Best bets for a place to stay in Las Vegas

updated 1:16 p.m. ET Sept. 12, 2006

Best for Conventioneers/Business Travelers: The Las Vegas Hilton, 3000 Paradise Rd. (tel. 888/732-7117), adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center and the setting for many on-premises conventions, offers extensive facilities that include a full business center. And now it's a stop on the nifty new monorail, making access to the Strip easier than ever. Be warned: New owners could make changes by the time you read this.

Best Luxury Resort: There really is only one, and that's the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas, 1610 Lake Las Vegas Pkwy. (tel. 800/241-3333), perched on the edge (and over part of) Lake Las Vegas in Henderson. It's the combination of setting (gorgeous, peaceful) and experience (such service!) that wins them the prize. But you might want something that's actually in town, and for that, you must go straight to the Four Seasons, 3960 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 877/632-5000), because experience running luxury resorts around the world makes them the only true claimant to the throne within the Vegas city limits.

Best Resort for the Indecisive: Green Valley Ranch Resort, 2300 Paseo Verde Pkwy. (at I-215), Henderson (tel. 866/782-9487), somehow manages to combine the comfort of a Ritz-Carlton with the style of boutique chains such as the W, and makes it all work. Have your cake and eat it too, either in the most comfortable beds in town or by one of our favorite pools.

Best Archetypically Las Vegas Hotel: As of press time, there weren't any. Las Vegas hotels are one and all doing such massive face-lifts that the archetype is going to be but a memory. Still, despite some major changes, including a complete exterior face-lift, Caesars Palace, 3570 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 877/427-7243), will probably continue to embody the excess, the romance (oh, yes) and, well, downright silliness that used to characterize Vegas -- and to a certain extent still does.

Best Non-Vegas Vegas Hotel: Mandalay Bay's expansion, THEhotel, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 877/632-7000) is as elegant and sophisticated as any lodging in Manhattan. All accommodations are true suites, complete with plasma-screen TVs and deep soaking tubs. Since it's a separate tower, you are far away from the clash and clang of Vegas -- at least in spirit. In reality, it's just a medium walk down a long hallway. Quite possibly our favorite hotel in the city.

Best Swimming Pool: Hands down, the acres of water park fun at Mandalay Bay, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 877/632-7000) -- wave pool (even if the waves never get all that big), lazy river, beach, regular swimming pools . . . no wonder they check IDs carefully to make sure only official guests enter. Everyone wants to swim and splash here. If you can't, you won't be disappointed by the amorphously shaped pools with water fountains and slides, plus a rather festive atmosphere at The Mirage, 3400 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 800/627-6667). But if you've ever longed to swim at Hearst Castle, Bellagio, 3600 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 888/987-6667), with six swimming pools in a neoclassical Italian garden setting (and a more hushed, chic ambience), is for you. Then again, the pool at the Green Valley Ranch Resort, with its foliage, beach, in-water gambling, and everything else, perhaps has them both beat. But its distant location (in south Las Vegas) takes it out of the running. Only just, though.

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Best Spa/Health Club: We only wish our own gym was as handsomely equipped as the one at the Canyon Ranch Spa in The Venetian, 3355 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 877/883-6423), which also has a number of other high-priced amenities on which you can blow your blackjack winnings. We are also partial to the full complement of machines at the health club at Bellagio, probably the best-equipped club of all. Attendants who soothe you with iced towels and drinks, a well-stocked locker room, and comfortable lounges in which to rest up after your workout are other pluses.

Best Hotel Dining: Foodies will work up a good case of gout trying all the haute-cuisine options at Bellagio, which has restaurants by Todd English (Olives) and Julian Serrano (Picasso). The hotel has seven James Beard Award-winning chefs on staff. The Venetian isn't too far behind, with restaurants from Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse, and Joachim Splichal (Pinot), plus branches of the noted Lutèce. In The Venetian's new expansion is a version of Thomas Keller's bistro Bouchon. Wynn Las Vegas, 3131 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 888/320-9966) has brought in a number of name-brand chefs, including Alex Strada (Alex) and Paul Bartolotta (Bartolotta).

Best for 20-Somethings to Baby Boomers: Palms Resort & Casino, 4321 W. Flamingo Rd. (tel. 866/942-7777), is the single most happening hotel for the hip and hip-hop sets. No wonder Britney stayed here before, during, and through the aftermath of her quickie marriage. The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, 4455 Paradise Rd. (tel. 800/473-ROCK), bills itself as the world's "first rock 'n' roll hotel and casino" and "Vegas for a new generation." Aficionados of headbanger clubs won't mind the noise level, but we aren't sure about everyone else.

Best Interior: For totally different reasons, it's a tie between New York-New York Hotel & Casino, 3790 Las Vegas Blvd. S. (tel. 800/693-6763), The Mirage, and The Venetian. The Mirage's tropical rainforest and massive coral-reef aquarium behind the registration desk may not provide as much relaxation as a Club Med vacation, but they're a welcome change from the general hubbub that is usual for Vegas. Speaking of hubbub, New York-New York has cornered the market on it, but its jaw-dropping interior, with its extraordinary attention to detail (re-creating virtually every significant characteristic of New York City), makes this a tough act to beat (though Big City residents may despise its realism). The Venetian's authentic re-creation of Venice, however, might top it.

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