There's several things about the Stratosphere that you don't find out about until you arrive and check in.
First, it's not exactly in the most desirable part of town and homeless people and other unsavory types lounge around the area. What bothered me even more, though, is that they consider a room with a view of the strip to be an unusual request and charge extra for it.
The people who work at the registration desk are often a bit testy. The air conditioners in the rooms make quite a bit of noise and make resting difficult if you're a light sleeper. Their discount coupon book has very little in it that I'd consider valuable (they used to have 2 for 1 drink coupons but those have been removed).
In general, if you're cost conscious, it's a pretty good value but you have to put up with quite a bit of poor service in exchange for the price you pay.