Loving Las Vegas Pools

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The weather is turning cool here in Toronto and I’m thinking of Vegas. I’m thinking of it with a slot-machine-sized bucket of regret. Why? Because I was invited for a Las Vegas Pools and Spas press trip there earlier this summer and I had to turn it down! Yes, I turned down a trip to Las Vegas, with an itinerary full of spa treatments and lie-by-the-pool strenuous activities. Sob.

Swimming Bellagio style

But you can’t do all the trips you’re invited on. Sometimes it’s due to time constrictions, or you don’t have the right outlet for the story or you’re committed to going somewhere else, but as I contemplate pulling out leather gloves from my box of winter storage, I’m thinking regrettfully of those Las Vegas pools.

A pool is no longer just a pool

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but hotel swimming pools have turned into nightclubs. I first saw this at The Cove Atlantis in the Bahamas a few years ago, where the leopard-print-bikini and cocktails-in-the-pool scene was hypnotizing. Until then, I’d thought that you went to the pool for two reasons: to put on sunglasses, lie down and read a book, or to swim. I was wrong.

Poolside at MGM

One one hand, the party at the pool culture seems like a good idea because you can live it up and still get to bed by 10 p.m. (Why do I think the party pool scene is not meant for people such as I?). On the other hand, the thought of doing any socializing in a bikini whatsoever fills me with dread.

Dayclubbing at Las Vegas Pools

Las Vegas has a huge dayclubbing pool scene, and whether you want to avoid these splashy bashes or seek them out here are a few tips:

Where to Dayclub. Ye olde standby, the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, has been rocking the pool party scene for 10 years now, which is hard (Get it? Hard?) to believe. From what I’ve seen, the buff and beautiful gravitate to the sleek  Cosmopolitan Hotel (I love the Cosmo’s spa by the way) and the Aria pool scene seems happening and elite.

The cosmopolitan at the Cosmopolitan

Pools close! Many Las Vegas pools shutter up around mid October, depending on the weather, and you’ll have to live it up the traditional way, inside, at night, in the dark, in a room lit only by neon – where everything is make believe and you can pretend that you do look fantastic in a bikini.

Some pools are open year round. The Bellagio, for one, has pools available year round, as does Aria, and okay – I’ve heard  Hooters stays open, too.

Quiet pools still exist! Yes, and how blissful they are. Caesars Palace has six pools that they collectively call (and I’m not making this up) the Garden of the Gods Pool Oasis where, among the pillars and Greek-inspired sculptures, you’re sure to find some spot for tranquility – try the secluded the Jupiter Pool.

Poolside at Caesar’s

Speaking of quiet, my all time favourite for a Vegas pool has to be the Bellagio: five courtyards, cypress and olive trees, a laid-back Mediterranean atmosphere and blue tiled pools that look … good enough to drink. And we all know that in Las Vegas, having at least one drink is a key requirement of a stay.