Exquisite, opulent, magnificent—these descriptions convey Bellagio's appeal to discriminating world travelers who wish to vacation like royalty. Adult-oriented, Bellagio bars non-hotel guests under 18 after dark and permits strollers only for the children of hotel guests.

• Located directly on the Las Vegas Strip, this high-rise hotel is adjacent to the shops, Shark Reef, and casino at Mandalay Bay.
• Guestrooms feature executive writing desks, TVs with premium cable channels and VCRs, and multi-line phones with voice mail.
• Those traveling on business can access the business center and complimentary wireless Internet access in public areas.

This Mediterranean-inspired hotel is located on the shores of a pristine lake, with 10 miles of quiet desert shoreline. The Ritz-Carlton offers personalized service, sunset views, and daily activity programs, attracting families and couples from around the world. Old-world charm pervades Italian gardens, ornate bridges, vine-covered balconies, waterside promenades, and romantic trellises.

Created by hotel impresario Steve Wynn, this lavish, $2.7-billion resort opened in spring 2005. The curved building, sheathed in bronze-tinted glass, stands like a beacon at the northern end of the Las Vegas Strip. A pine-covered artificial mountain with shimmering waterfalls rises at the entrance. The light-filled lobby is a floral fantasy, brimming with spheres of colorful blooms. Parasols suspended from the ceiling dance up and down in time to music.

After reducing a previous hotel to a shell and then rebuilding it, this property reopened, offering contemporary-style lodging for business and vacation travelers seeking easy access to Strip attractions.

Set back from the street behind formal gardens and accessible by a moving sidewalk through a cylindrical structure flanked by water flowing into ponds, the 2,814-room hotel presents a sleek art-deco appearance with glass towers accented by blue-and-white masonry. This hotel offers a traditional Las Vegas experience of stage shows, lounge entertainment, steakhouse, and low-cost buffet.

Billing itself as "The City of Entertainment," MGM Grand, indeed, resembles a teeming city where thousands of guests and staff converge—and the entertainment never stops. Clad in emerald-green glass and guarded by a 45-foot-tall lion (the largest bronze statue in the United States), the hotel draws families and couples from around the world.

In 1946, Bugsy Siegal overcame fellow mobsters' scorn for opening a hotel-casino in the desert, and every male employee at the Flamingo wore a tuxedo. The Mob, the glamour, and the original hotel are long gone. Only the Flamingo name (a nickname of Siegal's red-haired, long-legged girlfriend Virginia Hill) remains. Today, the Flamingo Las Vegas still appeals to non-stop partiers looking for a good time.

Atrium Suites is a half-mile from The Strip and offers business travelers a quiet headquarters for meetings. The tranquil lobby, with open atrium, modern art, and waterfall, is more conducive to a quiet discussion than a late-night party.

Rebuilt in 2000 and themed after several stories from the “Arabian Nights,” the Aladdin Resort and Casino offers gourmet restaurants, shopping at Desert Passage, and an abundance of entertainment. Plans are underway for further transformation into the Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino in 2006. Above the main casino, the upscale London Club offers a posh ambience of evening-dress dealers, plush seating, and high-limit tables.