Golden Gate Las Vegas

Established in 1906, the ideally-located Golden Gate Las Vegas is the most historic hotel in the city, and in 2008, the Las Vegas Review-Journal voted it the Best downtown Las Vegas hotel. With the address of Number One Fremont Street, this property is full of history and right on the famous and dynamic Fremont Street Experience. This is where the city of Las Vegas was born, and the Golden Gate Casino evokes the Roaring 20s and the days of the Rat Pack. With only 106 charming newly renovated rooms, the family-run Golden Gate Hotel and Casino is one of the boutique hotels Las Vegas can be proud of.

Even the food here is historic, as Golden Gate Las Vegas claims to serve the "best tail in town," referring to its shrimp cocktail. In 1959, Golden Gate partner Italo Ghelfi introduced the first shrimp cocktail-and the hotel is still serving it exactly the same way it did 50 years ago. The Golden Gate Casino appears on many Las Vegas restaurants list simply for its trademark shrimp cocktail. You can join the Club 1906 when you check in, and earn points when you play the slots. Upscale, casual dining is available in the Bay City Diner. Sandwiches and (what else) shrimp cocktail are available in the Shrimp Bar & Deli.

Like most Downtown Las Vegas properties, Golden Gate Hotel and Casino relies primarily on its exciting location for entertainment. There's live grand piano music in the casino bar, but all you have to do is step outside to be enveloped in the booming sound and light of the Fremont Street Experience.

In 1905, the land that Golden Gate Hotel and Casino sits on sold for a total of $1,750. When the hotel opened a year later, you could get a room for a dollar a night. In 1907, the hotel boasted the city's first telephone, all you did was ask the operator to "ring 1, please." Today, a room costs a bit more and the phone is direct dial. There are only 106 rooms in this historic boutique hotel, so you probably want to book ahead. The rooms have all been newly renovated. You're apt to find most rooms are relatively small by Vegas standards, which is only to be expected of a downtown hotel with such a history. Golden Gate Las Vegas sits on prime real estate right in the dazzling downtown heart of the city.

Golden Gate Las Vegas has lived through the 1909 gambling prohibition and gambling's reinstatement in 1935. If any gaming casino offers a friendly and intimate, family-run atmosphere, here's where you'll find it. The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino features traditional favorites like Wheel of Fortune, Mega Bucks and Monopoly, along with all the hot new themes. The pit offers friendly games of blackjack, craps, roulette and Texas Hold'em Bonus. Remember to join the Club 1906 when you arrive, so you can earn redeemable points as you play. The Golden Gate Casino is a little jewel of Downtown Las Vegas, and is certainly worth a look.