The Best Hotel in Center Strip, Las Vegas

The Center Strip is busy, conveniently located, and full of popular hotels and attractions. It stretches from CityCenter (an $8.5-billion city-within-a-city) and Planet Hollywood to The Mirage, including the Waldorf Astoria, The Cosmopolitan, Paris (and its half-size replica of the Eiffel Tower), Bally’s, The Cromwell, Caesars Palace (and the Nobu Hotel), the Flamingo, and Harrah’s along the way. Taken as a group, these properties represent some of the most storied on the Strip (Caesars Palace and the Flamingo) and the newer (The Cromwell).

The Center Strip also can be characterized by shopping. Lots and lots of shopping. The highest of the high-end stores are inside Crystals, the gateway to CityCenter. At Planet Hollywood, reputable brands dominate the Miracle Mile. Stores inside the astonishing Forum Shops, next to Caesars, fall somewhere in between. Outside Bally's, the Grand Bazaar Shops replicates an open-air mall. The Center Strip even is home to one of the largest Walgreens in the world. Another commonality among hotels here: great spas. Treatment options at the Waldorf Astoria, ARIA, The Cosmopolitan, and Caesars Palace could keep visitors busy (or is it relaxed?) for months. Some spas also offer hammams.

Rooms themselves in this area are all over the lot; some, like standard rooms at Bally’s, are affordable and bare-bones; others, such as those inside The Cosmopolitan, with balconies, make all others appear plebeian. It pays to shop around.