Review of Avi Resort, Laughlin (Nevada): Our pros and cons of this family friendly casino resort with views of the Colorado River

 

Avi Resort, Nevada

During my wife and myself’s preparation for our 2 1/2 month cross country road trip going from North Carolina to California, we had planned on stopping by at Los Angeles to see my wife’s friend and her family.  That plan, unfortunately, did not work out as we had completely forgotten about the fact that we were spending time in Las Vegas, full of millions of visiting tourists.

We didn’t want to transmit any number of communicable diseases, especially Covid-19 to her unsuspecting son.  We briefly thought about getting ourselves tested, but we decided against it, as it was a last minute thing.  

So, as is our usual motto, we “hoped for the best, but prepared for the worst”, or we “went with the flow…”. We ended up needing to book a 2 night stay anywhere south of Las Vegas to anywhere near San Diego, as that would be our next destination.

We searched high and low to find a suitable lodging near Las Vegas, San Diego, and/or near Joshua Tree National Park.  I had searched MGM Resorts first to see if I can get a last minute MGM Rewards member price for any MGM Resorts hotel, but for a weekend stay, nothing was available that met our expectations.  After paying nothing for our Bellagio stay for 4 nights, it was obviously tough to dole out money for a lesser hotel for roughly $150 per night or higher.  

We also searched for any hotel room in the city of Las Vegas, but again, the weekend didn’t help.  Prices were all high, and we didn’t want to stay at a cheaper, but questionable 1 or 2 star motels/hotels in Las Vegas, paying about $100 either… Frankly, after staying 4 nights in Las Vegas, we didn’t want to stay at the same city, as we would be back in Las Vegas the following week…

We checked hotels near Joshua Tree National Park next, but they were even worse:  all overpriced and not very appealing.  Lastly, we checked hotels near San Diego, but it is a very expensive place, and prices for hotels were no exception.  

We gave up, then narrowed our search to Laughlin, Nevada, as the place is on the way to San Diego, and it is about 90 miles south of Las Vegas.  We figured we’d be saving some time and driving distance leaving from Laughlin to San Diego…

After searching several hotel search engines, we found Avi Resort in Laughlin.  Price per night was high, about $130, but it was at least a 3 star rated hotel, and it was right on the Colorado River.  

On the morning of January 13, 2023, we left Bellagio and got on the US-95 going south.  The driving distance would be under 100 miles, but we knew once we left the hustle and the bustle of Las Vegas, the roads would open up nicely.

We were right!  Once we got on the US-95, the scenery opened up to now familiar wide open, sometimes desolate, desert landscape.  Along the way, we saw acres of solar panels set up on to our right, which seemed to be the perfect location for them.  

We again inwardly enjoyed the quiet and lonely desert landscape with distant, bare, and scorched-by-the-Sun mountains keeping things interesting.  We saw the occasional RV’S (recreation vehicle) parked haphazardly along the desert, at first looking like they were parked freely, but only to realize it was actually inside a RV park.

Because of the off-season, we just didn’t see many of them parked at various RV parks, but we thanked the occasional RV’s for keeping the scenery interesting.  America is a land of RV’s of all sizes, and we must have seen a fair share of them during our trip out west.  

We encountered small towns, abandoned in some places, with nary a living soul in sight.  Some homes were deserted or worse, vandalized, with broken windows/doors, or painted with graffiti.  It was sad to see that part of America.  We guessed at one point in the town’s history, it may have been a bustling little town, with kids playing in the sun baked streets, or kids riding their bicycles.

These days, all that were left were the abandoned homes, with lonely sagebrushes standing guard.  Who knows what these sagebrushes have seen through its lifetime, living among various townspeople.  Had it seen a young family move into town, try to make a living, only to move on to greener pastures?  It makes me wonder about things like that…

I put aside those wandering thoughts to concentrate on the road up ahead, when we approached the town of Searchlight.  It was perhaps the biggest little town we saw along the way to Laughlin.  It did have a casino, couple of gas stations, some homes, and a grocery store, so it definitely was happening.  It was no Las Vegas, but it was a welcoming sight nonetheless, in a sea of deserts…

We turned left onto NV-163 going east when the scenery got really interesting.  We were going downhill, with roads curving left and right, following the contours of the mountains.  It made for a fun drive after going straight for about an hour!

When we were out about 4 miles to downtown Laughlin, the Google Maps told us to turn right onto Needles Highway.  We kind of got worried, as we didn’t see much of anything this way.  We continued on for another few miles, when we finally saw the sign for Avi Resort.  

We turned left, drove another 5 minutes when we saw the sprawling resort from the road.  The size was impressive.  It had a RV park, a gas station, a Mexican restaurant, and the casino resort itself.  We parked our car outside, then walked into the hotel lobby.  

Our first impression of the place was that it reeked of smoke, thanks to the presence of a casino right next to the hotel lobby/check in area.  We didn’t even see that many gamblers, but the place really smelled bad.  It was a casino right out of the 1980’s, in much need of renovations, especially the lobby area and the casino area.

It was a casino that time forgot.  We lamented our decision to choose this particular hotel at that very moment…At least the check in process was fast and the front desk staff was friendly.  That counts for something…

We picked up our keys then took the elevator, right next to the hotel lobby, on to the 5th floor.  We were not expecting anything but when we opened the door to our hotel room, we were pleasantly surprised.  The room was airy, bright, and it had been recently renovated with newer furnishings.  Did not expect that!

View from our room of the HVAC units and the distant mountains, Avi Resort

Our room, Avi Resort, Laughlin, NV

Although the views weren’t very impressive, especially after staying at the fantastic Bellagio the previous 4 nights, we at least got a window with a view of the mountains out in the distance.  You win some, you lose some…

After unpacking our bags, we went downstairs to explore the resort.  After staying there two nights, here are our pros and cons of Avi Resort:

Pros

• Family friendly (even if a casino is present)

Besides the casino that takes up the majority of the hotel lobby area, there are nice amenities for families to enjoy.  We particularly liked the movie theater playing latest movies.  And at $8.50 per ticket, it was a bargain!  We watched Avatar 2, which was fantastic.

Amenities include:

1. Pool with expansive sitting/lounge area
2. Arcade
3. A movie theater
4. Small food court, with only a Subway and Sbarro’s, but that’s still better than most places
5. Cute dioramas(miniature displays) of Native American life 

Diorama of Native American life, near the movie theater 

• Colorado River (and the riverfront area)

We were shocked to see how clear and clean the Colorado River was.  We could actually see the bottom of the river and see little fishes swimming.  Despite the cloudy skies, we could still make out the blue/turquoise colors of the river.

The beach area in front of the hotel was a nice touch with plenty of lounging areas, a boat ramp, and nice views of the surrounding areas.  This was the best part about the resort.

Avi Resort, boat ramp

Colorado River view, Avi Resort

Beach area, Avi Resort

• Our hotel room

Our hotel room had been recently renovated with newer furnishings and clean sheets/pillows/mattress.  The room was definitely one of the best things about our stay.  But even with the recent room renovations, we still had an issue with one of the sinks not draining.  Like most things in life, tamper your expectations, and don’t expect perfection.  

You won’t get it, and you’ll most likely be disappointed.  Same goes for hotels.  Our hotel was a 3 Diamond rated hotel.  We didn’t expect much when we checked in, and we were right, for the most part.  

We still enjoyed the room despite the sink drainage issue, and the smoke outside our room.  You can’t have everything…

• Within easy driving distance to Bullhead City and Lake Havasu in Arizona

When we were driving to Avi Resort, we saw that the border to the state of Arizona was just literally across the Colorado River.  We took advantage of that by driving to Bullhead City for food, as well to see the London Bridge in Lake Havasu.  

It was actually fun to stay right near a border to another state, as we can drive 5 minutes to cross into another state!  Location of Avi Resort is a plus in my book.  Plus, unlike the busier Laughlin downtown area full of casinos, Avi Resort is pretty much by itself.  

It is definitely quieter, with less people, less traffic, and less hustle & bustle.  If that is your thing, then this is a good location.

Cons

• Reeks of smoke

Did I already mention the place reeks of smoke?  We smelled it as soon as we walked into the hotel lobby/casino area.  It felt like one of those older casinos that had seen better days, way back in the 1960’s…

Our hotel, located in the same area as the casino/lobby, smelled of smoke everywhere:  near the elevators, in the hallway to hotel rooms, and even when we opened the door to enter/exit our room.  Once inside our room, it wasn’t bad, but the closer you are to the elevators, the worse the smell is…

We recommend getting a room that is located away from the main/casino building.  For example, we saw there is a Beach Tower for example, located right near the river.  

• Need renovations in most places

Our hotel room was at least recently renovated, but we can’t say the same for the rest of the place.  The rest of the resort needs lots of TLC (tender loving care)!  The hallways need some sprucing up, the casino needs something to make it look fresher and cleaner.  The riverfront area/beach area needs cleaning and so on…

• Dining options are not very good

We did like the Subway and Sbarro in the food court, but we didn’t see a good option in the sit down restaurant department.  We checked out the prices at the sit down restaurant and they were on the high side.

We didn’t want to spend $50 for a questionable meal for two, that we didn’t really like.  Menu items were limited with usual fares like burgers, sandwiches, and meats.  We skipped all the resort’s restaurants during our two day stay.  

For one, we were sick of Subway by that time of our cross country trip, and for two, we had brought leftovers from a Korean restaurant in Las Vegas, which we ate on our first day.  The following day, we visited Lake Havasu where we ate delicious pizza overlooking the London Bridge.  

Saw this old school cigarette vending machine at the resort!

In conclusion:

Avi Resort was fairly close to our expectations when we booked it last minute.  We got a 3 Diamond rated hotel with a comfortable bed with decent views of the surroundings.  It wasn’t anything to write home about, but it did provide us a shelter (even if it was expensive) for two nights.

Although we wouldn’t necessarily select this hotel on our next trip, we did like the fact that it is secluded from the busier sections of downtown Laughlin and we did like the location of the resort.  If you’re ever planning a trip to southern Nevada, this may be a decent location to use as a base camp.

There are plenty of things to do nearby and plenty of restaurants nearby in downtown Laughlin and in Bullhead City, just across the Colorado River.  We thank you for reading and happy trails!  Don’t forget to keep up with us on our continuing trip to the American West!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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