Stratosphere

Stratosphere review Rate it

The Stratosphere strives to be a destination resort out of necessity: it's between the Strip and Fremont Street, essentially no-man's land. Its lure starts at the summit, with a variety of rides atop the highest freestanding observation tower in the US (1,149f/107m). There are indoor and outdoor observation decks, a revolving restaurant, and thrill rides with names like Insanity. Down below are some 40 Tower Shops (not exactly the Fashion Show Mall), a remodelled casino and even a new nightclub.

Accommodation
Guestrooms in the tower would be interesting, but all the Stratosphere's sleeping quarters are in separate buildings below. Some are in the original Vegas World mid-rise; a more recent tower brought the total to 2,444 rooms and suites. There are an overwhelming 13 different types of room, from the smallish standard rooms to the massive Premier Suites. On the eighth floor, there's a big pool and recreation deck.

Eating & drinking
Eating options run from the pricey Top of the World, which rotates once every 90minutes, to McDonald's. Among those in the middle are Lucky's, a 24-hour café, and Roxy's, which has a '50s diner motif and rock 'n' roll singing waiters.

Entertainment
As impersonator shows go, the Strat's American Superstars is pretty good. If you like semi-nudity in your Vegas shows, Bite offers it… and vampires. On the tower, there's an indoor/outdoor observation deck, plus a trio of terrifying rides.

Gambling
The casino area is spacious and comfortable, if not particularly noteworthy. The layout approximates a series of circles, which looks good but seriously complicates any attempt to get directly from one end of the complex to the other. The emphasis is on liberal machines and table-game gimmicks which go some way to improve players' odds. The Stratosphere advertises a 98% return on more than 150 $1 dollar slots, a 100% return on some video poker machines and 10x odds on craps, as well as double-exposure blackjack and crapless craps (with a bunch of cockamamie rules that aren't player-friendly).