The Bellagio
What's so special?
If you would rather be in the midst of things, then you can't get a more central location than the Bellagio in the middle of the Strip, which has featured in various Vegas films, including the George Clooney remake of Ocean's Eleven. But while it is right at the heart of the action, it escapes the worst of the noise and bustle as it sits behind its world-famous fountains.
How they rate it
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"Don't get the wrong idea about the Bellagio just because it has appeared in a host of films: it's not all glitzy surface and no style," says Tim Jepson in The Daily Telegraph. "There's the obligatory big casino, of course, and it has plenty of the ostentation you'd expect in Las Vegas, but it is also a sleek, well-run and well-presented hotel." Entry-level Resort Rooms are "pleasingly contemporary", while the Tower Rooms "offer the best city and desert views".
The menu
There are around a dozen places to eat, "covering a wide culinary spectrum and with well-defined formal and informal options: the food and atmosphere in Picasso and Le Cirque is predictably sophisticatedbut the less stuffy Michael Mina is a standout".
The cost
Prices start from $169 for a double room. For more information, visitbellagio.com, or call 00 1 888 987 6667.
SLS Las Vegas
What's so special?
The SLS's location isn't perfect it's at the northern end of the Strip, surrounded by shopping centres and abandoned hotels. But it's worth the sacrifice. The SLS offers a far more pleasant Las Vegas experience than its rivals. And it has its own monorail stop, so it is easy to get to both the central Strip and the airport.
How they rate it
"To be revolutionary in a city like Vegas you have to go back to basics," says Julia Buckley in The Independent. The SLS is located in the old Sahara "an iconic Rat Pack hang-out". Unlike others who "create labyrinthine casinos, doing away with clocks and natural light to disorient their clientele into gambling the hours away", the SLS has glass walls onto a pool area, a wall of clocks and a beer garden.
"The Philippe Starck-designed bedrooms are unlike anything the Strip has ever seen", with exposed concrete ceilings in one tower, dip-dye effect walls in another and trompe-l'oeil stucco and Louis XIV-era cameos in another.
The menu
The main restaurant, Cleo, is Mediterranean. The other seven eateries offer everything from pizza to dim sum.
The cost
Doubles from $122, including breakfast. (Visit slslasvegas.com; call 00 1 702 761 7757).
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