The results of our 2002 Vegas4Visitors Readers’ Poll are in! Here are the results:
Best Overall Hotel
There are dozens of hotels in Vegas, from the simple chain motels to some of the most grand palaces that you’ll find anywhere on Earth. We asked you to choose the one place that stood out, regardless of location or price, and you have spoken in the Best Overall Hotel competition in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. Here are your Top 5:
First Place: Mirage
Back in 1989, the Mirage redefined Las Vegas and became the benchmark by which all other hotels built since then have been judged by. 16% of the total votes cast indicated that you believe no other place has done it better.
Second Place: Bellagio
This grand palace of a hotel is widely considered to be the most palatial, most luxurious, and most elegant of all of the Strip giants. Although it couldn’t quite turn that widely held belief into a first place finish for Best Overall, 13% of the vote is good enough for a very respectable second place.
Third Place: Luxor
It’s a remarkable achievement for the mid-range Luxor to have placed so high on the list, especially considering the fact that the others in the Top 5 are all at the upper end of the luxury and price scale. Apparently by offering very comfortable lodging at a decent price in a fun environment is worth something! 10% of the votes cast give Luxor a third place finish.
Fourth Place: Mandalay Bay
Owned by the same people who did Luxor, the South Seas themed Mandalay Bay was designed to be a competitor for hotels like The Mirage, Bellagio, and The Venetian. By getting 9% of the votes cast they have proven that our readers think they succeeded.
Fifth Place: The Venetian
Recreating Venice, Italy in the Nevada desert was a leap of faith that many thought wouldn’t succeed. Despite a rocky start, The Venetian has rebounded to become one of the most respected and highly visited hotels in town. They got 7% of the votes cast for a fifth place finish.
Best Strip Hotel
The Strip is one of the most famous pieces of real estate in the world, home to the biggest and brightest hotels anywhere. But of all the choices, which one is your favorite? We asked and you told us what you thought was the Best Hotel on the Strip in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. Not surprisingly, the Top 5 are the same hotels that showed up in the Best Overall competition, but in a slightly different order:
First Place: Bellagio
In the Best Overall category, Bellagio was beaten out by sister hotel Mirage for first place, but when you narrow it down to just the hotels on The Strip, this palatial playground captured our reader’s hearts – or at least their votes. 20% of the votes cast gave it a first place finish.
Second Place: Mirage
The Mirage and Bellagio traded the top two places in the Overall and Strip categories, but with 17% of the votes cast for this hotel it was a photo finish. It’s interesting to note that in both categories, approximately one of every three votes went to one of these amazing hotels.
Third Place: Luxor
In a crowded field of fine hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, the Luxor has set itself apart as a value oriented alternative to the much higher competitors. 11% of the votes cast went to the Luxor, giving it a third place finish.
Fourth Place: Venetian
It’s hard to believe that a 3,000-room hotel – the biggest in the world in terms of square-footage – could capture the sense of romance embodied by the famous Italian city after which it is modeled, but somehow they did it. 10% of the votes cast called this the best hotel on The Strip and that was good enough for fourth place.
Fifth Place: Mandalay Bay
This gleaming golden palace is the first thing you see as you drive into Vegas from LA and it was first in the thoughts of many of our readers. It managed to get a fifth place finish by capturing 9% of the total votes cast.
Best Downtown Hotel
Fremont Street and the Downtown area of Las Vegas is where this city was born, but sadly it’s often overlooked by visitors. That’s too bad because there are some terrific hotels there as is evidenced by the vote for Best Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas in our First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. Here are your Top 5:
First Place: The Golden Nugget
A rout. A landslide. A decisive victory. Call it what want, but with a stunning 72% of the total votes cast, The Golden Nugget cruised to an easy first place finish. And why not? This beautiful Downtown hotel manages to evoke a sense of luxury without resorting to budget busting prices.
Second Place (tie): Fitzgerald’s
As former Holiday Inn, Fitzgerald’s gained a reputation in the Downtown area by offering solid, respectable accommodations at a decent price. Despite the fact that they are no longer a part of that chain, enough of you believed that they still deserved their reputation. Fitzgerald’s got 8% of the total votes cast, moving it into a tie for second place.
Second Place (tie): Main Street Station
We’ve been touting this Downtown gem for years and its gratifying to note that it has apparently caught at least a few of your eyeballs. With their graceful and comfortable casino, terrific buffet and restaurants, large and inexpensive rooms, and very friendly service, Main Street Station is worth a look from the rest of you. 8% of the votes cast give this hotel a second place finish, tied with Fitzgerald’s.
Fourth Place: Four Queens
Located in the heart of Fremont Street, I’ve always believed that the Four Queens primary claim to fame is their incredibly friendly staff and casino personnel. Playing blackjack in their casino has always been a low-pressure pleasure. Whether that’s the reason that 4% of the votes went here or not is up for debate, but it still gives the Four Queens a fourth place finish.
Fifth Place: Lady Luck
With nearly 9 out of every 10 votes going to one of the top three hotels there wasn’t much left over, but the budget-minded Lady Luck managed to snare 3% of the remnants. This respectable and well-maintained hotel deserves a spot on this list in our opinion.
Best Rooms
With more than 120,000 hotel rooms in Vegas, how do you decide what constitutes the “best?” Well, our readers obviously know what they like and they have spoken in the Best Hotel Room category in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. Here are your Top 5:
First Place: The Venetian
These giant accommodations, with sunken living rooms, two televisions, acres of marble in the bathrooms, and a host of other luxurious touches managed to get 19% of the total vote for a resounding first place finish.
Second Place: Rio Suites
Apparently size does matter. The Rio’s standard accommodations aren’t traditional suites (they are only one room) but with a separate sitting area and plenty of space to stretch out they are among the largest in town. By getting 11% of the vote, they squeaked into a second place finish.
Third Place: Bellagio
Although not quite as large as the rooms at The Venetian or Rio, The Bellagio rooms manage to out-luxury their luxurious competitors. Enough of you believed that you get what you pay for on these expensive accommodations and with 10% of the vote total they came in third place.
Fourth Place: Mandalay Bay
On the surface the rooms at Mandalay Bay are pretty standard, but if you pay attention the unique little touches jump out at you including the plantation shutter doors, large bathrooms, fine furnishings, and comfy surroundings. 9% of the total vote came here for a fourth place finish.
Fifth Place: Luxor
Whether it’s the uniquely shaped rooms in the pyramid or the heavily themed Egypt/Art Deco rooms of the newer towers, the Luxor’s rooms definitely stand out from the crowd. 8% of the total vote gives them fifth place.
Best Service
How many times have you had to deal with a surly check-in clerk or slow room service? At the hotels on the following list you’d have to presume not very often, as you have chosen the places with the Best Service in our First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. Here are your Top 5:
First Place: Bellagio
When Steve Wynn created Bellagio his mission was to give the mega-resort a boutique hotel feel with personalized service and attention to detail. Apparently enough of you feel he succeeded with his mission. 18% of the votes cast gave Bellagio the top spot in this category.
Second Place: Mirage
Back when it was the Mirage Corporation – consisting of Mirage, Bellagio, Treasure Island, and the Golden Nugget – the hotels in this family always ranked very high in customer satisfaction. It’s good to know that the new corporation that owns it kept that focus as 13% of the total votes went to the Mirage for a second place finish.
Third Place: (tie) Harrah’s
Harrah’s has always been thought of as a “locals hotel” on The Strip because of their friendly staff and comfortable ambience. Tying for third place, Harrah’s smiled their way into capturing 8% of the total vote.
Third Place: (tie) Treasure Island
The third former Mirage Resorts hotel to make it onto this list really says a lot about this company and how they treat their guests. 8% of the votes cast gave the TI a tie for third place.
Fifth Place: Luxor
7% of the total votes cast went to the Luxor and their fine staff of very accommodating folks.
Best Locals Hotel
Sure, our site is called Vegas4Visitors but we know that a lot of you get out to the locals casinos as well. These neighborhood places aren’t big attention getters but their combination of value and entertainment options make them worth checking out on your next visit. Here are your Top 5 in the Best Locals Hotel competition from the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll:
First Place: Orleans
This was a close call. It was less than a 1% difference in the total vote, but it was enough to give Orleans a first place finish. With their value conscious rooms, tons of entertainment including bowling and movies, a gigantic and often generous casino, and tons of dining options, the Orleans got 17% of the total vote.
Second Place: Sam’s Town
Despite its location on the far east side of town, this Boulder Highway staple managed to lure 16% of the vote for a very close second place finish.
Third Place: Green Valley Ranch
This stunning resort has been around for less than a year but it has managed to attract a lot of very deserving attention. From their amazing pool area to the terrific restaurants to what I consider to be the most comfortable beds in all of Vegas, Green Valley is a force to reckoned with. 10% of the total votes cast give them a third place finish.
Fourth Place: The Palms
Despite its very close proximity to The Strip, The Palms has a lot of the things that you’ll find at a locals casino – movie theaters, low-cost buffet, food court, generous casino, and more. Although I wouldn’t necessarily put it in the locals casino category, apparently many of our readers do as 9% of the votes cast gave it a fourth place finish in this category.
Fifth Place: Sunset Station
Until Green Valley Ranch opened, Sunset Station was the jewel in the Station Casinos crown. Despite sitting in its newer and more luxurious sister property’s shadow, Sunset Station is still a fantastic hotel for both locals and tourists. 6% of the votes gave it fifth place.
Best Restaurant
No category in our poll showed the wide variety of tastes (no pun intended) more than the Best Restaurant Competition in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. Over 50 restaurants split the vote, from the highest of high-priced bistros to the most familiar of fast food chains. Here are your Top 5:
First Place (tie): Delmonico, The Venetian
Apparently you all like beef since Delmonico, Emeril Lagasse’s version of a New Orleans style steakhouse, narrowly beat out two other steakhouses for first place with 8% of the vote.
Second Place: Austins Steakhouse, Texas Station
I’m very excited that you people have obviously been listening to me as I have trumpeted Austins as being the best restaurant in Vegas. Despite it’s off-Strip location, enough of you sought the place out to boost it into second place with 7% of the vote total. Good job!
Third Place (tie): The Range, Harrah’s
The Range is another Vegas4Visitors.com favorite and another terrific steakhouse, with fantastic up-close views of The Strip and some great food to boot. 6% of the vote total went here to give it a third place tie.
Third Place (tie): Emeril’s, MGM Grand
Mr. Lagasse tightens his hold on Las Vegas and celebrity chef-dom with his classic seafood restaurant landing in a tie for third place and making him the only chef to have two eateries in the Top 5.
Fifth Place: Olives, Bellagio
Rounding out the favorites is this terrific Italian bistro at Bellagio. Some of my acquaintances have called this one of the best restaurants in Vegas and it looks like a lot of you agree!
Best Buffet
If the results of the Best Buffet competition in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll are any indication, the days of the low-priced buffet are officially over. All but one of the top vote getters are among the most expensive all-you-can-eateries in town. Here are your Top 5:
First Place (tie): The Buffet, Bellagio
The Bellagio raised the buffet bar when it opened a few years ago in terms of both food quality and prices. To say that this ain’t no cheap buffet is an understatement, but despite costing more than $20 per person, its fine restaurant quality selections managed to get one out of every five votes cast for a tie for first place.
First Place (tie): Carnival World Buffet, Rio
Although not quite as expensive as the Bellagio buffet, the gigantic and well-prepared selections at Rio’s main buffet room also got 20% of the vote.
Third Place: Pharoah’s Feast Buffet, Luxor
It’s certainly not cheap anymore but at $16 for dinner, the Pharoah’s Feast Buffet at Luxor is the least expensive on this list. I’ve always thought that it offers a fantastic selection of high-quality food for that cost in a fun archaeological dig atmosphere and 10% of the votes agreed with me.
Fourth Place: The Mirage Buffet, Mirage
Widely considered to be just as good as the buffet at sister property Bellagio and several dollars cheaper, the buffet at the class leader Mirage got 9% of the total votes cast for a fourth place finish.
Fifth Place: Le Village Buffet, Paris
Another one of my favorites – have you tried the made-to-order crepes? – this French countryside themed buffet is very expensive but amazing at any cost and it garnered 8% of the total vote.
Best Show
Almost every show in Vegas – from the major production shows to the small afternoon magic acts – got at least one vote in the Best Show category in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. But of course it takes more than one vote to make a winner and these are the shows that moved downstage to take their bows. Your Top 5 Best Shows are:
First Place: Mystere by Cirque du Soleil, Treasure Island
With nearly one-third of all votes cast, this extraordinary circus meets performance art spectacle easily outran its slightly higher profile sister show “O.” We’ve been saying it all along – if you haven’t seen Mystere, it really should be at the top of your list the next time you visit Vegas.
Second Place: O by Cirque du Soleil, Bellagio
With 17% of the total vote count the water themed Cirque du Soleil show nabbed the second place spot.
Third Place (tie): Blue Man Group, Luxor
This thrillingly bizarre show, featuring three bald guys with blue paint on their heads doing all sorts of exaggerated performance art pieces, tied for third with 10% of the total votes.
Third Place (tie): Danny Gans, Mirage
Impressionist extraordinaire Danny Gans managed to snare 10% of the votes, sneaking into a tie with Blue Man Group.
Fifth Place: EFX Alive, MGM Grand
Although the show is heading toward its final bow soon, 6% of our readers cast their votes for this rock and roll special effects extravaganza starring Rick Springfield.
Best Casino
What makes a good casino? Whether it was because of the atmosphere, the action, the options, or the winnings you told us your favorites with your votes in the Best Casino competition in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. Although there were no runaway winners – no casino got more than 9% of the total vote – here are your Top 5:
First Place: (tie) Bellagio
Graceful awnings, wood casings on the slot machines, and plush furnishings may have been the reason Bellagio snagged 9% of the vote – good enough for a first place tie.
First Place: (tie) MGM Grand
Size matters, I guess. The largest casino in Vegas tied for first place with sister hotel Bellagio by getting 9% of the total votes.
Third Place: Mirage
More than a decade ago The Mirage redefined the Las Vegas casino with open and airy spaces, soft lighting, and luxurious furnishings. Even though it hasn’t changed much since then it still grabbed 8% of the vote for a third place finish.
Fourth Place: New York-New York
A previous winner in the Vegas4Visitors Annual Top 10 lists, New York-New York’s wacky Gotham theme snared 6% of your votes.
Fifth Place: Caesars Palace
Thirty years before The Mirage upped the ante, Caesars Palace set the gold standard for Vegas casino entertainment. With several areas – a light and bright Roman eye-feast, a gilt-edged Monte Carlo style salon, and a dark and smoky Vegas-in-the-seventies kitsch fest, Caesars managed to beat a raft of younger upstarts for fifth place.
Best Attraction
More than 20 of Vegas’ best attractions got votes in the Best Attraction competition in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll, although as you’ll see in the results below the bulk of our voters leaned toward two of them. From roller coasters to Elvis and everything in between our readers have spoken and here are their top five:
First Place: Bellagio Fountains, Bellagio
At a whopping 47% of the votes cast, the dancing water, music, and light show in the lake at Bellagio was the overwhelming favorite attraction in Las Vegas.
Second Place: Pirate Battle, Treasure Island
Aargh, matey! Although coming in a distant second place with 24% of the vote total, this wacky live-action stunt show was the only other attraction in Vegas that got a substantial number of votes. In fact the pirates and the fountains at Bellagio accounted for almost three-quarters of all the votes cast!
Third Place: Stratosphere Tower & Thrill Rides, Stratosphere
Sanity defying thrills and great views proved an attractive enough combination to capture 6% of the votes cast. It’s worth noting that of the top five attractions selected, this is the only one that has an admission charge – all the others on the list are free.
Fourth Place: The Fremont Street Experience, Downtown Las Vegas
This stunning light and sound show barely registered a blip on the voting radar but at 4% of the vote total it still got enough to give it a fourth place finish.
Fifth Place: Mirage White Tiger Habitat, Mirage
This relatively simple pleasure, watching white tigers frolic (or just lay there, usually), managed to get a fifth place finish with 3% of the vote.
Best Nightclub
25 different hot spots got votes in the Best Nightclub competition in the First Annual Vegas4Visitors.com Readers Poll. The voting covered everything from the trendiest of nightclubs to the sleaziest bars and strip clubs in town. Here are the top 5 vote getters in this category:
First Place: Ra, Luxor
One of our favorites here at Vegas4Visitors.com, this Egyptian themed party place garnered 22% of the votes cast - almost a fourth of the total. In fact it got almost two times the votes than the club that captured the number two spot.
Second Place: Voodoo Lounge, The Rio Suites
Located atop the Rio tower, the view is king at the Voodoo Lounge and this hip nightspot captured 12% of the votes cast.
Third Place (tie): Bar at Times Square, New York-New York
Although it’s not what comes to most people’s minds when they think of a nightspot, this small but raucous piano bar garnered 9% of the votes.
Third Place (tie): Studio 54, MGM Grand
Studio 54, a new millennium update on the classic New York disco of the seventies, got enough nods from the party crowd to vault it to a tie for third at 9% of the vote.
Fifth Place: Monte Carlo Brew Pub, Monte Carlo
This relaxed brew pub/restaurant, which becomes an energetic nightclub/bar at night managed to slip into the top 5 with 6% of the vote.
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