Hotel Guide

3555 S Las Vegas Blvd

Location:  Strip

What makes it Special? Visit (or revisit) the Strip’s Oldest Hotel

Entertainment Attraction: Donny & Marie Osmond

Number of Rooms: 3,626 rooms

Overview:

There are historical Vegas hotels and then there’s the Flamingo Las Vegas. Opened by Sin City legend Bugsy Siegel in 1946, the Flamingo is the longest-serving resort on the Strip. Bugsy named the hotel in honor of girlfriend Virginia Hill, whose nickname was “the flamingo”.

The real bird has replaced Hill as the modern hotel’s thematic inspiration: the pink color of its plumage dominates the hotel’s Art Deco design scheme – from the Flamingo’s lit-up façade to the curtains of its deluxe rooms. Potential guests with an aversion to the color will rest assured to learn that it’s tastefully incorporated in rooms which are more reminiscent of Miami than Vegas. Guests are also unlikely to have an aversion to the Flamingo’s rates, which are affordable, though bargain seekers are advised to search elsewhere.

Trend-conscious visitors to Vegas are also probably better off looking at other options on the Strip. The Flamingo’s low quotient of coolness is best summed up by the hotel’s top entertainment attraction: singing siblings Donny and Marie Osmond, whose heyday was in the later ‘70s. Similarly, the restaurants on offer at the Flamingo are reliable old favorites rather than culinary innovators: you’ll find decent sushi at Hamada of Japan and solid Tex-Mex at Carlos ‘N Charlie’s, but don’t go to either expecting to encounter new  taste sensations.

More modern is the Flamingo’s Margaritaville Casino, which was renovated and re-opened in late 2011. While the gaming area is reasonably sophisticated, it’s smaller than some of the mega-casinos offered by other hotels.

Like the Osmonds, the Flamingo is a golden oldie that might be less appreciated by younger visitors.

Flamingo Las Vegas