This was at least my 6th stay at the Fremont in the past ten or so years. I joined other family members there as we celebrated a landmark birthday for my Mother. I like staying downtown in "Old" Las Vegas--everything you need is right there and there are plenty of cheap shuttles or buses if you wish to go to the Strip or to the Mall or anywhere else.

As other reviewers have said, the rooms at the Fremont are reasonably priced and adequate. I do not need a fancy hotel, but I like cleanliness and comfort. My bed and pillow were very comfortable and the sheets were crisp and clean; the lady from housekeeping, Katie, was very pleasant and accommodating and asked every day if we wanted our sheets changed. In my Mother's room there was a problem with the water not draining out of the tub, and we reported this; the plumber came right up and discovered the same problem in our neighbor's tub and snaked out the drain. . . I really did not want to know about all this. The bathrooms are small, reminding me of bathrooms in Italian hotels. The water in the shower is marvelously hot and the pressure, great.

I loved the view in my room of the Sierra Nevadas and the nearby hotels. Unfortunately, the windows do not open, at all, so you can't get a breath of fresh air. There is an air conditioner/heating unit in the room which makes for some kind of air circulation; despite this, and despite the fact that we were on a no smoking floor, secondhand smoke drifted up through the elevator shaft, I guess, and sometimes came into my room under the door. I rolled up a towel and put it against the space under the door when I went to bed at night. There is also a considerable amount of cigarette smoke in the casino on the lower level which you have to walk through to get to your room.

There was a small keyed safe in the room, an ironing board and iron, a hair dryer, plenty of towels, cups, ice bucket, and a TV. The usual pad of hotel paper was missing, there were just a few little pieces of white paper and a pen. Plenty of hangers. An upholstered chair and little table and also suitcase stands.

The Fremont provided my Mother with some coupons for discounts in the hotel's restaurants; although they looked nice, the coupons weren't all that much of a bargain. We ate at the Paradise Buffet on a Friday night when it was seafood night, and it was a real disappointment. I guess, being a New Englander, I should know to avoid seafood out West, but this used to be a really nice buffet. I think the restaurant has been cutting corners to save money as the quality was not that high--iceberg lettuce on the salad bar and few interesting raw veggies for the salad; manufactured rolls and desserts; breaded shrimp that looked like Mrs. Paul's, etc. The restaurant space was gorgeous, but the hotel should be more careful because the quality is slipping. I liked the new Dunkin Donuts tucked away in a corner of the casino--nice for an inexpensive coffee and bagel. And we always love the 99 cent margaritas!

I am not a wild gambler, but I play the slots a little. I have had one of the casino's "Gold Cards" that you put in the machine to tot up your credits. In all my visits through the years, I have never been able to use my credits for anything because the Fremont says you need to first reach 5,000 credits before you can cash them in for a meal, etc. Well, this is a ridiculous policy. I use my other little card at Binion's Horseshoe across the street and you can redeem your credits, no matter how few they are, towards a meal any time you wish; you don't even have to get a "comp coupon" ahead of time.

In general, I would say that everything cost more in all the casinos and restaurants during this visit to Vegas; seems everyone has raised their prices to accommodate the current economy in the U.S. I guess. Even the slots were miserably tight, although I did see a few folks around me hitting four of a kind once in awhile. But no big ones!