Vegas Reopening Hotel Check-In Experience
Las Vegas is finally re-opening today after 78 days of closure due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. We’ve come a long way since I drove the abandoned Strip and closely followed all of the news about when Vegas would re-open. Today was the day I got to check-in to my $27 hacked hotel room at Caesars Palace! Here is my Vegas reopening hotel check-in experience including my awesome upgrade plus a little of what it was like to be here at opening.
Caesars Palace Opening Day – Arrival
I arrived at the front entrance to Caesars Palace around 9:45am for the 10am opening. Upon arrival I was offered a mask (I had accidentally left mine in the car with my wife Jasmine who was parking) and I accepted. It was a standard surgical mask and worked well enough. I prefer my cloth filtered mask from VIDA though.
Opening Festivities at 10am
Despite the inside of the building being open, many people gathered outside waiting for the 10am opening. When Caesars Palace officially opened a procession of about 100 people including Romans and of course Wayne Newton made their way through the lobby. Wayne even stopped to do a little elbow bumping. What a way to start it off!
The atmosphere among guests was jovial and employees were friendlier than ever! It was definitely the right mood to start what will hopefully be a very positive re-opening for Las Vegas over the next week.
Vegas Reopening Hotel Check-In Experience
The check-in process at Caesars Palace was slow but simple. There are kiosks where you can check-in to avoid the line or if you want to wait in line to check-in with a human, you will have your temperature checked by a thermal scanner or a handheld device. You can see what this looks like in the lobby at Caesars Palace in this photo.
As a Diamond member I was allowed to check-in at the private Diamond area near the main lobby. There were quite a few Diamond members who had arrived, so we were lined up 6 feet apart to wait our turn after having our temperatures checked via handheld scanner at the door.
Everyone seemed to be wearing a mask and following the distancing rules at this point. Each check-in station was cleaned between each guest too which added to the wait but was expected. It felt very different but not unfamiliar either.
The check-in process itself was very quick. I set down my cards and ID instead of handing them to the agent, but for the most part it didn’t feel wildly different. Without asking I was upgraded to the Augustus Tower (one of the newer towers) with a Bellagio Fountain view. That was a fantastic upgrade! Overall I’d say the check-in process was surprisingly smooth and not jarring at all. They are doing their best to enforce the rules and procedures and it all felt fine.
It’s good to see these back! And this view from my room at @CaesarsPalace ain’t bad either. #VegasIsBack pic.twitter.com/Vvh9SBnipe
— Miles to Memories (@milestomemories) June 4, 2020
Getting to the Room
While one might be a little apprehensive about staying in a hotel room during COVID-19, maybe there is less concern for tonight?!? This hotel has been closed for months and each room has been cleaned and sanitized. They even put stickers on the entrance to the room to let you know that the room hasn’t been soiled since it was last sanitized. And what about the elevators? No more than 4 people with social distancing stickers found in each corner.
As for the room itself, I’ll write a review later but it’s really solid. Some of Caesars’ older towers can be a bit dated, but this tower was built in 2005 and the rooms are great. I wouldn’t say the quality compares to Bellagio, Venetian, Wynn or Cosmo, but it’s solid and the view is truly spectacular.
More Hotel Pics
Caesars Palace Casino on Opening Day
While I plan to write about this in more detail as I visit other casinos today, things are fairly normal now here at Caesars Palace. They have decided not to install physical barriers, so you’ll see limited chairs at casino tables and every other machine is turned off as well. We did see some people playing and cocktail waitresses were definitely still providing drinks.
It’s still early and casinos aren’t often busy at this time midweek so we’ll see how things progress tonight when more people no doubt will come to visit the Strip to see what it’s like. For now all I can say is it is not crowded and fairly easy to keep social distance, but with tons more people it could be different.
Vegas Reopening Hotel Check-In Experience – Bottom Line
Checking into a Vegas hotel post COVID-19 was a breeze. I stay in a lot of hotels and the check-in process is like second nature to me, but truthfully this didn’t feel much different than before. Yes, I had to get my temperature checked and yes I wore a mask and maintained distance, but it all felt more normal than I thought it would.
Vegas is back open and the casinos/hotels are going to make it as pleasant as possible while also enforcing the new policies and guidelines. What do you think? Are you coming to Vegas? Let us know below!
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[…] you want to read about what it was like in those days, I’d recommend this post from Miles to Memories or if you’re more into podcasts, this episode of Miles to Go compares the experience in two […]
Glad to see some were not wearing masks , I definitely would not wear one either, it should be up to the individual, If you want to wear a mask and hide behind your sofa ,have at it , the rest of us want to get on with living …not living in fear.
David – here’s my thought: wearing a mask is not a sign of fear, and not wearing a mask isn’t a sign of bravery. The world’s top experts say this reduces our risk of infecting others, which could possibly kill them. Bravery and fear have nothing to do with listening to scientific evidence. It’s how we as neighbors help each other stay safe and healthy.
I agree. Wearing a mask shows respect for others.
Are the buffets open?
That is a cool pic of the elevator, but how they enforce it is a mystery.
I heard traffic on the Strip was back to normal, really bad, already this morning.
Shawn, you say people were wearing masks and social distancing. However, in your photo of Wayne Newton, there was not social distancing and one person had no mask and another had his mask below his mouth covering nothing even though he was even touching another person. What the hell?
So inappropriate and risky.
Shawn, very nice room & view; last yr, got an upgrade to the same tower but didn’t get fountain view
U paid $27/night even though ure a diamond? Are you one of those fake wyndham diamonds?
Staying there tomorrow night. Hope to run into you.
I cant wait to come back. I am not quite ready yet mostly because I don’t feel comfortable with the flight. I will just have to live vicariously for now.
How many (if at all) 4 hand max poker tables were they running?
How do they enforce socially distancing from each other on the elevators, specifically from guest floors to the main floor? I can’t imagine there being elevator attendants who are enforcing it on every floor..
There are 4 of us arriving june 9 and we cant wait. Thank you for your post and pictures.