Palace Station

Information

Palace Station
Location: Just Off The Strip
2411 W. Sahara Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89102
Contact: 800-634-3101
website
Number of Rooms: 1,029 rooms
Rates: $39 and up double
Average: $75-$125 per night
Resort Fee: $34 per night including tax
Vegas4Visitors Rating: 75

At a Glance

Highs

Low cost, high value.

Lows

A major remodeling and expansion project is causing some construction inconveniences.

Location: 7

Close to The Strip and a free shuttle to boot.

Price: 8

Rooms are often very inexpensive here.

Value: 9

Hard to do better for the price.

Rooms: 7

Comfortable and modern.

Casino: 7

Big and offers plenty of gaming options at low limits.

Amenities: 6

Missing a few niceties but only a few.

Facilities: 8

Lots to see and do here.

Service: 9

As good as at all of the Station properties.

Fun: 7

Low costs and lots to do – what’s not fun about that?

Bonus: 7

A very good hotel.

Total: 75

Full Review

This hotel is in the midst of a major makeover that will include a new room tower, a remodeled casino removing all of the train station theme, new restaurants, a bowling alley, luxry movie theaters, a resort style poll, and more. Work has already been (mostly) completed on the exterior, giving it a much more modern look and feel but major construction is still going on now that they have torn down the old courtyard rooms so take everything you read from this point forward with a grain of salt.

The Stations Casinos family of hotels is one of the best in Las Vegas, providing good to great accommodations with tons of entertainment, dining, and gambling options usually at lower costs than what you’ll pay on The Strip. Their Red Rock Resort and Green Valley Ranch hotels are among my personal favorites in town and places like Santa Fe Station and Sunset Station offer almost unbeatable value.

But their first and best located hotel for most Vegas visitors, Palace Station, has always been an “also-ran” for me. While they were dumping money into their other properties, this one located just off The Strip on Sahara, languished in comparison to its sister hotels and to Las Vegas hotels in general. This remodel should make it much more competitive with Strip resorts and with other off-Strip locals’ joints.

The casino is crowded and a bit smoky but it provides every bit of gambling entertainment you could possibly want. The rambling layout offers more than 1,600 machines in all denominations but focusing on the penny, nickel, and quarter varieties. All have the ticket-in, ticket-out capability and there are a higher than average amount of video poker machines for fans. Over four dozen table games of all stripes offer lower than average limits and if that doesn’t do it for you there is also poker room, a bingo hall, a race and sports book, and a keno lounge.

For dining there is a branch of the corporate chain’s very popular Feast Buffet and a host of other options including a fine Mexican joint, a 24-hour café, a steakhouse, and more. Again, I have to stress the cost factor here. The buffet, while certainly not the most extravagant in town, is only $10 at dinner and unlike some places that charge that kind of rate, you won’t regret not having paid more elsewhere.

The “Tower” rooms on the other hand are the ones to pay attention to. They have have sleek, modern furnishings in warm earth tones, flat panel televisions, safes, Internet, coffee makers, and more. The beds are comfortably plush and the linens are soft. The bathrooms have big wrap around vanities and glass-enclosed, walk-in showers replacing the tubs in most rooms. It all adds up to a much higher quality quotient than you’d expect in a hotel that charges the kind of rates this one does.

So as long as we’re on the subject, let’s talk about the prices. You can get rooms here as low as $35 per night (before the $34 resort fee is tacked on) during the week and $100 on weekends, although the more typical rates are going to be around $80 weekdays and $150 weekends.

Even on the high end, those are remarkable rates for any hotel in Las Vegas, much less one that offers this much in the way of service and amenities.

Although it is not right on The Strip, it is only a short cab ride away. They also offer a free shuttle to and from the airport for guests and another that goes from the hotel to the Fashion Show Mall. If you’re driving they offer plenty of free parking in an uncovered lot or a parking garage and also have a free valet, which is nice considering almost everywhere on The Strip is charging these days.

The staff is unfailingly pleasant and helpful – a hallmark of the Station Casinos brand and a welcome relief from the sometimes too stuffy goings on at the big Strip hotels.

The construction, which is expected to last well into 2018, is a factor to consider but the cost may make it worthwhile.