I received a ‘Happy Birthday’ flyer in my mail offering three free nights at the Hotel Colorado Belle in Laughlin, Nevada. Since it is an easy five-hour drive from the homestead, it seemed like a no brainer.
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| My Laughlin, Nevada travel companions: Clete, Barbara and hubby Paul |
Checking their
website, I was informed that all the rooms very recently renovated. The room photos looked very inviting. Unfortunately, after a very efficient and friendly check-in facilitated by hotel staff member Mitsie, the room was more than a tad disappointing.
They could not accommodate our request for a room next to our travel companions as assured at the time of the reservation. I was greeted in the room by fingernail clippings on the night stand . . . not mine-yuck. Further, although we were in a non-smoking room . . . . I sampled a heavy smoke stench. When the husband went to use the toilet, he reported that something that appeared to be mold was floating in the bowl. The bottom of the shower also appeared adorned with a mold-like substance.
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| Our dreary room at the - Hotel Colorado Belle - Laughlin, Nevada |
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| The room decor was non-existent as was much of the dresser's hardware |
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| Our bathroom was old and moldy |
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| The view from our fourth floor room. |
The room was dreary with no coffee maker, nor microwave or refrigerator. The room did offer “high speed wireless internet” at a charge of $9.99 for 24 hours of use. The Hotel Colorado Belle is definitely no frills lodging. On an encouraging note, the Valet Parking was free and the Bell Person delivered our luggage in a cheerful and decently prompt manner.
We spent our first night (Friday) gambling at the adjacent
Edgewater Casino. It is your typical smoky casino with an uncharacteristically industrious cocktail waitress. Further, after approximately three hours of vigorous slots gaming, my hubby and I were only down $3.00, which is an amazing win for us.
We chose CoCo’s in the Edgewater for dinner. For your convenience, it is open twenty-four hours per day. My picky hubby rated his breakfast for dinner at a respectable eight out of ten possible points. I ordered the Cod Dinner off of the “55” menu. It was well-presented with warm crisp vegetables and shoestring fries. I would give my meal a ten.
On the negative side, while our table was dreamily situated by a window overlooking the river; it was unfortunate, that window was grimy and occupied by what I believed was small skinny moths.
Our bed offered a bit too soft but passable mattress. We drifted off to sleep watching the pay-to-view movie, San Andreas. It was a bit hard to hear the movie over the surprisingly loud raucous air conditioner. However, with the temperatures in the eighties at nine at night, turning it off was not a feasible option.
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| The Donut Shop was expensive and filthy. |
The next morning, after my shower, I visited the Krispy Kreme Donut shop to purchase coffee for my three fellow travel companions. Imagine my surprise when I discovered the $3.25 per cup charge. The filthy brown stains above the cash register and filthy door worsened my sensibilities. Nevertheless, the two ladies working the counter were unwaveringly welcoming and proficient. Paul reported that his glazed donut was stale.
We ate fruit for breakfast then ventured out to gamble a bit. Lunch was at the Pints Brewery where the biggest negative was the wait. We lingered in line to get seated even though there were a majority of tables empty. Then after our salads were delivered, we waited for about forty minutes without any food delivery.
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| Pints Brewery - the service was slow and Clete's pizza was cold but the food was good. |
The manager, Julian stopped by the table and asked how everything was. We told him that we did not know because we were still waiting for our order. He was very nice and brought a plate of scrumptious fresh fruit. However, when the food arrived shortly after, my friend’s pizza was cold and had to go back. My patty melt was very good though.
We discovered later that we had arrived during their lunch shift change (11-12 p.m.) and there had been some sort of an equipment issue that created a communication problem. Therefore, the very long wait for lunch is probably atypical.
Let me take a moment to inform you that the Colorado Belle presented as extremely rundown, unkempt and unbelievably dirty. I am not only speaking about my “free” room, but also the elevators, hallways, and common areas. Further the casino was very smoky and made it hard to breath. We did not see a janitor nor repairman once during our visit.
Bait and Switch – Free Concert Tickets Scam
My friends were on the waiting list to score free tickets to the Carrie Underwood concert. Therefore we hung around the Colorado Belle most of the day, in order to be by the promotion desk before five when they were to call names for “any remaining tickets.” We were told by three separate hotel employees that this would be the procedure. In fact, we were even told that morning that Barbara was approximately fortieth on the waiting list for tickets. Just before five, there were a few other guest waiting at the promotion desk with us for the ticket giveaway.
At five o’clock, I approached the lady sitting behind the promotion desk and inquired as to when they would start giving away the tickets. She informed me that it was only 4:59 pm. Then she stated that she did not know what we were talking about. The tickets had already been given away. However, they did have tickets available for sale! Can you say bait and switch!!!!!
I was very upset. Not so much that my friends would not be able to enjoy the Carrie Underwood concert; but that we had been miss informed all along. I asked to speak to a supervisor. That is when I met Veronica. She is not a very pleasant individual.
After trying to explain my frustrations calmly, Veronica stated in a very condescending tone, “I know what you are doing. You are twisting our words around. You are just trying to get tickets that were not promised to you (paraphrased)”
After hitting the Veronica brick wall, I asked to speak to her supervisor. I was told that Ashley was very busy and I would has to wait a minute or two. I stated that I would wait. Then Veronica explained that Ashley would tell me the same thing and it might take quite a while before I could speak with her.
This is when I decided to leave the promotion desk and went to speak to a hotel supervisor. Marisa, the Front Desk Supervisor was very friendly and understood my frustration. She did not accuse me of trying to scam them and stated that she would do what she could to help.
This is when the evasive Ashley, whom I assumed was the Promotion Supervisor arrived; she was not wear a uniform nor name tag. The mood of the conversation immediately morphed back to adversarial. None of her staff ever told us anything that I stated they said . . . . basically implying that I was a lair.
Then Ashley outlined their procedure for the ticket giveaway. She informed that at 5:00 p.m. they call the hotel room to inform the person on the waiting list that they were picked for free tickets. If the guest was not in the room, they called the number provided by the guest. If the guest does not answer that call, they move on to the next person on the waiting list.
We were not in our hotel room because we had been instructed to wait in line at the promotion desk. Also it is very curious that one minute before five – the cut off time for people to pick up their reserved tickets – this procedure had already been accomplished in like a minute . . . . not likely . . . . dodge.
I must restate that Marisa was very nice and understanding. She even gave us a $50 comp for the dinner at the Loading Dock. However, I am of the firm belief that the Carrie Underwood ticket promotion was either an out and out scam or at the very least extremely poorly managed.
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| Pork Chop Dinner at the Loading Dock |
Dinner at the Loading Dock was very nice. My pork chop plate was very tasty with my only complaint being that there was too much food. They were also very patient and helpful in accommodating my husband’s vegetarian needs. We were seated by the boardwalk window and the band outside served as fun entertainment. Our waitress Ceria was great.
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| Waiting for our movie to start at the Riverside Cinemas |
Sunday was our last day in Laughlin. We spent the afternoon at the six-plex movie theater in the
Riverside Resort. The prices were reasonable at $7.50 for us seniors and “The Martian” featuring Matt Damon was very good. I must mention that the reclining chairs were very comfortable.
Paul and I also enjoyed placing a NASCAR sports bet at the Edgewater. Unfortunately Jeff Gordon, his pick to win and Dale Earnhardt Jr., my wager both experienced issues and did not even place! It was interesting how much more fun it was keeping track of the event when you had a bet on it.
For our farewell dinner, we chose to discover the upscale Hickory Pit. They were very busy and we had about a fifteen minute wait. However, it was worth it. My Ahi Tuna was scrumptious. Our waitress Sierra was very attentive and personable. The menu was varied if a bit pricey. Nevertheless, I recommend that you give the Hickory Pit a try.
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| Hubby and I had a great time in Laughlin, Nevada - there was so much to do. |
In summary, our Laughlin mini-vacation was very entertaining. We enjoyed fun activities with great friends. However, even though they boost a renovation, I will warn you not to stay at the Hotel Colorado Belle. It is extremely rundown and dirty with no free amenities. I will also caution you to stay away from the Promotion Desk to spare yourself the humiliation of being called a cheat and a liar.
I could not wait to get home to my own shower. It is a real shame because I remember Laughlin much differently. I hope that they clean it up soon.
