1,149-foot Stratosphere Tower -- the tallest freestanding observation tower in the U.S. -- with a large observation deck, a revolving restaurant, and two wedding chapels

The casino

• Over 50 table games, including roulette, blackjack, double-exposure blackjack (a rarity in Vegas), craps, and crapless craps (another rarity in Vegas)
• More than 1,200 video poker and slot games
• Poker room includes no-limit, daily tournaments as well as free, 24-hour poker lessons
• Race and sports book
• Stratosphere Showroom, a large betting space for pro football with 8-by-12-foot flat-screen TVs, offers food and drink specials served by cocktail waitresses dressed as cheerleaders.
• Added a VIP section in 2010.

Top of the World Restaurant

• Top of the World, a revolving restaurant in the Stratosphere tower, offers unmatched, 360 degree views of the Strip and the distant mountains; but expect to pay between $200 and $250 for a less-than-thrilling full course, romantic dinner for two. (The wine list, however, has frequently been noted for excellence by Wine Spectator.)
• Roxy's Diner, reminiscent of the international chain Johnny Rockets, comes with a singing waitstaff to go along with the burgers, shakes, and sandwiches.
• Lucky's, which provides the hotel's 24-hour room service, has an airport restaurant vibe and averages $8 for breakfast, $9 for lunch, and $12 to $13 for dinner.
• Fellini's Italian Dining is good for a substantial and reasonably priced meal if you can get past the cheesy patio furniture atop linoleum and copious amounts of artificial ivy; the menu offers antipasti, salads and soups, and entrees ranging from $14 to $22; the various 10-inch pizzas start at $14, cheaper (and more gourmet) than the whole pizzas at the fast food Tower Pizzeria nearby, which charges $18 to $19 for whole pizzas and $5 for a slice.
• Plate Buffet offers a variety of cuisine -- Pan-Asian, Southwestern, and European -- in addition to the standard comforts.