The Excalibur Hotel & Casino is a great Las Vegas hotel, especially with these reasons to stay at Excalibur Las Vegas that aren’t gambling!
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A decade ago, when my grandma’s 90th birthday party was in Las Vegas, one of my cousins stayed at Excalibur Hotel & Casino. My brother and I went to visit her, after everyone else had gone home, and spent the day at the pool.
It was so much fun. The pool had a waterslide, which was awesome, and the three of us (plus my cousin’s dad) had a great time going down it.
So when my mom and I were planning my birthday trip to Las Vegas, she asked where I wanted to stay. She gave me a couple options, and one was Excalibur. Of course, I picked that casino hotel … solely based on the pool.
There are actually a bunch of great reasons to stay at Excalibur Las Vegas — and none have to do with gambling.
So, if you’re planning a Las Vegas vacation, and you’re not a gambler, Excalibur Hotel & Casino is the spot for you.
Note: Drugstore Divas has no affiliation with the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. Check with Excalibur to confirm times and prices as they could change without notice.
Las Vegas can absolutely be a frugal vacation. Find out how in The Ultimate Las Vegas Budget Travel Guide.
5+ Reasons To Stay At Excalibur Las Vegas (That aren’t gambling!)
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We love gambling although, honestly, you just don’t have the time to gamble that much in Las Vegas. There’s so much to do on The Strip and in downtown Las Vegas, you don’t even have that much time to sit at the slot machines.
Since people usually think about slots when they think about Vegas, I thought I’d sit down and write about all the things at Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas that aren’t gambling.
The Pool
Excalibur Hotel & Casino has a great pool. Actually, it has four pools: the children’s pool, the main pool, the Drenched Bar & Grill pool, and the adult only pool.
The children’s pool is the one with the water slide, and that’s where we spent most of our time. The main pool is closest to the entrance and exit and is only open on the weekends. The Drenched Bar & Grill pool is located near the bar and grill (although food and beverages can be brought to any pool), and the adult pool, which costs a nominal fee to enter.
There are cabanas and rafts available to rent. Towels are available for free.
We spent hours at the pool during this trip, just sitting in the sun and relaxing. We quickly figured out which chairs get shade and set up there for the afternoon.
The pool area is open from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday and 9 am to 7 pm Friday to Sunday. The main pool is closed Monday to Thursday unless another pool is closed for an unforeseen circumstance (this happened when we were there).
Tournament Of Kings
Tournament Of Kings is Excalibur’s version of Medieval Times. It makes sense. I mean, the hotel and casino is (mostly) medieval themed. The dinner show is based on the tale of King Arthur and does vary from the Medieval Times plot.
The theater is large enough to put on a full show with actors, horses, and fireworks, but it only holds 900 people, so every seat is a great seat. There are no walls or beams that block your view of the action.
And there’s a lot of action.
The knights of the round table meet centerstage for a song (which requires audience participation), there are horse races, hand to hand combat, and a huge fight between the future king and the dragon knights.
Like Medieval Times, you eat with your hands. Dinner is roasted seasoned Cornish game hen, lemon pepper roasted red bliss potatoes, corn on the cob, a dinner roll, and then you get a delicious apple square for dessert. My mom liked the apple square so much, I’m surprised she didn’t ask for seconds.
Shows are 6 pm on Monday, plus Wednesday through Sunday. There’s also an 8:30 pm show on Wednesday through Sunday. You’re able to purchase a show-only ticket for the 8:30 pm show only.
Book your Tournament of Kings tickets here.
The Arcade
In the lowest level of the Excalibur, there’s the Fun Dungeon, which is an arcade filled with games for kids.
There are air hockey tables, skill cranes, a carousel, and more.
The arcade is open from 4 pm to 10 pm Monday through Thursday and noon to 11 pm on Friday through Sunday.
The Tournament Of Kings arena is located within the Fun Dungeon, so I would try to avoid it while people are entering or exiting the show. It’ll get crowded in there at that time and is a little bit of a headache if you’re in the middle of a game.
The Chicken Sandwich
Let’s chat for a minute about the Nashville Hot Chicken sandwich at Vagabond, one of Excalibur’s in house restaurants.
Oh my gosh. It was amazing. The skin on it is incredibly crunchy and delicious, but the chicken breast is still moist. It has a spicy sauce and a cool coleslaw, plus a really soft but substantial bun.
The chicken sandwich blew away the chicken sandwich that I got a few nights before at Gordon Ramsay Burger at Planet Hollywood.
Honestly, if I knew how good this chicken sandwich was, I would have eaten it every single night for dinner.
We did eat at The Buffet at Excalibur twice during our stay. The made-to-order omelets and crepes were the highlight of our meals.
But let me tell you this. We were eating our last bite of crepes (get the apple one, trust me) on the second day, and I saw a man using a cup at the self-serve ice cream. I couldn’t fathom why he wasn’t using the bowls provided next to the machine. So, while he walked past our table (which he had to do based on where we were seated), I stopped him. “Excuse me, sir, but can I be nosy?” I started. “What are you doing with cups of ice cream?”
“Making root beer floats,” he said matter-of-factly. Genius. Gen. ius. The Buffer has a self-serve drink station, so this was actually brilliant. And if I had one more inch of room in my stomach, I would have made one. But I was filled with bacon and eggs and fried chicken.
The Free Tram
There’s a free tram that makes two stops at Excalibur Hotel & Casino. It begins at Mandalay Bay, stops at Luxor, and then does a pair of stops at Excalibur.
Sure, it’s easy enough to walk between the three hotels, but you don’t really want to. That Las Vegas heat will get to you. And you don’t want to take a bus or use rideshare every time you want to go somewhere because that cost adds up.
So this free tram, which is so incredibly easy to access from Excalibur, is a great reason to stay there.
Ultimate 4D Experience
If you’re looking for an excuse to sit down for a little bit, the Ultimate 4D Experience is great. It’s a 3D movie, plus special effects, that lasts about 15 minutes.
You can pay an all day price ($20), or you can pay for one show ($12) or two shows ($14).
When we were at Excalibur Hotel & Casino earlier this month, three movies were playing — Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and San Andreas — so I recommend paying the all day price.
The Ultimate 4D Experience is open from 4 pm to 10 pm Sunday through Thursday and noon to 11 pm on Friday and Saturday. It’s located in the same area as the Fun Dungeon and the Tournament of Kings.
Book your Ultimate 4D experience tickets here.
The Fitness Center
We didn’t check out the fitness center when we were at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. Although I am a big proponent on exercising on vacation, we walked 20,000 steps the first day of our Las Vegas trip, so walking was exercise enough.
But, Excalibur has a fitness center that is complementary for hotel guests. It has treadmills, upright and recumbent bikes, climbers, machines, dumbbells, and more.
The fitness center is open daily from 9 am to 6 pm. If Pete came with us on this Las Vegas vacation, I can guarantee he would be at the gym at 9 am every day.
And, just to be comprehensive, there is also a spa at the Excalibur Hotel & Casino. You can schedule massages and similar services.
Book Your Excalibur Hotel Stay:
If you’re planning to stay here, you can book your Excalibur hotel stay on Vegas.com.
Planning a trip to Las Vegas?
If this post has you all excited for a trip to Excalibur Las Vegas, we have a few other posts to help you plan a Las Vegas trip. Check them out below:
- Saving In Las Vegas With The MyVegas Slots App
- Las Vegas Packing List
- Tournament Of Kings (Las Vegas) Review
- Siegfried & Roy’s Secret Garden And Dolphin Habitat Review
- Shark Reef Aquarium At Mandalay Bay Las Vegas Review
- 5+ Reasons To Stay At Excalibur Las Vegas
- 10 Must Do Things In Downtown Las Vegas
Book Your Las Vegas Stay Ahead Of Time:
If you book your hotel and show tickets before you go to Las Vegas, you’ll save yourself time and money when you get there. You can book both (and more!) at Vegas.com.
Which of these reasons to stay at Excalibur Las Vegas convinced you to book a stay there?