Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel & Casino – Vegas Lite

After spending a week in Vegas we decided we needed to check out the casino in our backyard, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino. Cherokee, NC is just a 2 hour drive from us (unless Google Maps messes up and sends you to a closed US441). That is another story for another time. A last minute school cancellation gave us some free time in the middle of the week to get up to Cherokee so we took advantage of the chance to get out of town. 

The Room

We were able to score a free 3 night stay at Harrah’s thanks to our Caesar’s Rewards points. Our hotel room was super spacious with 2 queen beds, a comfortable sofa that converts to a bed and a spacious bathroom. The room was super quiet and we got an awesome night sleep. My only complaint is the view. Our room was on the 4th floor. What would be a nice view of the creek below us, was a view of a retaining wall. That was kind of a bummer. 

Family Friendly Activities

We spent a good deal of time at the Ultra Star Entertainment Center. This family friendly area had a bowling alley, arcade and a great family friendly restaurant. They have daily specials. We took advantage of their bowling special. Our family of 4 played 2 games for $18. And the arcade games were half price during our visit. So we were able to play a ton of games and get some cool prizes. 

There is also an indoor pool at the hotel. So don’t forget your swimsuit.

The Casino

The casino had all of the same games and tables as a casino in Vegas. It just wasn’t quite as big and chaotic. The casino had a bit more of a chill feel to it. Although the average age of the casino goers during the week probably had something to do with it. We were by far the youngest couple there. 

The main difference between the Cherokee Casino and the casinos in vegas is that the alcoholic drinks aren’t free. There are still cocktails servers that come around. But you have to pay for the alcoholic drinks. Most of the drinks start at $6 and go up from there. You can get free non-alcoholic drinks. Always be nice and tip your server even if the drink is free. 

Other Perks

When you stay at Harrah’s in Cherokee you get free parking and free valet. As soon as we pulled in and found out that we not only had a free room, but we had free parking as well we were blown away. 

If you turn down your daily room service cleaning the hotel will give you $20 in casino credit for free. We don’t typically have our rooms cleaned so we were able to take advantage of this perk. 

There are cheap eating options. The kids aren’t allowed to go down into the casino to eat in the food court. But you can grab a large pizza from Uno’s for $14 to bring up to your room. There is also a Dunkin’ Donuts for an inexpensive breakfast. 

We really enjoyed our stay at Harrah’s and plan to visit again soon. Next time we go we are going to plan our visit when the weather is nice so we can explore the town of Cherokee a little more.