Got the $20.00 back from naive clerk. She may have caught on later and gave me the strip room for that. I am not sure.

Stayed at the MC 3 times, this being my 4th. Never tried “the trick”. This time at check in I simply said “I’d like a room on a high floor, in the 300 wing” while handing her my Credit Card with a $10.00 bill. She took it and asked if I would like a strip view as well. BINGO!

Monte Carlo: A+

Told the young lady we were in town for our wedding and 3 day honeymoon. I asked if any upgrades were available…… she checked…. and then gave us a strip Spa Room on the 23rd floor. I offered the $20 tip with my ID and CC but she refused and said it was her pleasure.

me – “do you offer comp upgrades?”
her – “No”

I tried the $20 trick thinking it made sense that a clerk would upgrade you (especially in December when it’s not busy). No luck. She saw the $20, said they had upgrades available for $x per night, etc. etc. She did give us a discounted rate for the upgrades (which the next night we took since the basic room SUCKS). I will never stay here again- construction starting at 6 or 7 am, you could smell the smoking rooms (ours was NS), and also could hear what everyone around you was doing. Not the way I want to wake up after a long day and night of partying.
Look elsewhere.

Have tried twice here, both times with a C-note showing, no luck both times. The second time, the (female) clerk said “nothing in life is free”

I then got the room 10 miles away facing a building site where they started at 6am every day. DONT BOTHER HERE!!!

Got the $59 room rate from the web site. When checking in made sure he saw the $20 right underneath my credit card and asked if any upgrades were available. He said sure and quoted me the prices. I said was there anything he could do complimentary and tapped the cred card lightly on the counter. He smiled, apologized and said that he could not upgrade me for free.

Oh well, the room was ok for the amount of time I spent there.

We booked stay at the MONTE CARLO for 7/15 – 7/17/06, it was over the internet at $59 per night. Got to the hotel check in desk about 3pm. They were a bit busy. I picked a young kid, mostly because the line was shortest. Handed him my license and my CC with a $20 stuck between. Asked for a complimentary upgrade, he went back into the office and came out 3 minutes later with a “NO.” But he did offer to upgrade for a price, can’t remember exactly what it was though, I declined. He did give us a choice of the 23rd or 31st floor, and a view of the strip. After I signed he asked “Did you want change?” I said I did and he gave me back 4 fives, one of which I handed to him.

After being out by the pool I went and asked another clerk, this time she got on the phone but came back with the same offer, which I declined again. She handed back the $20.

The hotel was pretty nice, the room was clean, except for one long nasty black hair in the bathroom, the service good, and I really like their pool area, which is where I spent most of my time. The rooms are about as basic as they get, but comfortable and clean. Definitely not the most stunning or luxurious place, but for a quick get away it was fine.

Went to see the “Second City” show, a disappointment, but we did have a great lightening show on Monday night!

I stayed at the Monte Carlo July 7 and 8. I went through the check in procedure, and let the ledy go through her upgrade pitch. I calmly mentioned that I had stayed there many times, and had always been given a room upgrade, and would appreciate anything she could do for me. As I was talking, I pulled a $20 out of my wallet, and folded it up under my credit card. She saw the whole thing, and insisted that she couldn’t do anything, but said that the upgraded rooms were very nice. I then told her that I know how nice they are, because I stayed in a jacuzzi suite on my last visit, which was upgraded without me even asking. She said that I was very lucky, that they occasionally did things like that for one night stays, but never for 2 weekend nights like I got. I asked once more while I was holding my money in hand if she was sure there was nothing she could do, then put it in my pocket, and handed her my cc when she said no. The rest of my stay there was a disaster, and I went through 3 rooms in 2 nights, but that’s a different story.

I did however catch a little tip from another reservation girl the next day (who also turned my upgrade request down). She mentioned that they are more likely to upgrade the late check ins, since they usually overbook the regular rooms, and have to upgrade because there’s nothing left. On my next trip, i’m going to go to a casino for a few hours and check in around midnight and see what happens. Not at the MOnte Carlo though. I won’t ever stay there again after my experience last weekend. Anyone thinking of staying there can PM me if you want to know the details.

Just stayed at the Monte Carlo and tried the $50 deal. Worked well — but a bit different than the plan. Flashed my $50 but was told the price for upgrading. Tried again and asked if he could do any better. I ended up in a Monaco Suite (750 sq ft) for $37 more per night. Since it was not a free upgrade, but a somewhat cheap upgrade, I ended up tipping the front desk agent $10.

It seemed well worth the extra money for a much nicer, much larger room. And on top of that, the agent gave us free spa passes (four passes at $22 each).