Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas: Hotels Ranked Among Nation’s Finest, with a Few Surprises

Posted on: February 7, 2017, 05:00h. 

Last updated on: February 8, 2017, 11:38h.

Casino.org Staff Writer Read More
Expertise: Commercial Gaming.

Las Vegas hotels are once again high up in the US News & World Report’s annual rankings of the most amazing travel accomodations in the country. Fabulous Sin City claims eight spots in the top 100, including the casinoless-but-chic Mandarin Oriental on the Las Vegas Strip, which placed #12 across the entire United States.

Las Vegas hotels Caesars Palace
Forty-six Las Vegas hotels score high marks on US News & World Report’s annual rankings, but Caesars Palace was docked for smoke odors. (Image: David Becker/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The media company said its methodology consisted of collecting reviews from both guests and travel experts. A total of 1,987 hotel properties scored high enough to be recognized as a member of the “Best Hotels in the USA.”

The top 10 percent of the ranked hotels, or those landing in the upper 199, earned US News & World Report’s “Gold badge.” Eleven Las Vegas properties earned such honors, the second-most of any city, behind only New York.

Chicago’s Langham took the top overall spot, followed by the Four Seasons in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, The Jefferson in Washington, DC, Montage Kapalua Bay, Hawaii, and The Lodge at Sea Island, Georgia.

Caesars’ Dressing Down

Anyone that frequents Las Vegas knows the names of the most prestigious casino resorts.

The usual suspects once again topped the Las Vegas hotels rankings. Wynn Las Vegas and Encore (#4, #5), Bellagio (#7), ARIA (#8), Palazzo (#10), and Sheldon Adelson’s Venetian (#11) scored strong marks and remain five-star hotels.

But it was a different story for Caesars Entertainment. The recently bankrupt company, which continues to undergo a massive and complex corporate restructuring, won’t be celebrating the US News list.

The company’s marquee property, Caesars Palace, placed #26 in Las Vegas. The experts said recent guests complained of the smell of cigarettes throughout the entire property.

And for Caesars’ seven other Vegas properties, the reviews weren’t any better. They came to bury Caesar indeed: in bad hotel reviews.

The newish Cromwell (#21) was Caesars’ highest-ranked property, followed by Paris (#33), Planet Hollywood (#40), and The Linq (#44). Hotel reviewers also complained about smoke odor at The Linq.

Probably to no one’s great surprise, neither Bally’s, Harrah’s, nor Flamingo made it onto the list at all.

Sin City Win

The total number of Las Vegas hotels earning Gold badges is far behind New York City’s 23 recipients, but in terms of percentages, Nevada’s gaming capital is the big winner in the hotel rankings report.

New York City claimed 202 of the 1,987 spots, but just 23 placed in the top 10 percent. That equates to a Gold badge ratio of 11.3 percent.

For Vegas, 11 of its 46 ranked hotels earned the Gold distinction, or nearly 24 percent. Sin City’s gold status rate also trumps Los Angeles, which placed third, with 10 Gold badge hotels. But the City of Angels saw 79 hotels make the complete list, meaning just 12.6 percent were top 10 percent performers.

Despite Los Angeles billing itself as the place for celebrities and the country’s wealthiest playboys, in terms of hotel rankings, Las Vegas has more A-list-friendly rooms, according to these rankings.