The heat of Las Vegas often keeps visitors indoors. Luckily, most Las Vegas hotels are not your typical room and continental breakfast affairs. Vegas hotels have amenities similar to all-inclusive resorts, often featuring multiple pools, a variety of restaurants and even amusement parks, most of which can be enjoyed without stepping foot outside.
There have been a number of articles and programs devoted to the top swimming pools in Las Vegas. The Golden Nugget has a pool with a clear tube slide that runs through a 200,000-gallon shark tank, but a pool doesn't have to scare you to be relaxing and entertaining. Swim in pools outdoors and in with features such as waterfalls, lazy rivers and whirlpools. Swim at Mandalay Bay's hotel pool for a trip to the beach in the middle of the desert. More than 1,500 tons of sand surrounds the pool that features a wave pool with waves up to six feet---perfect for body surfing.
Whether you are an expert or a family with kids who need bumper lanes, Vegas is the place for bowling. The largest bowling alley in Vegas, located in the Gold Coast hotel, boasts 72 lanes and is open 24 hours. Most bowling alleys in Vegas are family friendly---some have video arcades and host junior bowling leagues---but a few, including the Brazilian-themed alley at the Rio, are off limits in the evening hours to anyone under 21.
Las Vegas is not short on eating establishments and one of the biggest draws to Vegas hotels are the all-you-can-eat buffets. Buffets in Vegas can cost anywhere from $9 to $50, and the variety of dishes is almost overwhelming. The Travel Channel calls the Bellagio Hotel and Casino's buffet one of the best in the country. The food is top notch and in the higher price range, but won't disappoint. Other hotel buffets cater more to families and casual diners and serve cuisine from around the world, with stations devoted to American, Mexican, Chinese and Italian inspired foods.
Who said you had to go to Disneyland or Busch Gardens to enjoy amusement park rides? Las Vegas has that area and more covered. Visitors can ride roller coasters that travel at 67 mph over a replica of New York Harbor, walk across clear glass floors with sharks at their feet or teeter off the top of a hotel more than 800 feet above ground.
Gambling may be the No.1 reason visitor's flock to Las Vegas, but the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority research shows that in 2009, 64 percent of visitors to Vegas attended a show at one of the hotels. From nightclub comedy acts to world-renowned shows from Cirque de Soleil, Las Vegas even rivals New York when it comes to Broadway-type shows. Whether you want to see Gallagher smashing watermelons on stage or prefer to attend a showing of the musical Chicago, Las Vegas hotels have it all.
