9 Las Vegas Hotels for When Clubs and Casinos Aren’t Your Vibe
With more than 150,000 hotel rooms (and counting), Las Vegas is not wanting for places to stay. But many resorts still have something of a world’s-fair theme, with thumping nightclubs and all-you-can-eat buffets. If that’s not your vibe, check out the sophisticated side of the Strip instead.
The city’s all-suite towers and boutique hotels-within-hotels compete with properties in New York or London for elegance, thoughtful design and personalized service. And rather than DJs and slot machines, guests find laid-back speakeasies, tucked-away omakase rooms and outposts of favorite restaurants—both high-end and down home—imported from cities around the globe. From the Japanese minimalism of the Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace to the art-filled Park MGM, these luxurious stays could convince even the biggest Strip skeptic to book a Vegas stay.
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The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
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This resort foregoes kitsch for details designed to impress in-the-know globetrotters: restaurants by David Chang and José Andrés, outposts of regional favorites (like Hattie B’s Hot Chicken from Nashville), even a mezcal and tequila speakeasy hidden behind an inconspicuous door in the food court. Throughout, the design skews theatrical, including the Chandelier Bar strung with 21 miles of crystal beads. Spacious guest rooms are decked out with metallic finishes, graphic wallpaper and sultry artworks that combine to make this feel like one of the most grown-up properties on the Strip.
Bellagio Las Vegas
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This show-stopping resort trades in the serenity of its eponymous Lake Como village for an outsize experience: The dancing fountain shoots water 460 feet into the air (taller than the Statue of Liberty), the Dale Chihuly lobby piece is the world’s largest glass sculpture and the 14,000-square-foot conservatory and botanical gardens transform every season. Befitting the hotel’s lakeside inspiration, the resident Cirque du Soleil show, “O,” has an aquatic theme, with swimmers and divers joining the usual roster of acrobats. Following a $110-million upgrade, Spa Tower rooms and suites are meant to evoke Northern Italian style.
ARIA Sky Suites
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Part of the Strip’s sprawling CityCenter complex, the ARIA Sky Suites are all about exclusivity: That means private check-in, a lounge with free seasonal snacks and non-alcoholic drinks, a pool only open to other suite guests and expansive guest rooms that range from 1,050 to 2,060 square feet. Beyond its luxe tower, ARIA resort has a see-and-be-seen vibe, in restaurants like Carbone and Jean Georges Steakhouse and throughout its roster of exclusive nightclubs and cocktail lounges. Food lovers shouldn’t miss the outpost of Taiwan’s cult-fave Din Tai Fung, known for its soup dumplings.
Fontainebleau Las Vegas
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The long-delayed outpost of the legendary Miami Beach resort made headlines when it finally opened its doors in December 2023: The $3.7 billion project is Nevada’s tallest hotel, with three dozen restaurants and bars, a 150,000-square-foot casino and a centerpiece bar under a chandelier comprising thousands of crystal bowties. In a city of attention-grabbing pool decks, the Fontainebleau might be the fairest of them all. Six themed pools sprawl across just as many acres, with spaces evoking old Hollywood and the French Riviera, and bars serving signature spritzes and frozen cocktails.
Nobu Hotel at Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace may be an ode to Roman Imperial excess, but this boutique hotel hidden within takes things in the opposite direction by embracing the Japanese minimalist style of chef and co-owner Nobu Matsuhisa. Recently redesigned guest rooms draw inspiration from kintsugi, the practice of mending broken pottery with gold lacquer, and feature everything from quartzite tables to custom carpets. Nobu guests get priority reservations at the restaurant downstairs, which has teppanyaki tables and a sushi bar, and serves Nobu classics like the black cod with miso.
Circa Resort & Casino
Many Vegas resorts have an outward gaze, basing their identity on far-flung locales like Paris and Egypt. But downtown’s Circa, which sits on the Fremont Street Experience, is an ode to all things Sin City, past and present. Take, for instance, the hotel’s Vegas Vickie bar, which you’ll find beneath a 20-foot neon cowgirl that previously advertised a strip club. Or, consider Barry’s Downtown Prime, a throwback steakhouse where the Rat Pack would fit right in. The resort is also home to the world’s largest sportsbook, which measures three stories high.
Virgin Hotels Las Vegas
The Virgin occupies the former Hard Rock Hotel, and its connection to Sir Richard Branson means music still courses through its veins. On-site venues include the Theater (which hosts the likes of Boy George and Wu-Tang Clan), the Event Lawn for outdoor concerts and the more intimate 24 Oxford, which is named for the original London address of Virgin Records. Suites display Branson’s penchant for cheekiness with fun artworks, and the Shag Room lounge nods to his British heritage with its weekly Upside Down Tea Party, which pairs posh finger foods with boozy tea pots.
Park MGM Las Vegas
If your idea of a perfect Vegas weekend is packed with entertainment, it’s hard to beat the Park MGM, where recent residencies include Mariah Carey, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga and Maroon 5. The lobby feels more like a boutique hotel than a mega-resort, and it’s filled with eye-catching pieces like a series of David Hockney iPad drawings and a reclaimed wood installation that looks like tree roots bursting through the ceiling. That artful approach continues in the guest rooms (where framed pieces are hung salon-style), and the Mama Rabbit mezcal and tequila bar, which is decorated with colorful geometric animal sculptures.
The Palazzo at the Venetian
Part of the second-largest hotel complex in the world (with more than 7,000 rooms), the Palazzo tower continues the Italian motif of the Venetian resort next door. Upon entering the lavish lobby, you’ll be greeted by Samuel G. Bocchicchio’s “Acqua di Cristallo” water sculpture (and a glass of Prosecco if you’re staying in a club-level room), and the oversized suites feature Italian marble bathrooms and pillow-top mattresses. Don’t tell the Italians, but the hottest restaurant on the Strip is the Palazzo’s six-person omakase speakeasy hidden inside Wakuda, a new restaurant from the acclaimed Japanese-Australian chef Tetsuya Wakuda.
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