Pros and Cons of Staying at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas as a Hyatt Globalist

Setting realistic expectations is the best way to have a good hotel stay. And I had very honest expectations when I showed up at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for the first time.

I’d seen the reviews about its … let’s call it not-great past. I also knew the hotel was undergoing a massive transformation, trying to improve its standing in the eyes of guests, and luring guests with rock-bottom prices. I also knew it had recently joined the World of Hyatt portfolio, which is how I wound up at this off-Strip property.

I stayed in a renovated room, mostly enjoyed my experience, and left with an overall positive experience — despite a few bumps in the road. Here’s what I liked and disliked about staying at the Rio Hotel & Casino as a Hyatt Globalist.

About the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas

The Rio Hotel & Casino sits just off Las Vegas Boulevard, the so-called Strip. It’s a mile away, and you can walk from the Rio to many of the Strip’s famous spots within 30 minutes or reach them within 10 minutes by car. The Rio is definitely not among the newest, most popular, or most chic properties in the area, to be clear.

The hotel opened in January 1990, and the Rio joined the Destination by Hyatt portfolio in late 2024 after completing phase 1 of a massive renovation plan. As a World of Hyatt-participating hotel, guests can earn and redeem Hyatt points. Those with Hyatt elite status can also enjoy perks like room upgrades, bonus points, free breakfast, and more.

6 Things I Liked About the Rio Hotel & Casino as a Globalist

Let’s start with the positives. Here’s what I enjoyed from my first stay at this property.

1. Cheap Rates

I love a good deal on a hotel room. When you see the rates at the Rio Hotel, they already look great — especially compared to some of the other hotel-casino properties in the area.

I mean, $75 for a hotel night in Las Vegas is great ($85.04 after tax).

Those rates aren’t available every night, to be clear, and finding them requires flexibility in your travel plans. However, on inexpensive dates, even the suites are a steal at $141 per night.

Those with Hyatt’s Suite Upgrade Awards can apply them to these inexpensive rates to move into a suite while still paying the standard room rate.

The best part about these rates is that you can pay just $25 instead of $75. A benefit of Globalist status, the top tier with Hyatt, is that you don’t pay resort fees on stays — whether you’re paying cash or using points. Thus, the $50 resort fee didn’t apply, and I paid just $25 plus tax each night. Incredible!

I stayed in a renovated deluxe room, and it was perfectly fine. It wouldn’t win any awards for luxury in the region, but there was nothing wrong it, and it has ample space for lounging around without needing to hang out on the bed. And at the price I paid, I thought it was excellent value.

The hotel charges a $50 (plus tax for a total of $56.69) nightly resort fee for each room. Inclusions for the resort fee include 50% off show tickets, 2-for-1 mimosas at Hash House A Go Go (breakfast through lunch hours), 2-for-1 cocktails at Luckley Tavern & Grill, Wi-Fi, local and toll-free phone calls from your room, and access to both the pool and the fitness center.

Many guests won’t use these benefits, but there’s good news: There are ways to avoid resort fees.

Those with top-tier Hyatt Globalist status don’t pay resort fees at Hyatt’s properties whether they’re paying cash or points. Additionally, those redeeming Hyatt points or free nights to cover the entirety of their stay don’t pay resort fees even if they don’t have elite status.

Hot Tip:

Hyatt Guest of Honor is a benefit through which elite members can gift elite status to other members for a single stay, letting them enjoy the benefits of Globalist status for up to 7 nights at a Hyatt property. Using one of these awards could be a great way to avoid resort fees and get extra perks during a trip to the Rio Hotel & Casino.

2. Location

Sure, the Rio Hotel isn’t right on the Strip. I’m fine with that.

The Rio Hotel & Casino is west of Interstate 15 at the intersection of West Flamingo Road and South Valley View Boulevard. With Uber, Lyft, and taxis, it’s easy to reach locations on the Strip like the Venetian, Wynn, or MGM Grand in about 10 minutes, depending on traffic.

It’s also possible to walk to these locations in 20 to 30 minutes, plus there are buses running both directions on Flamingo Road that you can use to get to the intersection at Las Vegas Boulevard.

3. Abundant Places To Eat and Drink

The Rio Hotel had lots of dining spread across the property. Breakfast was available at Hash House A Go Go, near the gym and the pool entrance.

As with many Las Vegas properties, there was a Guy Fieri restaurant, this one offering Mexican fare.

At the far end of the hotel, near the miniature golf but on the upper level, there was a Smashburger restaurant.

And there was even all-you-can eat Korean barbecue near the elevators to Ipanema Tower.

The Canteen Food Hall was a recent concept and was popular during lunch and dinner hours. Here, numerous quick-serve restaurants offered fried chicken, ramen, burritos, cheesesteaks, and more. Customers put in orders from electronic boards around the food court.

Hot Tip:

Did you know that a real Philly cheesesteak sandwich from Philadelphia uses Cheez Whiz, not cheese slices or shredded cheese? Tony Luke’s in the Canteen Food Hall passes the test. Go here if you’d like an authentic cheesesteak.

Plus, there were multiple bars spread around the property. Shutters had anything you could want to drink, and it was along the main walkway from the guest rooms to the pool.

In the center of the casino, you couldn’t miss the Lapa Lounge that was between the check-in area and elevators to the Ipanema Tower. This was another popular spot for drinks in the evening.

There was even a Starbucks in the hallway between the casino and elevators to guest rooms in the Ipanema Tower.

4. Lots of Amenities for the Whole Family

The Rio Hotel had more amenities than a single person could possibly utilize in a week — and enough to satisfy whatever you might like: pools, video games, a gym, gambling, nightclubs, and even a tattoo shop!

There were 4 different pools, including an adults-only pool, and the pool complex had 2 different bars.

There were lifeguards on duty at the pools, which was a nice touch.

Hotel guests had complimentary access to the pool area and could claim available lounge chairs on a first-come, first-served basis.

Those not staying at the hotel could pay to visit the pool. Day passes were available through ResortPass, with prices starting at $15 for children and $30 for adults. ResortPass also offered rentals for cabanas and day beds. Prices for these started at $150 for day beds or $300 for cabanas, while day passes for the Weekend Beats pool party started at $40.

Another family-friendly activity was the Kiss (yes, the band) Monster golf, offering a glow-in-the-dark miniature golf experience.

There was even a Kiss memorabilia room next door, complete with photo ops.

There also was a small arcade in this area, including games that awarded tickets you could redeem for prizes. The golf and games areas were open from noon to 10 p.m. on Sunday to Thursday. On Friday and Saturday, hours were from noon to 11 p.m.

The hotel also had entertainment, including comedy, a Penn and Teller show, and “Wow.” The “Wow” show welcomed guests 4 and up.

For older guests, the floor above the Kiss golf had a pair of interesting amenities. The first was a rock-themed chapel for weddings.

There also was the Empire Strips Back burlesque show nearby.

However, some of the hotel’s amenity spaces were empty — no signs, no “coming soon,” just an empty spot where something used to be.

Near the entrance to the pool, there was a fitness center open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. Meanwhile, the far end of the property had a massive convention and events center.

The Rio Hotel also had a large casino on the ground floor occupying the center of the property. Along with slots and table games, there was a large sportsbook area.

A small section at the rear of the casino, along the path toward the miniature golf and Masquerade tower, was designated as nonsmoking. There were no table games here, however, and the majority of the casino still permitted smoking.

5. Complimentary Parking for Everyone

The Rio Hotel offers complimentary self-serve and valet parking for all guests — no elite status required. Oversize vehicles are welcome, but there are limited spaces for these.

Parking in major tourist destinations can be expensive. Getting complimentary overnight parking near the Strip can add considerable savings to your trip.

6. Brazilian Theme

I thought the Brazilian theme throughout the property was fun. As a Brazilian, it felt endearing. For example, facility names evoked locations, fruits, and animals from Brazil.

Brazil has incredible biodiversity, and this was represented on the carpet in the casino. There were toucans, parrots, and marmosets.

4 Things I Didn’t Like About My Stay the Rio Hotel

Not everything was perfect, and there are definitely areas for improvement at the Rio.

1. Outdated Information

Several sections of the Rio Hotel’s website have outdated information, such as restaurants that don’t exist showing on the property map, including the former Indian buffet and the now-closed rooftop steakhouse. As someone visiting the property for the first time, this was confusing. The hotel should update its website with all of the current information about amenities, dining, and hours.

2. Unacceptable Resort Fee

The resort fee covers access to the pool and the gym — which hotel guests should get at any property, not be forced to pay extra beyond the room rate to enjoy. The fee is also used to justify Wi-Fi, which numerous hotels provide at no cost even without a daily resort fee. Additionally, the fee covers phone calls that no one needs in the age of cell phones. Plus, it provides access to drink and show discounts — access to a discount, not actual drinks or show tickets. You have to spend money to get this benefit.

I can’t think of a single benefit covered by the resort fee that doesn’t feel like a ripoff. It feels like it’s intentionally designed to take your money without providing value, helping the hotel make extra money off guests without any additional expense — and make money that the hotel doesn’t have to share with Hotels.com or Expedia when guests book that way, given that this isn’t part of your room cost.

If I had to pay the resort fee, I don’t know that I would stay here. It just feels shady.

3. VIP Team That’s Anything but VIP

I’ve never felt like less of a VIP than I did checking in at the VIP room at the Rio Hotel & Casino. I headed here because a sign inside the hotel’s front entrance indicated that those with Hyatt elite status should turn right and find the VIP room.

I wasn’t sure if the room was open, but I went in.

When I arrived, there were just 5 people in line. Somehow, with only 1 employee working, it took over 30 minutes to check in.

Once I finished, there were nearly 20 people in line. People in line routinely joked about this VIP line feeling like the opposite of VIP treatment — and did so out loud to ensure the sole employee working could hear them.

She was cordial while I spoke with her, but she made no attempt to work through the line efficiently.

I’ll also add a second point here: I played with the self check-in machine when I arrived, knowing it was too early to actually check in (it was 10:30 a.m.). I didn’t like that the machine tried twice to sell me things I should have gotten for free as a Globalist: room upgrades and breakfast.

4. Lack of Vegan Options at Breakfast

One of the perks of Hyatt Globalist status is complimentary breakfast each morning. At the Rio Hotel, this benefit was available at the Hash House A Go Go restaurant, near the pool entrance in the hallway leading to the conference center.

While the restaurant indeed provided complimentary breakfast, vegan options were difficult to find. Potatoes and a fruit bowl were the only options, and the hotel didn’t offer any plant-based milk for coffee — something that seems like a bare minimum in 2025.

Final Thoughts

I understand the Rio Hotel & Casino is undergoing a massive renovation. I also understand it’s an older property, it’s not on the Strip, and it’s very cheap.

With those in mind, I had very realistic expectations for my stay, and I had an overall positive experience when comparing the good and the bad. There were areas for improvement, such as the lack of vegan food, the wait times at VIP check-in, and the resort fee.

Luckily, I didn’t have to pay the resort fee, which led to an incredible bargain on my stay. Plus, I was surprised at how many amenities the hotel offered, thought its location was decent, and was positively surprised to see the hotel offered complimentary parking for everyone.

Honestly, I would stay here again. And I’m interested to see what the Rio looks and feels like after its renovation is complete.