Hotels - My personal recommendation where to stay

If there was just one hotel I would recommend? 

So far I’ve suggested that the Strip is the location you should head to as a first time Vegas visitor and provided an overview of the main strip hotels and advising not to pick one too far south or north – so where does that leave to stay? Well, that is a very good question!

In the area I’ve advised to stay on the strip I have personally stayed – sometimes on more than one occasion – at MGM Grand, Bellagio, Mirage, Venetian and Encore and they’re all excellent hotels in their own right, each offering different pros and cons depending on what you’re looking for.

So which single hotel would I choose as the ‘best’? Well this is a very subjective question and if you ask 10 people you’re likely to get 10 different answers, but for what it’s worth, my best ‘all round’ hotel/resort destination to stay at would be The Mirage.

Before explaining my reasons why The Mirage is my favourite ‘all-rounder’ I do want to stress that this is purely my own personal view based on my preferences, likes and budget.

The Mirage

The Mirage was the first mega resort casino to open on the strip in 1989 and was the brainchild of Steve Wynn who is accredited with being the pioneer for transforming Vegas into the global destination that it is today.  Wynn went on to develop Treasure Island, Bellagio, The Wynn (obviously!) and Encore.

The observant of you will already have noted that as The Mirage is 25 years old it certainly isn’t the newest resort on the strip, but you wouldn’t necessarily notice this as all (well, most) of the resorts continually modernise and reinvent themselves every few years with room upgrades, new shows, restaurants and updating of amenities.

The Mirage is a 4-star resort and has everything you could want for a first time trip to Vegas, and here is a summary of some of the reasons why I would personally choose it as my number one pick:

Location – The Mirage is in a perfect location on the narrowest part of the strip which means it’s easy to cross the road and access The Venetian, Harrah’s (and its Monorail stop), Forum Shops at Caesars and Caesars Palace. It’s also connected to via a free tram to Treasure Island which runs every few minutes. From TI it’s easy to get to Fashion Show Mall and Wynn.

All-round ‘ambiance’ – this is certainly something subjective and is difficult to measure or quantify, but in my mind there’s just a nice vibe around The Mirage. It knows it’s not the most posh resort on the strip, nor does it try to be – it’s just a place where people can go, have a good time, wear a football jersey or a dinner jacket and in neither case would you look or feel out of place.

Size – whilst The Mirage is by no means the smallest resort on the strip (it has over 3.5k rooms), it feels much more compact than many other resorts which seem to sprawl with the intention of not wanting you to leave the property. The Mirage is different. From your room, it is easy to take the elevator, cross the casino and be out on the strip within 5-10 minutes.

Rooms – all rooms were refurbished around 2010 so they still feel relatively new and have all necessary mod-cons (WiFi, flat screen TV, USB sockets etc). Think of them being modern and clinical in a Holiday Inn way.

Eateries – The Mirage has a great range of mid-range eateries combining nice restaurants with more casual establishments, coupled with a number of cheap cafe style options which are great for breakfast or lunch.

The pool – the pool and surrounding landscape at The Mirage is great. From the flowing waterfall, the beautifully landscaped areas and palm trees and non-rectangular shaping of the pool, the Mirage pool is a very nice place to spend a leisurely day.

All-round ‘ambiance’ – this is certainly something subjective and is difficult to measure or quantify, but in my mind there’s just a nice vibe around The Mirage.  It knows it’s not the most posh resort on the strip, nor does it try to be – it’s just a place where people can go, have a good time, wear a football jersey or a dinner jacket and in neither case would you look or feel out of place.

Price – oh yea, I guess I shouldn’t forget this! Price obviously plays a big part in helping make a choice on where to stay and The Mirage will hopefully not let you down. As mentioned monitoring hotel prices and striking to book at the right time is somewhat of an art form, but provided you do your research, you can look to book rooms at The Mirage at a very reasonable rate.