Rio Las Vegas All Suites Hotel and Casino

Located just across the 15 freeway from the Las Vegas Strip, the Rio Las Vegas All Suites Hotel and Casino is out of the mix just a bit. You can’t just walk to the next mega resort like you can on the Strip.

Rio Las Vegas photo: Cliff

But what you can do at the Rio is see some great shows, enjoy a beautiful room with an even better view, mix with the cool, young clientele, and enjoy some of the best customer service anywhere in Las Vegas.

The Rio is known as a 24-hour party hotel, and not without reason. You can party non-stop here, from the tables to the restaurants to the pools to the sexy bars and clubs.

But don’t get the wrong impression – this is not some low end “spring break” type resort that trades customer service for cheap alcohol. On the contrary, the Rio prides itself in offering the best customer service and overall customer experience possible.

The rooms at the hotel are all suites, starting at 600 square feet (56 square meters) and ranging all the way up to an enormous 13,000 square feet (1,200 square meters). The Rio has 2,560 suites spread across 51 floors, all of which have floor to ceiling windows, providing some quite amazing views.

The food at the Rio is also quite excellent, beginning with the Carnival World Buffet, which is one of the best and most popular in all the city. Other restaurants include the seafood restaurant Búzios and the Irish themed McFadden’s.

The Rio’s pool area is really quite excellent and often a place to meet other fun, young people. It has a sandy beach area and is decorated in a tropical theme, complete with palm trees and other foliage.

Rio pool area photo: Karl Norling

The entertainment at the club is really fantastic, beginning with the great Penn & Teller magic show. These two have been performing in Vegas for two decades now, but they never let their show get stale and are always working on simply amazing new illusions. Quite simply, they are the best at what they do.

For the ladies, there is a Chippendales show, accompanied by the Flirt Lounge, which has  an all-male waitstaff which is selected with “ladies’ pleasure” in mind. (In other words, they’re all hot). It’s designed for women, by women, with all that entails.

Men and women will both love the rooftop VooDoo lounge, a club and dinner venue with simply stunning views in all directions. You have to take a glass elevator to the 51st floor, but if you can stomach the ride, the club and the views of the Strip are oh so worth it.

Finally, there is the free Masquerade Show in the Sky which runs every hour from 7 pm to 12 am Thursday through Sunday and which includes large music video-style production numbers.

The Rio is a great, fun hotel. If you love a young, trendy crowd, then the only real down side is the distance from the Strip, but then you can always hop the free shuttle to Harrah’s.