Where to Stay in Vegas
If you’re interested in property details and characteristics, there are a number of sites online where you can do exhaustive research, such as TripAdvisor, Cheapo Vegas, or Vegas.com. (I like the traveler photos of hotels on TripAdvisor, because they’re more realistic than a hotel’s website is. I like Cheapo Vegas because they’re an amusing bunch.) My notes below will only focus on hotels I am familiar with, and their solo-friendliness–or lack thereof. I am willing to bet that the majority of the hotels on the Strip–and many that are off-Strip–would fall under the category of “solo-friendly.” More than one in-house dining option is the standard, as are taxi stands (if you don’t feel comfortable driving a car in a strange city), and most have some form of on-property entertainment. Because Vegas is such a hot travel destination and a convention mecca, there are generally enough other people staying alone in your hotel that you will not feel out of place. However, I haven’t stayed at all of the hotels in Vegas, so I can only speak from my own experience. I have stayed at the following resorts.
The Mirage:
A mega-resort. The Mirage was my first love in Las Vegas. I fell hard for the tropical rainforest theme that used to be featured more prominently here. The two times I stayed here, they checked room keys at the elevators all day long. My room door had a safety latch and a deadbolt. The staff was friendly, the clientele was comfortable for me, and I never felt out of place. Right now, there are two on-property shows to choose from (Terry Fator and the Beatles’ Love, a Cirque du Soleil show), as well as a number of restaurants of varying price ranges. I can recommend California Pizza Kitchen, which has counter seating, and Cravings, the buffet, both of which are mid-price range options; you will find my reviews on those under Restaurants. The Caribe Cafe, a 24 hour cafe, also has counter seating. The location is fabulous, as it is right next door to Caesar’s Palace, and Harrahs is right across the street. As you can see from this photo, they have a spectacular pool area. There is a tram that runs from the Mirage to Treasure Island (“TI”) next door (for now–I’m not sure this will remain the case now that the two hotels have different owners), giving you even more dining and entertainment options. I would have no hesitation staying here alone again.
Harrahs:
This hotel is very “down to earth”. They used to check room keys at the elevators after 9pm, but on my most recent trip, they were not doing so. You can find great prices here for lodging, restaurants, and on-property entertainment (of which they have an embarrassment of riches). The staff has always given me good customer service. (And no, despite how that sounds, it is not a euphemism for anything else.) Harrahs has a great Center Strip location and is on the monorail, so you can easily travel up and down the Strip that way without having to rent a car. Solo-friendly dining options include their buffet (Flavors) and Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill (for its counter seating). I ate at the Cafe and the buffet on my most recent trip in 2008, and both were very good quality of food and prices. Harrahs has a fun atmosphere, and people here are friendly; you should have no trouble finding someone to strike up a conversation with. The Dueling Piano Bar has counter seating, as does Carnaval Court (for entertainment). If you enjoy being social while you gamble, try their Party Pit. They also have a couple of video poker bars. Something new they’ve added to the casinos since I was last there are “bill breaker” machines: You insert a bill, and it will provide you with smaller bills for it. Or you can insert a ticket from your slot machine, and it will give you cash. Very handy.
Ballys: I don’t think I would recommend Ballys to solos except travelers who might be turned off by too much hustle and bustle in their hotel and those on a strict budget. The hotel (what I’d call a 3 star) is a little on the shabby side and is a bit more quiet and sedate than others on the Strip (read: not as exciting). Entertainment options are limited and the in-house dining, staff friendliness/customer service, and cleanliness are hit-and-miss. Positive aspects: The Center Strip location–across the street from the Bellagio and connected to Paris, which has a more upbeat vibe and better dining and entertainment options; Ballys is also on the monorail; and it has a surprisingly nice pool area. I don’t recall anyone checking room keys at the elevator here, but call and ask if it’s of concern to you.
Paris: This hotel is Ballys‘ prettier sister. While Paris can be a very romantic hotel for couples, it also draws enough of the convention crowd and other solos, as well as plenty of looky-loo tourists passing through to take in the overtly French theme, that you won’t feel out of place. (Or at least, I didn’t.) It is connected to Ballys, which has a monorail station. There are lots of in-house dining options and things to do, such as the Eiffel Tower Tour and nighttime entertainment. Mon Ami Gabi has good counter seating and great food–as well as a view of the Bellagio Fountain Show across the street. The breakfast buffet is fantastic (if pricey), and the cafe is quite nice, too–but has no counter seating. Because of the high volume of guests and non-guests dining here, it’s a good idea to eat early, say between 5 and 6pm, or make a reservation if you want to get your preferred seating. Interestingly, with all the non-guests who pour through this hotel on an hourly basis, I don’t remember anyone checking keys at the elevators here, either. You might want to call to check on that if it’s important to you.
The Bellagio:
Hands down the nicest place I’ve ever stayed and my favorite hotel in Vegas so far. Prices are normally high, but I managed to score a $149/night rate by signing up at the hotel’s guestbook online and traveling during a slower time period during the week. (This is a good strategy in general for scoring good hotel fares in Vegas. Sign up at the guestbooks of every hotel you are considering staying at and watch the deals pour into your email account. Travel during the week instead of on a weekend and be flexible with your travel dates, and you can afford more than you think you can.) The customer service was fantastic. I never once ran into a rude, surly or mediocre employee here. There are a variety of excellent in-house dining options of a variety of price ranges (nothing incredibly cheap, but certainly affordable), including some quick grab-and-go eateries. Cafe Bellagio, the 24 hour cafe, is very good and has counter seating, but I also ate at a table for two one day and was seated by a window (without having to ask) so I had something to look at while I ate. The buffet is fantastic, especially for breakfast, when they had some really unusual but tasty options, like vegetable dishes and cheeseballs. There are live bands at the Fontana Bar and Lounge, which is one of the best lounges on the Strip. They did check room keys at the elevators. There is one in-house show (Cirque du Soleil’s “O”), a free Conservatory, and a not-so-free art gallery to entertain. The spa is to die for. I highly recommend it.
MGM Grand: I stayed here on a great room deal. I have no complaints about customer service; all the staff I encountered were very pleasant and efficient, if not great. They were not checking room keys when I stayed there, but the lock on the door worked just fine. It felt perfectly safe to me. In-house dining options are so plentiful, you could eat at a different restaurant for each meal and not run out of restaurants for a good while. I can personally vouch for the quality of the Studio Cafe, Fiamma, and Wolfgang Puck. There is bar seating at the latter two. The Rainforest Cafe can be quite entertaining if you are into animatronics, and it does have bar seating. There is one regular show (Cirque du Soleil’s Ka) and traveling headliners often perform here as well. If you are an animal buff, do stop and watch the pretty lions sleep and pose in the lion habitat. The capstone of this facility is its pool area–with five, count ‘em, FIVE pools to choose from, including a lazy river. It also has Wet Republic, the new “ultra pool” for those who can’t get enough of the party scene in Vegas. It is on the monorail, so you can travel to the North End of the Strip more easily. It has a decent nightlife if you’re into the nightclub/ultralounge scene, and tends to draw a younger clientele. The only drawback of this hotel is its size: It is ginormous, so it takes a long time to walk anywhere on site. On the other hand, depending on your tastes, you could spend your entire vacation on site without leaving and still find plenty to do. I’d recommend this hotel especially for solos in their twenties and thirties.
For more information on solo-friendly Vegas shows, dining and activities, go back to:
Solo-friendly Las Vegas
