By T. Hatcher
I’ll admit it. When a former co-worker on my flight to Las Vegas asked where I was staying — within earshot of a bunch of other passengers — I was a little hesitant to tell him.
It was Hooters, after all, home of the tasty chicken wings and well-endowed waitresses, but not exactly a place that carries a lot of cachet.
But I was at a travel industry event, and Hooters — the Hooters Casino Hotel, I should say — was where we were being housed.
And as I discovered over the next few days, Hooters actually has a lot going for it.
Las Vegas hotels these days seem to be all about glitz and glamor — who’s got the hottest acts, the hippest clubs, the tallest towers and the most lavish suites.
But there’s still room for visitors who don’t want to spend hundreds a night for a hotel. And Hooters is a reliable, relatively cheap hotel option for a Las Vegas vacation. (A quick search on CheapTickets -- where Hooters earned an average 4.2 out of 5 customer rating — showed rooms going for $49 on Thursday, July 17, and $135 on July 18.)
Hooters is right off the Strip on Tropicana Avenue, just across from the MGM Grand and a 5-minute walk to the Las Vegas Monorail. It’s big but not overwhelming — with nearly 700 rooms and 30,000 square feet of casino space — so you don’t have to spend 20 minutes meandering through rows of slot machines to find an elevator.
Rooms are fairly sizable, with light orange- and green-hued, Florida-themed décor (think Panhandle, not Palm Beach) and big, super-comfy beds.
Downstairs, Hooters has nine dining and drinking options, including the namesake establishment and a Dan Marino’s 24-hour restaurant. Entertainment includes country music at Dixie’s Dam Country Bar, "The Mentalist," and comic Bobby Slayton — whose off-color act, I’m told, is really quite funny.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, the joint isn’t wall-to-wall women in orange hot pants. But you’re bound to spot a few Hooters Girls during your stay near the Strip.
CheapTickets resources:
T. Hatcher is a CheapTickets editor.
