During the heat of the summer, Las Vegas visitors can cool off at one of dozens of pools located on the Las Vegas Strip. Like most things in the city, however, these aren’t necessarily your average urban swimming holes. Certainly, many hotels offer guests a chance to splash around in family-friendly pools, but Las Vegas is also home to several day clubs, which serve as a destination of sorts for some people.
Just as other cities have spring, summer, fall and winter, Las Vegas celebrates pool season. Usually beginning in May (with a surge of openings over Memorial Day weekend) and ending with gusto over Labor Day weekend, pool season isn’t for everyone (and the vast majority of people don’t visit them), but those who are sun-lovers and partygoers may spend a whole vacation at day clubs. “This is an active, energetic pool scene that continues the experience from the night prior or what they’re expecting the coming night to be,” said Jim McMichael, diversity and cultural sales manager for the leisure sales team at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
According to statistics available from the LVCVA, only 2% of 2012 visitors indicated they attended a pool day club like Wet Republic at the MGM Grand and Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel. Nonetheless, these day clubs have been known to pack in thousands of people who are looking for the nightclub experience while the sun is shining. “Music is the key element of the event,” McMichael says. “Cabana or reserved seating are a really big part of the day club scene. It normally incorporates bottle service, as well.”
Demographics for the day club scene are hard to pin down because each pool has its own audience. “It’s really driven by the size, the setting and the DJ that they’re bringing in,” McMichael said. Some pools are more focused on the party atmosphere, such as Rehab, while others offer a more sophisticated, private experience, such as Venus at Caesars Palace, which is a European pool. Standard hotel pools are offered at no additional cost as an amenity to resort guests, but entry into a day club is equivalent to nightclub entrance fees. Drinks and reserved seating drive that cost up even higher. Cabanas, for example, are likely to run from $500 per day up to $5,000, depending on the location, day of the week and special events at the day club.
To decide on the right day club, McMichael recommends visitors first consider their budget. Then, they should determine what size and environment fits their interests. “Do your research to find out who is going to be playing at each club,” he said. “If you find a club you’re interested in, call ahead to find out what the admission policy is: what time the doors open, what the cost is and, if you want to rent anything from a day bed to a cabana, book it in advance.”