Luxury amenities make big splash at Las Vegas resort pools

As the upscale trend continues to redefine more facets of the Las Vegas experience, it was clearly just a matter of time before the luxury wave hit resort swimming pool facilities. That time has come.

High design, first-class food and beverages and a virtual flood of amenities await guests at some of the newly debuted or revamped resort pools.

In some cases, European-style social mores, with ladies' bikini tops optional, are part of the new order, though a goodly number of guests still do opt for modesty.

Bare all

The newest kid on the block to offer upgraded poolside amenities and European-style topless sunbathing, aptly named Bare, was recently introduced at the Mirage.

Tucked behind the resort's regular pool complex, Bare's walled-in world offers sun worshipers dueling pools and a roster of bed options: day beds, platform beds, lounge beds and "boat beds," the latter referring to shape rather than seaworthiness.

Most coveted are the day beds, which are actually semi-shaded alcoves individually equipped with refrigerators and safes. Some of the freestanding lounge beds are also adjacent to fridges.

Specialty drinks plus bottle and pitcher service as well as selections from a menu of salads, sandwiches and seafood dishes can be delivered to the bed of choice or enjoyed at the bar. 

Complimentary services pampering guests include iced towels, frozen fruit snacks, Popsicles, mini-smoothies and mists of chilled Evian water. Meanwhile, music fills the air, courtesy of a computer on weekdays or a live deejay on weekends.

Trendsetters

The First Sin City facilities to pave the way for this new adult pool concept were Moorea Beach Club at Mandalay Bay and the Venus Pool at Caesars Palace.

Centered around an infinity pool and infinity whirlpool, Moorea Beach, too, has chilled towels and food and beverage service, along with free skin-care tanning products, all behind frosted glass partitions that foil Peeping Toms while enabling insiders to enjoy views of the tropical wave pool, sparkling beach -- all 2,500-plus sandy pounds of it --  and waterfall gardens.

Now, Mandalay Bay's regular beach, a premier attraction since its opening day in 1999, is getting into the luxury pool act. Beach bungalows, complete with state-of-the-art music systems, LCD TVs, bars, refrigerators, safes, ceiling fans, double chaise lounges, modular seating, private changing area and telephones are available for day use or during one of the property's evening concerts on the beach.

Over at Caesars Palace, the new Venus pool makes waves in the famed 4.5-acre Garden of the Gods, an oasis of sapphire pools, lush greenery, graceful fountains, classic marble statues and accents and a rotunda-topped island.

Another European-style facility, the Venus also treats its guests to complimentary cooling perks but adds massages, a traveling drink cart and such fussy munchables as lobster sandwiches and white ceviche to the mix.

Cabana ploy

Although cabanas have long been fixtures at Las Vegas pools, many are now being upgraded as resorts catch upgrade fever. Five new such hideaways at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas up the cabana ante with indoor and outdoor seating in padded lounge chairs; flat-screen TVs; refrigerators stocked with nonalcoholic beverages and fresh fruit; towels; personal misting systems; ceiling fans; and a personal attendant.

Meanwhile, individual cabana quirks across Vegas include couches at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, dining tables with four chairs at the Bellagio, free newspapers and use of rafts at the MGM Grand and eight-foot-long beds at Red Rock Casino Resort Spa -- plus, here and there, telephones and computer hook-ups.

Quite naturally, these stylish pool complexes serve as perfect party venues, drawing celebrity partiers and the hoi polloi, too. Some pool complexes, such as those at the Palms, Hard Rock and Red Rock, are specially designed for that very purpose; the latter, farther out of town, offers the unique added value of spectacular views of Red Rock Canyon.

The majority of the specialty pool areas are open only to guests over age 21, and they also charge admission, with price variations based on factors such as gender -- women often get a discount of half-off or more -- and day of the week. 

However, most resorts also still have free-as-ever regular swimming pools -- only open to guests -- that boast niceties such as music, food and beverage service, towel-covered chaises and whirlpools. Usually there are rental charges for such extras as cabanas, rafts and tubes. 

Pulling in a little of the luxury touch even here, though, a number of the regular pools now offer great packages of upgrades.

To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail to [email protected].