2024’s Best Bets in Las Vegas Hotels, Dining, Shows, and More

The massive scale of Las Vegas’ hospitality industry – bigger, better and often over-the-top – is thankfully in direct proportion to the innovation, creativity, and artistry exhibited by the near-constant evolution of tourism products here. And that’s a good thing for the roughly 40 million visitors the city will see in this calendar year, who are typically looking for the next big thing. These are the hospitality products that stood out from the crowd in 2024.

Best New Steakhouse – Peter Luger Steak House (Caesars Palace)

Over 135 years of experience in New York City has enabled Peter Luger’s management to hone in on what they do best: focus the menu on a small number of dishes that all remarkably achieve perfection. Luger’s Extra Thick, Sizzling Bacon and Sliced Tomatoes and Onions are surefire starters, and enjoying both with Luger’s Own Sauce is practically mandatory. The Porterhouse and Rib Steak both come on a platter sizzling with butter, best accompanied by Luger’s Special German Fried Potatoes and perfectly seasoned Creamed Spinach. Topping it all off with a slice of flown-in NY Cheesecake (the only kind) completes the ultimate steakhouse meal in Las Vegas. Professional, efficient service from waiters who can describe every menu item in intricate detail is an added plus. The 3-course Luger Power Lunch prix-fixe ($45.95; only available Wed.-Fri. and Sun., 11 a.m.-4 p.m.) provides an outstanding value on a sampler of menu favorites.

Best Cultural Activity – The Mob Museum

Downtown Las Vegas has undergone a renaissance in recent years, with trendy dining in the Fremont East district, popular galleries in the burgeoning Arts District, and new and renovated hotel products catering to an increasing variety of visitors. And central to the cultural hub of downtown is the Mob Museum, which presents an entertaining history of organized crime in America. Set in a former courthouse that served as the venue for some of the 1950s Kefauver Hearings into illegal interstate gambling, the Mob Museum’s exhibits creatively tell the story of how a group of ruthless-yet-visionary mobsters essentially invented the modern Las Vegas casino industry that exists today – albeit in a sanitized, corporate version. 

Best Room Refresh – Versailles Tower Balcony Room (Paris Las Vegas)

Hotel rooms are constantly being refurbished in Las Vegas, but the completely new accommodations in the Versailles Tower at Paris represent an extreme makeover – and a hotel tower exchange – that could only happen here. What was previously the Jubilee Tower at sister-property Horseshoe emerged after a $100 million renovation that rendered it unrecognizable from its previous incarnation – even adding balconies to 38 rooms. Bold pops of color inspired by the French flag predominate in a modern room and suite design that also features a roomy, tiled bathroom. And the recently opened pedestrian bridge connecting the new tower is just steps away from Paris’ front desk.

Best New Attraction – Swingers Crazy Golf (Mandalay Bay)

Las Vegas is all about reinvention. If something doesn’t work here, it gets yanked out and replaced with something that does. So when Light Nightclub closed at Mandalay Bay in 2022, the search was on for a tenant with enough appeal to invigorate the massive space. And based on a recent visit, the just-opened Swingers Crazy Golf is all that and more. The three-level venue is splayed out with four mini-golf courses, multiple bars and retro carnival games. Caddies deliver cocktails directly to the links, while a selection of street food eats satisfies hunger pangs. Meanwhile, the house DJ turns up the heat for the adults-only crowd, beckoning guests to swap the nightclub for the golf club at this alternative to Vegas nightlife that pulses with radiant energy.    

Best Poolside Cafe – Como Poolside Cafe & Bar (Bellagio)

No longer just convenient outlets for dispensing bland snacks and burgers, Vegas’ poolside cafes are stepping up their game with quality dishes that rival their indoor competition. And after a recent refresh that turned the patio into a lushly landscaped and beautifully furnished oasis, Como Poolside Cafe – which operates seasonally – now sports a menu that befits its luxe surroundings. Standout starters include prosciutto and a silky-smooth burrata, and a hamachi crudo that rivals top Japanese restaurants. But breakfast here (conveniently served until 3 p.m.) is defined by a stack of luscious Lemon-Blueberry Pancakes, drizzled with ricotta creme.

Best Immersive Experience – ARTE MUSEUM (63 CityCenter)

Innovative, creative minds often come calling to Las Vegas, and ARTE MUSEUM’s creators, South Korea-based district, have arrived with a winner in their first U.S. exhibition at 63 CityCenter, a new retail and commercial hub at the corner of Harmon Ave. and the Strip – just south of the Cosmopolitan. Despite living in an era when the phrase “immersive experience” is overworked to the point of exhaustion, ARTE MUSEUM’s exhibits provide us with a wondrous deep-dive into dreamlike scenarios, where all of our senses are engaged while admiring – and being fully immersed into – incredibly beautiful and mesmerizing experiences that celebrate nature.

Best New Show – DISCOSHOW (The LINQ Hotel)

When Spiegelworld first introduced its groundbreaking Absinthe production in a tent outside Caesars Palace in 2011, few could have predicted that the bawdy, circus-like show would become a cult favorite.  Follow-ups Opium and Atomic Saloon continued the irreverence, and now Discoshow has entered the scene as the latest iteration in Spiegelworld’s slightly perverse universe. Best described as an interactive, standing-room-only dance party where the actors/dancers are above, among and interspersed amid the crowd, DISCOSHOW is a high-energy, sweat-inducing, nonstop, kitschy throwback to the 1970s disco era.  The experience begins in a retro-themed living room environment, where roller-skating actors provide the perfect party-starter in this cross between a participatory experience and a traditional show.  

Best Happy Hour Meal Deal – Pizza Rock (Downtown Las Vegas)

Despite a plethora of good deals on happy-hour drinks all over Vegas, being able to make a substantial meal out of the discounted food items is less common. Thus, relatively few places can boast the quality combo that Pizza Rock offers between 3 and 6 p.m. Mon.-Thurs. A nice selection of wine, beer and specialty cocktails ($5-$9) provides the necessary lubrication, but it’s the selection of gourmet pizzas by World Champion Pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani that push this deal to the top of the pack. The menu of seven specialty pies – including the Cal Italia, featuring imported gorgonzola, sweet fig preserve and prosciutto – priced from $6.50-$8.50, make this the most satisfying of quality happy hours.

Best New Cocktail Lounge – Collins (Fontainebleau Las Vegas)

In keeping with the Fontainebleau’s glamorous, throwback aesthetic, the lobby-adjacent Collins bar features a combination of warm jewel tones, gold accents, moody lighting and crushed blue velvet upholstery that creates a warm, inviting environment as a welcome respite from Las Vegas’ excesses. While a pianist plays classic tunes at a relaxing volume level, patrons enjoy a full menu of classic highballs, in addition to more modern creations from the resort’s beverage team, like the signature J.S. Collins, a careful blend of Woodinville Bourbon, L.N. Mattei Cap Corse Blanc, lemon, miso honey, strawberry and Fever Tree Mediterranean tonic. And the rest of the well-thought-out cocktail program perfectly complements the sophisticated environment.