As I mentioned in my first impressions of this property, all things considered, I found the value quite solid for this budget property. In fact, I would not hesitate to stay again at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas if additional nights were needed for a mattress run.
Excalibur Hotel & Casino Las Vegas Review
I’m not a regular visitor to Las Vegas, but I’ve stayed in some fancy suites at the Wynn and Delano hotels. If you’re looking for luxury, this is not your hotel. But if you are looking for a clean room to lay your head at night, this does just fine.
I traveled from LA to Vegas in search of Hyatt nights…the purpose of the trip was not even to enjoy the hotel. At $23/night plus tax ($25 total with tax), I really thought I may have been better off sleeping in my car. But it wasn’t nearly so bad. Being an MGM Gold helped in that 1.) parking was free (saved $15/night) and 2.) the resort fee was waived (saved $35/night). Add all of that and there is no way I’d ever stay at this property. But at $25/night, I am a buyer.
The hotel is styled after a medieval castle.
Check-In
I did not leave Los Angeles until 10:00 pm, so it was pushing 3:00 am when we arrived (due to my charging stop enroute). I called the hotel before I let so that they would not mark me as a no-show, but the hotel did anyway. The front desk clerk grunted that I would have to wait 10 minutes for her system to reboot before she could check me in, but it actually only took three minutes.
After checking me in and handing me the key, suddenly my electronic card worked in the MGM app. The app also showed I was a “no show” for the first night and she had just checked me in early for the second night.
I went downstairs and (foolishly) spent about 30 minutes at the front desk trying to resolve this the next morning, but it was no use: several people told me that what had been done could not be undone. All assured me I woudl still get my night credit since I was charged the no-show fee equivalent to one night, but I knew I would not…
And of course, I did not. The other nights posted, but not the first night. I’ve requested a missing night credit and will insist upon it, but I have a feeling I’ll be wasting a lot more time on this.
Guest Room
We were assigned room 28251 on the 28th floor. Our room had no view of the strip, which is one nice thing this hotel has, but according to the app I was upgraded to a suite…that looked just like a normal room with two queen beds.
Everything in Las Vegas is by request only: refrigerators are for rent. Water bottles are for purchase. There certainly was no coffee machine or even a hot water kettle. But we came prepared and at least the room was cool and the bed was comfortable and clean. Internet was included and worked well…I did not run a speed test, but it was fast enough to get my work done.
I quite liked the bathroom, with dual sinks and a shower with a steam bath feature that worked very well. I also liked that the large dispensers of soap, shampoo, and conditioner were not in use and instead, we received individual bottles of Kūer-branded product, which seems to be the official MGM brand.
Not a great view, despite being high up:
Swimming Pools
The hotel offers four outdoor pools in a single area outside the resort tower (one of the pools was closed). The mornings were somewhat cloudy, which was a relief for me, since we used that time to go swimming and the sun was not intense (it would warm up to 110ºF during the heat of the afternoon).
One pool was specially intended for children who could not swim (1.5 feet deep) but Augustine used one of the regular pools.
Towels and water (both still and sparkling) are free and drinks and food can be ordered. Basic beach chairs are free to sit on while padded chairs or cabanas are available for rent. There’s very little shade in the pool area.
Fitness Center
I stopped by the fitness center several times and it was always crowded. Considering the number of rooms in the hotel and the relatively small size of the gym, that was not a surprise. There are more than enough strength resistance and cardiovascular machines here for a great workout and most are fairly new.
Tip: Free bottles of water are available in the gym.
Spa
I peeked in the spa just to see if there was a sauna and steam room…there was not. That made me all the more thankful for the steam bath in my own room. A variety of massages are available…and not cheap like the room.
Buffet
The hotel offers a breakfast/brunch buffet open daily from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm, but does not have an evening buffet. The buffet is $28.99 for adults and $16.99 for kids during the week and $31.99/$17.99 (respectively) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
We found the section to be decent (there’s a pretty good seafood and sushi spread as well as an omelet bar and craving station) but the quality was not great. If you do try it, do enjoy a freshly-made crepe for dessert.
Dining
There are other bars and restaurants in hotel including:
- Baja Fresh
- Buca di Beppo
- Dick’s Last Resort
- Drenched Bar & Grill
- Food Court
- Auntie Anne’s Pretzels
- Big Chill
- Cinnabon
- Einstein Bros. Bagels
- Fatburger
- Hot Dog on a Stick
- Krispy Kreme
- Pick Up Stix
- Pizza Hut Express
- Popeyes Chicken
- Schlotzsky’s
- Johnny Rockets (24/7)
- Orange Julius / Dairy Queen
- Starbucks
- The Roasted Bean (coffee) – in both towers outside elevator banks
All are priced for Las Vegas (i.e., higher than in your own city or town). Augustine and I ate down the street.
Casino
I’m not a gambler, but we walked back and forth through the casino often. I find it sad to see people slouched over smoking a cigarette and wasting money in these sorts of places where the odds are stacked so heavily in favor of the house, but there appeared to be the usual mix of video slot machines, blackjack, and a roped off “high-limit” area that was posher than the rest of the casino.
Shows
There were signs everywhere for the Tournament of Kings dinner and show as well the Thunder From Downunder…show? (I once had a colleague who worked with me in the White House who went to this show and described it pretty graphically…). Sorry, no reviews.
Parking
As I mentioned, parking was included due to my MGM Club membership but otherwise $15/night. Both covered and uncovered parking are available. Be aware, the hotel smells like marijuana outside and I saw many guys smoking weed in the parking lot and outside the hotel entrance.
> Read More: The Excalibur Weed House In Las Vegas
CONCLUSION
When you add everything up, I think there is no denying this hotel is a pretty good value for the money. I’d never stay here if not for the relationship to Hyatt (meaning I will likely never stay again after the end of September 2023), but there is nothing that would make me discourage you from trying out this property if you needed the elite nights or wanted to save some money. Do be warned that the resort fee is often more than the room rate itself (that’s a whole different issue…) but this is a problem you will face at many Las Vegas hotels.
Thanks for sharing. Truly excellent value. For $25, I would have stayed a couple of weeks 😉
I recently spent a couple of nights at Luxor, and even without MGM or Hyatt status, I still think that it’s a pretty good value. Reserved a spacious and somewhat high-end tower suite for roughly $150 /night (incl resort fee) + $18 /night for parking (at all MGM properties). No complaints at all.
That being said, I think that the best value (for non status holders) right now are Virgin and Conrad. If I recall correctly, I paid roughly $250 /night for a very nice Conrad suite, and $150 /night for an excellent top-floor corner room at Virgin, all-in. Wouldn’t hesitate to return.
Didn’t you take Augustine to the games area? Or doesn’t it exist anymore? My memories from my first and only visit to Vegas as a child are filled with days of spending may rolls of quarters down there – which I’m sure has increased many times by now.
Am I the only one that don’t see value in paying $28 for a buffet breakfast? It may be my origins but a latte and a small pastry all I need for breakfast. I usually find a local bakery or pastry shop when I am traveling and that’s is all I need.
$15 parking + $35 resort fee? And I’m guessing that is on the low end for properties on the strip. I won’t bother how much taxes are in Vegas. Then throw in all of the price gouging for food/drinks.
And yeah I agree that $28 for breakfast is pretty crazy. I don’t eat much for breakfast and if I do, I’m out of it for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately I’m guessing a coffe/tea/drink + croissant would likely run at least $12-15.
And what is the name of the good looking plush toy on the bed?
What did you do with your days in Vegas? If you make a reservation, Area 15 can be a lot of fun. Your son seems a bit young for the Mob Museum.
Did you mean Area 51 or is this something else?
Area 15 is correct. Has a number of attractions. The Omega Mart is an “art” experience that is impressive. Hard to describe it but worth a visit.
“I find it sad to see people slouched over smoking a cigarette and wasting money….”
People might say the same thing about jetting across the world for a rubber duck?
That is true indeed.
If you don’t gamble, how are you an MGM gold patron?
You must not have been there lately. Yes the cost of the room is affordable but you get what you pay form l. I stayed there the second weekend back in July. It was a nightmare!!!!. The digital keys never worked. We did the check in on the app got our digital keys. They worked in the elevator but when we got to our room , no go. Maintenance was there but couldn’t let us in, he called security. We also called the front desk. We waited an hour no one cane, we called the front desk several times and finally someone said to come down and get room keys. There was blood stains on the wall and on the sheets on one bed. They didn’t service the room until 7:30 PM. The whole one side of our hall/wing didn’t even get service. Security was so unprofessional. Went to the pool bought a big beverage from the pool bar.. I left to check on my mother with said beverage that had Excalibur on the sides. Was hassled about taking it back into the pool, they considered it an outside drink even though it was purchased inside the pool grill,, was searched unprofessionally. While in side saw people with Walmart water bottles and other beverages that were definitely not purchased there. Group of women were smoking pot 3 feet from my 9 year old nephew even though it states on their posted signage not allowed by law to consume in public. Of course security did nothing. Our hall was full of trash, empty bottles and cans for days. People were ripping the wall paper in the hall way and someone threw up in one of the elevators and they stopped it and left it open for 2 days without cleaning it up!!! You could smell it through out the whole floor. These are just a few things. Spoke to management and only got two breakfast buffets for our hardship. Send complaints when they send questionnaire email, sent corporate email. Of course no response!!!!!!! Shit hole never staying there again!!!! Was booked in August but canceled reservations!!!
I was just there last week. I thought it was fine, but my expectations were low.
I was there in June, thankfully only to eat at the buffet, not to stay or gamble. Yeah, $25 is cheap, but this place is pretty down-at-heel. And I thought the breakfast buffet was meh. If I was on an extremely tight budget I think Luxor is better.
Do you mean the buffet at Luxor?
This hotel is really a pig with lipstick. Our room has a brown liquid surrounding the base of the toilet, they was part of a black balloon tucked into one of the white towels, and some of the outlets did not work. Some of the staff are friendly, some of them look absolutely miserable and it comes out in their interactions. The worst part…. Was the smell! Mix of super powerful Lysol/some weird air freshener, cigarettes, and stale mold. price does not match quality… at all.
Hi, under your photos of the spa/gym. There is a picture that shows a coffee maker and some coffee pods, etc. Is that in the gym? Because I would love to know where to get a free cup of coffee inside the hotel.
Yes, that is in spa, but I that is only for spa guests.