Owned by MGM Mirage, this Hawaiian-themed, 3,000 room hotel is as much an entertainment complex as a place to stay. Over 40 years ago it was known as Castaways. But it’s as up-to-the-minute fresh as any place in Vegas now. Inside the front entrance is a lush tropical rainforest housed under a 100-foot high dome, with 60-foot palm trees providing ‘shade’. Not far away are the lagoons where visitors can swim or walk among palm trees. With two pools and a series of cliffs where water streams down into grottos, it’s a man-made paradise. Step along and step up to the Paradise Cafe or the Dolphin Bar and sip a cool drink on a hot Vegas day.
If you’re feeling especially hot, or want to get that way, try the Bare pool area. A clothing-free environment, you can lounge away and observe the local beauty while sipping a drink from the bar. You’ll enjoy the sunshine au naturel as the dolphins swim only a few feet away. Connected to it is a Siegfried & Roy-sponsored animal attraction: the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat. The area is a carefully reconstructed tropical paradise. Here, a dozen species fly, crawl or swim continuously. The 2.5...