In October 2021, I traveled to Las Vegas with my boyfriend Stephen and a couple of friends to attend EDC 2021.
When searching for a hotel to stay in during the festival, our group quickly realized that hotel prices were out of control. Even the cheapest Vegas hotels were charging $400+ per night. Festival ticket prices were already high; we didn’t want to overpay for a hotel room on top of that.
Instead, my generous boss offered to book us a room at The Jockey Club Las Vegas. A timeshare resort, The Jockey Club only allows members to book rooms, either for themselves or on behalf of others. The Jockey Club was significantly more affordable than other hotels during EDC week. Of course, we gratefully accepted his offer.
Booking and Check-In
Guests at The Jockey Club are greeted by an bright, inviting lobby. A blend of modern and period pieces creates an atmosphere reminiscent of modern European interior design. Plush, velvet chairs are thoughtfully placed around pastel area rugs, providing guests with an elegant place to relax while waiting to check in.
Besides only offering reservations to timeshare members, The Jockey Club also has a few unique features. First of all, members are only allowed to book rooms in a one-week block. While I would typically be frustrated by this limitation, in this case, I was relieved. Hotel prices during EDC week were so high, I spent less money booking a suite at the Jockey Club for a week than I would have booking only four nights at any other hotel on the Strip.
The second unique feature of The Jockey Club is that most of its amenities are provided through a neighboring hotel, The Cosmpolitan. Guests at The Jockey Club are granted access to The Cosmopolitan’s pool, health club, and fitness center. While we didn’t utilize these amenities during our stay, it was great to have them available.
Check-in was very simple and fast compared to the average hotel on The Strip. At our arrival, I presented my ID. Since I had already pre-paid for our reservation through my boss, I did not need to provide a credit card. The concierge gave me a room card along with a packet describing the amenities of the property, and a bellhop assisted us with our luggage as we made the short trek to our room.
Room and Amenities
While the lobby and check-in areas of The Jockey Club boasted modern furniture and decor, the rooms themselves contained the opposite.
Our room’s furniture, carpet, and hardware was clean, but outdated. The only marginally modern piece of decor in our room was a thin strip of LED lights above the curtains. This created a cool effect even when the rest of the lights in the room were on.
However, despite the lackluster decor, our suite at The Jockey Club was a pleasant surprise. First of all, ou suite was HUGE. I wrote “huge” in capital letters for emphasis, because it really was huge. One-bedroom suites in Las Vegas are typically around 300-400 square feet. Our suite at The Jockey Club was the size of a standard one-bedroom apartment.
Another lovely surprise was our TV. Granted, the TV in our suite’s living room wasn’t incredibly fancy, but it was larger than those in similar suites at many other hotels on the strip. Even better, it had easily accessible HDMI ports that allowed us to plug in our Nintendo Switch.
Finally, our kitchen and dining room far exceeded our expectations. Excluding villas in resorts, I have never stayed in a hotel room with a kitchen so large.
During EDC, staying in a hotel with a well-equipped kitchen is essential. When attending most music festivals, chances are you won’t return to your hotel until between 5am-7am in the morning. Since music festivals are tiring, you don’t have the energy to go out and grab food. Instead, a kitchen is a great alternative. You can quickly toast a bagel, fry up some eggs, or heat up a microwaveable meal.
Like the kitchen, our suite’s bedroom was gigantic. The bedroom was outfitted with two Queen beds, a large dresser, and a small seating area. The closet was also large; not going to lie, I wish my closet at home was that size!
Even better, our suite came with two separate bathrooms: a large, handicap-accessible bathroom attached to the bedroom and a smaller bathroom adjacent to the living room area. This came in handy while getting ready for the festival as I was able to take over the guest bathroom to do my hair and makeup, leaving the master bathroom open for my boyfriend to use.
Overall Impressions:
Pros:
- Incredibly large room – The Jockey Club provides more space per dollar than any other hotel on the Vegas Strip.
- Full kitchen – Comes equipped with a large fridge, oven, stove, microwave, dishwasher, and coffee maker. If you have dietary restrictions or plan on cooking some of your own meals during your stay, this comes in handy!
- Expansive walk-in closet – Also larger than you’ll find in a similar room in any other hotel on the Strip.
- Two bathrooms – Another rare find for a one-bedroom suite in Las Vegas!
- Stunning view – So far, I’ve stayed at 4 other hotels in Las Vegas. The Jockey Club has the best view of the Strip by far.
Cons
- Timeshare – Unfortunately, you can only book a room at The Jockey Club Las Vegas if you are a member of their timeshare.
- Only allows you to book one week at a time – If you want to make a reservation for any other number of days, you’re out of luck. However, if you want to stay for a shorter period of time, you can book a full week and check out early- that’s what I did!
- Rooms are outdated – If you’re looking for a modern and luxurious hotel room, The Jockey Club isn’t for you.
- You don’t get the full casino experience. – While the Cosmopolitan is a short walk away, The Jockey Club does not have a casino, pool, spa, or restaurants on their property. Alternatively, this can be a positive for Vegas visitors who are looking for a little peace and quiet.
Overall, our stay at the Jockey Club Las Vegas was really relaxing. Since we were traveling to Las Vegas solely to attend EDC, we planned on resting whenever we were in our hotel room. We enjoyed our quiet Vegas experience, and loved the massive amount of space in our suite.
However, since the Jockey Club doesn’t have a casino or pool on property, we didn’t quite have the traditional on-strip “Las Vegas Experience.” If you’re looking for a resort with full Vegas amenities, this is not it.
Since we are not Jockey Club timeshare members, it’s unlikely that we’ll stay at the hotel again. However, if the Jockey Club ever allows reservations from non-members and we plan on spending a full week in Vegas, we’d be happy to return!
