NEVADA | ENTERTAINMENT
Las Vegas' top six hotel swimming pools reviewed
Everybody, suit up! There's no good reason to roast in Sin City. Pool pandemonium means river rides, waterfalls, 12-foot waves and sharks.
Remember Las Vegas' family era? Now families savvy enough to pick the pool along with the room can still make a vacation the stuff of memories. Here are our top picks for kids -- and their folks.
Overall vibe:
This hotel hosts a 15-acre tropical oasis with four pools amid pounding waterfalls and mature foliage.
Wow factors:
• A 150-foot water slide that drops into a series of terraced pools.
• Swim-up blackjack and refreshment bars within paddling distance.
• Decorative ponds (not for swimming) are stocked with koi and contain a mini-park of Chilean flamingos, tropical birds and turtles.
• An 80-foot-long heated pool, flanked by 10-foot-high pink flamingo fountains.
Open year-round.
3555 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
(888) 902-9929
www.flamingolv.com
Overall vibe:
A downtown venue that teems with real sea life and a three-story water slide.
Wow factors:
• A 200,000-gallon saltwater tank with five species of sharks and several types of game fish.
• The clear-tubing slide that tunnels straight through these shark-infested waters.
129 Fremont St.
(800) 634-3454
www.goldennugget.com
3. MGM Grand
Overall vibe:
This big hotel has five pools in a 6.6-acre water complex.
Wow factors:
• Three whirlpools, fountains, bridges, waterfalls, plenty of garden shade.
• A 1,000-foot-long lazy river ride that takes 10 minutes to meander.
• Areas to play table tennis and water volleyball or rent inner tubes, rafts or other pool toys.
Open all year.
3799 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
(877) 880-0880
www.mgmgrand.com
4. MANDALAY BAY
Overall vibe:
Wave power? This resort gets kudos for putting 6-foot-high swells in the middle of the desert.
Wow factors:
• The "back 11" for energetic kids.
• Waves as high as 12 feet have been sighted, although 2 feet is the norm. (No surfboards here, but body surfing is sublime.)
• 1,700 tons of sand imported from California.
• Lush foliage enveloping four pools, including the Euro-bathing Moorea Beach Club.
• Lazy river water ride.
3950 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
(877) 632-7800
www.mandalaybay.com
Overall vibe:
A little Tahiti and a little Disney right at center Strip, with slides, six waterfalls pouring over shaded grottoes and lushly landscaped pool lagoons.
Wow factors:
• Six Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (including a baby) live near the pool area. Cost: $15 buys you a ticket to enter Siegfried & Roy's Secret Garden and the Mirage Dolphin Habitat ($10 for kids 4 to 12, 3 and younger free).
• A quarter of a mile of swimming options with two pools, lots of gullies and coves and three slides in varying shapes and heights.
• Pool rafts for rent.
3400 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
(800) 627-6667
www.mirage.com
BONUS PICK: Monte Carlo
Overall vibe:
French Riviera-themed Strip hotel is one of the best on the Strip for families, period.
Wow factors:
• A 520-square-foot separate kiddie pool.
• A classic lagoon swimming pool with cascading waterfalls.
• A small but efficient wave pool.
• A 400-foot easy river ride running around it all.
3770 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
(800) 311-8999
www.montecarlo.com
 This hotel, which dates to 1921, has 39 rooms and commanding perch by a big river. |
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