Excalibur Hotel and Casino

3850 S Las Vegas Blvd

Location: Strip

What makes it Special? Hotel resembles an Arthurian castle

Entertainment Attraction: Tournament of Kings show

Number of Rooms: 3,981

Overview:

Have you ever fantasized about living in your very own Camelot? Welcome to the Excalibur Hotel, named after King Arthur’s legendary sword and built to resemble his castle with turrets, battlements and a moat.

The hotel’s signature entertainment attraction is the Arthurian Tournament of Kings show. It’s great family fun for all the family to watch chivalrous knights joust while maidens dance. The hotel’s other shows are more adult-oriented. There’s either the Aussie male stripper troupe Thunder from Down Under or the Australian Bee Gees tribute band. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this hotel is as much Antipodean as Arthurian.

Sadly, neither influence is much in evidence in the hotel’s rooms, which are dully decorated, though at least rates are affordable. If you’re disappointed by the lack of arrowslits in your room, the hotel’s restaurants will leave you feeling more disenchanted than Merlin with no wand. Excalibur has five restaurants and a food court, though none of them houses a round table or offers roasted boar. Instead, there’s a steakhouse, Italian and Mexican places, and a range of fast-food counters.

Similarly, the casino, which includes a large collection of slots, table games and a sports book, is adequate, but it’s hardly the holy grail of gambling. The same is also true of the hotel’s nightspots. The Lounge and the Octane Lounge are fun, though there’s not much to them – you’ll soon head out onto the Strip looking for something livelier.

While the rooms are good value, it’s a shame that the Excalibur’s Arthurian theme is only half-developed – and the other edge of the sword is as blunt as a plastic knife from the hotel’s food court.