12 budget-brilliant hotels in Las Vegas, for an affordable stay in Sin City
In Vegas, a city that revolves around hotels, many visitors hardly spend any time at all in their actual rooms. Luckily, it’s not hard to find a deal on a hotel room in Sin City, even at popular casino resorts, so long as you’re flexible about staying in the unrenovated wing. Several good hotels offer budget-friendly rates, particularly in downtown Vegas: you’ll trade off the convenience of staying on the Strip for the vintage charm of the city’s original centre. And save your extra cash for the blackjack table. Here's our pick of the best budget hotels in Las Vegas.
MGM Grand
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
With 5,000 rooms, an endless array of gambling and entertainment options and multiple dining options including the triple-Michelin-starred Joel Rubuchon, the hotel is practically a self-contained town in its own right. If you include its adjoining sister properties, it’s the second largest hotel in the world, and there are a dizzying number of room options. For typical entry level accommodation, Grand King Strip View are pleasingly oversized and with design touches such as padded headboards and orange colour accents that popped pleasingly. The marble bathrooms also add to the slightly elevated appeal and come with the hotel's own brand of toiletries. Read expert review From ￡38 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Tropicana Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
This classic hotel aims for a slice of Miami or Caribbean-lead style, with a veritable forest of palm trees, island-chic design touches and whitewashed walls that keep the resort ambience to the fore. It's a definite contrast to the modern mega-hotels that surround it but some will love the throwback look that maintains some of the best tropes of the Strip's glory days. The most memorable amenity is the beautifully landscaped pool area, which has a timeless quality to it and wonderful curved swimming areas and the original swim-up Blackjack station for an aquatic flutter. In the rooms, the furniture leans heavily towards rattan and bamboo, which also adds to the almost Tiki-style chic. Read expert review From ￡21 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Golden Nugget
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
'Iconic' is an often-misused word but in the case of Golden Nugget, a sparkling, glittering throwback to the glory days of Las Vegas, it's entirely appropriate. It's not a place that's trapped in the past, though, and millions of dollars have been spent upgrading and modernising the place to keep it and its gold-and-black interiors relevant and alluring. From the name, blazed in a golden arch above the main entrance, to the gloriously revamped but still vintage interiors, there's much to love and cherish about the place. The most renowned amenity here is the pool, or rather, the pools, which boast a water slide through a shark tank aquarium. Read expert review From ￡31 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
This mid-Strip hotel is owned by Caesers and is one of their forays into the younger market. The interiors are contemporary without being offputtingly trendy, while the pool area includes a 'Flowrider' surfing simulator and cabanas that look out over The Strip. The overriding appeal, though, lies in the concerts and residencies on-site – which have included Jennifer Lopez, Lionel Richie and The Backstreet Boys. In terms of dining, the big man on campus is undoubtedly Gordon Ramsay, whose Burger Las Vegas restaurant brings a casually affordable experience. Among the many options, the upscale environs of Koi (Japanese) and Strip House Steakhouse stand out. Read expert review From ￡41 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Luxor
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
This black pyramid-shaped casino-hotel has been a Strip landmark since the early 1990s. Multiple redesigns have edited out the kitschiest Egyptian décor, but larger-than-life statues of pharaohs and a sphinx still greet arriving guests. At night, a 42.3-billion lumen beam of light shoots out of the pyramid into the sky, where it’s visible from passing planes. The Luxor’s more than 4,000 rooms and suites are value-priced by Strip standard. Renovated Cleo rooms show off modern slate, purple and blue design schemes, with striped wallpaper and huge showers. Read expert review From ￡20 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Flamingo Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
True retro chic on the Strip can be hard to find, but this local legend was here 80 years ago and can still mix it up with the newcomers. The hotel is as central as it gets, in full view of Caesar’s Palace and The Bellagio. Unusually, it’s the outdoors here that should generate the most excitement, a mini menagerie lurking in the gardens (including some flamingos of course) and then some 15 acres of pool-fringed relaxation space, complete with palms and cabanas. The newly renovated rooms revel in their retro pastel colour palettes – popping pinks of course, but also turquoises that show off the mid-century modern furniture to its best effect. Read expert review From ￡27 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Rio Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
Sporting a Brazilian carnival theme, the colourful Rio casino hotel is one of the most rambunctious off-Strip hotels. With its enormous neon-lit towers covered in pink reflective glass, it looks the part of a brash Las Vegas casino, equal parts space-age modern and Mardi Gras madness. Rooms are great-value and even standards are classed as suites because they’re so big. The hotel’s hottest attraction is the rooftop zip line, which slingshots you between two hotel towers. Back on the ground, VooDoo Beach offers real white sand, four pools, hot tubs, waterfalls, cocktails bars and spa treatments. Comedy, magic, and adults-only stage shows make up the evening entertainment, along with a 100,000 square-foot casino. Read expert review From ￡22 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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El Cortez Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
A living time capsule of old-school Las Vegas, this strongly independent Fremont Street hotel is one of the few in town that transport you back to the city’s golden age. The gleaming 1948 Cadillac in the lobby sets the tone, as do the portraits and caricatures of mobsters and old-time entertainers. There’s a touch of a Scorsese movie set about it, with Sinatra playing as you take in the original vintage fixtures. It’s the only casino to be included on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel’s flagship restaurant is Siegel’s 1941, a nod to the hotel’s opening year and the first owner, Bugsy Siegel, a famed mobster of the era. Read expert review From ￡15 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Harrah’s
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
A Mardi Gras theme greets you at the door of this hotel, popular with retirees and budget travellers who want to be close to all the action on the Strip. Less expensive than the glamorous casino resorts a short walk away, Harrah’s renovated rooms are spacious and contemporary – some even have views. Concierge staff are happy to make recommendations of things to see and do, but there is a lot going on without ever leaving the property. Swim laps in the outdoor pool, then book a massage and a facial at the spa. After dark, crowds gather at the open-air Carnaval Court, where bartenders mix cocktails with flair and live cover bands take over the stage nightly. Read expert review From ￡27 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
The LINQ Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
8Telegraph expert rating
You won’t find a better bargain on a mid-Strip hotel room than at The LINQ, located next to the High Roller wheel and near a half dozen other Vegas casinos. The hotel owns a flashy, youthful vibe and is frenetic with activity, day and night. Self check-in kiosks in the lobby let you know this hotel is for do-it-yourselfers. There's a seasonal party pool for adults with DJs, daybeds and cabanas, as well as a spa featuring a Himalayan salt cave and treatment rooms where you control the soundtrack by connecting your own mobile device. In the rooms you’ll find colourful murals of classic neon signage, round hanging mirrors, sleek platform beds. Read expert review From ￡27 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Main Street Station Casino Brewery Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
7Telegraph expert rating
For budget travellers, staying in downtown Las Vegas where there are cheaper hotels can be a good bet. Another big advantage of staying here is how much money you'll save on the area’s low-limit casinos, cheap restaurants and bars, and free outdoor entertainment. This Victorian-esque casino hotel provides impeccably clean rooms, a popular brewpub and quirky pieces of art and historical memorabilia placed all around the casino. Ask at the front desk for a free self-guided tour brochure of the property's historical artefacts, everything from opera house chandeliers salvaged in San Francisco to a chunk of the Berlin wall. Clean and tidy hotel rooms are roomier than expected, though the décor looks dated. Read expert review From ￡23 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
9Telegraph expert rating
Gallic charm shines through at one of the most famous themed resorts in Las Vegas. The ‘Eiffel Tower’ dominates the skyline of The Strip and a $92m (￡74m) upgrade has enhanced the European elegance and romance of the 3000 rooms. The resort remains vivaciously Continental, an endearingly jolly Parisian playground. The cobblestone streets lined with shops and food courts, with their starry, trompe l’oeil ceilings, are an attraction in themselves. Nightlife options include the Paris Theater and Chateau Nightclub, and the two-acre rooftop pool, Soleil, is busy and family-friendly. The Tower has a nightly light show. Read expert review From ￡45 per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
Contributions by Sara Benson & Paul Oswell
Prices cited on Boooking.com are subject to change in high season and during popular holidays and events.