The Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas is a large hotel and casino at the North end of the strip. I say large – with 3,770 rooms, it’s huge by most standards, but by Vegas standards, it’s merely a bit big!

Circus Circus was built in 1968, so it’s one of the older hotels on the strip, and it’s design certainly reflects its age. Compare it to one of the latest hotels, such as the Wynn Hotel, and it looks positively ancient, but don’t let its looks fool you. It may not have the glamour and glitz of the newer hotels, but its price, generous room sizes, amazing facilities and location on the strip all make it a place well worth considering.

Circus Circus Hotel Review

Like all good Vegas hotels, Circus Circus is huge and confusing. It has two towers – the Skyrise Tower and Casino Tower – which together contain most of the hotel’s 3,700 rooms. In addition to the Towers, there also the Manor rooms, which are located in five three-storey buildings.

Circus Circus Rooms

The rooms in Circus Circus are generally very good. I’ve stayed in the West Tower and the Skyrise Tower, and both are virtually identical. For your money, you get a triple bed (called a double, but these are Vegas sizes, remember!), TV with pay per view films on offer (of all varieties!), safe, air conditioning (vital) and large clean bathroom with shower and bath.

The best thing about the rooms is the price, though. Depending on the time of year you go, you get all this for less than the price of a standard Travelodge room in the UK. Indeed, the bathroom alone is bigger than many UK hotel rooms I’ve stayed in!

Food

With 3,770 rooms, there are obviously a lot of guests to feed, and Circus Circus accommodates them all with a variety of restaurants. It has a buffet restaurant, which serves breakfast and meals throughout the day, but which can become very busy during peak times. It offers two types of buffet bar: the rather empty “healthy” option, comprising cereal, muesli and fruits of one sort or another, and the, er, less healthy option, where even the cutlery’s fried!

If you fancy fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, sausages and even fried chicken for your breakfast, a Vegas buffet bar is the place to go!

There’s also McDonalds, a Donut shop, The Steak House, which has won “The Best Steak House in Vegas” award for 12 years, The Garden Grill, Mexitalia, The Pink Pony (complete with, er ‘interesting’ decor!), a Pizzeria and a Deli. In other words, there’s food aplenty. However, this is true for all of Vegas, and although the food is perfectly edible, there’s better food to be had elsewhere.

Circus Circus Casino

The main Casino is located on the ground floor (naturally), which, like all good Vegas casinos, seems to be endless. Indeed, it can take you a full five minutes or so from your room to the entrance, so big is the floor space given over to the casino. Endless slot machines constantly ring out for your attention, but you don’t need to heed them, as there are much better casinos on the strip.

If losts aren’t your thing but gambling is, there’s also Table Games, Poker Rooms and a Race and Sport Book, but again, there are many of these throughout Vegas, many of which are much better.

The Circus at Circus Circus

Circus Circus has, believe it or not, a circus, and not just any circus – apparently, it’s the “largest permanent big top in the world”. If you’re playing the slots (or have just gotten lost amongst them!), look up, and you’ll see what appears to be netting. This is the safety net for the trapeze artists, who swing above the heads of the slot players at regular intervals throughout the day. If you head upstairs to a mezzanine level (called “Midway”) that surrounds the main Circus stage, you get a better view, and can sample more of the circus-themed amusements on offer. These include fun-fair-like stalls (coconut-shies, rifle ranges, etc. – don’t worry, not real rifles!), candyfloss and loads of video games.

It’s a weird site marvelling at the dazzling display of the trapeze artists, and then looking down and seeing hundreds of people puring money into slot machines directly beneath them. If it’s your first time in Vegas, it’s about now that you’ll realize that things really are different in this magnificient town!

Circus Circus AdventureDome Theme Park

One of the best facilities on offer at Circus Circus has to be the AdventureDome Theme Park. This is, as it suggests, a complete full-size theme park, complete with water slide, pirate ship, huge rollercoaster that twists and turns throughout the park, and dozens of other rides.

It’s after marvelling at the size of the casino and getting lost several times, and then seeing a full-sized theme park tacked onto the side of the hotel, that you really appreciate the scale of the place. And then when you think that Circus Circus is by no means the biggest hotel in Las Vegas, the sheer enormity of the place finally starts to ram home as your jaw drops slightly.

Maybe it’s different for Americans who are used to very large cities, but if you’re form the UK, or even elsewhere in Europe, the scale of Las Vegas is beyond anything your brain’s ever been exposed to! It’s what makes the place a true wonder of the world. When you return home again, everywhere just seems so small.

Circus Circus Location

Circus Circus is located at the north end of the strip. This is where a lot of the older casinos that haven’t yet been torn down are located, including The Riviera (opened in 1955, and a favourite hangout of the Rat Pack), The Stardust (opened in 1958, and which, like Circus Circus itself, used to be mob-owned) and The Sahara (also 1958), which together with Circus Circus, give you a real taste of old Las Vegas.

Indeed, to give you a sense of the, er, history that exudes from Circus Circus, Midway was featured in the 1971 James Bond film “Diamonds are Forever.” And to give you a sense of the disdain that Vegas has for history, it’s current owners, MGM Mirage, feel it doesn’t bring in enough cash for the 44 acres it sits on, and so would like to demolish it! Along with the Riviera, the Stardust and the Sahara, all of which ar eunder executioner’s orders, so if you do want to see old Vegas, better go soon.

Come out of the main entrance of Circus Circus onto the Strip and turn left and you’ll head North, where, just past The Sahara, lies The Stratosphere. At 1,081 feet, this is the tallest tower in Las Vegas, and even has a rollercoaster and Big Shot ride right at the top! The views over Vegas are nothing short of spectacular, and this is well worth a visit.

Heading South, though, takes you to the heart of the real action – the full Las Vegas strip. After passing The Stardust, you’ll come across the first of the Strip’s new hotels – The Wynn, which is sensational. You’ll also come across The Fashion Show shopping mall, and then all the major hotels that Vegas is world-famous for.

So you can start off at one end of the strip, savouring the old feel of Vegas or the mental delights of The Stratosphere, walk up to take in the sights of the world famous hotels, and then catch a cab or the monorail back to Circus Circus.

Conclusion

Circus Circus is by no means the most glamourous hotel on the strip. In fact, you can think of it as the Asda’s (or Wal-Mart’s) of Vegas! Cheesy, tacky and unintentionally nostalgic, the hotel nevertheless has its own charm and character, and helps you realize just how far Vegas has come. The rooms are big and clean, the staff friendly and helpful and the cheese factor will bring a smile to your face.

With the Circus and in particular the AdventureDome, Circus Circus is not without its own attractions, but the real attractions of Las Vegas lie elsewhere. But if it’s value you want with great rooms and a good location, you really can’t beat this place. I wouldn’t recommend getting married here, but if you’re on a tight budget, or are travelling to a convention or conference and funds are tight, you can’t do better than booking a room at the Circus Circus Hotel in Las Vegas.