Where to Stay in Las Vegas: Best Neighborhoods & Hotels

The Best Neighborhoods to Stay in Las Vegas

• The Strip: Our top pick for the classic Las Vegas experience, right next to the famous casinos and the infamous nightlife.
• Downtown: Great for budget stays and getting a feel for the real Las Vegas.
• West and East of the Strip: Perfect if you prefer a quieter vibe but still want to stay close to the action.

Extra tip: Las Vegas is a fantastic base for visiting many of the national parks in the American West. If the city itself feels a little too wild for you, we recommend booking a place to stay a bit further out. You’ll find our recommendations for that in the last section.

The Neighborhoods on a Map at a Glance

When we think of Las Vegas, one image immediately comes to mind: casinos, wild hotels, and a crazy nightlife. But all of that really only happens on one street — the Strip.

Technically, the Strip isn’t even part of Las Vegas, since it sits just outside the city limits. The “real” Las Vegas is actually Downtown. And then there are plenty of perfectly ordinary residential neighborhoods that you probably never even think about when it comes to Las Vegas.

Staying on the Strip

A hotel on the Las Vegas Strip is the right choice if you want the quintessential, over-the-top Las Vegas experience and want to sleep steps away from the famous casinos.

The Strip is what Las Vegas is known for: casinos, luxury hotels, an insane nightlife, and above all, gambling galore!

Many of the hotels, like the Bellagio or Caesars Palace, are world-famous. And some Las Vegas hotels are simply outrageous: entire cities like New York, Venice, and Paris have been recreated here. There’s even a hotel with a roller coaster.

There are tons of restaurants and shopping options. Something is always happening here around the clock, from rides on the High Roller Ferris wheel to magic shows.

The Strip is just one street and not very long — you can easily reach everything on foot.

Because it’s the city’s most famous stretch, hotels on the Strip are expensive and the area is very touristy.

Advantages of a hotel on the Strip:

• lots of casinos, famous hotels, and the top attractions in Las Vegas
• a seriously wild nightlife
• the quintessential Las Vegas experience

Disadvantages of a hotel on the Strip:

• noise throughout the night
• very touristy and lots of drunk people
• hotels are expensive

Our Hotel Recommendations for the Strip

Staying in Downtown Las Vegas

We recommend staying in Downtown Las Vegas if you want to keep your accommodation costs as low as possible.

Downtown is the original “real” Las Vegas — the city’s historic core, where it all began.

It’s colorful, flashy, and loud here too. And just like on the Strip, there are casinos and luxury hotels — just not as famous. The upside is that lodging is considerably cheaper.

Downtown is also a great shopping destination. The most well-known street for that is Fremont Street, along with the Container Park mall.

You’ll also find plenty of cool bars and restaurants here, as well as museums and art galleries. One particularly hip spot is the Arts District.

The Strip is only a five-to-ten-minute bus ride away.

Advantages of staying in Downtown:

• affordable hotels
• the Strip is just a few minutes away
• great shopping options

Disadvantages of staying in Downtown:

• not right on the iconic Strip
• still noisy and crowded
• higher crime rate than in other neighborhoods

Our Hotel Recommendations for Downtown

Staying West and East of the Strip

A hotel west or east of the Strip is the right choice if you prefer a quieter atmosphere but still want to be close to the action.

The Strip is of course what everyone comes to Las Vegas to see. But not everyone wants to be surrounded by loud casinos and massive hotels all day long.

Just a few blocks off the Strip to the west or east, things get much quieter. Here you’ll find ordinary residential areas, smaller hotels with solid value for money, and pleasant restaurants.

Most hotels offer a shuttle service, so you can be on the Strip in at most 20 minutes.

Advantages of staying West and East of the Strip:

• quieter and more relaxing atmosphere
• still close to the Strip
• hotels with very good value for money

Disadvantages of staying West and East of the Strip:

• you’ll need to take a shuttle to the Strip

Our Hotel Recommendations for West & East of the Strip

Hotels in Las Vegas for Road Trippers

We’ve spent multiple nights in Las Vegas even when the city itself didn’t really appeal to us — everything was just a little too loud and too crazy for our taste.

Las Vegas is also a great starting point for visiting many national parks in California and Arizona, which are a must on any road trip through the American West. These include:

• Death Valley
• Grand Canyon
• Zion National Park
• Bryce Canyon
• Sequoia National Park
• Hoover Dam

If you only want to take day trips from Las Vegas but the city itself doesn’t excite you, we recommend a hotel further outside of the city center. Not only is it quieter and cheaper there, you also won’t have to fight through city traffic every time you head out.

Here are our top 3 hotel picks in Las Vegas for road trippers:

Practical Tips for Staying in Las Vegas

To wrap things up, here are a few practical pointers to help you choose and book your hotel in Las Vegas.

What Is the Resort Fee in Las Vegas?

Heads up: when you book a hotel in Las Vegas, you might be caught off guard by what’s called the resort fee — just like many other travelers. So what exactly is it?

The resort fee is a charge that many hotels add on for certain extras. These can include things like free Wi-Fi, newspapers, complimentary drinks, access to the fitness center, or pool access.

The fee varies by hotel and in Las Vegas typically runs between $10 and $50 per night. There are also hotels that don’t charge a resort fee at all.

The catch: when you book, you’re usually not warned about it, and then you get an unpleasant surprise at check-in.

With Booking, however, the resort fee is already factored into the price — and during the booking process, you can see exactly how much it’ll be.

How Much Do Las Vegas Hotels Cost?

Las Vegas hotels really do cover the full price spectrum. You can find simple rooms a little outside the center for as little as $50 per night, while the most expensive suite — at the Palms Casino Resort — will set you back a whopping $100,000 per night.

We were genuinely surprised, because even many luxury hotels on the Strip are cheaper than hotels in San Francisco or hotels in Los Angeles.

To give you a rough idea: 4-star hotels typically start at around $150 per night for their most basic room category. For 5-star hotels, budget at least $250.

How Can You Save Money on Las Vegas Accommodation?

If you want to spend less on where to stay in Las Vegas, here are a few tricks that work for us.

• Book a hotel with no resort fee
• Travel to Las Vegas on weekdays
• Avoid hotels directly on the Strip — just a few blocks away is enough

Our tip: Las Vegas hotels are enormous and rarely truly fully booked. If you’re flexible, you might get lucky and snag a 4-star hotel on the Strip for $70 per night.