HotelChatter

The cabanas at the Pool.

Check-In: Upon checking into rooms at Harrah's new Waterfront Tower, you had to sign a release that you know that construction is continuing. We saw construction on our floor as they completed the end two rooms.

Yet after a speedy check-in with a very enthusiastic receptionist from Youngstown, Ohio who announced "You're a winner! Step on up!" (which would have been annoying had I paid anything for the reservation), it was only a half-hour until Harrahs had me drunk and giddy in the shower of a bathroom larger than my bedroom in New York.

Room Reaction: On the 28th floor, my 600 square foot room was all generic luxury and sweet, sweet space. By generic luxury, I mean that the king bed was sumptuous (with a bolster pillow worthy of dueling on American Gladiators) and the flat-screen TV and iHome were nice, but the room wasn't exactly memorable with its safe design choices.

Amenity Madness: A wow factor wasn't the only thing missing. The mini-bar was completely empty, there's no bathtub, the Do Not Disturb signs and hotel compendum were missing. We got no cell phone reception, and there were no more than 30 boring channels on the TV.

Granted, we shouldn't be critiquing a free room, but the $22 in wi-fi and taxes we did have to pay gives us a little license to say what was and wasn't present.

The Scene: According to the concierge, Thursday night saw 1500 New Yorkers staying and drinking for free at Harrah's, but we hardly saw evidence of the influx outside of crowded roulette tables and confused regulars wondering why so many youngsters.

In fact, everyone we talked to who had jumped on the free room "Take Over the Tower" promotion was from just outside of Manhattan; Greenpoint, Jersey City, and Westchester were all well represented, and no one had actually received one of the keys passed out, but had instead been clued into the deal by friend's text messages.

This crowd was overwhelmingly young, between 23-35, and seemed to spend most of the night with personal bottles of Absolut, jumping between room parties. Although in all fairness, us freeloaders got the shaft on nightlife as Thursday is one of the only nights when the pool closes at 7pm.

The line for free drinks for New Yorkers.

The Perks: Among the flatteries paid to New Yorkers on Thursday night were these lines from the manager's welcome letter:

"When it comes to high style, luxe amenities and exemplary service, New Yorkers are the consummate experts. We're sure you'll find Harrah's Resort does not disappoint."

There were also coupons for two free "signature sharkbite" cocktails at the pool bar, $5 off the buffet where crab legs were the main attraction, a shuttle to Caesar's on the boardwalk and discounts on James' saltwater taffy.

Bottom Line: It was a perfect 24 hours for forgetting about the city and concentrating on vice, but having the free room has spoiled us into relying on comps.

Even so we're proud to say that we left Atlantic City with a little more money than we had arrived with, depriving Harrah's of the hope that gambling through the night would have us paying for our rooms in the long run. We had the last laugh.

Tags: AC Hotels / Harrahs Hotels / Hotel Contests / Hotel Promotions / She Said

by JetSetCD