Which Vegas Resorts for Young Crowds?
During high season (basically from June onwards), many resorts offer plenty of amenities for young crowds, and are ‘filled’ with young crowds, midweek and of course during weekends. However, there are some Vegas resorts which seem to be specifically targeting young crowds or, at least, seem to be attracting younger crowds. These are on both side of the financial spectrum (budget and high-end).
Currently these seem to be: starting from the very South Strip, Mandalay Bay now offers an interesting mix of people; plenty of families (attracted by the wave pool and the lazy river) but also young crowds populating its popular beach clubs (one of which is a top-optional club). We have videos of both the beautiful standard rooms and the beautiful pool areas of Mandalay Bay (and also other areas of this Vegas resort).
SLS – Definitely the perfect place for a ‘heavy’ party atmosphere. Their Foxtail Pool Club attracts the wildest crowds we have ever seen, especially during the weekend. Its location is not ideal since it’s North Strip, but the resort itself is such a young-partiers’ attraction spot that you may not need to leave! We have a full walk-through of SLS Vegas resort on our Vegas video channel (check the list and you’ll see it among the more recent videos).
Hard Rock – Yes, you must love Rock and Pop & Rock Stars Memorabilia, but during the weekend we have never seen a wilder scene among young music lovers, with concerts ranging from heavy metal to rock. You can enjoy its HRH upscale tower or the more affordable towers off the ‘wilder’ area of the casino. We have a video walk-through of the Hard Rock resort which should give you a clear idea of what we mean!
MGM Grand has – in the last few years – shifted from family-oriented to young-crowds magnet; it’s modern and elegant yet good quality through and through; its rooms are beautiful and spacious, and of good quality. It’s slick, it houses the famous, huge, Hakkasan club; it has a family pool but also an adult pool (for swimmers) and a sports-play pool, where young crowds can play and have fun. We have highlighted this onur new MGM Grand Pools video. You can never go wrong with MGM Grand; it’s a quality resort hosting huge, popular events. The only ‘downside’ is that it’s huge (so it does take a while to walk to the various areas) and the location is not mid Strip, if that is an issue for you. But, if you are fit, it’s a ‘do-able’ distance to City Center and Bellagio, though you should probably keep walking to Mirage and Venetian (but difficult to do on hot summer days), both well worth going to.
Cosmopolitan is trendy and ‘chic’ at the same time; great for young Vegas visitors who are not on a budget: it houses the very popular club ‘Marquee’ and it’s exquisitely decorated (modern yet mildly themed) for young trendy visitors.
Planet Hollywood tries to attract young crowds too with its theme; it succeeds somewhat (there are definitely young people at this Vegas resort) and it’s a bit more affordable (at least usually) than the previous two. However, it does not offer the range and quality of amenities (such as the pool areas) nor the quality of rooms that MGM Grand or Mandalay Bay offer. You can view our walk-through video of Planet Hollywood (click on the underlined words to access the video).
Mirage, in the upper mid-Strip area, facing Venetian, is ideal if you want a stunning tropical pool with a large mix of visitors yet proximity to a party beach club (Bare), which will certainly meet the needs of young partiers. However, Mirage is truly a the resort which meets most people’s needs, a bit like MGM Grand, though its rooms are smaller and noisier, due to the absence of a foyer area. It faces Venetian thus it’s a great location for those wanting to go to the famous Tao nightclub. We have a video of a standard Mirage room and a dedicated section on our best pools in Vegas page.
The new Linq resort offers reasonably affordable rooms which are of passable quality; the atmosphere is striving to please young party crowds with little expectations on amenities and real ‘quality’. It looks nice, but the Linq is essentially still the outcome of a superficial face-lift over an old resort (with old fixtures such as air conditioning). Some areas are still in need of remodeling and I suspect it’s still work in progress, less and less so. The superficial hip-and-young look cannot substitute for quality fixtures and fittings for those seeking ‘quality’, but it will probably be good enough for any young visitor seeking ‘outside fun’ and seeking modern and fun -looking bars in the casino areas. Families or groups wanting to stay next door to the High-Roller (the Ferris Wheel in Vegas) will also find this resort convenient.
Flamingo is one of the remaining budget choices in the heart of the Strip. It’s a mix and mis-match type of resort, with a huge array of rooms oddly laid-out in what still looks like a raised military camp, style-less structure, with a cheap-looking (and sounding) casino. It’s atmosphere is ‘cheap and cheerful’ most of the time and it still attracts a large number of guests/patrons (from hard-core, middle aged and senior gamblers to young and drunk). You can find modern looking rooms here (but watch the noise in some of them) albeit not done in the most ‘quality’ way. But, because of the location, if you are young on a budget it’s definitely an option, since it’s likely that you won’t care for the lack of ‘real quality’ that generally pervades this resort. For details, point your mouse or arrow to our section titled ‘Which Vegas Hotel?’ (in our 2nd menu section, on the left of the page, or at the bottom if you are using a small device): it has many sub-pages (which will appear once you point your arrow to it) and 2 of them talk in detail about Flamingo.
In downtown Vegas you’ll find plenty of affordable options and, if you have a very tight budget, the free entertainment provided by Fremont Street seems to attract many young crowds trying to have fun on the cheap. From the bar-themed D Hotel to the large Plaza and the small Golden Gate (very small yet remodeled and right on Fremont Street, not a resort but an affordable yet nice place to stay in the middle of the – very loud – action). The D hotel and the Plaza have dedicated pages (so click on their titles); for the other downtown options, we have a dedicated section on affordable downtown Vegas hotels.
Don’t forget to check our section ‘Best of Vegas‘ (best pools, best clubs, etc) and How to do Anything in Vegas, including how to get free rooms.
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