Review of Fox Tower at Foxwoods Resort Casino, CT: A wonderful hotel with a view!

 

Fox Tower, Foxwoods Resort Casino, CT

Foxwoods Resort Casino was opened in 1992 to great fanfare.  The huge, sprawling resort located within the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation reservation in Ledyard, CT covers an area of 9,000,000 square feet.  It is still to this day, the largest casino resort in North America and offers 7 casinos, AAA Four Diamond hotels, tons of restaurants, golf course, state of the art theaters, and an outlet mall.

Thanks to my parents, I’ve been frequenting this resort since its opening way back in 1992.  Back in 1992, Atlantic City (New Jersey) was the nearest and the best place you can go to gamble at casinos, near New York City.  When Foxwoods first opened, we were excited to pay a visit!  

The driving distance from New York City to Atlantic City or Foxwoods is roughly the same at around 135 miles one way.  One of the major advantages of going to Connecticut is less tolls compared to going to Atlantic City when leaving from New York City, and arguably less traffic.  

To drive to Atlantic City, these are the following tolls:  Verrazano Narrows Bridge, Goethals Bridge (or Outerbridge), New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and the Atlantic City toll plaza.  Needless to say, tolls would total around $60 or so round trip.  Compare that to Connecticut, where the tolls would be Whitestone Bridge, and I-95 totaling around $17 round trip.  

I remember going there few months after it opened that year.  Back then, there were so many visitors that all the indoor covered parking garages were completely full, and we had to park outside.

The economy was booming and I guess there were more people who could afford to gamble at the time.  As we got near the resort, we saw the gigantic teal colored hotel that appeared like a mirage in the middle of the Connecticut woods.  We were completely taken back by how huge the entire resort complex was.

When driving to Foxwoods at night, the beautifully illuminated hotel is visible from miles away.  It almost reminds me of Las Vegas at night, providing a beacon of light (and civilization) that is a welcome respite in the middle of what feels like a lifeless sea of desert.

After parking our car, my parents and I walked inside to the resort.  The casino was huge!  There were so many people gambling back in the day, that at times we had to wait until a slot machine became available. This is no longer the case these days…

After some gambling, we walked around the resort to check out various restaurants and shops.  You can literally spend days just walking around the resort.  Especially these days, with the opening of the outlet mall at Foxwoods, you’ll never be bored exploring the resort, all indoors.

There are hiking trails right outside the resort if you need to get some fresh air or if you’re trying to get a breather from all the gambling.  In short, Foxwoods will keep you busy if you choose, or keep you relaxed if you choose to do nothing at all, when staying at any of the awesome hotels at the resort.

Foxwoods Resort offers multiple hotel options to choose from.  There is Grand Pequot Tower (AAA Four Diamond), Great Cedar Hotel (AAA Three Diamond), Fox Tower (AAA Four Diamond), and the Villas (AAA Five Diamond).  

For the month of November (2021), my dad and I stayed 2 nights at the awesome Fox Tower.  Fox Tower opened as MGM Grand in 2008.  It was then rebranded as Fox Tower in 2013.  Tanger Outlet Mall opened between the two towers, the Fox Tower and the Grand Pequot Tower in 2015, with over 85 stores.

We arrived around 1:30 p.m. and immediately checked in at the beautiful Fox Tower.  Being that the hotel was originally the MGM Grand, the hotel lobby’s decor reminded me of a Las Vegas hotel/resort.  

Fantastic lobby at Fox Tower 

Junior’s Restaurant

Lucky for us, there wasn’t a long line to check in, and we waited no more than 10 minutes to complete our check-in process.  We turned right from the lobby to get to the elevators, then to our room on the top floor (yes!!!).

As soon as we opened the door to our room, we were so happy!  Room was absolutely beautiful, with tastefully modern decorations, an updated bathroom, and a tremendous panoramic views of the Connecticut woods.

Awesome views!
Two queen beds and comfy pillows/bedsheets

Even in early November, the fall foliage was still in full swing up in the Connecticut woods.  We each grabbed a chair to sit and to enjoy the beautiful foliage across the road from our hotel.

View of the Tanger Outlet Mall below and the woods



After about half an hour, my dad and I got up, ready to try our luck at the casino.  We didn’t win money that first day, unfortunately, but we got to enjoy ourselves nonetheless.  How often do I get to spend time with my dad, just the two of us?

After getting killed at the casino, we decided to grab early dinner.  We tried California Pizza Kitchen.  My dad had the Kung Pao spaghetti with shrimp while I had a avocado toast on a focaccia bread with arugula and chips/guacamole.  

Portions were just right for a hearty meal for the two of us.  Dad treated me as he’s the one with the loyalty card at Foxwoods!  I can’t say no to free food!!!

We retired to our hotel room after playing the slots for another hour or so.  Sorry, didn’t win again…

We looked outside our huge floor to ceiling windows and saw that the Tanger Outlet Mall below us was all lit up.  We enjoyed the view of the mall as well as the lighted road below us.  We chatted about our day, then we each went to sleep.  

The next morning, we woke up to the bright sunlight filtering through our closed curtains.  We were happy to be getting up to such a beautiful morning, at a beautiful hotel.  

After eating breakfast then getting ready, we took our time lounging inside our hotel room until around 11:30 a.m.  We purposefully took the long walk inside the mall for some morning exercise, on our way to our lunch destination, Guy Fieri’s Foxwoods Kitchen & Bar located at the Grand Pequot Tower.

We were the first customers of the day when we arrived at the restaurant.  We asked for a booth then sat down to order our food.  My dad had the Kobe beef burger and I had the vegan burger.  My dad enjoyed his meal, and so did I.  This time, I treated him!

To walk off our meals, we walked around the resort some more, then we tried our hands at the slots again, hoping for a better result.  Right away, I knew my day would be better, as my luck definitely changed for the better.  Even though I lost money, I ended up playing several hours on about $60.  That’s a win in my book!

For dinner, we ate at the excellent Golden Dragon restaurant at the Grand Pequot Tower.  Service was great and so was the food.  We ordered spring rolls, vegetable Lo Mein, and shrimp fried rice.  They were all tasty!

After dinner, we played again, but this time at the Fox Tower casino.  My luck had really changed for the better as I made back the money I had lost the past two days.  My dad and I couldn’t believe how well the machines were hitting!

We got back to our room at around 1 a.m. and excitedly talked about what had just happened.  We broke even thanks to that recent gaming session!  We went to sleep happy that night!

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel to head home.  Fox Tower was a great place to stay with its awesome views of the woods and its upscale decor.  My dad and I had a great time, just the two of us.  It was an awesome father and son time that I will always cherish…

Thank you all for reading!


Jake

Wandering Money Pig 


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