SQUIB: a : a short humorous or satiric writing or speech; b : a short news item. (Merriam-Webster)
This Travel Squib wants you to get your eyes off The Strip and look around a little.
To be blunt, downtown Las Vegas was where the riffraff used to vacation. If tourists couldn’t afford travel packages at one of the major Strip hotels, they settled for the older, cheaper and generally grungier Fremont Street joints.
That’s not the case anymore, and the El Cortez Cabana Suites are a prime example why. One of the oldest hotels in the city, the El Cortez added its Cabana Suites across the street from its original venue. The newer space is intended as a downtown rival to some of the smaller Strip hotels.
While the rooms are smaller than a suite on the four corners, the spaces are modern, comfortably furnished and quiet. A 24 hour concierge dedicated to the Cabana Suites always has a smile downstairs, and the facility enjoys outdoor security around the clock.
The El Cortez expansion is only a part of an evolving downtown environment that’s seeing other upgraded accommodations — such as the new D and The Grand. The Cabana Suites themselves sit only a block away from one of downtown’s most interesting developments, Container Park. It’s an ingenious, artsy mix of shops, restaurants, playgrounds and live music theaters all forged from repurposed, metal shipping containers.
The Cabana Suites is a hidden gem in downtown, but the El Cortez is well placed amidst a reemerging part of Vegas.
