NV Las Vegas Doubletree Club Airport

[Welldone Rumproast]

To see the bid information for this stay, please click *HERE*

Doubletree Club hotels are mid-level properties primarily aimed at the business traveler. Doubletree (the cHain includes 'regular' hotels and all-suite properties in addition to the 'Club' properties) is a part of the Hilton family.

The "Club" name refers to a lounge and working area that is opposite the reception area. In addition to a widescreen plasma TV and a cash bar, there are two workstations with office supplies, a FedEx and UPS dropbox, and two mini-conference rooms and one wired desktop pc with laser printer for no-charge, first-come-first-served guest use. I was able to do online-checkin and print my boarding passes for the next morning's flight, a nice time-saver :o

Hotel Location and Property

The hotel is a non-gaming property. The six-story building looks to be maybe 4-5 years old and is in excellent physical condition.

The hotel is located in a low-rise office park area immediately to the south of McCarran Intl. Airport, on the opposite side of I-215 (if you know where the Alamo/National car rental facility is, it is on the other side of the freeway). The shuttle ride takes under 5 minutes.

If you have a rental car, the Strip is very close by, however, this location is probably not the best if you don't have wheels and want to "do" the Strip casinos and attractions).

Airport Access

The above mentioned shuttle is free and operates every 30 minutes on a 24 hour basis. They make scheduled runs on the half-hour, but, you can also use the no-charge phone in the baggage-rental car area to verify that the shuttle is on the way.

Once you have all your bags, go to the center area between the two baggage claim sections. This area contains the rental car booths, the information booth and the above mentioned courtesy hotel phones. When ready, locate the BUDGET car rental desk, then walk past it to the escalator (or elevator) that is marked "DOWN TO ZERO LEVEL". Once on the zero level, exit the sliding doors and walk past the stretch limos to the far curb - this is where the shuttles pick up from.

Kudos to the shuttle driver :) who offered me a icy bottled water when I got on board (it was 111 degrees when I arrived)

Check-In and Check-Out

Check-In was instant and friendly. My requested nonsmoking king was pre-assigned. Check early the next morning was just as easy.

Room

The modern room was of standard size. King bed, two lamps with good (flourescent) lighting, alarm clock-radio, desk with ergonomic chair, comfty chair with ottoman. TV was in the armorie, basic channels (maybe 15-16) including HBO, ESPN and CNN/CNN Headline). Nintendo games were available through the TV set. Phones were placed on the nightstand and also on the desk; both had data ports. Iron and board was in place in the closet, and a coffee maker with regular and decaf coffee and regular and herbal tea was also provided.

Standard bathroom with good light and very good water pressure. Neutrogena soaps and shampoos and plenty of good-quality towels were provided

The hotel is in the process of instaling wired high-speed internet in the rooms (estimated to be completed "in a couple of months"). For now, they have the option of wireless access in the lobby only for $9.95 per 24 hours (I assume this will be the charge for in-room access when it is ready).

One quirk: the shower control was very confusing. To change the water flow from the bath fixture to the shower head, you do NOT pull on the lever, instead, you pull DOWN on a little ring that is hidden at the exact spot where the water flows out of the bath fixture. I'm usually pretty good at figuring out stuff like that, but even I had to call down the desk to find out the trick :)

Restaurant

There is a small Au Bon Pain restaurant in the lobby that serves basic breakfast items and sandwiched and salads throughout the day (I had a nice chicken ceasar wrap for about $5). There is also an Apleebees across the parking lot, and if you have a wireless notebook with T-Mobile service, there's a Starbucks with HotSpot service about 2.5 blocks away (the shuttle will drop you or it's a very easy 4-5 minute walk - open until 9 pm).

[meowinkitty]

Rumproast pretty much summed everything up. I'll just add that if you can get a good rate here you shouldn't hesitate to consider a stay, especially if you plan on having a rental car. Even though it's a few miles off strip, access is very quick just off the freeway. Combine that with a parking lot just a few feet from the lobby, you can be in your room in no time. Only negative I would give is the window AC unit was a bit loud for my tastes, even while on low setting, although it certainly had no trouble keeping the room frigid even in the 115 degree heat!

[mbstone]

A few other points:

-- The pool is open 24H, unique to Vegas (and unheard of in Las Vegas since the demise of the notorious Tam O'Shanter Motel). Ditto for exercise room.

-- Free wireless internet.

-- Room service 10A-10P, very reasonable prices+$2+15%. Heck, the prices are unbelievably reasonable compared to other Las Vegas properties.

-- Property is located smack dab at the south end of the airport tunnel. It's a no-brainer to get on the northbound tunnel and boom, you're at UNLV, just east of the Strip. Equally easy return via I-15 S/I-215 E or southbound through the tunnel to I-215 E. It's very near the new central rent-a-car facility.

[mbstone]

This property is still an excellent value compared to nearly any Las Vegas hotel. Staying here you'll save, in addition to the room rate, on: bellhop service (typically $10-20/stay), internet service (typically $12-15/day/computer, we have 2), resort fees (typically $20-30/stay), room service (1/2 price compared to others), soda ($1). No walking a mile through some casino to get to your room. After you factor in all these savings, the room is practically comp. Free shuttle to MGM Grand casino, hourly. Room service unavail 2-5P (but Applebees' casual dining restaurant 50 yards away).