An entertaining stay at Circus Circus
Immerse yourself in the electrifying atmosphere
When we say this is the 'OG' of Vegas hotels, we mean it. Circus Circus opened in 1968 as a casino, then in 1972 it became a hotel and added 409 rooms. Now fast forward to 2023, it has 3,767 rooms, a 5 acre indoor amusement park known as Adventuredome, 123,000 sq ft of casino space and holds the Guinness World Record of the worlds largest permanent Circus. It's also inspired movies such as Casino because of the dealings with the mob many years ago. If you ask us why we chose to stay at this hotel compared to all the others, it's because to us, it really represents classic Vegas. The hustle and bustle, crazy nightlife, parties until 5am, thousands of people, constant fun and the general charm of the hotel.
However, recently Circus Circus has hit the press and received extremely bad reviews, some ranking it as the worst hotel on the Vegas strip. A lot of people complain about the strong smell of air freshener covering the stale odor, the uncleanliness of the rooms, motel feel and other interesting reviews. But still that didn't stop us staying here and really enjoying ourselves in Vegas!
So when checking in, just a quick tip is take a walk around the hotel and casino first, there are usually massive waiting times at check-in times, it can sometimes be over an hour long! The theme of this hotel is a circus and walking through the hotel you really feel the theme constantly. Also, a lot of Americans visit Vegas from Friday to Sunday, so not only is it busier during these times but prices are almost triple. We stayed from Monday to Thursday and paid just £84 for our stay here, whereas if we stayed from Friday to Sunday of the same week it would have cost us £164 which works out at £82 for 1 nights stay!
The casino has hundreds of machines, from slot machines with coins to roulette tables, there's something for everyone in this casino. They have Vegas' only moving carousel of slot machines, as well as a circus on the second floor of the casino, which still to this day has several live performances a day. So if you're feeling lucky then head down to the casino and see if lady luck really is on your side. We tried our luck in casino, won some bets, lost some bets, but overall came out with a voucher of $32 so we were extremely happy with that.
Another really fun element of Circus Circus is they actually have a wedding chapel located inside the hotel. You always hear stories of people going to Vegas to get married - well head to Circus Circus they do it daily 10am - 6pm. They even accept walk-in, so make sure you're heading here with 'the one' and not just because you consumed too much alcohol and got lucky in casino.
Inside the hotel they have a large food court area with restaurants such as Popeyes, Burger King, as well as a very popular (and cheap) all-you-can-eat buffet and various shops to get other sorts of foods and beverages from. The only downside to having these places inside the hotel is the cost, other than the buffet, everything is ridiculously expensive and overpriced. Just a quick tip, there are plenty of stores and fast food joints minutes away from the hotel, so go for a walk and head to one of these to save a few bucks.
Our hotel room was located in the West Tower, room 28,612, was a West Tower King Room. Our room wasn't the best room we've ever stayed in, but for the price we paid and the location on the Vegas strip, we really couldn't complain. The room came with a TV, toiletries, seating area, a safety deposit box and free parking. We had a great view of the Stratosphere from our hotel window (which wouldn't actually open) and you could see the beginning of the strip.
Overall we really enjoyed our stay at Circus Circus. If you go into the hotel with no expectations and just looking for a fun, exciting nights stay, then you'll love it! If you have any issues, then don't hesitate to go to reception and speak to the staff - they were so friendly and helpful. If we returned to Vegas would we stay here again? Definitely! The price, location and charm of this hotel makes it a great Vegas hotel contender, just don't expect to get much time to 'relax'...
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