Las Vegas (LAS)
The Las Vegas airport hotel scene isn’t like that in most other cities — there aren’t a cluster of hotels around the airport catering to business travelers and offering free shuttles to the terminal. In fact, there’s only hotel fitting that description: the Doubletree Club. Fortunately, the mega-resorts of the Las Vegas strip are only a 10 to 20 minute taxi ride from Vegas’s McCarran Airport.
Overall Best (Non-Gambling) Las Vegas Airport Hotel:
Doubletree Club Las Vegas Airport
The Doubletree has everything you’d expect from a good airport hotel — free wireless, gym, pool, well-appointed rooms with large comfortable beds, and a complimentary airport shuttle. In Vegas, the airport shuttle takes on special significance because so few hotels offer them and the shuttle option allows you to avoid the typically long Vegas airport taxi queues. (On more than one occasion the Airport Hotel Guru has waited over 45 minutes to get a taxi from McCarran.) As with all Doubletrees, guest at their Las Vegas property get a warm chocolate chip cookie upon check in. (What can we say? The Airport Hotel Guru is a sucker for the little touches). If you are looking to escape the gambling scene, the Doubletree might be the best hotel without slot machines in the whole of Nevada. If you want to taste of gaming glitz but don’t want to sleep around it, the Doubletree also runs a complimentary shuttle service to the Vegas Strip. Money saving note: Because the Doubletree doesn’t earn revenues from gambling their rates tend to be relatively higher during the week when the Vegas resorts discount their prices to attract gamers. The reverse happens on the weekend.
Overall Best (Gambling) Las Vegas Airport Hotel:
The Mandalay Bay and its creatively-capitalized THEhotel sister property make up the first big resort on southern end of famed Las Vegas Strip, the end closest to the airport. Coming from the airport by taxi the Mandalay Bay’s proximity will only save you a few minutes compared to other South Strip hotels like the Luxor or Tropicana. By shared airport shuttle, however, the time saved staying here can be substantial since Mandalay Bay guests are usually the first the shuttle drops off from the airport and the last to be picked up.
By happy coincidence, the most convenient resort to McCarran Airport is also one of Las Vegas’s best. Mandalay Bay is lightly-themed with few touches that betray its Burmese namesake. Where the Mandalay Bay excels is largess. The casino is huge, the public areas are grand (we love the walk-through shark aquarium) and the rooms are plush. The property has four beautiful swimming pools, including the wave pool and the European style (read, topless) Moorea Beach Club. Mandalay Bay also has one of the best selection of dinning and entertainment establishments of any Vegas resort. Fleur del Lys (arguably the city’s best restaurant) is here as is the House Of Blues (arguably the city’s best music venue).
THEhotel, attached to Mandalay Bay, has a more sophisticated feel than its larger sibling. All accommodations here are multi-room suites and include a wet bar, giant bathtub and multiple large flatscreen televisions. Truly spectacular. Guests at THEhotel can make use of all the Mandalay bay swimming pools and other amenities. A THEhotel room can be as little as $20 more than one in Mandalay Bay. So, lose a little less at blackjack and treat yourself to some of the best hotel rooms in Vegas.
The Best of the Las Vegas Strip
Though Mandalay Bay is the mega-resort closest to the airport there are several others in the central and southern Strip . Our take on the superlatives among them:
Best Standard Rooms:
Most convenient resort to the Las Vegas Convention Center: Las Vegas Hilton
Best Value Rooms:
- Flamingo Las Vegas
- tie: Orleans and Imperial Palace - both have great Strip locations
- Suncoast - across from the Hard Rock
Best comp club: Total Rewards (used at Harrah’s, Paris, Flamingo, Imperial Palace, Rio and Bally’s).
Best places to stay with the whole family: Circus Circus, Mandalay Bay, New York-New York
Best Swimming Pools:
Pools offering European (topless) bathing: Moorea Beach Club at Mandalay Bay, Caesar’s PalaceFlamingo Las VegasThe Mirage
Pools with swim-up blackjack: Tropicana, Hard Rock, Atrium Suites
Best pool party experience: Rehab @ The Hard Rock - Sundays noon until sunset
Best spa: Canyon Ranch Spa at The Venetian, Qua at Caesar’s Palace, MGM Grand Spa, Mandalay Bay
Best Selection of Restaurants:
Best Buffet: Bellagio, Wynn Las Vegas, Paris, Rio
Best Casino:
Best poker room: Wynn Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace
Best sports book: Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas Hilton, New York-New York (and the attached ESPN Zone)
Best gambling deal on the Strip: Casino Royale (for the best slot and table game pay-outs), Imperial Palace (for their sports book)
Closest Accommodations to the Las Vegas Airport:
The hotel technically closest to the airport is also the cheapest. Neither of those qualities is enough to get us to recommend the Knights Inn Las Vegas. The best thing to be said about it is that the offer a complimentary 24-hour shuttle between the hotel and the airport (as well as a shuttle shuttle to The Strip). Otherwise, this dingy place has little to recommend it.
Cheapest Las Vegas Airport Hotel:
Knights Inn Las Vegas. See above.
LAS Airport Info:
McCarran International Airport
Plan on spending more time at McCarran airport than you’d like. The baggage claim service can be slow and the wait for a taxi can be long. On your return flight, the line to get through airport security can be unfriendly to your hangover — several times we’ve waited more than an hour to be processed. First class passengers get breezed through, so your trip to Vegas is a good one to use those frequent flyer miles for an upgrade. McCarran airport does not have wi-fi. But it does have slot machines.
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October 19th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
I totally agree with your strip reviews, Mandalay Bay and Venetian are my favorite hotels for their “affordable luxury” as well. I usually end up booking the Venetian more often because of it’s central location.
The Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay though is one of my favorite places to eat.