We stayed three nights from June 26th through 29th booked directly as Diamond members of Harrahs Total Rewards.

Arrived in Philadelphia from Toronto and spent a harrowing hour at the Budget rent-a-car facility at PHA. I had cancelled a reservation with Hertz to save a few bucks at Budget and will not make that mistake again.

We got to Atlantic City on a Thursday afternoon and the Bally's valet parking was out of control. SInce it was a rental I just left the horrible Ford Focus in the hands of staff and prayed it would come back on Sunday.

We checked in and it was packed. Fortunately the Diamond line was relatively empty and we were quickly in room 3624 in the Tower. Nice corner room with a few of the beach, the remains of the old Sands hotel and, at night, Trump's Taj Mahal. The Donald's money problems had the Taj lit up as the TJ MHL for two nights.

The room was nice for a corner premium. Spacious sitting area near the windows for gazing on the Atlantic Ocean. The doors to the bathroom are just a couple of flimsy doors you'd find connecting your family room to your laundry room...so if you're in a new relationship you'd better have your loved one far removed from the bedsitting area if you're busy on the toilet.

The in-room Bally's guide was way outdated. We were looking for a steak and seafood house for one dinner and the guide said it was in the Claridge Tower. It isn't. It's closed. A little telephone roulette finally found "The Reserve" on the sixth floor of Bally's. More on that in a moment.

If you gamble be aware that Bally's has three casinos. The Wild West is a low-grade slot palace which seems to ignore the smoking section when it comes to getting drinks or cleaners. I've been to casinos all over North American and I've never seen anything as disgusting as the Wild West. Fortunately you can keep walking over the Caesars.

Didn't visit the Claridge casino but spent a lot of time in the Bally's main casino. Drink service was spotty...and again, you'll have a better time in the non-smoking area than the smoking. Bally's is suffering through an ashtray shortage at this moment and many people were snuffing their butts in the area between machines.

The tables were packed. Lots of 3-2 blackjack, Spanish 21, Casino War, Three Card Poker, Caribbean Stud and other ripoff games. The real games were just too busy to even attempt.

Slots were up and down. There is a brand new Diamond high-roller slot lounge off the lobby that treats you right....except that free drink comes at an average cost of $135 per. At least they clean it. My sweetheart won a $3,000 jackpot on WOF at Caesars.

We spent a day in the Spa area. Ten bucks per person per room and you get a towel. Even water costs extra.

Food: We ate room service every morning and it was very good...hot and tasty and the employees were very thorough. We ate serious meals at the new 6ix Cafe...good 24 hour cafe food but pricey. Our nice Saturday meal was at the Reserve Steakhouse. A.J. was our server and he was first class. So was the bill. But with the 300 or so covers a night, I was impressed with the service and food quality.

Our bill was cleared to just tips when we left thanks to our play and the Diamond Card saved us a VERY long wait when we checked out with the valet service. It was nice to escape Vegas this time of year and experience the Atlantic Ocean...but seriously, this would be a very poor experience if you were paying website rates for rooms and then meals, etc. on top.

On our way back to the Atlantic City Expressway, just two blocks north of Bally's, we had somebody squeegeeing our back window.

Viva Las Vegas.

We stayed at Bally's for one night in the tower and went to see Jay Leno next door. The tower room that we had was very nice. It was on one of the upper floors, was clean and very comfortable. The bed was very comfortable. The bathroom was very large with a soaking tub, shower and vanity area. We loved it and felt lucky to get such a great room on a holiday weekend. If you go, ask for a room in the tower on one of the top floors.

We just returned from a 2 night stay at Bally’s. We were offered special rates for “Total Rewards” members, their loyalty program. We were offered a choice of a Deluxe room for $59.00 or Premium room for $139.00 for the first night and the second night comped. Having previous stayed in the dreaded Clardige Tower, and celebrating my birthday, we opted to pay the extra for the Premium room. Having had previous “issues” with the Harrah’s properties in Atlantic City offering one level of hotel room upon booking and then downgrading you at check in I was skeptical that even when paying for the first ight what we would really get. As a “Gold” level member, the low end of the program, I have learned not to expect too much!
We did not arrive until almost 12 pm midnight and self parked and walked to the check in. There was one person working at the check in desk, and one person checking in ahead of us. Within a few minutes another clerk showed up and quickly called someone from the “platinum” line, who had just walked up. Come to find out she just needed new room cards . She then waited on us and checked us in quickly. We were given a room in the Tower or level 20.
I though, great a room on a high floor maybe even get a view! Wrong, level 20 is really the first floor of rooms in the tower, so it is really on the 9th or 10th floor. Not sure why they would need to re number the floors, unless to make people think when checking in they will get a room with a view, Our Premium room looked out over a roof with exhaust fans, a parking garage and Cesar’s. The room was average, nothing extra. The TV was very old and had to be left on for about 10 minutes to “warm up” for the picture to finally come on. Asked for a King bed, got 2 doubles (would think a Premium room would of least had 2 Queen beds). Bathroom was large and nice. Everything was clean. The beds have the now typical white sheet/duvet/sheet, with a coverlet across the bottom of the bed. One bed was missing a sheet, which meant you had the duvet against you. As I don’t think they wash the duvets after each guest ( you never see them on the maid cart to change like the sheets etc.), we moved to the other bed which was made properly. Only had feather pillows, not my favorite, thankfully neither of us allergic to them. I was surprised that they use them as many people are allergic to them or don’t like them. As it was now after 1 am we did not bother calling housekeeping to see if they had foam pillows. They also did not have mattress covers on either bed, I find that not only not real clean, as guest after guest is just lying on a thin sheet on the same mattress, but I would think they would want to protect the mattress. Seems pretty cheap and not very sanitary! Other then that the beds were comfy. So I guess in the end we did get a Gold Level room after all !
Next day we went to the pool area $10.00 per room per day. I would not have a problem with that but the area is old and tiered looking. It is really way over due for a make over ! There is a pool with murky looking water in it and about 6 hot tubs. This area is basically where people with kids hang out all day. Yes,,, a lot of people brings kids to casinos… poor kids ! It’s noisy and filled with small kids yelling, crying and running around. Not real relaxing or even too enjoyable! There is an outdoor sun deck overlooking the beach with a small bar, that had some old lounge chairs . I would of paid double that if they had an adults only pool area, like on most of the cruise ships have now. We endured it for a few hours trying to make the most of it. It’s clear they want you down in the casino, not at the pool! We should of just went across the Boardwalk to the beach for free, will know better next time! They have a “Bikini Bar” on the beach that looked fun but did not get the chance to check it out.
We wanted to go the Arturo’s the Italian restaurant, that evening, as it was listed in the directory in the room. In the directory it listed an extension number to call for restaurant and show reservations. I called 3 times between 4.30 – 4.50 PM and let the phone ring for 15 – 20 times each time, no one ever answered, not even a recorded message, nothing. I finally called the operator and told her I was trying to make dinner reservations. She told me that Arturo’s was closed that night that only “The Reserve” was open. The directory did not even list “The Reserve”. Apparently it was outdated, it did look old. Would be nice if they had accurate in room info listing the days the restaurants are open, and a real phone number to call to make reservations, as they seem to only open on certain days of the week, which is typical in most of the casino hotel in AC. We ended up calling Harrahs Atlantic City, in the Marina area and made reservations at their Italian restaurant, Polistina’s. The process was quick and painless, and the hostess who answered was very pleasant. Harrah’s is a 15 minute drive from Ballys. They also offer free shuttle service for Total Rewards members. The service at Polistina’s was first class and the food was very good. We really enjoyed our dinner! Thankfully we had our laptop ( 12.99 per 24 hour period for internet service) to look up their info!
Following morning we had a quick breakfast at “Gerties” where they make their own doughnuts and pastries, was very good for a quick bite. In between all of the above we played mostly the slots, had fun, but did not win anything. Did not see anyone else winning either! Played the new Rapid Roulette for a bit, was fun, but they were still training staff on the new system so it was slow going in between “spins”. Its easier to play as you don’t have lean over everyone trying to place your chips like at a traditional Roulette table.
Over all our stay at Bally’s was OK. We would not pay the extra for a Premium room again. I think the Deluxe rooms for the price would be fine. We have stayed at many of the hotel casinos in AC and it is on par with most of the others Boardwalk hotels. They all seen to have a rundown look and feel to them. None of them compare to The Borgata, which is still nice and new and has much looser slots, an awesome spa and pool area and the best hotel restaurants in A/C !

Stayed at Bally’s to meet up with relatives in the Philly area. Got a Harrah’s hot deal for $79 midweek. That was a value. Since we arrived at midnight due to flight delays, the only room open was in Claridge tower with 2 queen beds (requested King). They did say we could change the next day but we did not bother, we do not spend that all much time in the room. Overall the room needed a re-do but the size was fine. Coffee maker did not work. Bathroom was a good size but just needed a face lift. Amenities were good. We had a partial ocean view, which was nice.

The smoking floors reek of smoke, if it bothers you, request non-smoking! It was noxious ( our relatives stayed on the smoking floor). Bit of a distance to walk to the lobby casino if you are sensitive to that, but there are cute slots on the way up, Pink Panther was fun. There is also a breakfast place close by. We dined at 6 because it was the only place open when we arrived and it was great, big variety and tasty. Loved the rapid roulette. Overall location is good, right next to the shopping/restaurant complex at Cesar’s, brand new and very nice. The biggest shocker was the $10 per room fee to use the “wet area” pool, sundeck and Jacuzzis. We were there and it was $5 a person so we did it, but I would not have been happy on a weeklong trip. It was an OK area but not worth $10. The other downside is the indoor pool.

Id be curious to stay in another room and compare notes.