This is one of the original themed hotels from the 90’s. It’s located at the south end of the strip, between New York New York and Luxor. You can’t miss the distinctive fairytale castle design, with it’s bright red and blue turrets. You can tell this was built in 1990, an era when Vegas was trying to become a family-friendly destination. The theming is basically a medieval castle, complete with turrets, moat and a drawbridge!

I stayed here for the first time in April 2024. It’s a cheap option and I have to say my expectations weren’t particularly high before I arrived. However I was pleasantly surprised. I stayed in a standard two queen room in the resort tower. The room was basic, but a decent size and was clean and comfortable. Although a little dated, it felt good for the price I paid. There was no fridge in the room and the air-conditioning unit was a little old and noisy, but it worked perfectly well.

The bathroom had everything you needed, for some reason the sink vanity seemed weirdly high compared to other rooms, not sure why that was. The shower was decent and you had plenty of fresh towels provided.

My room was on the 11th floor and it had a internal facing view, so you could only see turrents with a bit of the MGM Grand in the distance. An outward facing room would have had a better view. However the resort tower was convienently located, and the entrance to the pool area, gym and spa were just at the bottom of the lifts.

The downside of staying here was probably the location. Being quite far south, it did feel like quite a way to get to the centre strip hotels and downtown. New York New York and MGM Grand are in easy reach and you also have the free Mandalay Bay tram (see Trams in Vegas) to take you to Luxor and Mandalay Bay just outside (or you can take the indoor walking route through the hotels).

The casino floor is very large and there is a good variety of slots and table games. However the drinks service wasn’t particularly great and it did seem to take a long time for the waitresses to come along with your order.

The pool area was suprisingly big, with four pools (although one was closed). Two large pools, an adult only pool (reserved for MGM reward gold card members) and two hot tubs. There were plenty of loungers, but not a lot of shade available during the day.

So overall, Excalibur is a decent budget option, particularly if you want to locate at the south end of the strip. Since it’s kept alot of it’s theming, it’s got quite a fun vibe and of course you are staying a castle! The rooms maybe basic but they are perfectly comfortable.

However, personally, I think I prefer to spend a small amount more and locate to a more centre strip hotel to have easier access to the hotels, bars and restaurants where I want to spend time on my trip.

Last visited: April 2024

---

Links

• Excalibur Hotel and Casino website
• Excalibur Hotel and Casino on Instagram
• Excalibur Hotel and Casino on X

---

More info

Casino group: MGM Resorts
Reward scheme: MGM Rewards

---