A family member booked me in a compd room. *hint* sign up for their players club and quickly get great hotel offers.

The room:

The decor was way better than expected similar to Boyd gaming's Atlantic city hotel. The bed was comfortable as well and with my back injury it was a blessing! Request a non-smoking room family members room was just unbearable as they did not request a non-smoking. Make sure you are on a high floor mine was the 21st floor facing main street I could barely hear anything outside, but theirs, 19th floor, you could hear lots. Yes the TV is outdated, but we hardly were in the room it didn't matter. There is a small fridge which is a plus. The safe was big enough to fit my macbook in and a few other small things. There is ample room for suitcases and room to stretch. One lamp didn't work and the bathroom sink drained slow. Weekend housekeeping was not as good as the regulars, but if you gave a call the situation was fixed immediately. They really do care about the people that stay there. The compd room came with free meal tickets that could be used between mainstreet and the california. If you use the breakfast, lunch, and dinner respectively then you pay nothing. The compd room also came with $75.00 in slot money.
There is no free internet it is 9.99 a night or 5.99 an hour. If you forgot your lap top they have a computer available but for a fee.

Neg: you could hear everything in the hallway.

Restaurants:
The california caters to their hawaii guests. Great hawaii local food at reasonable prices. The eateries on the second floor do not take the coupon, but their saimin was awesome! and there is Lapperts ice-cream which opens at 6 am and closes at 11pm weekday and 1am weekends. The chili with rice that the main restaurant served was awesome so was their french toast and oxtail soup. The brunch buffet (weekends) at main street was a great deal. Just for the food alone I'd stay there.

Casino: My family members always have luck here, but for me I wanted to play baccarat and they don't have it there. It is rather smokey and in certain locations I couldn't breathe. The limits are lower than on the strip which is nice.

Surrounding area:
A short walk to the fremont experience which was awesome. There is bingo at the Plaza which is too quite for me. I got to see the traditional vegas that I had hoped to see on the strip. Chelsea premium outlet mall is less than 1 mile away. pick up a coupon booklet it's worth it, free for AAA and military. Check out their website. Freeway access is easy and a short drive to any location on the strip. Took me less than 10 minutes to get from the bellagio to the california. The other outlet mall is near the airport on las vegas blvd. Nellis airforce base is about 15 min away a must for military so you can get inside info on military discounts. If you love bass pro go and see their store off the 33 exit. Pick up water and snacks at a grocery store so that you are not paying an arm and leg when you visit the strip hotels.

check out tix4tonight at 4queens in the freemont experience and print a coupon on their website.

My husband and I have stayed here many times in previous years for just a few days.
Each time we commented on the same things hoping for improvements. We don't like staying at the California Hotel anymore, it's gotten worse than before. It stinks really bad (smoky) and it comes through the vents and carpets. They offer to spray the room, but it only makes it worse. We had to leave the window (2 inches)open during our whole stay to keep it breathable. The hallways are the worst, the minute you step outside it has a
strong moldy stinch. My husband got bitten on his feet by fleas either in bed or from the carpet. There were maybe 3 tissue papers in the dispenser, and no extra roll of toilet paper, although the half roll was neatly folded. It's time to move on, the cheap price was not worth the unhealthy quality of air in the casino, hallway and rooms. The air was so dry, my nose bled every morning, and our throat pinched and was raspy in the morning. My eyes were blood shot red, and gritty and my nose was running through out the two days. The old hotels don't have air filtering system, so it circulates the same stale air throughout the hotel. The size of the room was fine and the bathroom toilet was very
noisy to flush. The bedcover had brown spots on the side, (disgusting) and it was
covered over by a top sheet. I kid you not, a cheap rate is not worth having to go through
these kind of experiences. This hotel is in bad need of a major cleaning, fumigation and installation of an air filtering system. Until then, we honestly cannot recommend. However, if you are a smoker and had a few drinks you may enjoy this place. The homeless walk around the premises, but they stay to themselves.

Spent a three night stay at The Cal with my girlfriend. The room was complimentary through B Connected. I generally stay (and play) at The Fremont but got the offer from The Cal so decided to give it a try. Overall, I was pretty happy with The California and would consider it for a future visit, although probably only if the room was comped.

Room was well done and very much in-line with the rooms at The Fremont. Nice, new bedding with white linens, new carpeting, shutters instead of flowery drapes. All the furniture looks nice and new. Bathrooms are small but very functional. TV is pretty sad - small with only a handful of channels. The rooms include a safe, although it is key locked, instead of code controlled. Just one more thing to keep track of...

The Cal has a nice little pool setup. Nothing fancy, but handful of chairs, lots of towels and not very crowded at all. In fact, it was virtually empty each time we visited.

Gaming is good and consistent with downtown in general. Video poker is generally poor, especially at the bars, where it was 8-5 on Jacks or Better. Blackjack was plentiful, with lots of double deck hand dealt games with 3-2 payouts on blackjack. Played a fair amount of slots with the GF and she was pretty happy with the selection and denominations across the board. Drinks were served quickly whenever we were at the blackjack tables. Dealers were consistently friendly and fun.

Ate at the coffee shop restaurant one morning and had the buffet. Pretty good selection and quality for a modest price. Not cutting edge by any means, but wholly satisfactory. Also ate at the grill restaurant and had a good experience.

The biggest downside I experienced was the location and the lack of dining/drinking options. There is no coffee/pastry option for the morning The ice cream/coffee shop opens at 10am!!! No bars other than casino bars. In addition, they closed the coffee shop restaurant twice durning our three days. If they were on Fremont St, this wouldn’t be an issue as you could bounce to a number of other casinos. However, given the location of The Cal, this was a big negative. I had to haul over to the Dunkin’ Donuts at The Fremont each morning just to get a cup of coffee.

Overall, we enjoyed our visit, despite a few negatives. I definitely prefer The Fremont to The Cal, but if they want to offer me a free room, I wouldn’t hesitate to stay at The Cal again.

I read so many reviews of this hotel before I went on my recent trip. I personally did not pick this hotel. I was attending a family reunion and it was being hosted at this hotel. Don't even believe the bad reviews of this hotel. It is all about Hawaii - low key with some bling here and there. If you lived on the islands, you'd appreciate this very affordable hotel. I lived on the islands for 10 yrs, so this hotel was just perfect. If you're looking for lots of bling, then stay on the strip!

I don't have anything bad at all to say about this hotel. I had read enough reviews to know what and what not to expect which I highly recommend everyone do to learn more about where they are staying. I'm not going to repeat all the amenities the Cal has or doesn't have.

All I can say is that I had a lovely stay at the Cal and if I ever go back to Vegas, I will be a quest again at the Cal!