When we went to Atlantic City, we came out pretty good for low rollers so Caesar’sPalace offered us a comped room… of course we just had to go back again. After the two visits I think I’m ready to give you a feel for the place.
Now, I’m no stranger to the Caesar chain. Oh no. I’ve been tossed out of the one in Vegas a time or two… the last one for life even. DOH! Hey, I was 16, I thought it was funny to play dodge’em with the security dudes… ahem. Well many years have passed and I’m sure they have long forgotten that rambuncious teen and her friends so we we were not, in fact, stopped at the door of the Caeser’s Palace in Atlantic City.
The main difference I spotted right off the bat (being smart and all) was the lack of men in Roman skirts or togas here. In Vegas they were everywhere, not a one in the whole house in Atlantic City… bummer, that. Oh they have life-size statues everywhere of David and Venus and a few Roman skirted soldiers here and there, but it ain’t the same as the real thing, yanno? Ah well….
The cavernous lobby is kinda awesome with the really high ceiling and huge Roman columns everywhere. The desk gal the first time was nice but a bit put off by a request for an upgrade, the second check in found us with a gal who just didn’t even acknowledge a request had been made at all, yet was very efficient. Both times we were placed in smoking rooms with great ocean views though. Fairly nice rooms at that.
They both had wonderful huge bathrooms with separate toilet facilities, yet no deep tubs for soaking in. Kinda small tubs actually. Also, the shower, while hot, was like in one stream, like the tub faucet, only from above. heh. Didn’t much care for that at all, but at least it was pretty strong. The back wall is all mirror and the sink area has plenty of counter space. That was nice. My main gripe here is the damn shampoo/conditioner combo. Gads! This crap dried my hair out so bad I could scream. Don’t use it. Just don’t. It’s horrible. Bring your own.
The rooms are pretty spacious with psuedo-Roman decor in deep reds and golds. The bed was comfy, but not the foam pillows. I might add that the bed does move a bit, yet holds up well.. ahem..
The first room had one of those lounging Chaise couch dealies with the head toward the back of one side.. you know what I mean. I’ve somehow lost the word I’m looking for. Perfect for being fed peeled grapes in front of the ocean-view window… now where were those men in togas? There was also a glass table, which is the only place to set your laptop. There is no desk at all. Which brings me tooooo….
Internet connections. There is no wireless here. No, in fact you have to find the cable connection in the TV armoire, back on the shelf with the remote control and WebTV keyboard… then drag it over to the table (draping it over a chair) and plug it in. Annoying and obnoxious set up, that. The service is through Cox and the connection isn’t bad if it works the first time… on our visit it didn’t. I had to call Cox itself for help… No help. Dweeb of a help desk person. Finally convinced one of Caesar’s maintenance guys to come have a look (they aren’t suppose to) and he rebooted the main box. Worked like a charm. He was awesome. The service is $11 per day and billed to your room.
The rooms are clean and the maids are very friendly and have no problem handing over extra mouthwash when asked for it.
But you wanna hear about the casino, don’t ya?
Well, it’s big by Atlantic City standards, even bigger when you wander the halls and find it’s connected via inside tunnels to Wild, Wild West and Bally’s Park Place. You’re comp card will work at both of those too. Inside Caesar’s though is huge enough to keep you busy by itself. There’s gaming tables and various slots on all game floors and it’s like a maze. We were constantly getting lost at first. Now we could draw you a map. heh. The staff is good about giving you directions though should you need to ask.
What we liked best were the Monopoly Slots (5 cent) on the first floor. We’re just Monopoly freaks in general and get withdrawals if we can’t play a game every night. So when we saw those slots we started drooling. Came out $160 ahead the first trip, and ummmm heh… ummm well, let’s just say not ahead this last time and leave it at that…. What the casino giveth, the casino will taketh away if you play long enough. But ya know what? We had a hella good time losing it. We also made all kinds of comp points and were able to eat free the whole time, plus the free room the first night this trip. I’m pretty sure we have enough more comps for a free room the whole stay next time… uh oh! We also got to see a free show due to the comp card.
Nights on Broadway III is wonderful fun. It’s like a bunch of small bits from various Broadway musicals and the cast is excellent. Felicia Finley is the star of this one and she rawks hard. She’s been in a ton of Broadway plays, as well as having a role on TV’s Another World and All My Children for awhile. Second billing goes to Lori Mitchell-Gay. She may not have the credits that Finley has, but she has every bit of the talent. She was phenomenal. Do see this if you get the chance.
There are a ton of places to shop without ever leaving the casino too, but it’ll cost ya. There is a shop full of exclusive items made especially for Caesar’s along with a jewelry store, a few upscale clothing stores, and a gift shop. We bought a few heavy shirts in the gift shop and were given a 15% discount with our room key… good thing because they were like $60 apiece, but man it was cold on the casino floor and we were desperate. Actually, they are both really good quality so I don’t feel too bad about those prices at all, but don’t buy your smokes here. $10 for a pack of Marlboros, I kid you not.
Food, food, everywhere. There are 3 (I think it was) upscale restaurants open in the evenings, but of course never when we were hungry. When you’re gambling for 8 hour stretches your clock gets kinda off…. we did hit the buffet a few times and it was hit or miss. Some things good, some not so good, like undercooked chicken. The drink servers were great though here. It’s like $15 for the lunch/dinner buffet… $11 for breakfast.. and $16 for weekends and holidays.
Athena’s is a club room that will cost you 10 comp dollars. DO take advantage of this. Those 10 comp dollars cover all your food from that buffet (better than the open buffet) and all your drinks (which are much stronger than on the game floor). They have this room done in cool pastels with 40s music on the juke box and plasma TVs on quite a few walls tuned to different stations. Very good deal and a very cool place to relax and unwind.
All in all I’m going to go with 3 stars for Caesar’s in Atlantic City. It’s a good middle-of-the-road place to spend some money and have fun, while not being the very best there is… but who can always afford the best when it comes to these places, right? So 3 stars is a recommendation. Now, had they had those scantily clad men, we might be talkin’ 4…..
