Ameristar Casino Resort and Spa

The front desk was wonderful at check-in, and the spa visit was great too. After that, though, this birthday staycation went downhill. We'd booked the hotel and spa for my 50th, but when we got back to the room and looked around, it seemed only the bed had been cleaned. There were obvious white stains on the upholstered bench, cup marks on the bedside tables, and fingerprints and cup marks on the sitting-area table. The bath clearly hadn't been touched. Good thing I brought bleach wipes. The pool was pretty amazing, but the hot tub wasn't working properly. I tried telling the young man there, and he didn't care. Another woman told him too, and he gave her the same response: “it's not a big deal.” We were standing out in the cold because of that hot tub. We were especially disappointed since I had also been there for my 21st birthday, and other people had booked rooms for this stay. Their rooms were much cleaner, except for one other room. I thought this would be a great way to celebrate when we couldn't get away, but I guess not everything gets better with age.

The Christmas decorations were absolutely gorgeous, and I had a fun night even though I lost. I didn't stay in a room this time because they were starting to close the indoor pool, so I chose Embassy Suites instead. I didn't eat there either. It's a beautiful, huge casino, and the bartenders were friendly and quick. The slot screens were dusty, and although I went on a weekday, I was surprised by how few $15 blackjack tables there were. The dealer was fun and friendly.

We only came to visit the casino, not stay overnight. It's a big place with plenty of games to choose from, and the beginners' promotion for new players was great. The downside was the smoke, which I could smell even in the non-smoking section. It's somewhat expected in a casino, but having smoking downstairs and non-smoking upstairs seems poorly designed. Still, it was a good, fun visit.

We came by for my youngest child's 21st birthday, arriving sometime between 00:30 and 01:00. We were only there for a couple of hours, had a few drinks at the bar on the main casino floor, played about $40 in slots, then left. It was a nice casino.