Clubs and ultra-lounges
This advice from Ollie|Last updated: November 13, 2011
All of the Strip mega-casinos has a bar or nightclub. They're almost all indistinguishable and the trendy place to be switches weekly. If we wrote up a "Lindsey Spears Hilton hangs out here!" review, by the time you get to Vegas that will have changed. Instead, we'll give you a broad, general idea of bars and nightclubs and the ones that are different than what you've seen on TV.
The Rio, the Palms, Mandalay Bay and MGM Grand have about three nightclubs or bars in each of them with swanky names like "Fuego," "Tabu," and "Voodoo." The Hard Rock is known for its Sunday party called "Rehab" -- yes, the same thing they show on truTV -- held Sundays at 11 a.m. and exists as a way to burn off the cloud of your hangover by drinking more booze.
Coyote Ugly (in New York New York) and I-Bar (at The Rio) are bars, not really nightclubs, which means they run off a jukebox instead of DJs. Coyote Ugly plays Kid Rock and Metallica while I-Bar plays a lot of hip-hop, R&B and contemporary.
Toby Keith's I Love This Bar is a country and western affair located inside Harrah's.
Surrender at the Encore and Tao inside The Venetian are electronic rave type clubs.
For those who really love to keep the party going all night, Drai's After Hours (inside Bill's Gamblin' Hall) is THE club. A fine dining restaurant during the day, Drai's offers electronic and hip hop for the crowds that don't even get started until midnight. A line starts forming outside the door well before doors open, so if you don't like standing around, get a drink or two at the casino bar until the line dies down.
What's the difference between a club and an ultra-lounge?
Clubs are what come to mind when you think of dance places. The most popular in Vegas will be crowded to the point of making you wonder about Fire Codes and DJs keep the beats thumping with music probably not heard on your local radio station. Ultra-lounges are very similar, but there's not as much dancing. Celebs and wannabe celebs take advantage of the bottle service in the ultra-lounges to keep their party private in big U-shaped booths.
If you want to dance until you're exhausted enough to finally call it a night, a club is for you. If you've always dreamed of hanging with P. Diddy in a VIP area, head to an ultra-lounge.
Clubs popular currently
- Body English, the Hard Rock
- LAX, the Luxor
- Pure, Caesars Palace
- Rain, the Palms
- Risque, Paris
- Tryst, the Wynn
Ultra-lounges popular currently
- Ghostbar, the Palms
- Playboy Club, the Palms
- Tabu, MGM Grand
- Tao, the Venetian
Steve the Texan said:
Brad, the beverage buffet at Cathouse and Doohan's is pretty self-explanatory. For one price -- around $50 -- you can keep the drinks coming. Sounds great, but I'll tell you that it's a bad idea. It's easy enough to get wasted in Las Vegas -- I mean EASY -- and I can tell you from sad experience that a Vegas hotel room is one of the very worst places to be hungover when everybody else is out having fun.
Michael, the clubs in Caesars Palace, Venetial/Palazzo and the Wynn are some of the top spots of the moment. Any of them will be hopping. Meeting single women is certainly possible in Vegas clubs. There will definitely be some high-dollar working girls in the hip clubs, but there will also be a lot of fellow tourists out to have a good time.
michael said:
is there any clubs where u can meet single girls or is it all working girls in the vegus clubs?
michael said:
hi heading to vegus in early march just wondering what is the best bars and clubs at the moment
brad said:
Hi what can you tell me about the cathouse and doohans bar from 5 to 11pm drink buffet
Annie said:
Hi Steve,
As a woman in her early 40s who's headed to Vegas on her own, which dance clubs would you recommend?
Steve the Texan said:
Vegas club life can be a little hard on the single dude, Dave. If you make a solo visit to a hip club during peak hours you may very well have trouble getting the nod from the door man (arriving early in the night can help with this problem some). Once inside it may not get much friendlier... unless you count attention from "working girls" as friendly.
A good idea would be first to hit up one or two bars -- not clubs -- to hang out. These are good places to strike up conversations with people who may also be on their way to a club later.
Dave said:
Heading to Vegas for work - going by myself. Any suggestions for a single guy on his own? Best clubs to meet people? Best places in Vegas as a whole to mingle and meet people? Will I have trouble getting into clubs/bars on my own? I'm hoping to find people to hang out with prior to coming, but want to be prepared just in case. Thanks!
Steve the Texan said:
Clubs on the Vegas Strip do have perhaps a little broader range of ages than is seen in many cities, but they still do skew pretty heavily toward the 20-something end of the spectrum and during peak hours can be very full of the "looks like a model" sorts. One good option to consider would be Studio 54 inside the MGM Grand. It's a popular place with a good dance vibe but the crowd is usually a little more grown up and the club generally provides a healthy dose of '70s and '80s tunes.
If anyone in Las Vegas were to know the best clubs for plus-sized women, it would be these ladies:
* The Curvaceous Bounty of Sin City
Monica said:
Hey Steve, my friends & family are taking me to vegas for my 40th birthday. Is there such thing as a plus-size friendly club? We'd like to be able to dance and not be surrounded by the 20 something super models. Also is there a club on the strip that plays 80's music? Thank you!
Mary Ireland said:
Is there any clubs in vegas that has free seating.
Steve the Texan said:
Jordan, it's very doubtful your tats will draw much notice. Inked-up sleeves are a pretty common sight.
Do keep in mind that most clubs have moderate dress codes, so bring at least out set of big boy clothes for going out.
jordan said:
hi,goin to vegas with the lads in november!
quite alot of us half our arms covered with tattoos will you be aloud into the clubs with t-shirts?they are non-offensive tattoos by the way!
Steve the Texan said:
Brigid, take a look at the clubs inside Mandalay Bay. They often draw a crowd that is a little more mature and a little less wild. Studio 54 inside the MGM Grand is also worth consideration.
Steve the Texan said:
Mandy, I believe you're referring to ROK Vegas. And, yes, it's a club inside New York New York. It's a pretty decent place, probably a little more relaxed that many Strip clubs, but I wouldn't rank it in the top tier of popularity at the moment.
Mandy said:
My friends and I are staying the New York New York hotel and I was just wondering what The Rock is? Is it a club? And is it lame or decent? I can hardly find a thing about the poor thing!
Brigid said:
A few of us mature single ladies are looking for a good time in Vegas!! What clubs do you recommend for the sophisticated single lady?
Steve the Texan said:
Pretty much the same places that are popular on Fridays and Saturdays are popular on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, Donica, just usually quite a bit less crowded. the Bank (Bellagio) and Lavo (Venetian) are especially worth checking out on Sunday night.
Donica said:
Hi, I was wondering if you would give me some advice to where to go and what to do Sun-Tues.
Steve the Texan said:
Paul, here's a link to a section of the site that may help with your pool party decision making:
* Pool hangouts and parties
Paul said:
hi, meyself and my girlfriend along with 3 other coupes are coming over in 3weeks and i wanted to know were would the best pool parties and places to drink during the day be??
Oh are they picky about who they let in to pool parties?
Steve the Texan said:
Clark, any of the places listed here will be hopping Thursday-Saturday nights, and most will have something going on Sunday nights. Get a feel for what you like Thursday through Saturday, then ask a friendly bartender if the scene is decent there on Sundays.
clark said:
hi steve, four of us coming to vegas for a long weekend starting 23rd june. can you recommend good bars and clubs for thursday, friday, saturday and sunday nights please?
Steve the Texan said:
There is no wrong choice when choosing between Tryst and Lavo (or any of the other clubs you mentioned). They're both extremely popular and both will be extremely packed. Tryst perhaps caters slightly more to the bottle service crowd, but only by a little bit, if any.
Keep in mind that you're talking about the Saturday on Fourth of July weekend. Clubs are going to be even more popular than usual, and that means more expensive. There's a very good chance some or all of the clubs you mentioned will have special celebrity hosts, and that drives the cost way up. If you've already narrowed down your choices to Tryst and Lavo, you may want to contact the club directly to see about reservations: Tryst, Lavo (make sure to use the nightclub contact information, not the restaurant).
Sam said:
Hi Steve, which club would you recommend for a vip night out(bottle service) on 2nd of July, Tryst or Lavo or would you suggest any other instead. Looked at Tao, Marquee and XS but they are very expensive.
Steve the Texan said:
Most Vegas visitors really don't have the need to deal with VIP hosting companies, Sam, but for groups where clubbing is THE main reason for their visit -- especially if that group is made up entirely of guys -- they can be a real help. They're not cheap, but they're also usually not break-the-bank expensive, either. Since what they charge depends entirely on what the customer wants to do, there is no easy way of getting a good idea about price, other than to contact the company and get a quote. A decent ballpark estimate is to figure what the high end of charges would be for what you want to do -- say, cover charge and bottle service -- then tack on another 20-40 percent.
If you do decide to go the VIP hosting route, Red Carpet VIP is reputable company we feel safe recommending.
sam said:
Hi Steve, Which company will be the best to get us a VIP table at a top club with bottle service and no waiting in long ques for eg in marquee xs tao or tryst on the 2nd of july and roughly how much would it be.
There are so many agents online but we don't know which one to trust.
I know it will cost a packet but if you could give me an idea it will be great.
Steve the Texan said:
Your question about religious headwear is a tough one, Sam. Most Strip clubs have dress codes that prohibit casual headwear, but that's usually meant to bar baseball caps and the like. More than likely it's going to come down to whether or not the door staff feels like letting you in, plain and simple. Turbans and such are very much a gray area. Keep in mind that it's often difficult for a group of guys to get into clubs under any circumstances.
I'm sad to say there's no guarantee your group will not encounter some unpleasantness. It's unlikely, but not out of the question. While just about everyone goes to Vegas to have a good time those very same people sometimes act terribly once several hours worth of alcohol kicks in.
On a brighter note, the summer pool party scene will be in full gear by the time you arrive and you're also staying at a hotel with an outstanding nightclub. A visit to The Bank at Bellagio should be on your list, and I wouldn't worry about ages. While Vegas clubs, like those anywhere, do tend to skew toward 20s and early 30, there's a broad range of ages.
Sam said:
Hi, Not your typical Q but what are the rules about Bandana's / turbans.
Would we be asked to take them off or do the ppl there understand that they are a religous requirement and we cannot take them off.
Have you heard about any bad experinces.
your comment will be much appreciated.
Sam said:
Hi, There are 5 of us coming to Vegas in june for my friends 35th birhday. we are stopping at the Bellagio but want to make the most of our stay by going to the best clubs n pool parties.
where would you suggest and how can we make sure we get into the best places.
Also where will we find ladies our age :-)