Rio All Suite Hotel Las Vegas

I found the Rio to be on par with many of the strip hotels in Las Vegas. Check in was incredibly easy. If using a debit card, be advised they will put a hold of USD 100 on your card per night for the duration of your stay. They warn you that the cash from that may not make it back into your bank account for thh next 3-5 business days. This hold is to cover for any expenses you charge to the room.

The room itself was lovely. Spacious, with a great view of the strip, located on the other side of Interstate 15. Being on this side of the interstate was good and bad. It was easy to get in and out of. However, you sort of away from the action. Something to keep in mind if you want a full Vegas experience.

I was a bit dissapointed at what seemed to me a rather small casino floor. Limited slots, and it didnt seem to have all the well known slots located at hotels on the southern strip.

The buffet here is downright expensive, but wonderful. Its like a food court, where each table is like its own style of food (i.e. Mexican, Asian, etc.) Starbucks Coffee is located downstairs. There are two of them...one with a big long line, and one hidden off to the side that seemed to be a secret ;)

Located just off the strip and across the road from the Palms Hotel Casino, and the Gold Coast Casino. The Rio as you would expect has a Carnivale theme.

As you can tell by the name, every room in the Rio is a suite.  The standard suites in the Rio and fantastic.  You get a massive king sized bed, sofa, big screen (32") TV, seperate bathroom (with a little window so you can see the TV while you're in the shower just in case you can't bear to be seperate from the idiot box.), seperate vanity/dressing area  and 600 square feet of space.  Generally a nice place to both work and play.

Prices are reasonable depending on what time of the year and which day you stay. The hotel has a massive outdoors pool & bar area (Ipanema Beach), a spa and beauty salon, 60,000 square feet of shops including; Baskin Robbins, Diamonds International, Elegant Pretenders, Field of Dreams, Fortune Cookie, Fun 'n' Games, Harley Davidson, Higuchi, HippyChic, Island & Beyond II, La Belle, La Valize, Mardi Gras Cigars, Markmans Gallery, Nawlins Authentic, Photo Magic, Roland's, Timepieces, Vegas Flags, Viva Vegas, and Wetzel's Pretzels.

And of course, being part of that Harrahs group you can get a connecting shuttle bus to Ceasars Palace, Harrah's Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, Flammingo Las Vegas, and Bally's Las Vegas.

NOTE:  The photos here are from 2004 however I have since stayed in the Rio again in 2006.