The Fremont Hotel and Casino

Lemme tell you about my hotel in Vegas… the Fremont Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas.

The place has got history. It’s been around for over 50 years. Decent little casino, a few nice places to eat, and a nice bar to sit and play video poker at without having to wait for the waitresses to bring you a drink (which, if you’re at a table, isn’t long).

It’s also one of the places that Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal was in charge of back when the mafia ran Vegas. You’d know the movie… Casino. One of the best movies (and books) of all time.

The Fremont opened in May of 1956 on Fremont Street. It’s on the “four corners”… ya got the Four Queens, the Golden Nugget, Binions Horseshoe, and the Fremont.

A lot of people still think that downtown Vegas is shady and nasty. Not the case anymore. Fremont Street is no longer a street that can be driven down and it’s covered with a LED canopy that they refer to as “Viva Vision” or the “Fremont Street Experience”. It’s an amazing light show that happens every hour when the sun goes down. The lights on the casinos go dark and the show begins. It’s definitely something that you have to see while visiting Vegas.

Now back to the Fremont Hotel…

I originally had a stay booked at Paris, on the strip. But that was when it was a different kind of trip to Vegas. But since the plans changed, it turned into a guys trip to Vegas. Mike and I both like the vibe downtown. We’re more comfortable playing in the casinos there. Not as “cool and trendy” and you really don’t have to impress anyone.

So I decided to book us a couple rooms at the Fremont.

The rooms were newly remodeled, looked really nice in the pictures, and the reviews were decent other than people complaining about the size of the rooms, which, for me, not a problem since I didn’t plan on having parties up in there. But then again, this is Vegas and you know what they say… what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Well, unless it’s an STD. Yeah… gross. People also complained because of this or that and would say “we normally stay at the Bellagio or Mandalay Bay or the Venetian and this place was so dirty and ugly and we’ll never stay there again”. Automatically, those reviews are tossed out the window. If you’re going to compare a Holiday Inn Express to a Ritz Carlton, then you’re an idiot. Let’s see, use your brain… a room that cost $35 a night compared to a room that cost over $150 a night (minimum)? Sometimes I wonder how certain people make it through life…

Anyway…

The place was great. Nice lobby, nice rooms, nice casino and an amazing staff. I’d lose money at the tables but had a great time doing it ‘cause the dealers were great! And the waitresses we’re pretty fast, too.

Bottom line, if you’re going to Vegas for gambling, the Fremont’s a decent choice. If you’re looking for clubs and partying, you might wanna find a place on the strip. But I’ve always liked Fremont Street. It’s a fun place to hang out, the casinos are very close by (a 30 second walk from one to another), and it’s pretty easy on the wallet. Even the Golden Nugget, which would be comparable to the Mirage, Paris, or one of the other decent places on the strip, is pretty reasonably priced.

And if you stay there, get yourself a players card and use it every time you play. You’ll get discounts at the Fremont (and other Boyd Gaming properties) when you log in to the BConnected players card site…