Best non-chic, non-strip Hotel choices in Las Vegas??
 

Looking for a good hotel, that is not in a hot location in Las Vegas. We are meeting European friends there and while they want a good hotel with good amenities, they do not necessarily want the fancy hotels on the Strip.

Are there "hidden" gems of hotels in Las Vegas?

This would be at the end of May, and from there a driving trip to the Grand Canyon, and wherever else anyone suggests (have been to Vegas, Zion, Bryce) Many thanks.

We like the South Point.

http://www.southpointcasino.com/

Oh, sorry but I wouldn't take friends from Europe to South Point! I wouldn't take any friend there.

What kind of amenitites?

We spent a couple of nights at South Point last January and then moved over to The Signature and it was night and day. No casino, so no smoke, not tons of people all over.

Check out: http://www.smartervegas.com/ Sign up for Unlisted deals in upper right corner of website for some great deals.

There are hotels out in Lake Las Vegas that are probably pretty nice - I know Westin and Hitlon have properties there. And there are some out in Summerlin as well. The Red Rock always looked nice.

Honestly, though, I would stay on the strip. There are lots of hotels at a lot of price points, most at a great value. And you are near the restaurants, etc. Plus, it is Vegas and I would go for the full experience as opposed to staying in a suburb.

We like the South Point Deb, but yes, it is a casino hotel, so there's the usual smoke and people. It's definitely non-chic and non-strip!

Here's a list of non-gaming hotels if that's what the OP is after:

http://www.lasvegas.com/hotels/non-gaming-hotels/

I recently did some research for hotels off strip, and these came highly recommended, although I have no first hand experience with them:

http://www.themresort.com/visitorinfo/visitor_info.html

https://greenvalleyranch.sclv.com/

https://redrock.sclv.com/

Might fail the non-chic requirement though.

FYI - Many Las Vegas hotels now charge resort fees, so be aware of that up front.

We stayed at the JW Marriott in Summerlin and were very pleased with it. Quite a drive to the Strip or downtown, however.

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...esort-and-spa/

Thank you all.

Debit, I've been looking at the smartervegas site, thanks to an earlier posting you made in answer to another's question.

I will check the non-gaming hotels. Thanks, I didn't even know they existed!

We have stayed out in Summerlin, since we had friends who lived there. But haven't been to Vegas in a few years. (not since that whole "city" center was built) so I have to learn about it all over again!

FWIW, the best non-gaming hotel is probably the Mandarin Oriental. Awesome.

Glad to know that the Mandarin Oriental is non-gaming. I wiuld stay there if the price were good. Is it in a good location?

Mandarin Oriental = $$$$$

My experience is that European travlers love the strip - it's why they go to LV.
That said I Loved the Wynn and Mandalay Bay.

<I>Glad to know that the Mandarin Oriental is non-gaming. I wiuld stay there if the price were good. Is it in a good location?</I>

Define "good". It is a bit pricey, but is cheap for a Mandarin Oriental. Nice pool without the scrum for seats. Good service.

It is in City Center, so a very good location, especially for dining.

So why go to Vegas and not stay on the Strip?

The Signature at MGM is officially on the strip , but is a couple of blocks off. It is swanky and without a casino and smoke, it is a great choice. We got a great deal by watching the prices. I booked and rebooked several times with no penalty as the rates dropped leading up to arrival. In fact, I rebooked just a day or 2 before arrival to get the best price of all.

The Platinum is non-gaming and very nice. THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay is set apart from the main casino hotel and easy to get to from the airport. There are also a couple of hotels out at sleepy Lake Las Vegas. Is this just for one night?

Thanks everyone for good ideas. I don't particularly like the Lake Las Vegas location, seems just too far out for me, though very pleasant in and of itself. Though I think Summerlin might be OK, cuz I am familiar with that area, i am partly of the mind that Tomsd mentioned: why go to Vegas if you don't stay on the strip? Particularly for our friends who are coming from Europe, and have never been to Vegas

I will definitely look at The Signature and The Platinum.

Also, I just realized that we have a ton of "Thankyou points" from a Citibank card. If using points, and cost is less of an issue, what are your thoughts about best location ON the strip?

Find out where you can use the points, then come back and ask about them - rather than having us guess where you might be able to use .them

<i>cost is less of an issue</i>

Depending when you are going (e.g. conventions, big events, holidays, etc.), most of the hotels are very reasonable. I've seen the likes of the MGM or Mandalay Bay - good hotels both - for around $100 per night. If you really wanted to go cheap, I'd maybe look at the Luxor, which I've seen in the $60-range and lower. I think Harrah's is in that same price range and in a good, central location. I have not stayed at either, but I'm guessing they are probably about as good as an older Sheraton-type place judging by the reviews. Excalibur is even cheaper, but I'm guessing pretty dumpy. Ditto for The Quad, which I think caters to the college/recent grad crowd.

I'd be a little surprised if you were able to beat the cheap Strip (e.g. Quad or Excalibur) or even mid-tier (e.g. Luxor or Harrah's) properties for pricing if you were to stay in Summerlin. To get something cheaper than those mid-tier Strip properties, I'd think you'd need to look at 1) Downtown, 2) maybe Henderson, 3) one of the off-strip casinos, like the Station chain, or 4) "fringe Strip" places (Circus Circus, Riviera, Stratosphere).

<i>what are your thoughts about best location ON the strip?</i>

Personally, I like mid-Strip. We've stayed most recently at the Encore and, before that, at the Mandarin Oriental. We preferred the Mandarin Oriental location, primarily because we thought that area (esp. City Center/Cosmopolitan) had a better (for our tastes) concentration of restaurants. That being said, both locations were pretty good. That being said... We went to several places off-Strip for dinners and lunch on our last trip, so the location would be less of an issue in a situation like that.

Bellagio used to be our favorite upscale place - and now we like Wynn/Encore - which Steve built ater selling Bellagio.

Others prefer The Venetian - or the newer City Center. They all have deals/promos from time to time so just check away.

Other mid strip places are fine - such as the Flamingo, Bally's, Paris, Planet Hollywood and so forth. Even the old Imperial Palace I think has been refurbished.

When you arrive - check out the local tourist mags for deals/ideas - and also the discount ticket places such as Tix 4 Less - which has kiosks/offices at various places along the strip.

I would not stay downtown - too dumpy - with too many smokers.

Monte Carlo and NY NY are also fun - as is the Tropicana which also has been refurbished (at least in part) and it has a great pool area.

And just off strip - but with frequent buses to the strip - the Rio used to have the biggest rooms, and most of them also have nice pool areas.

<i>Even the old Imperial Palace I think has been refurbished.</i>

That is now the Quad. "Refurbished" is a strong word, I'd say. But it is right near the new Linq, which may improve that area.