Best hotels in Las Vegas: where to stay on the Strip and beyond

The fountains below your window

Bellagio sits behind the lake with the famous dancing fountains, and from rooms facing the Strip you can watch the show from bed. A glass ceiling of coloured blooms hangs over the lobby, and beyond it lies a conservatory garden that is replanted with every season.

It is the classic first-time choice: central, polished without being stuffy, and home to some of the best restaurants in the city. Ask specifically for a fountain-view room, as the others look out over garages and hills. Expect queues at check-in on Friday afternoons.

The balcony everyone else lacks

The Cosmopolitan is one of the very few hotels in Las Vegas where many rooms have their own terrace. In a city of sealed windows, being able to step outside with your coffee and look down on the Bellagio fountains is a genuine luxury.

It is younger and more design-led than its neighbours, with bars that locals actually use and a pool deck that gets lively in summer. Couples and groups of friends will love it. Families with young children will find calmer places elsewhere.

Suites, canals and a painted sky

The Venetian recreates Venice indoors, with canals, gondolas and a painted sky over its shopping street. It sounds like a joke until you see the rooms, which are all suites with a separate sitting area, making it one of the most spacious places to stay on the Strip.

It works well for families and friends sharing a room who want space to spread out. The complex is huge, and getting from your room to the street can take a while. If you want intimacy and calm, this is not your hotel.

Glass, art and smart rooms in CityCenter

ARIA anchors the CityCenter complex in the middle of the Strip and is one of the most modern hotels in town, with glass towers, contemporary art in the public spaces and rooms where the lights and curtains respond to a tablet by the bed. It feels clean-lined rather than glitzy.

It appeals to travellers who want a contemporary big hotel with good service and an easy walk to Bellagio and The Cosmopolitan. The casino is large but tucked away from the lifts. Those who come for old-school Vegas glamour may find it a little cool.

Flowers, fairways and a lot of calm

At Wynn, the first thing you see is not a slot machine but an atrium filled with real flowers and trees. Behind the hotel lie a private golf course and a pool complex invisible from the street, and the rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows facing the mountains or the Strip.

It is well suited to travellers who want luxury and calm without being far from the shows. It is expensive, and the walk to the Center Strip is too long in summer heat. Take a taxi out and enjoy the quiet on your way back.

A lobby on the 23rd floor

Waldorf Astoria sits within CityCenter but has no casino. You take the lift straight up to a sky lobby on the 23rd floor, where the bar and tea lounge look out over the Strip, and the rooms below are calm, generous and well soundproofed.

It is our pick for a romantic stay and for anyone who wants to see Vegas from a distance. You are still a few minutes' walk from ARIA and Bellagio. Do not come expecting a pool party, as the pool here is for lying down.

A hotel within Mandalay Bay

Four Seasons occupies the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay tower but has its own entrance, lobby and lifts. Guests can use Mandalay Bay's vast pool complex, complete with a sandy beach and wave pool, then retreat to a hotel with no casino.

It gets our vote as the family pick: calm, service-minded and with the pools children dream about. It sits at the far south end of the Strip, so you will need a taxi or the free tram to reach the middle. The upside is a short ride to the airport.

Downtown, adults only

Circa is the newest big resort Downtown and admits adults aged 21 and over only. Its rooftop pool complex is built like an amphitheatre around a giant screen, where people watch sport from the water, and the rooms look straight down on the canopy of lights over Fremont Street.

It suits friends and couples who want a party and a different side of Vegas. It is lively and at times loud, and not an option for families since under-21s are not allowed in. The Strip is a taxi ride away.

Henderson with a view of the valley

Green Valley Ranch is in Henderson, about half an hour's drive from the Strip. It is built in the style of a Spanish village, with vines in the garden, a large spa and a pool area that looks across the whole valley to the mountains.

It takes our value pick and suits travellers with a hire car who want to combine Vegas with Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon or the Grand Canyon. You get more hotel for your money but lose the chance to walk out into the lights of the Strip.