Ameristar Casino Hotel Council Bluffs

I booked this room nearly a year ago for this weekend and was specific in my needs for a handicap accessible room with a chair and ottoman for my wife who has medical issues and cannot lay flat in a bed and sleep. When making the reservation I made sure of the amenities needed in the room and was assured that the room would meet our needs.

Upon arrival I got to the room only to discover the chair and ottoman were NOT in the room. After getting run around by the front desk staff for nearly 30 minutes on the phone I went back down to the front desk where I got to wait another 10 minutes before a manager showed up only to tell me there was nothing she could do. After spending an hour and 15 minutes going back and forth I finally got an ottoman but no chair! I was so disgusted at the complete and total lack of concern for their guests that I gave up and went to dinner.

I came back to the room and would you believe I tried to turn on the TV and the batteries were dead in the remote!

Back on the phone to the front desk who once again made excuses and said they would "try" to send someone up to look into it. 15 minutes later there was a knock at the door and a guy from maintenance showed up and replaced the remote and apologized for the incompetence of the housekeeping staff for failing to check and make sure that the remote worked when they cleaned the room last. I asked him about the chair and ottoman that was supposed to be in the room and told him how the front desk was unwilling to do anything about it and made excuses and he apologized and said he would be back in a few minutes with a chair and within 10 minutes he was back. Thank God for maintenance at this place because the front desk staff and the housekeeping department are a joke and apparently don't care about their guests at all. I would certainly think twice before paying for a room at this facility. Check the room before they get your credit card and make sure you get what you were promised. I will not make the mistake of staying here again. Very disappointing experience. One other issue, the king size bed in the room, the mattress was so lumpy I tossed and turned all night and got absolutely no sleep whatsoever.

We had a nice stay, staff was great, food was good, room was clean. My only rub was booking the room online and the check in process. When I booked the site said 9 king rooms available, so I committed and paid.. when I checked in 20 minutes later I was told the room was "accessible" but I could get a room with two queen beds for $30 more. I asked why would I take an accessible room away from someone that may need it when I don't require that type of room. I asked for the queen for the same price as I booked online and was told no, and there was nothing anyone could do to make it right. Unfortunately two other people were checking in at the same time and they too were given the same attempt at upsell. Not a very good first impression. Next time I am in the area I would probably just stay across the street and not have to go through that again.

The location of the hotel was good. Right off the highway and easy enough to get places. The rooms were fine for $100 during the week. We had a nice river view from our room. I wouldn't pay the $200-$300 they charge on the weekends. If we ever go back, I will probably look at the Holiday Inn which is connected to Ameristar. Looking at their site now, the prices are more reasonable & it includes free breakfast! I wasn't thrilled with the young gal at the front desk wanting to charge me $30 to check in approximately 30 minutes early when we already spent a bunch of money in the casino that day & still had two more full days of gambling. Gambling was "eh". I think I saw one gal get hand paid in all the time we were there. They do have 3 floors of gambling, so lots of options. I thought the drinks in the casino were pricey compared to my home casino/hotel, but all the bartenders and servers were very nice and attentive. We ate at the sports bar and our food was good, but our server was great. All-in-all, I felt like I should have spent my vacation at my home casino/hotel. Just thought I'd try something different.

We stayed at Ameristar for 3 nights/ 4 days. Thursday through Sunday. Location was perfect, just off the interstate and easy to access. Parking was also plentiful.

Walking into the hotel, the smell of smoke was horrific. We are 100% aware of casinos being smoked in, we are not complaining about that. We have stayed in many hotel/casino locations and we have never felt this overwhelmed. (even walking through the casinos in Vegas were not this bad)

We checked in, friendly attendant, except no direction. Had to ask for the elevator location. If you have not stayed here, the lobby is very big.

The room we had booked was what we expected from pictures on the internet, service was not good. We had 4 people for our reservations and our room sleeps 4. It was stocked with 3 towels and 3 washcloths. Our room was not cleaned once during our stay. We had to call (from our personal phone, in room phone would not work) each time we needed fresh towels. Trash was not taken out one time.

Swimming pool provided great fun for our girls and we enjoyed the hot tub.

When we asked the front desk attendants for information about certain areas of the hotel and hotel grounds, they seemed to be inconvenienced with us and could not answer our questions.

The staff in the buffet were wonderful, very friendly and helpful.

Casino provided us with fun, payouts were not good.

I would not expect us to stay at this hotel again.

My recent stay at this hotel had a mix of pros and cons.

Starting with the good, the bed was quite comfortable, and the two chairs in the room were a nice touch for added seating. The room temperature was consistently pleasant, and it was convenient to have a small refrigerator and coffee pot, though it would have been better with a microwave.

However, there were some serious drawbacks. The biggest issue was the shower — even the slightest adjustment to the temperature control would cause the water to go from cool to scalding, making it very difficult to shower comfortably, and the bathtub drained slowly causing us to stand in water while showering. Another inconvenience was the lack of outlets in the room, making it a challenge to charge multiple devices. This could easily be remedied by putting in night table lamps with outlets, as they have in many hotels now.

On top of that, on the second night, a sewer gas smell filled the room, which was quite unpleasant. We were not sure if it was coming from inside the hotel or from outside. The room was also rather dark and could use better lighting.

In summary, while there were some positives like a comfortable bed, the issues with the shower, odors, and lack of outlets made the stay less enjoyable.

I visited the blackjack tables and am writing this review for the sole purpose of recognizing an incredible dealer - James S. I have traveled to many casinos throughout the country. James is hands down the best dealer I have ever encountered at a casino. He was lively, entertaining, and engaging with the players. I could have left hours before I did, but stayed for the atmosphere and enjoyment of his dealer experience. Too often, dealers seem bored or lifeless which diminishes the experience, especially if you are already losing. Several novice players joined the table throughout the night and he treated them with professional, but also charismatic personal conversation and assistance. I am visiting the area on business, and he recommended local hot spots to check out. Thank you James, you are the reason I will be returning here in the future!

I cannot comment on the rooms, as I did not stay at the casino hotel. The only unsatisfactory detail of my visit - a cocktail waitress took my order and never returned. About 45 minutes later, a different cocktail waitress took my order. The cashier cage service was very prompt, which was much appreciated. There was no wait.

It's a great place to go to destress but I definitely feel like I don't win as often as I used to or even get to play as long as I used to. Now some of the machines they put in have a minimum of like 80 an it's hard to find some of the machines I'd like to play that used to let you bet 50 a spin. But I still like to go every once in a while I don't gonow as much as I used to cus of the price of bets is higher.

Not a good selection of slot machines. No food in casino area. When making announcements they should populate to the TV monitors. You can’t hear them. All the dealers at the tables were very polite and professional.

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