Luxor

Luxor sits at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, a few blocks below the heart of the resort corridor. Covered, air-conditioned walkways connect the property to both Excalibur and Mandalay Bay without a single step outdoors - the Excalibur walkway runs from the west tower, while the Mandalay Bay connection sits adjacent to the Luxor Theater. Mandalay Place, an upscale boutique mall, threads through that corridor and links the two resorts with shops and additional dining. Getting further up the Strip from Luxor generally means a rideshare or the Las Vegas Monorail system, as the walk to the center of the Strip is longer than it looks from the outside.

The Oasis Pool covers five acres and holds four separate pools plus a whirlpool and 12 private cabanas - the actual water surface runs to around 19,000 square feet, which puts it well ahead of the compact splash zones common at boutique Strip properties. Note that the pool closes seasonally in the cooler months.

The Nurture Spa offers massages ranging from prenatal to athlete-specific, customised facials, and a full salon covering hair, nails, waxing, and makeup. A fitness center is also on site. The casino runs blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, Pai Gow poker, slots, video poker, and Megabucks, with a dedicated non-smoking race and sports book that seats 110 and is lined with individual monitors.

The pyramid rooms come with one logistical quirk that's worth knowing before you arrive: the elevators here are inclinators, running at a 39-degree angle to match the slope of the building. Once you're inside the pyramid, the hallways open onto the atrium rather than facing an interior corridor wall, so rooms on higher floors look straight down into the casino floor far below. It's a genuinely unusual perspective. Rooms higher up also tend to be quieter, since they're further from the activity at the base.

The casino's sheer size means getting your bearings takes a lap or two. The building's footprint is a square, so if you feel turned around, find an outer wall and follow it - all the main restaurants and the check-in desk sit along the perimeter, and the casino occupies the center beneath the peak.