Bellagio
The Bellagio overlooks a 12-acre lake replica of Italy's Lake Como, complete with a choreographed ballet of water, music and lights. Avoid the crowds watching the lake's famous fountain show while enjoying a cocktail in the Bellagio's Hyde Bar.
The Bellagio is located at the corner of Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard in the heart of 'The Strip' and guests enter the lobby through a display of some 2,000 hand-blown glass flowers. Just beyond lies the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, displaying row upon row of exotic plants and flowers arranged in a theatrical presentation that varies with each season and major holiday.
The 3,933 (no, that isn't a typo) deluxe rooms and suites have views of the lake, the mountains and the Las Vegas skyline and feature European style furniture and art. Away from the rooms there are a mere 13 restaurants and boutiques from names such as Chanel, Armani, Prada, Gucci and Tiffany.
So, all very understated, then.
Why We Love It
Picasso, one of a mere 13 restaurants at the hotel, serves Mediterranean specialities in a dining room decorated with a collection of original Picassos.
Four Seasons Las Vegas
The Four Seasons Hotel is a sanctuary from the bright lights of the dazzling Las Vegas Strip, with 'just' 424 guest rooms and suites, making this one of the more intimate hotels in town.
That these rooms occupy the 35th to 39th floors of a vast golden skyscraper is a bit more Vegas, and the hotel is the centrepiece of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, located at the Strip's south end, and with seriously impressive views all the way along. All the rooms are spacious with marble bathrooms and floor-to-ceiling windows to appreciate that view.
The Verandah restaurant serves contemporary cuisine in a tasteful dining room, or under palm trees beside the pool but if variety is the spice of your life, then the 22 restaurants in the Mandalay Bay should suffice.
Why We Love It
While most arriving and departing hotel guests in Las Vegas are - quite intentionally - channelled through their lucrative casino halls, the Four Seasons has its own reception, elevators, pool and sun deck.