Joy Hwang
Joy Hwang
There’s arguably no place more transporting than the Las Vegas Strip. Within convenient walking distance of wherever you’re staying you’ll find the Eiffel Tower, Lago di Como and an Egyptian pyramid topped with a laser beam so bright you can see it from space. A visiting Italian friend, expecting to hate our Piazza San Marco, instead marveled at the novelty of experiencing it sans marauding pigeons.
Much of this began as schtick, of course, but the race to accommodate an increasingly well-traveled and cosmopolitan visitor has made the resorts along the three-mile stretch among the best luxury accommodations in the world, and at some of the most reasonable prices for travelers. Each resort provides a distinctly different travel experience; what’s good for you and all the kids is not ideal for a sexy weekend a deux, for instance. Perhaps you’re looking for the best luxury hotel overall, or you’re looking for a more authentic experience via a hotel with a 5-star location. No matter what’s on your agenda, here are the best hotels in Las Vegas for all kinds of vacationers.
The Best Luxury Hotel In Las Vegas: Wynn and Encore
Joy Hwang
The opulent Wynn redefined the resort casino concept when it opened in 2005 with its sun-dappled atrium gardens, floral mosaic floors, private lakes and waterfalls, and the Strip’s only golf course, a par-70 championship course designed by Tom Fazio. The resort’s fans are so devoted, many no longer say they’re going to Vegas but to Wynn. Other resorts might rest on their laurels, but Wynn and sister resort Encore are in a constant state of glamorization. In 2022, Wynn unveiled a $200 million renovation of its nearly 2,700 Wynn guest rooms and Wynn Tower Suites. The masculine 1940s look is achieved with custom-designed furniture, warm wood accent walls, custom-designed etageres and Cubist-like artworks.
Once you scoop your jaw off the floor, you’ll want to devour the resort’s intriguing dining and lounging scene. Delilah, a supper club reminiscent of the city’s mid-century golden era, is one of the toughest reservations to secure in town. Beautifully dressed patrons dine on wagyu beef wellington and Alaskan king crab in a stunning room anchored by 40-foot-high cast brass palms (think Havana’s El Tropicana circa 1950). Also check out a trio of stunning new cocktail venues, including the witty, Regency-inspired Overlook; Bar Parasol, a paean to the gilded European jet set lifestyle, and Aft, inspired by yachting life. Look out at the Lake of Dreams with a Monaco seaside spritz cocktail and you’ll swear you can feel the ocean breeze.
The Best Amenities Hotel in Las Vegas: Aria Las Vegas.
Joy Hwang
When Aria’s two glass and steel towers opened as part of the massive CityCenter complex in 2009, they brought more modernity to the Vegas resort casino. Aria’s soaring lobby with natural materials is the antithesis of the dark windowless casino room. Sanctuary-like guest rooms have always had high tech details like one-touch lighting, temperature and curtain controls; Aria’s seven Sky Villas and more than 400 Sky Suites take luxury to a new level. The villas and suites have their own entrance and elevator, personal concierges, private pool and airport transportation.
Plus, guests in the desert-inspired Sky Suites receive a revolving selection of turndown gifts like backgammon for kids, custom-designed drink coasters by local artists and truffles. Sky Villa butlers may show up with a cigar cart, custom chocolates or fresh-baked bread. It’s not just the in-room amenities that shine; Aria is walking distance to T-Mobile Arena, the Shops at Crystals and CityCenter. Aria’s excellent restaurants included Jean Georges Steakhouse, Din Tai Fun and an outpost of the New York hotspot Carbone (Drake has dibs on the restaurant’s private dining room when he’s in town).
The Hotel with the Best Location in Las Vegas: Nobu at Caesars Palace.
Joy Hwang
Caesars Palace is a behemoth (it has nearly 4,000 rooms and suites spread over 85 acres), but Nobu Hotel is a little pocket of Zen. Guests of the 182 room hotel in the former Centurion Tower–Nobu Matsuhisa’s first hotel–receive the special attention they’d expect from a precious boutique property. An elevator bank accessed through a simple Japanese portal takes guests to the hotel-within-a-hotel. During a 2022 renovation inspired by kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery, designers gave the hotel a warmer, more residential feel. If you’re splurging, you can book the 10,000-square-foot Nobu Villa (also recently refreshed), which comes with butler service, limo transportation, a garden and whirlpool, and a VIP omakase dinner at Nobu restaurant just downstairs. You may never want to leave your new Vegas cocoon.
An image of the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort, voted The Best Family Friendly Hotel in Las Vegas.
Joy Hwang
The Venetian Resort is a gilded and frescoed tribute to the city of Venice. With more than 7,000 guest rooms and 17 million square feet, it is the second largest hotel in the world. Complete with a replica St. Mark’s Square (even the Campanile has been included), a canal system and singing gondoliers (you too can smooch in a gondola under the Bridge of Sighs), it’s one of the most delightfully gaudy places to suspend disbelief. Wander the resort and its Grand Canal Shoppes under Canaletto-blue trompe l’oeil “skies” and you’ll find everything from a reasonably priced food court to Mott 32, one of the best Chinese restaurants in the country, making it one of the best hotels for both kids and adults. Don’t miss breakfast at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon hidden away on the 10th floor of the Venezia Tower. The airy French bistro is as dreamy as Las Vegas gets.
The Best Hotel For Business Travelers In Las Vegas: The Four Seasons Hotel.
Joy Hwang
If you think you know precisely what a Four Seasons looks like, you haven’t visited The Four Seasons Las Vegas, which is ensconced on floors 35 to 39 of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. You’d never know it wasn’t a standalone resort considering it has a valet entrance, restaurants, bar and lounge and intimate spa. The hotel has one of the Las Vegas’s most tranquil pool scenes which is open only to Four Seasons guests. Guest rooms begin at 500-square-feet with floor-to-ceiling window views of the Strip or the new Allegiant Stadium. The design, all serene Art Deco-inspired lacquer furniture and silver leaf, feels like the ultimate escape. And if you’re wondering where the city’s power brokers, Hollywood elite, and sports agents go to meet and broker deals, you’ll see some of them eating breakfast on the serene poolside patio at Veranda.
The Superfrico Ski Lodge inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Joy Hwang
Cosmopolitan’s provocative “right kind of wrong” ads have been attracting the desired demographic—young, hip travelers that love shopping, dining and clubbing—since it opened in 2010. The rooms–some of the very few in Vegas with terraces—are great for entertaining. The hotel’s dramatic design (LED columns in the lobby and a three-story chandelier) doesn’t disappoint. If you’ve chosen the Cosmpolitan you’re probably the go-to person in your friend group for restaurant recommendations, and you will be spoiled for choice at the resort with new additions like David Chang’s Bang Bar by Momofuku and classics like é by José Andrés, Jaleo and Scarpetta. And the Cosmpolitan has more up its sleeve: a barbershop where you can get a classic cut or straight-razor shave, an intimate live music and cocktail venue and a hidden bar inspired by the ski mountains of Hokkaido, Japan. Yes, that’s a snow flurry outside.
Inside the NoMad Bar at NoMad Las Vegas, awarded the hotel with the best location in Las Vegas.
Joy Hwang
Las Vegas has largely stopped imploding its icons. Still, no one expected the musty old Monte Carlo to be transformed into the hip Park MGM. Fewer people anticipated an entry onto the Las Vegas scene by French design superstar Jacques Garcia (La Mamounia in Marrakesh, Hotel Costes in Paris) who decked out Park MGM’s interior boutique hotel, NoMad Las Vegas, with Old World European elegance and guest rooms inspired by Parisian apartments. Guests enter NoMad through a dedicated entrance (look for the discreet red awning at the side of Park MGM’s porte-cochère). NoMad has its own casino, skylit by the Monte Carlo’s original Tiffany glass ceiling, where guests can play high limit table games.
The 239 guest rooms, on the top four floors of Park MGM, beg for a sexy couples retreat with their moody color scheme and standalone tubs. The jaw-dropping NoMad Library restaurant, with 23-foot-high ceilings and walls lined with 25,000 books from the collection of the late philanthropist David Rockefeller, is one of the city’s most cinematic spaces. Across the way, the opulent NoMad Bar is a perfect place to people watch and dine on a truffle chicken sandwich during weekend brunch.
The Most Glamorous Hotel in Las Vegas: The Bellagio Las Vegas.
Joy Hwang
When Bellagio Resort opened in 1998, it made other resorts—and their choreographed pirate battles and erupting volcanoes—look dated. The Lake Como-themed resort was the priciest resort in the world to build at the time. Even after a quarter century, the Bellagio is still relevant. Even the most jaded Las Vegas locals are charmed by the animatronic creatures and tens of thousands of flowers that a dedicated team of horticulturalists bring to the Conservatory and Botanical Garden each season. We’ll still pause to gawk at the Bellagio Fountains where 1200 powerful water cannons send sprays up to 460 feet high. The spectacle continues at lakeside Le Cirque, where truffles are shaved tableside, and Wolfgang Puck’s Spago, which relocated from the Forum Shops at Caesars. In 2015, Bellagio renovated all its guest rooms. The current look is inspired by water and includes backlit mirrors encircled by mother of pearl, massive marble showers and lots of blue tones.
The pool at the Vdara Hotel & Spa, the best pet-friendly hotel in Las Vegas.
Joy Hwang
This understated, non-gaming, non-smoking, all-suite hotel with an enviable near-center-Strip location is also ideal for pet owners. It’s slightly off the Strip and connected to the CityCenter complex, which helps it feel a little more relaxed than a lot of casino resorts (and better for dogs that get sensory overload). The Vdara rooms are designed to feel residential (some people do live here, and it’s a great place for a long-term work stay), so all rooms and suites have kitchens, dining tables and electric cooktops. Dog families have specially designated “V Dog” suites, which must be reserved. They’re 582 square feet, with a sleek, modern feel and come with cooktops, refrigerators, and a dining table. You can actually fit four people in this room, since there’s a king bed and a pull-out queen in the living room. Up to two dogs are allowed and combined they must weigh less than 100 pounds. Guests with dogs get an amenity bag when they arrive, as well as bowls and crates (on request). Most importantly, you have access to the Vdara dog park, which is open 24 hours and has a little walking trail. Keep in mind that there’s a fee of $100 per dog, per night. Need a pet sitter? The concierge will arrange one for you.
Las Vegas city skyline.
The most luxurious of hotels in Las Vegas is undoubtedly Wynn Las Vegas. Every space is beautiful and everything has been thought of (there’s even a falconer wandering the pools and patios to keep errant birds out of the way). Aria, especially their Sky Suites and SkyVillas, is another luxurious option, as is Nobu (especially the Nobu Villa). But you’ll find over-the-top options for high rollers at every hotel on the Strip. The Venetian has Prestige suites (a club level, with a lounge), and Premier suites (like the 5,200 square foot Presidential).
Many people find their resort and stay put, not moving around the Strip that much during their stay. But first-time visitors love the center of the Strip, which has easy exploring access to other resorts (for instance, Park MGM and NoMad are in walking distance of Allegiant Stadium as well as The Park, the only green space on the Strip). Families love this area, too. But those with lots of mouths to feed might want a few budget options for dining. Caesars Palace (especially the Forum Shops, which is connected to Caesars) and the Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian, have good food courts and wallet-friendly dining).
The largest casinos are in Mandalay Bay, Bellagio, and MGM Grand (for those who like a little shock and awe), but the larger the casino, the likelier you are to get outspent and overlooked by casino hosts for perks like upgrades and lounge access. Bellagio’s poker room is the most famous in the city. Wynn’s table games are elegant and it has the most beautiful high-limit slot room on the Strip. If you are planning on gaming, sign up for the casinos’ rewards clubs, such as M Life Rewards (MGM), Wynn’s Red Card, Venetian’s Grazie, and Caesars’ Total Rewards program. Each comes with benefits and rewards.
I have covered travel for more than 20 years, identifying trends, vetting mileage programs and travel hacks, and sussing out the best in hotels. As the anonymous hotel critic for The New York Post, I enjoyed spending Rupert Murdoch’s money in the name of public service in the early 2000s. I’m a former longtime contributing editor and columnist for Travel + Leisure and The Wall Street Journal, the former group editor-in-chief of Vegas and Modern Luxury San Diego magazines and a contributing writer for Condé Nast Traveler. My writing has also appeared in O: The Oprah Magazine, Town & Country, Departures, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, Fortune, Money, Outside, TripSavvy, TripAdvisor and many others.