The results for "The Best and Worst Of Las Vegas 2006"

[Steve]

Hi Everyone,

Here are the results for the 1st annual "Everything LV Best and Worst of Las Vegas Poll 2006."

Winners were determined by awarding your 1st place choice with 5 points, your 2nd place choice with 3 points and your 3ed place choice with 1 points. We then added those numbers up to determine the 1st.2nd and 3rd place winners.

An here they are:

Best Hotel.
1-Bellagio
2-Wynn Las Vegas
3-Venetian

Worst Hotel
1- Circus Circus
2-Imperial Palace
3-Excalibur

Best Restaurant
1-Mon Ami Gabi at The Paris
2-Delmonico's at The Venetian
3-Tie
Commanders's Palace formerly at The Aladdin
The Range at Harrah's

Worst Restaurant
1-Pink Pony at Circus Circus
2-Rainforest Cafe at MGM
3-ANY McDonalds

Best Buffet
1-Aladdin
2-Rio
3-Bellagio

Worst Buffet
1-Circus Circus
2-Excalibur
3-Imperial Palace
Note: The Rio buffet also made this list coming in at # 8

Best Headliner/Show
1-Mystere
2-Blue Man Group
3-Celine Dion

Best Show/Headliner/Smaller Venue
1-Mac King
2-Big Elvis
3-Larry G. Jones

Worst Show at any venue
1-Crazy Girls
2-Amazing Jonathan
3-Celine Dion
Note: Celine's show made the BEST and the Worst list.

Best Las Vegas Bargain
1-Ellis Island $4.95 Steak dinner
2-Free Drinks while gambling
3-The Bellagio Fountains

Biggest Ripoff
1-Taxi Fares
2-The Monorail
3-Room Rates

My 3 all-time Las Vegas Favorites
1-Gambling/Winning
2-Dinning Selections
3-Tie
People Watching
Bellagio Conservatory

My 3 all-time least favorite things to do
1-Leaving Las Vegas
2-Waiting in line
3-Losing

Best Race and Sportsbook
1-Caesar's
2-Las Vegas Hilton
3-Mirage
Note: Even though it's closed, the Stardust came in at #4.

I really want to thank all the volunteers that helped me with this poll. I could not have done this alone. In fact I didn't have to do any of the counting as there were enough volunteers to do it all :D

I look forward to doing this again for 2007 and hopefully will have few more categories.

Steve

[BOBNDEE]

:) Thanks to all of you, a great job.
I didn't vote, but I agree with most the choices.

[parisbill]

RE: Leaving Las Vegas...

I never say goodbye upon leaving Las Vegas.

I prefer to think "I will return ..... sooner than later"

parisbill

[mr1ed]

Hate to leave but! I figger what I lose they are just holden it till next time I get there

[deemaxx95]

Steve:
I was happy to volunteer. Thanks for all the great work you do with this group. Happy Valentines Day.
Diann

[jensen232]

I enjoyed helping on the survey and would be more than happy to help on any future issue. Since the wife and I enjoy Vegas a lot, its a nice escape from the everyday life here in Florida.

[ianwaldecker]

When I went to the Aladdin buffet for breakfast back in October it reminded me of a catered meal not a real buffet. The food was ok, but it was absolutely nothing special. The hotel was starting to be reconfigured for Planet Hollywood, and I think their buffet was the first thing to go, or be moved. By no means would I ever consider it "the best". It was edible, but for the price, I probably could have gone to Bellagio or Wynn.
How could this be voted "the best"? The only thing it had going for it was the view.

Maybe I missed something?!?! :confused:
~Ian

[edmond47]

Jumping off of Ian's post, I must have missed something at The Range, because I was completely underwhelmed: fine, but nothing special, and not really worth it. Perhaps this is a case of a lot of people going somewhere and finding it good and voting it in, versus a really great place that might not have a lot of diners.

Other than that, though, the poll pretty much squares with my experience, including Celine as the best and worst show!

[gwoodall@srv.net]

When I went to the Aladdin buffet for breakfast back in October it reminded me of a catered meal not a real buffet. The food was ok, but it was absolutely nothing special. The hotel was starting to be reconfigured for Planet Hollywood, and I think their buffet was the first thing to go, or be moved. By no means would I ever consider it "the best". It was edible, but for the price, I probably could have gone to Bellagio or Wynn.
How could this be voted "the best"? The only thing it had going for it was the view.

Maybe I missed something?!?! :confused:
~Ian

Well, Ian, you missed a GREAT buffet if you didn't go to the diner buffet. I must say, however, that I've never gone to the breakfast buffet, but I have been to the diner buffet numerous times and have always been totally satisfied, particularly with the split-shell king crab legs, something missing from most all other buffets. Now I haven't been to the buffet since May of 2006, so maybe things have changed.

Gene
woodall3118@msn.com

[jslocke52]

We stayed at Excalibur the week after Thanksgiving in 2005, responding to an attractive room rate offer. Our general comment from our stay was that the room was clean, beds comfortable, but the staff was not keeping up with routine maintenance. Two problems we noted in our specific room were that the faucets were loose in the bathroom and the shower door dragged in the tracks. They were the kind of things that travelers are used to tolerating for a few days, rather than bothering to call in hotel maintenance for repairs during their stays.

Our main issue, however, was with the wall mounted heating/ac unit, which we found to be noisy. We had stayed at Excalibur once before during the summer, and called in maintenance that time. We were told that our heating/ac unit was about as noisy as the rest, so changing rooms would not help. We thought we would be safe going to Excalibur in the winter when the compressor wouldn't be running. Most of these units use an electric element for heating and the compressor, used for cooling, produces most of the noise, not the blower. However, the unit was still noisy, in our opinion, in heating mode.

We were asked to fill out the customer satifaction survey after our stay and we noted the problems we found. We got a nice reply from Tufani Scruggs, Customer Satisfaction Manager at Excalibur, acknowledging that there were problems and outlining two programs they had in place to address the issues, one to address the current problems and the other a complete renovation of rooms, to be done in phases.

In the meantime, we can say if you just want a clean, relatively inexpensive, hotel room on the Strip to crash in after after a busy day, Excalibur may be right for you. If your stay includes spending time relaxing in your room, you might choose a different hotel.

We have found that Excalibur is not typical of the other resorts in the MGM Mirage group. We have been very pleased with Luxor, which is connected to Excalibur by a covered walkway.

[PinkFloydActuary]

Worst Restaurant
1-Pink Pony at Circus Circus
2-Rainforest Cafe at MGM
3-ANY McDonalds


Oooh. The one thing I refuse to do when in Vegas is go to any restaurant that I can go to while I'm home. So McDs, Rainforest Cafe, PF Changs, etc. are off the possibilities list. Give me something I can only get in LV!!! :D

[YSinAppleton]

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this poll. I agree with most of the winners and losers. I do think that the Paris breakfast buffet is wonderful, but not for dinner, so guess it couldn't make the best list. Agree that the Bellagio is still the number one hotel in Vegas. Thank again for doing this.

[emmit1]

I can't believe the buffet at Fitzgerald's didn't make the worst list. Maybe the low price makes the low quality OK.

[Steve]

In response to the Aladdin buffet comments, I am wondering if the comment is based upon the "temporary Buffet" that was set up, which I agree was horrible or was it based on the permanent buffet. I can't remember when it reopened.

Steve

[ianwaldecker]

I don't know if it was permanent or temporary, but it took a while to find. As I remember, it was in a wing at the end of a large room which had some video gaming machines in it, and this room also looked like part of a convention/meeting area. It wasn't on the main floor, it was up atleast 1 or 2 levels. As I mentioned, the view was great, huge windows and a full view of Bellagio.
~Ian

[Steve]

Yep that was the temporary one and it was terrible. Next trip try the regular one and I think you're opinion will change.

Steve

[adpflyer1]

3 comments I'll make. First, it's a crying shame what Planet Hollywood is doing to the Aladdin! I was in the casino January 15th and all those beautiful decorations are gone! In their place is plain old brown and beige walls and collums. It's the dullest decor I've ever seen and it saddened me so much that I had to leave. Planet Hollywood should be ashamed of themselves for what they are doing to this casino! Second, I've stayed at the Excalibur 3 times and while it is not Wynn's or Bellagio, I love the theam of the casino and hotel and I never had any problems with the rooms. People staying here have to realize it is inexpensive and budget consious and they shouldn't expect a fancy suite. Third, I was glad to see Larry G Jones as one of the best shows! His talent is amazing and his dead on impressions had tears in my eyes I was laughing so much! It won't be long before he is performing in a huge showroom on the strip!

[JOANIE]

Well, Ian, you missed a GREAT buffet if you didn't go to the diner buffet. I must say, however, that I've never gone to the breakfast buffet, but I have been to the diner buffet numerous times and have always been totally satisfied, particularly with the split-shell king crab legs, something missing from most all other buffets. Now I haven't been to the buffet since May of 2006, so maybe things have changed.

Gene
woodall3118@msn.com

We were there dec. 5th. Stayed at the hotel for 5 nights because of an invite to a slot tournament. The noise at times in the casino made us leave! WE went to the buffet on the night of arrival. The soup was cold and the beef was so tough we could not eat it. I have to say the deserts were good but the whole thing was not worth the price. We will not go back to the buffet. I do hope I will get another invite to the slot tournament. It was a lot of fun....I won $300 that I then used to get $900.

[freckl57]

Im surprise the Steak House at Bally's didnt make the best to eat. We ate at the one at the Venetian we didnt have good service the food cant really say we never got served. The noise in there was so loud and noisy not relaxing at all.
So when we stumbled across the Steak House at Bally's we were amazed...Great Food....Great Service...and quiet...you cant even tell its full when you get there.....So much Better then the Venetian.....
So seeing we live here in Vegas be go to the Steak House alot.

[tama01]

quote:
Well, Ian, you missed a GREAT buffet if you didn't go to the diner buffet. I must say, however, that I've never gone to the breakfast buffet, but I have been to the diner buffet numerous times and have always been totally satisfied, particularly with the split-shell king crab legs, something missing from most all other buffets. Now I haven't been to the buffet since May of 2006, so maybe things have changed.

Went there, as well as the other buffets... didn't get to vote, but the king crag legs at cravings is much better.... just my opinion... :)

[iam4nd]

Enjoyed both reviewing the poll results and helping tally one of the categories. It will be interesting to see how and if things change next year.

Wonder if a category like "least favorite thing to do in Las Vegas" could be somehow adjusted to eliminate the generalizations like "leaving" and "losing" and "sleeping". Obviously nobody likes to go back home or lose money but how do you make the category more specific to see how "walking too far", "fighting the crowds", "battling the heat", "waiting in lines", and "avoiding time-share hawkers and/or porn-slappers" would rate against each other in the poll?

[The Gumbo Man]

Here is a top ten list of New Catagories for the Next Everything LV Best and Worst of Las Vegas Poll:

10: Best Check-In Experience

nomination: The automated system at Riviera

9: Least distance between where your room is and where you ended up having to park

nomination: Barbary Coast, where I saw Pamela Anderson in the parking garage at 6 in the morning.

8: Most annoying thing on the Strip

nomination: Those little guys who do not speak English but insist on handing you business cards and flyers for smut, porn and lewd behavior ;)
runner-up: tourists who take those cards and then litter up the sidewalks with them, where anybody, even little kids, end up having to see them. Am I right, people? There is never a good excuse to litter.

7: Best Really Large Souvineer Beverage Container

Nomination: TIE: The Purple Dragon or the Purple Pagoda at Imperial Palace's strip bar

6: Best Really Large Souvineer Beverage

Nomination: the Mudslide, at Le Bayou, downtown. Caution: Contains Everclear!

5: Best Non-Resort Restaurant

Nomination: Mangiano's at the Fashion Show Mall (just under the Big Ugly Silver Thingie, across from Wynn)

4: Biggest Eyesore in Town

Nomination: the Big Ugly Silver Thingie, across from Wynn

3: More of a suggestion than a catagory. Seeing the conflict between tama01 and Ian, consider splitting up the "Best / worst buffet" into Best/worst breakfast buffet, best/worst lunch buffet, best/worst dinner buffet, and Best/worst Brunch buffet or Eating Event (like the Gospel Brunch @House of Blues or the Poolside Luau at Sahara):p

2: Best Waitress Costuming

While I enjoy the views at Rio and Luxor, I have no nomination for this one. I do, however, volunteer to be one of the judges!


And the Number One Suggested New Catagory for the Next Everything LV Best and Worst of Las Vegas Poll:

1: Best Source for What's Good and Bad about visiting Las Vegas

Nomination: http://www.everythinglv.com


Keep up the excellent work!

[JoeBatterz]

Nice to read the poll. I look forward to voting next year.