Luxor Las Vegas

Information

Luxor Las Vegas
Location: South Strip
3900 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89119
Contact: 800-288-1000
website
Number of Rooms: 4,400 Rooms
Rates: $69 and up
Average: $100-$150
Resort Fee: $35 per night plus tax
Parking Fee: $10 per day self; $16 per day valet
Vegas4Visitors Rating: 76

At a Glance

Highs

Good location, often good room rates.

Lows

They got rid of a lot of the fun Egypt theme.

Location: 9

Excellent South Strip location.

Price: 7

Usually cheaper than most of its neighbors.

Value: 9

You get a lot for your money here.

Rooms: 7

Nice but not the nicest in town

Casino: 7

The de-Egyptification makes it less of a favorite.

Amenities: 8

Rooms have almost everything you need.

Facilities: 8

5 pools, shows, shopping, entertainment, and much more.

Service: 8

Excellent across the board.

Fun: 5

Not as fun as it used to be.

Bonus: 8

Still a very fine hotel.

Total: 76

Full Review

In its life, the Luxor has gone from being one of my least favorite hotels to one of my most favorite hotels to now, somewhere in the middle.

The original idea was pretty cool: build a 30-story black pyramid in the middle of the desert and put in hotel rooms and a casino with an Egyptian theme. Unfortunately the execution wasn’t as good as the idea and it came off looking like a tacky theme park, complete with a narrated “Nile” boat ride around the perimeter of the casino. Ummm, yeah.

Apparently a lot of people agreed with me and so Mandalay Resorts (the former owners of the property) threw a few bucks at the place (around 300 million of them) and remodeled from top to bottom. Guess what? It was worth it because The Luxor became one of the most interesting, fun, and appealing hotels in town with the Egypt theme still kitschy but in an amusing “only in Vegas” kind of way.

Then, in 2008, the hotel underwent yet another change when they scrubbed the bulk of the Egypt theme away. Gone are the wacky hieroglpyhics, the talking camels, the King Tut exhibit, and pretty much everything else that made this hotel unique. Yes, the pyramid itself is still there, as is The Sphinx guarding the valet parking and a few other “Walk Like an Egyptian” details, but for the most part Cairo is gone and bland luxury has replaced it.

Gone too is the attractions level that used to have an IMAX and a bunch of other family friendly attractions. It now has a couple of restaurants, showrooms, and exhibit space for Bodies and Titanic.

The casino is nice but indistinguishable, a little on the dark and cave-like side for my personal tastes, but comprehensive in terms of gambling options, which include slots of all denominations, table games of every stripe, a sports book, and more. Back on the main level, the former nightclub LAX has been converted to an e-sports arena – 30,000 square-feet to hold up to 1,000 people.

Rooms in the aforementioned pyramid have sloping glass walls that make them a bit bigger, and more interesting, than your standard Vegas box. Decor only has vague hints of the Egyptian mostly in art deco style touches, which could also be New York in the 1920’s. Regardless, the furnishings are okay but absolutely nothing that you might want to take a picture of so you can make the neighbors back home jealous over your swank digs. Important note: most pyramid rooms only have shower stalls, no baths. Upper level “Jacuzzi Rooms” throw in a whirlpool tub under the sloped glass giving you a romantic, bathing-under-the-stars effect.

Rooms in the boxy towers to the north of the pyramid don’t have the sloped ceilings but have slightly nicer furnishings and amenities.

Note that all of the rooms are getting a makeover with the pyramid adding “Cleo” rooms and the towers getting “premium” rooms. To stay in one now will cost a few bucks extra over the old rooms but it’s probably worth it as they have all new furnishings, decor, technology, and fixtures. None of it is worthy of getting all that excited over – it’s all kind of hotel room bland – but it is nicer and newer so it’s something to think about.

Of course there are several restaurants, nightclubs and bars, attractions and games, shopping, and entertainment. See the related reviews below.

There are a total of five pools out back so you have a lot of choices but shade is at a premium. A luxurious spa offers all the niceties including massages, facials, sauna, steam, workout facilities, and more.

Prices remain relatively low – you can sometimes get in the place for as little as $40 during the week and $100 on really slow weekends, but as with all Vegas hotels those prices are volatile and I’ve also seen them three times those rates. If you can get a room toward the lower end of that price range, it’s a good deal. Of course whatever “deal” you get is going to be tempered by the $35 per night (plus tax) resort fee.

And don’t forget about the fees for parking that were instituted in 2016. It costs $10 per day for self parking and $16 per day for valet for hotel guests and non-guests alike. The only way to get out of it is if you have a players’ club card at the Pearl or above level, which gets you free self-parking and the Gold or above level, which gets you free valet.

I am disappointed in the changes at Luxor, but remain mostly bullish on it as a decent, relatively affordable hotel in Las Vegas.