Las Vegas, Nevada, USA at the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign at dusk
Hotels

The Best Bang-For-Your-Buck Hotels in Las Vegas

The Bellagio, the Four Seasons, and the Waldorf Astoria are grand and all, but if you ask us, you don’t have to fork over a jackpot of your savings to have a baller time in Vegas. We scoured the city for the hotels that give you the best value for your money. More to spend at the slots, you say? Count us in.

Senior Editor, Jetsetter | @lindseytravels | lindseytravels.com

See recent posts by Lindsey Olander

Sahara Las Vegas

Talk about returning to its roots: Vegas’s iconic Sahara Hotel closed in 2011, reopened in 2014 as a sleek SLS, and is back this year as the Sahara. Its short bout under SLS management means it got the swanky Philippe Starck treatment—think ornate chandeliers, platform beds, metallic everywhere—as well as some of its more recognized partner brands like Bazaar Meat (the restaurant remains and is still one of the city’s hottest tables), yet room rates right now remain appealingly low. The ones to book are in the World Tower—hip and functional, with mirrors everywhere.

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Excaliber Hotel & Casino

Kids aren’t the only ones having fun at this medieval castle on the Strip. Whether you’re here to channel King Arthur or Game of Thrones vibes, there’s enough kitsch here to go around: guests enter via a drawbridge, there’s a wedding chapel where attendees can rent period outfits, and the Medieval Village lined with restaurants and shops acts like a kind of permanent Renaissance Faire. If you have room to splurge, go for one of their Contemporary Tower rooms, which have newer (re: nicer) furniture and bathrooms. On the docket for the night? Take your pick from the Australian Bee Gees, girls-night-out-favorite Thunder from Down Under, the on-theme Tournament of Kings dinner show, or the casino, which, despite being loud and underwhelming, still holds the record for paying out the biggest slot machine jackpot ($39.7 million) in Vegas history.

The Cromwell Hotel Las Vegas

In a city of seemingly endless mega-resorts, this boutique stands out from the crowd. There are just 188 rooms tricked out with industrial overhead lights, distressed hardwood floors, and luggage-inspired nightstands, and what it lacks in space it makes up for with standout amenities. There’s a restaurant by celeb chef Giada De Laurentiis, one of LV’s most sophisticated cocktail bars, and a two-level club surrounding one of the few rooftop pools on the Strip. By day, swimsuits are the dress code for lounging on the fuchsia banquettes and taking shade beneath the palm trees on the pool deck; by night, guests head inside for dancing and debauchery under disco balls and strobe lights.

Circus Circus Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

If you’re dead-set on bringing the kids to Vegas, you might as well go all in. Circus Circus is as cheesy as it is cheap but, when it comes to pleasing a wide range of age groups, it’s your best bet. The place is enormous—almost 4,000 rooms spread out among three towers, a low-rise motor lodge, and even empty lots in the Strip’s lone RV park—and the exceedingly low rate to stay here means nothing is brand new or even close to chic. We doubt the little ones will mind, though, especially when you’re all too busy enjoying all the on-site carnival games, performers (we’re talking everything from trapeze artists to magicians), and rides at Adventuredome, one of America’s largest indoor theme parks. Food options are also standard and nothing to write home about (pizza, sandwiches, a buffet), but The Steakhouse is a solid choice for a fancier night out.

Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel & Casino

Vegas wouldn’t be Vegas without the Flamingo. Originally in 1946 by American mobster Bugsy Siegel, it’s one of the oldest, still-surviving resorts on the strip. Just look at that pink neon sign, a relic of its Rat Pack years, whose light still streams into the FAB and GO Wing rooms—the latter of which throws it back with their black-and-white Vegas photography, striped wallpaper, and vinyl padded headboards. It’s as retro as ever, and the pool area (five pools in all) is still cool. Spread out across 15 acres, it features lagoons, streams, waterfalls, and a wildlife habitat that includes Flamingo Island, where flocks of its namesake bask in the sun.

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The LINQ Hotel + Experience

At the Linq Hotel, a $223 million revamp of the former Quad, guest rooms may be small but pack in as much style as they can with their colorful street art–inspired murals, modern treats like iPad/iPhone docks and LED TVs, and, if you’re lucky, views of the striking High Roller Ferris wheel. Just don’t confuse it with the connecting LINQ Promenade, where 12 restaurants, eight bars, 14 shops, and two concert venues connect it with the neighboring Flamingo hotel. A mostly young crowd congregates here to take advantage of the (albeit a tad pricier) Bunk Bed Rooms and Poolside Cabana rooms, which feature direct patio access to the 21-and-over pool, and fun-loving bar O’Sheas—home to beer pong tournaments, table games, and signature Irish margaritas.

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