The Ultimate Guide to Las Vegas Hotels & Casinos [Updated in 2023]

Deciding where to stay when you visit Las Vegas can be one of the most fun—and most daunting—aspects of planning your getaway. From off-the-Strip motels to flashy casino resorts, Las Vegas is home to wide variety of accommodations to suit every traveler’s needs and desires.

The primary concern for most travelers when booking a hotel is budget. Good news: rooms in Las Vegas—even luxury rooms—are often cheaper than in other major cities. Travel experts speculate that this could be because Las Vegas casino resorts make most of their money through gambling. For this reason, they can offer rooms for a cheaper rate, which leaves you with more cash on hand for—you guessed it—gambling.

Whether you gamble or not, there’s a lot more to choosing a place to stay than finding a room within your budget range! To help you find your perfect room, we’ve compiled our tips for choosing a resort, as well as some information about downtown Las Vegas, and how you can get comps from your hotel.

Here we go!

Fourteen of the world’s 25 largest hotels are located on the Las Vegas Strip, offering a cumulative total of 62,000 rooms! It’s no surprise that choosing the right hotel for your stay can be a challenge. We can help you get started:

Before you start your hotel search, ask yourself one question: why are you visiting Las Vegas?

Understanding your priorities can help you narrow down your options. Are you looking for a place to crash between adventures, or are you seeking an over-the-top luxurious getaway? Deb from Aroundusty Roads prioritizes cleanliness and location over flash and fancy amenities:

Resorts do their best to cater to every Las Vegas visitor, but each hotel has its own strengths and weaknesses, and one may be better suited to your travel style and requirements.

It can help to ask yourself the following questions:

Luxury was a priority for Megan and Mike Jerrard at Mapping Megan and Waking Up Wild:

Read their review here.

Temperatures can reach 110 degrees in the summer, so pools are a popular place for Vegas visitors to catch some rays and cool off. Some pools even have sandy beaches, wave generators, hot tubs, and waterfalls or lagoons.

Relaxing by the pool is Turner from American Travel Blogger’s favorite thing to do in Vegas:

MGM Grand, Caesar’s Palace, and Mirage are all renowned for their sprawling, luxurious pools (just to name a few). If you really want to turn up the poolside party, check out our guide to Las Vegas dayclubs.

All hotels have stores and boutiques where you can pick up essentials or splurge on designer goods, but some (such as Caesar’s Palace or the Venetian) have interconnected shopping malls if you’re looking for a proper shopping spree.

Traveling between hotels can take more time than you’d think. If that show you simply have to see is at a hotel on the Strip, try booking a room at that hotel. You’ll save time in transit, and you may even get a discount on your ticket.

Some hotels, such as the Palms and Orleans, have child-care facilities, while others offer kid-friendly activities to occupy your offspring while you explore.

Arienwen from Beyond Blighty recalls her childhood stay at the MGM Grand:

Get our tips for visiting Las Vegas with kids.

Hotels on the Strip will be more expensive than off-Strip or downtown resorts, but even on-Strip hotels often offer rates that are lower than hotels in other major American cities.

When you’re setting your budget, don’t forget about resort fees. Every resort charges additional resort fees to cover the cost of amenities such as free local calling and fitness centers. Fees vary by resort, but usually cost around $35-55 per night.

Here are the resort fees you can expect to pay at 10 of the most popular Las Vegas hotels, as of April, 2023:

James from Escaping Abroad has stayed at Aria, the Hard Rock, and the Luxor. For James, location was his top priority, followed by room quality and price. While most Vegas visitors opt to stay on the Strip, there are a number of hotels available just off the Strip or in downtown Las Vegas.

If this is your first visit to Sin City and you want to stay in the heart of the action, one sure way to do that is to stay right on the Strip. Victoria from Pommie Travels has stayed at many hotels on the Strip:

As a general rule, if you want glitz and glamor, stick to the Strip—Strip hotels are close to all the major attractions, and almost all have a casino.

For a more relaxed feel, consider staying downtown or off the Strip—you might save a couple bucks in addition to escaping from the bustle of the Strip. If you’re interested in gambling, off-Strip hotels (such as the Palms, Hard Rock, Rio, Orleans, or Gold Coast) also tend to have lower table minimums and better odds, and are more popular with the locals.

Reviews are the best way to research your resort. Take a look at what others have liked and disliked about their hotel and make your decision based on their experience.

If you’re looking to experience Vegas as the locals do, downtown Las Vegas and Fremont East are the places to go.

Sometimes referred to as “Old Vegas”, downtown Las Vegas was the hotspot for casinos and hotels in the 1930s and 40s. In 1995, this area was revitalized by the creation of the Fremont Street Experience. Now, this area is full of delectable restaurants, bars, and casinos, and they’re often cheaper than their counterparts on the Strip (with lower table minimums, too). There are even speakeasies that require a secret phone number to get a reservation (psst—it’s called the Laundry Room. Ask at Commonwealth for the number for reservations)!

Downtown Las Vegas is ideal for travelers who want to experience the glitz of Sin City without the daily carnival that is the Strip, which can quickly become busy and overwhelming, especially if you’re traveling with kids.

Because many of the downtown hotels are older and don’t offer the same flashy amenities as Strip resorts, they’re often cheaper and not as busy. Though the rooms downtown may be just as luxurious as on the Strip, other amenities, such as swimming pools and fitness centers, may not be as flashy. If you’re not concerned with having multiple dining options right inside your hotel, or fancy spas and fitness centers, downtown Las Vegas might be perfect for you.

Learn more about visiting downtown Las Vegas.

Las Vegas is all about making sure you have a fantastic time, and one of the ways that casino resorts keep you coming back for more is by providing comps. There are no surefire ways to earn comps, but we can give you a few tips that might make them more likely:

Find answers to all your questions about Las Vegas in our Ultimate Guide!