WHERE DO I STAY IN VEGAS?

Don’t know where you are going?  You may want to look at an updated map of the Las Vegas Strip so that you can get your bearings. 

The easiest way to break up the Las Vegas Strip is into North and South sections, using Flamingo Road as the central dividing line. Every area of the Strip offers its own distinct set of pros and cons.

The southern end is closer to the airport and provides convenient access along the western side of the street to the free Westcliff and MGM trams, making travel between casinos a breeze. This end of the Strip also places you right near major sports hubs like Allegiant Stadium, T-Mobile Arena, and the upcoming Athletics baseball stadium slated for the former Tropicana site.

Meanwhile, the northern end of the Strip boasts superior shopping at both The Venetian and Fashion Show Mall, as well as excellent proximity to The Sphere, Downtown Las Vegas, and The LINQ Promenade, where the High Roller observation wheel is located.

In my opinion, the absolute best places to stay on the Las Vegas Strip are centralized—not too far north or south of Flamingo Road—if you plan to walk between the resorts to explore. Staying any further south than Park MGM or further north than Wynn and Encore inevitably leads to grueling walks and much more expensive taxi and rideshare bills.

Here are my thoughts on the resorts where I have actually stayed:

• Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino: A beautiful resort with an absolutely legendary, award-winning pool scene. However, because it sits at the extreme southern tip of the Strip, it is a massive haul to walk anywhere else, meaning you will rely heavily on rideshares or the tram to get around.

• MGM Grand: A fantastic property packed with endless dining options, nightlife, and activities. The catch? It is completely colossal—the kind of massive layout where you can easily get lost trying to navigate your way back to the elevator banks.

• Flamingo Las Vegas: You cannot beat this central-Strip location. When I stayed here, the property felt a bit dated and lacked a massive variety of high-end restaurants, but it remains an excellent, highly affordable option right in the middle of the action.

• Vdara Hotel & Spa: A gorgeous, serene property. The rooms are incredibly spacious and resemble luxury condos. While it is centrally located behind Aria, it can still feel like a bit of a hike to get out to the main Strip. A major bonus for some: Vdara is entirely non-gaming and smoke-free, meaning there is no casino on-site.

• Wynn and Encore Las Vegas: Pure luxury. The rooms are jaw-droppingly beautiful, exceptionally spacious, and the property features premier fine dining and elite casino spaces. It is the absolute perfect choice for a relaxed, upscale vacation—just keep in mind that true luxury comes with a premium price tag.

• The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas: Absolute perfection. I think anyone who visits Las Vegas multiple times eventually finds their true "home resort," and the Cosmo is firmly mine. Maybe I’m just in my postmodern design era, but nothing beats sliding open the glass doors of a Studio Fountain View room to step onto a private balcony overlooking the dancing Bellagio Fountains. The location is unmatched, and the curation of trendy restaurants and gaming is spectacular. I can happily stay inside this hotel for 24 hours straight without ever wanting to leave—high praise in a city with infinite distractions.

• The Venetian Las Vegas: As rising rates at the Cosmo have pushed me to expand my travel horizons, The Venetian has officially become my magnificent new go-to. The location is awesome, its "Restaurant Row" features world-class dining, the all-suite rooms are incredibly spacious, and the spa is world-class.

• Red Rock Casino Resort Spa: This is the only off-Strip property I’ve stayed at, and I completely fell in love with its quiet glamour. With an amazing pool, great restaurants, and endless amenities, it acts as a self-contained oasis. While it sits far west of the Strip, it offers gorgeous views of the skyline and puts you right on the doorstep of Red Rock Canyon. We stayed here for a night in the middle of a road trip, and it was the perfect launchpad to focus on Nevada's stunning great outdoors rather than the neon lights.

HOW TO BOOK YOUR ROOM?

When it comes to securing the best room rates in Las Vegas, the smartest course of action is to cross-reference third-party online travel agencies directly against the official resort loyalty networks.

Standard booking platforms like Expedia, Travelocity, and Booking.com are excellent for building custom travel packages that bundle your flight, hotel, and rental car together. Quite often, bundling your itinerary components simultaneously can net you significant upfront savings, making these search engines a fantastic place to start your research.

Personally, I love to utilize the travel search engines tied to my premium credit cards and preferred airline loyalty sites. The American Express Travel Portal is fantastic for curating high-end standalone hotel itineraries—even though they no longer offer bundled flight-and-hotel packages. The Chase Travel Portal similarly features a premier booking program.

The primary benefit of booking through your credit card issuer is the ability to amass high-value rewards points, which you can then leverage to subsidize or entirely fund future vacations. Major domestic airlines like Southwest Vacations and United Vacations also feature robust travel booking tools that can be highly useful for sniffing out competitive package deals. Because I fly frequently, I love to systematically hoard my accrued airline points specifically to cover my airfare to Las Vegas.

However, if your flights are already locked in and you are strictly hunting for hotel rooms, you should almost always skip the third parties and book directly through the resort. The moment you settle on a property, sign up for their official loyalty program. Not only will you begin building up valuable tier credits toward future complimentary rooms, dining credits, and VIP experiences, but you will also unlock immediate, deep discounts on base room rates.

Direct rewards pricing frequently blows third-party rates out of the water. For example, during a previous trip to Vegas, my MGM Rewards member rate beat the American Express portal price by a staggering 20 percent. Similarly, logging into the newly overhauled Venetian Rewards platform yields exceptional baseline rates and fantastic tier-upgrade opportunities. Before putting your credit card number down anywhere else, always take five minutes to verify the direct member rate with the specific resort and its associated corporate casino family.

TOP TIPS FOR STAYS IN VEGAS

1. Cheaper Is Not Always Better: Always balance the nightly room cost against its physical proximity to the attractions you care about most. You can easily burn through your hotel savings by spending an arm and a leg on daily rideshares and taxis just to get to the action.

2. Location, Location, Location: Properties located at the extreme ends of the boulevard—like Mandalay Bay, The STRAT, or Circus Circus—often boast incredibly cheap baseline rates. But remember: if you stay that far out, the time, energy, and money spent navigating your way back to the heart of the Strip will often completely wipe out those initial hotel savings.

3. Account for Resort Fees: Every single major resort on the Strip charges a mandatory daily fee (often ranging from $35 to $55+ per night) that is hidden until the final checkout screen. Research these fees ahead of time and bake them entirely into your budget so you aren't blindsided at checkout. If you want to complain about them, you'll have to stand in a very long line—it is hands-down the most frustrating part of visiting Las Vegas.

4. Align Your Hotel with Your Itinerary: On my very first trip to Vegas, we stayed at Mandalay Bay. It's a great resort, but because it was my first visit, I wanted to see absolutely everything the Strip had to offer, and I walked myself completely silly trying to do it from the southern tip. Match your hotel's location to your daily goals.

5. Audit the Reviews: Do your homework before booking. Check recent traveler reviews on platforms like TripAdvisor. See what people are saying about cleanliness at the Bellagio, room updates at Caesars Palace, or recent customer service wait times at Horseshoe. A quick five-minute review check can protect you from a bad experience.

No matter if it is your very first trip or your 50th milestone getaway, you are going to have an unforgettable time. Just do a little bit of homework on where you stay, pick the base that fits your style, and enjoy every single second of the neon lights!