5 Best Hotels in Downtown, Las Vegas

Downtown's newest big hoo-hah comes from Downtown's newest big pooh-bahs—the brothers Stevens, owners Derek and Greg—and provided a major boost to the Vegas aesthetic when it opened in 2020; it's also the first Downtown hotel built from the ground up since the 1980s. Since Vegas is all about superlatives, Circa is the latest raise in the Vegas hotel poker game, offering 777 rooms in its hotel tower; a two-story casino; a three-story sports book; six bar/lounges; five restaurants; a "stadium-style" six-tier pool, including swim-up bars and a 135-foot-high screen for televised sports events; and a "Garage Mahal" parking structure. The only thing not allowed here (besides kids) is the modest old expression, "Less is More."

The "D" may be for eccentric owner Derek Stevens—or perhaps "Downtown"—but the 34-story resort has established itself in recent years as the liveliest of the Downtown hotels. The casino floor even has an obtuse Detroit theme (another possible "D"), with Zingerman's coffee available at the coffee shop on the casino floor. Rooms here are small but modern and functional with bold colors. The modest pool pales in comparison to those at Strip resorts, but the on-site steak house, Andiamo, is a favorite of locals who have traveled downtown for years. Every summer, the hotel sponsors live music concerts on Fremont Street out front.

The venerable Lady Luck, built in 1964, was reimagined as the Downtown Grand in 2013 and is characterized by industrial-chic decor in its public spaces and surprising modern and affordable rooms; it was greatly expanded in 2020, now boasting a "grand" total of 1,124 rooms. A new 495-room tower has added three 1,500-square-foot penthouse suites, as well as 47 studios and 20 one-bedroom suites, among other offerings. Also new is 1,500 square feet of workout space, and rooms equipped with pillowtop mattresses, foam pillows, high thread-count linens, and up to 55-inch flat screen TVs. Regular rooms are small, but much of the time you can score a standard room for half the rack rate. The pool area, the Citrus Grand Pool Deck, spans 35,000 square feet, making it the biggest pool area downtown and one of Las Vegas's best pools. In addition to pools and a grassy lounging area, there are a variety of games for guests to play as they unwind. The hotel is home to a handful of excellent restaurants, including Pizza Rock and the Triple George Grill.

Named after former owner Ben Goffstein's four daughters, the circa-1966 Four Queens is what Vegas regulars would consider an "oldie but goodie," one of the most familiar casinos on Fremont Street. It also happens to be incredibly popular among Hawaiian visitors (largely because of the whole "queen" theme). Standard rooms were last remodeled back in 2008, so they're getting a bit stale. Still, for the price, the place is a reliable option. The main attraction at the "Queens" is Hugo's Cellar, an old-school steak house with a stellar wine list and carts on which servers make salads and flambé bananas Foster. The casino is pretty neat, too, featuring one of the world's largest slot machines, $3 blackjack, and dealers who look like they've been there forever. Here's a quirk: Four Queens guests have to use Binion's pool, which is down the block.

It's worth a visit to this pint-size property for the Victorian-era aesthetics alone, displaying stained glass, marble, and an antiques collection that includes Buffalo Bill Cody's private railcar, a fireplace from Scotland's Preswick Castle, and lamps that graced the streets of 18th-century Brussels. The rooms at Main Street are some of the nicest Downtown, and they're usually available at rock-bottom prices. Guests have access to the pool at the adjacent California Hotel.