Affordable Vegas Hotels in a Good Location: Orleans & Gold Coast

Affordable Vegas Hotels in a great Vegas location.  The Orleans and Gold Coast: they can be a great Vegas options for the budget-minded who don’t want to compromise too much and who want frequent free shuttles to mid Strip – on our last trip the stop was moved to the very bottom of the High-Roller Wheel, which can be a truly inconvenient location unless you only want to go to the High-Roller (it is quite a walk to the Strip, especially if it’s very hot or you’re in a hurry).

Gold Coast and the Orleans are affordable Vegas hotels belonging to the same company Boyd Gaming) and are ideal for those wanting a nice room at a low rate without having to compromise too much: Gold Coast, for example, still offers a modest but decent pool, a jacuzzi (near the pool, open until late) and a modest gym (which stays open until 10pm); its casino is friendly and relatively relaxed; for this reasons it attracts many locals.

The atmosphere at Gold Coast is very nice, ‘homey’ & cheerful overall (NOT luxurious by any means), though if you want a ‘crazy young party’ Vegas atmosphere maybe this small resort is not for you. However, budget-minded Vegas visitors should consider it, as well as those wanting a home-like feel and a place where they can get in and out easily.  Finally, I really enjoy its amenities as they are open late.  The gym needs more equipment (desperately!) but the pool and jacuzzi are pleasantly open late and very peaceful, ideal for solo or business travelers.

Easy Transportation from these affordable Vegas hotels: Gold Coast is a step away from the frequent bus stop to the Strip (it takes one minute by bus, you could also walk to the Strip if you are fit) and it’s of course serviced by its own shuttle to the Strip.  Both Gold Coast and the Orleans offer frequent free shuttles to mid Strip, although these days it’ to the High Roller Wheel (so not really on the Strip unfortunately).

Its rooms are all nice and comfortable, whether deluxe or premium; the differences are mostly the style of the bathroom (one with small tub the other one with a large shower). Check our real Vegas videos page for reviews of these (and other) affordable Vegas hotels.  If you can choose (and sometimes it’s not possible because it’s a small hotel), always ask for higher rooms, otherwise you may end up staring at a white wall (although it’s not as bad as in some other Vegas hotels), unless you ask for a room overlooking outside rather than at their pool walkway. But, as I mentioned, its’ a small hotel and choosing the best room location is not always possible, though our advice is that you concentrate on the value aspect of this hotel.

The Gold Coast resort also offers a bowling center, which we personally don’t frequent but many locals seem to enjoy.

The Orleans resort and casino is actually a themed resort (a nice, New Orleans theme inside and out) and it’s much larger than Gold Coast, though still nowhere near as huge as some of the Strip resorts; it has theoretically equally nice rooms (larger than at Gold Coast); however, every time we go we find that the rooms are simply not cleaned well enough:  the cleaning is superficial at best.  The potential lack of room cleanliness (at least to our ‘fussy’ standards) and the fact that it’s not as perfectly located as Gold Coast, nor does it offer the same home-like feel, are the reasons why we tend to prefer Gold Coast(and probably the reason why Gold Coast is slightly less ‘budget’); otherwise, you have a few more restaurants choices and maybe a better buffet. Both offer a 24-hour Subway as well as late-hour restaurants, things which truly make you feel you are in a cheerful, friendly, efficient place.

The Orleans also offers a movie theater (as well as a bowling center) which are not only a nice attraction for locals but a nice diversion for visitors seeking a break from ‘all-Vegas’.  However, Gold Coast faces Palms and Palms has fabulous theatres, including 3D! On the other hand, the Orleans often offers highly popular stand-up comedy acts such as Bill Maher and the late Joan Rivers.

Finally, the gym at the Orleans is much better (larger and with a large variety of good quality equipment) than at Gold Coast; though it’s open until 9pm rather than 10pm (as at Gold Coast), it’s still one or 2 hours later than most Vegas resorts, especially those on the Strip.  The pool at the Orleans is larger (but very shallow!) but not as home-like as Gold-Coast.

Both these affordable Vegas hotels have buffets, which is great, and they are both super affordable, which is great for a quick breakfast or a meal at any time of the day (apart from the annoying gaps between meal times).  If you stay at Gold Coast you are probably better off going to the affordable-yet-very-nice Palms buffet across the street or, if you don’t mind paying a bit more, at the much-improved Rio Buffet; if you stay at Orleans. which offers a larger buffet than Gold Coast, your choices are limited unless you want to hop on the shuttle and eat elsewhere (neither Orleans nor Gold Coast offer a good enough buffet, in our opinion, though the very low price (if you have a players card) tempts some and although occasionally they do make an effort and offer a decent buffet (great if you consider the super low price point).

These 2 affordable Vegas hotels are popular with locals: I have asked many locals and they all seem to say that they liked the friendly, non-chaotic, relatively relaxed atmosphere of these buffets (aside from weekends, of course, when both resorts are sieged by families on a budget).

Customer service at both these affordable Vegas hotels is  overall good; I particularly enjoy their VIP casino marketing area, they are very nice to us all the time, in the same way as Plaza’s are.  However, they are not as generous as they could be; their main ‘gift’ if you gamble a lot is to offer you a free buffet or some free coffee…  So if you are a huge gambler you are much better off staying at a more generous chain ( = any other, practically!).  Talking about affordable Vegas hotels in a good location, I still remember Plaza which comped us our whole, long stay, after one night of gambling (we did not mortgage our house, we played only slightly above average amounts).

Resort Fee at Gold Coast and the Orleans (affordable Vegas hotels)

It used to be a very pleasant 3 dollars per night; however, it’s now much more  (29 dollars, which is absurd unless they become serious about the pathetic Gold Coast gym, which has no machines basically) but often removed if you go on a comped offer.

Booking:  the best way to book these resorts is usually through their own websites; if you are a BConnected player, log in to bconnectedonline.com and see what offers you have from these resorts; I find them very generous with their room offers.

There are other affordable Vegas hotels, so check our menu or use our search tool on this site.