‘Sleep Rooms’ and Other Secrets of Las Vegas Airport

Posted on: March 21, 2024, 01:08h. 

Last updated on: April 23, 2024, 12:12h.

Corey Levitan Read More

Expertise: Commercial Gaming, Entertainment, Expert Insight, Las Vegas, Restaurants, Las Vegas Myths.

Las Vegas is unlike any other place, and the same holds true for its airport. It’s got unusual things not found in other airports. But you have to know where to look because most aren’t common knowledge.

1. Sleep Rooms

Inside ZeroLevel Fitness, named after its location below the first-floor baggage claim in Terminal 1, is a solution to the nightmare of your hours-delayed flight home.

Each “Rest & Relaxation Room” (their official name) is barely big enough to contain its twin bed with two fresh sheets (one fitted and one flat), a single pillow, and a blanket. And quiet isn’t guaranteed, since airport alarms and announcements, as well as the sound of clanging barbells, are unavoidable.

Nevertheless, it beats trying to curl into a fetal ball on a row of hardback chairs.

Also included are a full-length mirror, two lamps, a coat hook, chair, trash can, fan, electrical outlets, cabinets, and a towel, because your room rental also includes access to the fitness center’s showers.

A two-hour nap – the minimum booking — runs $40, with each hour added on another $25. Five hours will run $90 and 10 will cost $120. It’s not necessary to use all the hours you prepurchase in a single sitting.

And it’s one of the last rooms you can rent in Las Vegas without paying a resort fee!

Alas, there are only three rooms for the hundreds of pilots and flight attendants who already know about them, so they’re usually booked in advance and rarely available the only time you will probably want them — with no advance notice.

But it’s certainly worth a secret elevator ride beneath the baggage carousels to inquire.

The sleep rooms are open 24 hours, but only starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday through 8 p.m. on Friday. That means no Friday night or Saturday hours.

2. A gym

Congrats, you were paying attention! The sleep rooms are housed inside ZeroLevel Fitness, a 13K square-foot gym offering free weights, a Nautilus-like system, bikes, treadmills, elliptical machines, and showers.

A day pass is $25. But the gym is free if you’ve already booked a sleep room.

The gym and its sleep rooms are located just past baggage claim areas 10 and 12, underneath the hanging Hacienda Hotel airplane, in Terminal 1. The only access is an elevator that goes down to Floor No. 0.

3. Free Shots

The Liquor Library is the nation’s only nonduty-free liquor store located in airport baggage claims. So why is paying more for liquor a good thing? It’s not. But the Liquor Library is also known for giving out free samples of its spirits throughout the day — Wednesdays-Saturdays in Terminal 1 and Wednesdays-Fridays in Terminal 3.

The store actually posts schedules for its free tastings here.

4. ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ Boxes

Bolted into the walls in at least 10 spots around the airport — all outside of TSA screening — are green boxes. These are called amnesty boxes, and they were installed in 2018 for travelers to dispose of prescription and recreational drugs that could ruin their day — or their next five years — if they get caught trying to fly with them.

A local third-party waste-disposal company empties the containers twice a week, chemically rendering the drugs unusable before sending them to a landfill.

5. Strange Vending

Because the urges to immediately consume overpriced Lego products and Kylie Cosmetics always strike hardest once you’re already carrying a full carry-on bag, Harry Reid has vending machines for both of these emergencies.

They’re also hidden inside ZeroLevel Gym.

6. Indoor Smoking

Harry Reid remains one of just six U.S. airports that still allow indoor smoking. Not anywhere, mind you, only inside Barney’s Lounge next to Gate C25, the Budweiser Racing Track Lounge in the Esplanade Pre-Security area, and in the gaming lounges at B, C, D, and E Gates.

Smoking is allowed at Barney’s only because it stopped serving food. Smoking is permitted in the gaming lounges, because though smoking is illegal indoors by Nevada law, designated gaming floors are exempt from Nevada law.

7. Slots

We put these last because everyone already knows about them. Still, they do make the Las Vegas Airport unique. The only other airport to offer slots is Reno-Tahoe, and Harry Reid features more than five times more — 1,400, which have generated more than $1 billion in revenue since they first appeared in 1968.

And that’s not because most people walk away from them a winner.

For more about the secrets of Harry Reid International, check out this episode of the City Cast Las Vegas podcast.