Las Vegas Hotels

Best for Conventioneers/Business Travelers: The Las Vegas Hilton, 3000 Paradise Rd., adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center and the setting for many on-premises conventions, offers extensive facilities that include a full business center -- and soon, it will be a stop on the nifty new monorail, making access to the Strip easier than ever.

Best Luxury Resort: There really is only one, and that's the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, 1610 Lake Las Vegas Pkwy., perched on the edge (and over part of) Lake Las Vegas in Henderson. It's the combination of setting (gorgeous, peaceful) and experience (such service!) that wins them the prize. But you might want something that's actually in town, and for that, you must go straight to the Four Seasons, 3960 Las Vegas Blvd. S., because experience running luxury resorts around the world makes them the only true claimant to the throne within the Vegas city limits.

Best Resort for the Indecisive: Green Valley Ranch, 2300 Paseo Verde Pkwy. (at I-215), Henderson, somehow manages to combine the comfort of a Ritz-Carlton with the style of boutique chains such as the W, and makes it all work. Have your cake and eat it too, either in the most comfortable beds in town, or by one of our favorite pools.

Best Archetypically Las Vegas Hotel: As of the end of 2001, there weren't any. Las Vegas hotels are one and all doing such massive face-lifts that the archetype is going to be but a memory. Still, despite some major changes, including a complete exterior face-lift, Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S., will probably continue to embody the excess and, well, downright silliness that used to characterize Vegas -- and to a certain extent still does.

Best Swimming Pool: If you want lushly landscaped areas surrounding amorphously shaped pools with water fountains and slides, plus a rather festive atmosphere, head to The Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S.. But if you've ever longed to swim at Hearst Castle, Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S., with six swimming pools in a neoclassical Italian garden setting (and a more hushed, chic ambience), is for you. Then again, the pool at the Green Valley Ranch Resort , with its foliage, beach, in-water gambling, and everything else, perhaps has them both beat. But its distant location (in south Las Vegas) takes it out of the running. Only just, though.

Best Spa/Health Club: We only wish our own gym was as handsomely equipped as the one at the Canyon Ranch Spa in The Venetian , which also has a number of other high-priced amenities on which you can blow your blackjack winnings. A little more affordable is the spa at the Aladdin, 3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S.; they sent the designers to study the Moorish structures in Morocco, and it shows in the gorgeous detailing of this lush facility. The treatments are wonderful as well. We are also partial to the full compliment of machines at the health club at The Mirage , probably the best-equipped club of all. Attendants who soothe you with iced towels and drinks, a well-stocked locker room, and comfortable lounges in which to rest up after your workout are other pluses.

Best Hotel Dining: Foodies will work up a good case of gout trying all the haute-cuisine options at Bellagio , which has branches of Le Cirque, Circo, and Aqua, plus restaurants by Todd English (Olives) and Julian Serrano (Picasso). The hotel has seven James Beard award-winning chefs on staff. The Venetian isn't too far behind, with restaurants from Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, and Joachim Splichal (Pinot), plus branches of the noted Star Canyon and Lutèce. And the hotel's latest addition is going to feature an entry from Thomas Keller, of Napa Valley's French Laundry, considered perhaps the best restaurant in the country.

Best for 20-Somethings to Baby Boomers: The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 4455 Paradise Rd., which bills itself as the world's "first rock 'n' roll hotel and casino" and "Vegas for a new generation." Aficionados of headbanger clubs won't mind the noise level, but we aren't sure about everyone else.

Best Interior: For totally different reasons, it's a tie between New York-New York Hotel & Casino, 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S., The Mirage, and The Venetian. The Mirage's tropical rainforest and massive coral-reef aquarium behind the registration desk may not provide as much relaxation as a Club Med vacation, but they're a welcome change from the general hubbub that is usual for Vegas. Speaking of hubbub, New York-New York has cornered the market on it, but its jaw-dropping interior, with its extraordinary attention to detail (re-creating virtually every significant characteristic of New York City), makes this a tough act to beat (though Big City residents may despise its realism). The Venetian's authentic re-creation of Venice, however, might top it.

Best for Families: The MGM Grand, 3799 Las Vegas Blvd. S., is still a hit with families, despite backing away from more child-friendly details such as its original Oz theme and eliminating its amusement park. Then there is also the classic choice: Circus Circus Hotel/Casino, 2880 Las Vegas Blvd. S., with ongoing circus acts, a vast video-game arcade, a carnival midway, and a full amusement park. Less aged, and less hectic, Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S. at Hacienda Ave., is a more modern choice, right for families because you can gain access to both the guest rooms and the pool area (itself fun for kids, with a beach, a wave pool, and a lazy river) without trotting through the casino. And grown-ups will find party-fun restaurants, bars, and clubs (including the House of Blues) for their own enjoyment. Those of you with bigger budgets might want to try the Ritz-Carlton , because not only is it well out of range of Sin City's temptations, it also offers a variety of healthy and fun activities (from hikes to fly-fishing to stargazing).

Best Rooms: Again, we love the Ritz-Carlton , with its perfect decor, spacious interior, and gorgeous bathrooms, but you'll probably want something closer to town. On the Strip, the 700-square-foot extravaganzas at The Venetian , with separate sitting and bedroom areas, are full of all sorts of special details. The Grand Tower (but not the Emerald Tower) rooms at the MGM Grand are the best bet in the lower price range; their modern twist on 1930s curves stands out from the cookie-cutter decor found all around town. Downtown, the rooms at the Golden Nugget, 129 E. Fremont St., are by far the best.

Best Bathrooms: This honor definitely goes to Mandalay Bay , where the spacious bathroom setup features copious amounts of glass and marble, plus double sinks and deep soaking tubs -- it's a wonder anyone ever leaves them to go to the casino.

Best Noncasino Hotel: Four Seasons wins this category, hands down. Once you've experienced their quiet good taste, superior service and pampering, and the serenity of their noncasino property, it's hard to go back to traditional Vegas hotels. But best of all, should you want the best of both worlds, you need only pass through one door to have access to Mandalay Bay and all its traditional Vegas hotel accoutrements, including that missing casino.

Best Casinos: Our favorite places to gamble are anywhere we might win. But we also like the casinos in The Mirage (lively, beautiful, and not overwhelming), New York-New York (because of the aforementioned attention to detail -- it almost makes losing fun), and Main Street Station, 200 N. Main St., because it's about the most smoke-free casino in town, and because it's pretty.

Best Downtown Hotel: It's a tie. The upscale Golden Nugget is exceptionally appealing in every aspect. And Main Street Station , which has done a terrific job of renovating an older space, now evokes early-20th-century San Francisco, with great Victorian details everywhere, solidly good restaurants, and surprisingly nice rooms for an inexpensive price.

Best Views: From the high-floor rooms at the Stratosphere Casino Hotel & Tower, 2000 Las Vegas Blvd. S., you can see clear to the next county, while the Strip-side rooms at Four Seasons give you the entire Las Vegas Boulevard panorama from the southernmost end. Higher-up floors at the Las Vegas Hilton show you that same panorama from a different perspective.

Source: Frommer's 2004