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Best pools on the strip?

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blkshirt

blkshirt

High-Roller
Joined
Oct 24, 2016
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654
Location
Cleveland
Trips to Las Vegas
17
So as I've stated on a few threads where I've had questions there's a group of us going to Vegas in June. Everybody is going to do their own thing so I'm not worried about staying where they stay, etc. But with a few of us, we looked at our CET offers and they are pretty nice in terms of comps. But we are all people who like to hang out at the pool and drink and relax. So does anybody have any experience with the pools in terms of how crowded, what's the scene like, drink service, etc... We aren't into the day club scene, we just want to relax and drink. We would probably get a cabana.

The last time this group got together we did Flamingo (mainly because we were comped). We all had bad experiences there and thus, none of us will go back. The one thing that was a great thing was their pool. We all enjoyed it. That was the only positive.

So here's a list of places we are looking at right now. If you have any experiences or thoughts, I'd love to hear it.

Ballys - We can all get comped rooms here and a lot of people in a previous thread say "take the comp room!" However, looking on Google Earth, the pool doesn't seem too impressive.

Paris - Same as Bally's, all of us can get comped, or very cheap rooms here. Pool doesn't seem anything spectacular other than it's a big pool.

Planet Hollywood - This one is probably the most intriguing to us as it appears there are two different pools there. We asked to take a look at it but somebody said it was having some work done on it. Nobody is comped at PH, but the wife and I stayed there for New Years and enjoyed it. We would stay there again.

Caesars Palace - Nobody can get comps here but obviously it's Caesars. Not sure if it is worth it or not. One of the guys stayed here for our wedding almost 5 years ago and said "Meh". My personal opinion is that it is cool, I do enjoy going there but damn it is always crowded.

Cosmopolitan - I'm still waiting to hear back from our host on what she can do and this is the place I want to stay, but it all comes down to cost on the room. Boulevard Pool looks awesome, I think I went out and saw it one time but the wife had a broken leg. We went to Marquee one trip as well at Easter and that was cool (A friend from High School is a promoter there and she hooked us up) but I don't think that fits into this crowd.

Aria - None of us are big MGM players as we don't have any MGM connections in Cleveland. We don't have any CET anymore either now that the Horseshoe has turned into "The Jack" which means "Jack Shit for comps in Vegas now".

Mirage - Same as Aria, nothing special here...

Mandalay Bay is a little too far away from Center Strip where we will do our damage. We know the pool is awesome there, my wife and I got married there.

Thanks!
 
Both pools at Bally's and Paris are great for lying out...baking in the sun...sipping cocktails and cooling off. We were at Bally's last July and it wasn't body-on-body crowded. Then again, we were down there when it opened and stayed until mid afternoon. Hey...it's a pool with drink service and if you don't want to mingle with the great unwashed, you can always rent a cabana. What constitutes an 'impressive pool'? It's not some faux lagoon, but big enough to keep the adults over here and the kids over there.
 
We love Planet Hollywood but are not huge pool people. The pool is on a big concrete area with loud music (love loud classic rock so loud is not bad), there are a couple of pools, a flo-rider, a bar area, and it is an a good place to get sun. Not the greatest but not the worst we have seen.................Rick
 
deansrobinson said:
Both pools at Bally's and Paris are great for lying out...baking in the sun...sipping cocktails and cooling off. We were at Bally's last July and it wasn't body-on-body crowded. Then again, we were down there when it opened and stayed until mid afternoon. Hey...it's a pool with drink service and if you don't want to mingle with the great unwashed, you can always rent a cabana. What constitutes an 'impressive pool'? It's not some faux lagoon, but big enough to keep the adults over here and the kids over there.
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Flamingo was impressive. Just different and lots of different areas to be.

Odds are a small group of us will rent a cabana. This is a group of teachers going out so being with a ton of kids isn't high on the priority list! :beer:
 
rgrif57 said:
We love Planet Hollywood but are not huge pool people. The pool is on a big concrete area with loud music (love loud classic rock so loud is not bad), there are a couple of pools, a flo-rider, a bar area, and it is an a good place to get sun. Not the greatest but not the worst we have seen.................Rick
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Thanks!!!!
 
My favorite pools in Vegas are MGM and Mandalay followed by Aria and then Mirage. I know these don't meet the CET wishlist. I use to lean CET with horseshoe in Cincinnati but have switched.

MGM and Mandalay have amazing lazy rivers and atmospher. MGM also has Food and beverage minimum cabanas which is a great deal IMO (especially since you guys will drink). Basically cabana is free pay for food and beverage by spending several hundred. Great for a group.

Mandalay has the relaxing lazy river, good pools and amazing beach. Casino and bar right there. Aria is more upscale and relaxing not necessarily as unique. I found mirage to be a great hangout pool last trip.

Good luck!
 
deansrobinson said:
Both pools at Bally's and Paris are great for lying out...baking in the sun...sipping cocktails and cooling off. We were at Bally's last July and it wasn't body-on-body crowded. Then again, we were down there when it opened and stayed until mid afternoon. Hey...it's a pool with drink service and if you don't want to mingle with the great unwashed, you can always rent a cabana. What constitutes an 'impressive pool'? It's not some faux lagoon, but big enough to keep the adults over here and the kids over there.
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...the great unwashed... LMAO!
 
the pool at the Flamingo is lovely, but too crowded. some sun, some shade, you have to get there way early to get a chair. if you are getting a cabana, then maybe that wont be an issue.
 
JeJas said:
If you exclude Mandalay Bay and Flamingo, then there is no pool worthy mentioning.
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Flamingo I threw out because of our past experience there, again not with the pool itself, just the property. Elevators that didn't work, Timeshare people hounding you all the time, Non-Smoking rooms that hadn't been cleaned properly from being smoked in, etc...

Mandalay Bay, while also awesome, just isn't in the part of the strip where any of us want to be. That's why I mentioned the more center strip properties more than anything...
 
blkshirt said:
We aren't into the day club scene, we just want to relax and drink. We would probably get a cabana.
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Aria, followed (fairly distantly) by Paris. (Of the properties you mention, we've stayed at Aria, Paris, Bally's, and Planet Hollywood.)

Every summer trip, we spend an hour or two hanging out in a pool chair at Aria (in the shade), having pastries and coffee, maybe reading the newspaper. It's pretty quiet and relaxing. I think things get livelier later in the day, but it's not a "scene," as far as I know.

When I'm on a guys trip with my dad, he swims at the Paris pool every morning. Other than the coolness factor of swimming under the Eiffel Tower, it's pretty generic, but not unpleasant.
 
Of the ones you've listed, I've stayed at MGM, Caesars, Planet Hollywood, Mirage, and Flamingo. My group typically spends at least 6 or 7 hours a day at the pool in July/August when we go. I live in Ohio as well so I feel your need for a good pool experience.

MGM- like the rest of the property, huge. I enjoyed the pool but MGMs location does it in for me.

Flamingo- I was there in April so it wasn't very busy and the weather wasn't totally ideal.

Mirage- beautiful and has a ton of space and a nice tropical theme. Wasn't as much drinking/partying going on around us as I would've liked.

Caesars- massive pool area with a bunch of stuff going on. It's pretty much a concrete palace so a big difference from the Mirage in that regard.

Planet Hollywood- it has its detractors as the physical pool area is pretty bland, but I love the place. It's up on the 6th floor and sits "over" the strip so you get a cool view of Cosmo, Aria, Paris, etc. There's always a decent amount of drinking/partying going on despite it not being a day club or whatever.

As a disclaimer, I'm a male in my late 20s so I certainly fit into the PH clientele more than any other. Since you said you've already eliminated Flamingo, I think you'd have a good time at any of the others. If it were me, I'd go with PH or Caesars.
 
Well it appears that you're writing off the Mlife properties because you don't get comped. All of the best pools IMO (besides Wynncore) are at MGM properties.


If you're going to pay for a room then I would say that Mirage or MGM are probably your best bang for your buck as far as pools go since MB is out based on location.

If you're adamant about going the CET route, throw out Caesars and PH since you're not getting comped and if paying then I would do the aforementioned Mlife properties. Bally's and Paris are about a push IMO. Nothing special at either one. Flamingo actually has a better pool than either property, but the rooms aren't as nice.

Of course these are all based off pool only, and depending on the pool experience you're going for (relaxed, party, a little of both) one may be better than another. Also should take into account whether you want a cabana or just regular use of the pool as well...
 
Planet Hollywood pool is bad choice if you are big on a good pool. It'll certainly do to get your feet wet but it's definitely in the bottom half in terms of ranking.

Mirage and MGM are probably the too best "bang for your buck" options as far as hotels with good pools go. There is nothing out there better for the same money.

If you care about budget though, I doubt staying at Bally's or Paris would suck. Oyster is a good website for checking out pool areas. Sometimes it can be hard to judge just from a satellite map.

For example, Downtown Grand looks like a tiny little pool area from space but in person you realize that the lack of crowds and lots of space to spread out make up for the relatively small facility. Compare that to the Golden Nugget where they've got a much more elaborate space but they've got you stacked elbow to elbow.
 
OhioStateAlum said:
Of the ones you've listed, I've stayed at MGM, Caesars, Planet Hollywood, Mirage, and Flamingo. My group typically spends at least 6 or 7 hours a day at the pool in July/August when we go. I live in Ohio as well so I feel your need for a good pool experience.

MGM- like the rest of the property, huge. I enjoyed the pool but MGMs location does it in for me.

Flamingo- I was there in April so it wasn't very busy and the weather wasn't totally ideal.

Mirage- beautiful and has a ton of space and a nice tropical theme. Wasn't as much drinking/partying going on around us as I would've liked.

Caesars- massive pool area with a bunch of stuff going on. It's pretty much a concrete palace so a big difference from the Mirage in that regard.

Planet Hollywood- it has its detractors as the physical pool area is pretty bland, but I love the place. It's up on the 6th floor and sits "over" the strip so you get a cool view of Cosmo, Aria, Paris, etc. There's always a decent amount of drinking/partying going on despite it not being a day club or whatever.

As a disclaimer, I'm a male in my late 20s so I certainly fit into the PH clientele more than any other. Since you said you've already eliminated Flamingo, I think you'd have a good time at any of the others. If it were me, I'd go with PH or Caesars.
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We are late 30's but we can party... Thanks for the heads up...
 
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