4 Things You Should Know About The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa

The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa is Marriott’s only Westin property near the famous Las Vegas Strip, home to some of the largest casinos in the world.

Though Westin hotels are usually great, this outpost leaves a lot to be desired. Between dirty rooms and an obscene resort fee, it’s a hotel I would avoid staying at the next time I travel to Las Vegas.

1. Dirty Rooms

Upon checking in at The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa, I was given a corner room that had been described as much larger than a normal king room. While this was true, the square footage was mostly useless, as it was in an interior hallway, leaving the actual bedroom area with a much smaller footprint than a normal room.

As I entered my room, I could immediately tell it wasn’t clean, noticing several large stains on the sofa chair on the far side of the room. To be honest, it baffled me how a hotel would keep such a chair in service and how housekeeping seemed to miss these obscenely large stains.

Entering the bathroom, I noticed several long strands of hair next to the toilet, along with what looked to be wet toilet paper. The bathroom floor felt and looked filthy, and I ended up wiping some of the floors with a towel and picked up a substantial amount of dirt.

After voicing my displeasure with the front desk, they moved me to another room. To be clear, this was not an easy process, and the front desk assured me they would upgrade me, but I found the new room to be even smaller — not an upgrade at all. This new room also had large stains on the couch.

At this point, I asked about moving again, and after some back-and-forth, they put me into a suite that was available later that evening.

The cleanliness at this hotel would be the single major thing keeping me from returning.

2. Destination Fee

The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa charges a $35 per night destination fee, which is a complete ripoff. An additional $4.68 tax brings the total destination charges to approximately $40 a night.

For this fee, you get:

• $10 in free slot play at the OYO Casino; for someone who doesn’t gamble, this was a useless perk
• Enhanced high-speed internet access, though Marriott Bonvoy members are supposed to receive a replacement benefit. When I asked about this, I was told the hotel was unaware of this practice.
• Morning yoga classes at 8 a.m. on weekdays
• Unlimited sauna and steam room access
• Voucher for 1 complimentary beer, wine, or nonalcoholic beverage
• Voucher for 1 complimentary dessert at the hotel’s restaurant, though I was told you had to purchase an entree to receive this benefit

It’s very clear, like at most Las Vegas hotels, that this fee is added on as a money grab, and the benefits offered aren’t used by all travelers. Most hotels on the Las Vegas Strip area charge a similar fee, but that doesn’t mean hotels need to participate in this practice. They do it to make their room rates appear cheaper than competitors.

I booked this hotel using my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^®American Express^® Card for approximately $130 a night, so with the resort fee added, the room rate jumped to over $180 with tax.

3. Proximity to Strip

The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa is about 2 blocks off the Strip, so it’s not quite a Strip hotel but fairly close. Once you exit the Strip, there is a sidewalk the entire way to the hotel, and you need to cross 1 street at an intersection.

The hotel is almost directly across from the Horseshoe Las Vegas, so it is very convenient if you need to be there for an event. There is a crosswalk to get to that side of the street, or farther down the street is an overpass with escalators.

That said, even though the hotel is fairly close to the Strip, I’d still far prefer a hotel directly on the Strip since walking away from it can be rather inconvenient. Along the way, you also pass a liquor store, which seemed to be a hot spot for homeless people.

4. Generous Breakfast Service

If you’re a Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Elite or Titanium Elite member, you’re entitled to complimentary breakfast for up to 2 individuals at the hotel’s restaurant. I dined here for 2 days and could choose from a small menu, including a full American breakfast, a continental breakfast, pancakes, avocado toast, and a few other odds and ends.

The service at the restaurant was terrific, and the servers offered plenty of coffee refills. The portions for breakfast were enormous, so come hungry! If you receive breakfast as part of your elite status, the front desk will issue vouchers you can give to your server when you’re seated.

Final Thoughts

Though the price was right for my stay, I would avoid staying at The Westin Las Vegas Hotel & Spa again, thanks to a hefty resort fee and dirty rooms. While it was tolerable for a 2-night stay where I needed to be at a conference across the street, it is not a hotel I would seek out again. I’d far prefer staying at a hotel on the Strip and finding a property that does not scam customers with a resort fee.