The Las Vegas Strip is famous for its over-the-top hotels, top-tier celebrity entertainers and bustling casinos and nightclubs.
But a few minutes away are some excellent alternatives to the white tigers, volcanoes and fluorescent lights of The Strip.
At the resorts below you’ll still be able to gamble, stay in luxury and see high-quality entertainment, but you’ll also see a different side of Vegas, meet more locals, and maybe even score some jackpot savings.
Be a Local at the Golden Nugget
The Golden Nugget was one of the first properties built in Vegas and is one of the few places to retain its vintage Rat Pack appeal. The casino is smaller—and some say even homier—than most properties on the Strip, allowing guests to get to know the locals as they gamble day after day. The hotel also has old-school prices, with room rates starting at just $49 a night.
But it isn’t all vintage at The Nugget: A state-of-the-art three-story pool, equipped with a 200-gallon shark tank (the only one like it in the country) looms outdoors. When guests swim through the pool, only the transparent walls of a waterslide separate them from the menacing marine life within.
Located in downtown Vegas, the Golden Nugget offers guests a front seat to one of the most original spectacles in Vegas, the Fremont Street Experience. An entertainment and gaming complex that includes shopping, restaurants and performance stages, this pedestrian-only area features the world’s largest overhead screen. From dusk ’til midnight it’s home to the Viva Vision light show, a dazzling multi-media extravaganza with 12 million lights shooting all around while a 550,000-watt sound system pulsates with energetic music.
If you really can’t bear to be away from the Strip, you can catch a ride there on the double-decker luxury bus that stops at the intersection of Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street. The ride only takes five minutes and costs $2 one way or $5 for an all-day ticket.
Links: Golden Nugget experience: www.goldennugget.com
Fremont Street Experience: www.vegasexperience.com
The Red Rock Casino Resort
The Strip isn’t the only place you’ll find big-time celebrities. The Red Rock Resort and Casino hosts stars regularly (rabid fans caught shows from Justin Timberlake and Nelly within the past year).
However, unlike many venues on the Strip, entertainment at the Red Rock is a more intimate experience, offering backyard concert performances from Jewel, 3 Doors Down and many others. The resort’s enormous beach-like pool area serves up to 3,000 guests and acts as the hotel’s entertainment center. Guests can also have a VIP nightlife experience at hotel nightclubs such as Cherry, which is distinguished by its “cooling zone”—a private pool area.
Inside the casino, you can play bingo, Keno or even bet on sports, in addition to the standard slot machines and blackjack that are common on the Strip. You’ll also be more likely to gamble alongside locals here, many of whom use of a special “boarding pass” feature, which allows players to earn points for play. Win or lose, the pass allows you to earn and exchange points for specials deals and promotions.
Located only 10 miles from the Strip, Red Rock offers free shuttle rides every hour to and from the Fashion Show Mall on the Strip for guests who want to get out and about. Prices average around $150 per night, with occasional special offers in the neighborhood of $90 per night.
Link: www.redrocklasvegas.com
Lake Las Vegas, an Oasis in the Desert
For visitors who long to stay in a serene Mediterranean-inspired environment and save the wild fun of the Strip for nighttime, Lake Las Vegas is the place to be. Encompassing the Ritz-Carlton, the Loews Lake Las Vegas and the MonteLago Village Resort, this oasis at the edge of the mountains is only a 17-minute drive from the Strip yet, feels like it’s a world away.
The resort’s centerpiece is the namesake 320-acre lake, the largest man-made one in the country. Its floating stage has served as host to performers like Andrea Boccelli, who thrill listeners gathered on the cascading lawn. Besides a 40,000-square-foot casino floor, the resort also boasts two golf courses and a full-service marina, setting it apart from any Strip property.
The relaxed atmosphere and endless options at the resort encourages a laissez-faire attitude. For example, instead of having lunch in a restaurant, why not have a floating picnic instead? Pick up some wine and cheese at one of the Italian eateries on the grounds, and enjoy your meal while you take a boat ride out on the water.
Guests inclined to outdoor activities can take advantage of biking, kayak and canoe rentals on the property, or they can venture outside the resort for more options. The federally owned land surrounding Lake Las Vegas serves as an enormous backyard, featuring hiking and mountain biking trails where guests can trek for a hundred miles and not bump into a single soul.
Lake Las Vegas shows visitors a side of Vegas that shines with real stars instead of fluorescent lights. Staying here is on the pricier end at $129 to $250, often a more affordable rate than hotels with similar amenities on the Strip.
Link: www.lakelasvegas.com
By Seda Terzyan with Karen Elowitt for PeterGreenberg.com.
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