The good:
- inexpensive ($30 for Thursday nite, $50 for Friday nite)
- Clean rooms
- Close to Fremont Street experience and casinos
- Nice view from 5th floor of the northern part of Vegas
The bad:
- Burn marks in the old carpet as well as the vinyl flooring in the bathroom
- Noisy at night. I stayed on the 5th floor and could hear people talking and walking. There was a strange hum going on and off, could have been the elevator.
- Each morning the maid went from room to room and opened each door (using her key) and yelled out "room service!" or "maid service!" Very annoying (and ghetto if I may add). Good thing I remembered to use the dead bolt or that maid would have gotten an eyeful of me in my birthday suit.
- I was followed by some punk who appeared drunk for about 3 blocks when I was walking at night time. I just ignored him knowing that is the smartest way to get rid of people like this.
- Forgot to supply me with shampoo and body lotion on my first night's stay (but did supply it on the second night).
Neutral:
- Beds were soft. This can be both good and bad. Most caucasions like a softer bed. I'm asian and I prefer a stiffer bed. These beds were soft because they were old (although they may have been soft when they were new).
Hotel Description (I'm including this because there is little info on the web regarding this):
Ogden House is a small 5 story standalone hotel. It is totally separate from the El Cortez. You need a key to get inside the small, dark, nondescript lobby. Inside you will likely find a creepy looking guard sitting there watching you. Take the elevator to your room. There are no slot machines or anything you can use to entertain yourself in the lobby save for some pamphlettes on local shows and tours. Not sure if there was an ice machine, I never needed ice.
When driving here, the El Cortez has a huge lighted sign which is very visible from the freeway as well as city streets. Follow THAT sign and it will take you to Ogden House. Park in any of the two garages that say El Cortez. The garage that is closer to Las Vegas Blvd is harder to find parking in. The reason is because 1) it is closer to Las Vegas Blvd but mainly 2) it is directly attached to the Casino/Hotel.
The pictures I have supplied are of the actual room I stayed in. The pictures look better than the real deal because you can't see the burn marks, nor can you ascertain how old everything looks. The a/c, heater worked well.
There is a deli across the street (just south) of the El Cortez. Their sandwiches are priced reasonably enough (around $6) and include a soft drink. I ordered the tuna sandwich and the meat tasted old and nasty. I ate half and threw the rest away. I do not plan to order sandwiches at this place again, do not waste your money (unless you order the vegetarian). They did have a selection of fruits, however, and the bananas I bought tasted fine.
Recommendations: I would recommend this place for people who are on a serious budget, who are street savvy (like me), and who are single. I would not recommend this place to a family at all (please do NOT bring your kids here).
Advice: bring earplugs, you might need them during sleeping hours. The noise at night is what prompted me to leave and stay at a different hotel. Even though I had earplugs, I could still hear some of the stuff going on and it was unsettling. My room (582) was right next to the elevator. Other rooms may be quieter.
Review Critique:
Regarding the other reviews the one by Jayjay was right on in that Vegas is full of weird people. It doesn't matter whether or you are on the strip or downtown. They are everywhere. I take umbrage at this part of his review however: "extremely seedy people all over are mostly older white people down on their luck who've hit rock bottom and hang out at...the Gold Spike for very budget food."
First off, what part of Vegas doesn't attract seedy people? Second, these senior citizens were on walkers, dialysis, meds, you name it. The way Jayjay described it, you would think the place was being overrun by ex-cons. I didn't feel threatened at all by the gambling folk at the El Cortez, in fact, I felt more at home there than I did at the bigger Casinos because these folk felt more like my parents.
Regarding bopinbob's review, I would like to say that I did not have any problems pressing the buttons on the elevator. However, my problem with the elevator is that not only did it move up and down, but it went from side to side. That part was a little bit scary, because it would actually rattle depending on what part of the elevator you were standing on. I learned to stand a little bit off center to keep it from rattling.
The cable tv at Ogden House had 25 stations as opposed to 24 at the Imperial Palace. I was lead by the reviewer to think there was a good selection on TV but 25 stations is hardly good in my opinion. I was not impressed. They had the standard CNN, Fox News, NBC, ABC, ESPN...etc.
Regarding walking around the streets I stayed in Jan 2007 and while there was construction nearby, there was very little foot traffic (as well as auto traffic). I would literally just walk across the street from the El Cortez to Ogden House and not even worry about traffic. Maybe it was just the season but this area is really dead. There are practically no people and no cars during the late night/early morning. Even during the day, compared to the strip there really aren't any cars to speak of.
As far as danger, there was the punk that followed me and I did see one male/female (not sure which) person who may have been a prostitute.I did not see any action that looked like drug dealing was taking place.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
