Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa

The Borgota has a great poker room, and you rarely have to wait for a table. The resort and amenities are great, the slots are good, and the staff, building, and atmosphere are all top notch. It seems aimed more at younger, higher-end guests, but if you’re looking for fun, you can follow the younger crowd. Definitely worth trying. I’ve heard there are seven pools, mostly on the casino floor and a few on other floors, though I never confirmed that. The casino map shows them. Weekends are exciting, and you can hear loud cheering from the craps tables. But Friday and Saturday table games are $25 a hand, with far too few $15 tables. With the economy as it is, lower prices would let me play and bring in more gamblers. $25 keeps people away for good reason. $15 on weekends and $10 Monday through Tuesday would be plenty. I can’t afford to spend $100 on just four hands of Blackjack, and I’m not in the six-figure income bracket. Maybe keeping poorer people out is the point. Just to be clear, these are my own honest opinions. Table games are the most expensive in A.C.

The food was astronomical in price, though that wasn’t a shock. The pool was nice, but it didn’t have evening hours. The hotel itself was quite nice. We requested connectable rooms ahead of time and again on arrival, but they couldn’t accommodate us even though we specifically booked that room type. Customer service said they’d leave a note for the check-in desk, but the desk said there were no notes on our reservations. They also didn’t have the room we’d reserved, though they gave us a very small credit for that. Our TV didn’t work when we arrived, but I managed to fix it with my technical skills. I should have billed them for IT services.

Our room was clean and updated, with a beautiful view. The American Grill had delicious food and top-notch service. Boy George was awesome, too. We’ll be back!

The casino was spacious, modern, and enjoyable. Check-in went smoothly, but as Marriott members we didn’t get the complimentary upgrade that’s often offered at other properties, and our room was fairly standard and faced the side. I especially appreciated the food court. Unlike many hotels in Vegas, it had several options open through the night, which mattered a lot.