These 10 Vegas Hotels Need a Makeover — ASAP!

When it opened in 1993, the pyramid hotel at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip was an oddity that visitors to Vegas would go out of their way to behold. Since then, literally dozens of new casino resorts have sprouted, and Luxor Las Vegas has become (pardon the pun) a bit of a relic. About half of the property’s 4,400 rooms were renovated as recently as 2021—surprisingly recently considering how nondescript they are. Perhaps the resort’s biggest shortcomings are in the lifts; instead of elevators, the pyramid has “inclinators” that ride up the corners. These unique people movers are in desperate need of an upgrade; it’s not unusual for several of them to be slow or completely out-of-service at any given time. Two twin towers were added to the hotel in 1996; rooms here are called “premier” and are considered more modern and comfortable than their pyramid counterparts.

There was a time in the late 2010s when Planet Hollywood—the former Aladdin, for those of you scoring at home—was the hottest resort in Las Vegas. A comprehensive renovation that concluded in 2017 spruced up all 2,496 rooms and modernized public spaces in a way that seemed to celebrate the sophistication of old Hollywood. Most accommodations have not changed much in the last decade, except for a refresh to some of the largest suites. Perhaps the biggest disappointment at Planet Hollywood is in the Miracle Mile Shops, the mall attached to the resort. The mall spent big bucks modernizing the hallways closest to Las Vegas Boulevard, but many of the hallways toward the back still have the Moroccan motif from when the property was the Aladdin. If you didn’t know the hotel’s history, you’d be utterly confused.

The good news: nearly 2,000 rooms in the castle’s Resort Tower at Excalibur were “refreshed” with hand-me-down furniture from MGM Grand in 2024 and 2025. The bad news: more than 2,000 rooms in the Royal Tower haven’t been refurbished since 2017, making them some of the oldest rooms on the entire Las Vegas Strip. This dichotomy means that guests are gambling even before they set foot onto the casino floor. The pool is another area of this resort that can use some attention; while the property is one of the few on the Strip with a water slide, the bulk of the pool deck is a barren wasteland of tan-painted concrete that gets scorching hot in the heat of the desert sun. (Our suggestion: Definitely bring flip-flops.) Excalibur’s medieval-themed “Tournament of Kings” dinner theater is still worth seeing; you might just want to consider staying somewhere else.

This iconic hotel is tucked between the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Bellagio on the west side of Las Vegas Boulevard; technically, the Cosmopolitan was built around it. Locals call it the “JC,” and most of the hotel’s 348 one- and two-bedroom suites are in a timeshare program, which means there are rarely more than a few dozen available for independent nightly bookings. The rooms you can book feel as if they exist in this magical universe where time has stood still since the early 1980s. The rooms are huge, and all accommodations come standard with living areas and full kitchens. Most rooms also have dark wood furniture, pale-painted walls, and appliances like the ones you probably remember from your grandma’s house. What you gain in convenience by booking at the Jockey Club, you give up in style and amenities. Hey, at least there’s a rooftop pool.

From Las Vegas Boulevard, the hotel formerly known as Bally’s Las Vegas looks as if it comprises two towers—one overlooking the Fountains at Bellagio and the other set back to the east. In 2024, the structure closer to the Strip was renovated, rebranded as the Versailles Tower, and officially subsumed by Paris Las Vegas next door. The other tower, the Resort Tower, is still waiting for its moment to shine. Records indicate the last renovation of rooms in this tower was in 2018, which explains why the accommodations are in desperate need of some love (think worn furniture, nicked baseboards and corners, and bathrooms that show their age). Perhaps the only positives of Resort Tower rooms are the spaciousness and the kitsch factor; both conspire to evoke the city’s glory days of yesteryear.

Smack dab in the center of the Las Vegas Strip, in the shadow of the High Roller observation wheel, the LINQ has some of the best real estate in town. Sadly, however, room renovations have been a relative afterthought, and accommodations haven’t received any serious attention since the property transitioned from The Quad and the Imperial Palace in 2015. Paint is chipping in many bathrooms. Walls are stained in spots. Window curtains are falling apart. The pool area is not much better; on busy summer days, the no-frills pool deck is packed, and the pool itself can look like a human stew. These outdated living spaces are a stark counterpoint to the casino floor, which continues to look brand new. Other exceptions: New concepts such as rooms with bunk beds and rooms with patios overlooking the pool.

The original Sahara Las Vegas opened in 1952. Like many Las Vegas hotels, the new SAHARA has renovated each of its three towers at different times over the last decade, meaning some rooms are newer and nicer than others. The best of the bunch can be found in the Marra Tower, with high ceilings, marble accents, and automated blackout drapes; and the Alexandria Tower, the hotel’s Philippe Starck-designed AAA Four Diamond wing. The most depressing options are in the Blanca Tower, which hasn’t changed much since a pre-pandemic push for bright and minimalist vibes. The complaint here isn’t a lack of options, but instead a lack of consistency—depending on where you booked, you’ll either have a fancy room or a middling one. What SAHARA can use more than anything is a makeover that unifies the experience across the board.