Golden Nugget Cripple Creek

I’ve been coming here for over a decade and spend my fair share, though I’m no “whale.” I mostly choose this place for the promotions, but I hadn’t received my promo “cash” for a month. Today was my third visit that month trying to get help. The first two times I couldn’t find anyone, partly because I was looking after midnight on a Sunday. This time I spoke with three people. The first two suggested I add my number to the account. The third, after telling me again that no phone number was attached, got me to explain that this was my last effort to keep my business and that I could go to any of the other nine casinos in town. She politely replied, “yeah, should try Chamonix, they have pretty good promos there,” then said, “have a great day!!” I was stunned. Maybe I was just losing today, but I’d thought casinos were the last stronghold of customer service and guest satisfaction. I’ve been corrected!

We spent two nights here, but the room never felt comfortable or cozy, even though it was clean. The bed was very firm and uncomfortable, and when we asked for an extra blanket to soften it a little, we were told there were none. There was no headboard, just a strange, partly painted 2-by-4 piece of wood on the wall above the bed, and one side of the room had no table. It didn’t seem well maintained, and we won’t return. There are much better maintained rooms closer to the fun for this price.

Brandon was great, even though he couldn’t control the problems. During event weekends like today’s Ice Carvings event, service wasn’t good. The servers seemed understaffed and had trouble even bringing a bottle of water. Salt Grass restaurant was worse: they wouldn’t seat us without a reservation or let us order an appetizer to eat on the casino floor. Luckily, we’d brought our own snacks for the day.

We spent two miserable nights here. The resort fee was $50 a day, plus a $50 daily deposit at check-in. There was one tiny microwave in the lobby for the whole hotel, and the televisions weren’t working. The desk didn’t tell guests about the TVs, but happily charged the full fees. Casino hospitality was worse. We would’ve been happy to lose money, but couldn’t get anyone to bring us a drink. Saltgrass Steakhouse was the worst part: a two-hour wait for a burnt steak and a cold, dry hamburger with unmelted cheese. For two days we were ignored, had no drinks, bad food, and a poor room with fewer amenities than a Motel 6. We should’ve known to avoid anything in the Landry’s organization. Pathetic.