Best Las Vegas Pool Parties

Rehab (Hard Rock) has been our top pool party recommendation for previous years and is likely to remain so although others are closing the gap.  It's all out party vibe in the past has been unmatched but those seeking the plushest pool party will favor Encore Beach Club (Encore) which has surpassed Wet Republic, our former second choice.  If you are not planning to get drunk and are sensitive to insensitve inebriants, you should go to Encore instead.  We will revisit these recommendations later in the season, especially when Marquee Day Club and Nikki Beach Club enter the battle.

The 2011 season will see 2 major new entrants with Marquee Day Club and Nikki Beach Club but information is very sketchy so far.  Marquee has done a very good job in the nightclub arena especially if you like big name House/Trance star DJs. Click here to see the schedule for headliners and star DJs.  Their pool party is not as big a facillity as some others but we expect them to make the most of it.

Nikki Beach Club has done well in their other locations with the Tropicana scheduled to be their biggest of the 13 pool parties they host.  We don't know if they will be using all of the Tropicana pool area but if they do, it would be roughly comparable in physical size to the Rehab and Ditch Friday facilities.

Encore adds Mondays for Memorial Day and thereafter
Bare and Liquid go Daily on May 1

Wet Republic might add days

Marquee Day Club opening changed again but is probably April 9
*Assuming use of most of Tropicana Pool area

Rehab/Relax/Hard Rock Beach Club (Hard Rock)

Rehab at Hard Rock is the largest, most popular Las Vegas pool party and our top recommendation, especially for Sundays. The bodies range from attractive to legendary, music is loud, and the vibe is that of the best spring break vacation you have dreamed of butnever quite had. If you are not a drinker, you will feel out of place here though.

For 2011, the Hard Rock Beach Club Will add Fridays t<o the lineup so you can party from Friday to Sunday at Hard Rock.  S.K.A.M. Saturdays has been dropped but they may be using similar open format DJs.  S.K.A.M. is going to Tao beach on Fridays for 2011.

Although Relax on Monday has always been much more laid back than the Sunday party, the Saturday party is very strong with attendance not that much less than Rehab Sunday. Although pool parties are still evolving, eventually they may be like nightclubs where specific days are strongest for a particular pool party but with most pool parties strongest on Saturday except for Rehab.

The Rehab queue starts before 8 am with an 11 am opening on Sundays. Hotel guests have an advantage getting in from a shorter line that is about half as long as the regular line and with an earlier 7:30 am opening time too. Up to 4 can stay in a room.

Best strategy, if not a hotel guest, is go early. The wait does not get better as the day goes on and the crowd inside does not peak until around 3 pm or so. Female party-goers have an easier time getting in but are warned to time their restroom visits well ahead of actual dire need such as 45 minutes. If not, the cloudy pool water will become even worse.

Cabanas can be expensive and hard to get. If you are staying at the hotel, you have an edge as far as getting a cabana on the hotel south side which is not the most active location. The better situated cabanas are often set aside for celebrities. You should expect to see a smattering of minor stars and pro athletes.

When Rehab is less crowded, you might get away with under $1,000 for a cabana but on many days you will pay over $2,000. Because Saturday was not as big a day in 2010 for S.K.A.M, cabana prices on Saturday might get down to $500. We expect the Hard Rock Beach Club on Fridays and Saturdays will be similar to last year's lower than Rehab pricing. The Hard Rock cabanas seat 6 and you can squeeze in more if some don’t mind standing.

Although they are not the best cabanas in Las Vegas, they have the usual flat screen, refrigerator, non-alcohol beverages, etc. They are an advantage when trying to impress new-found friends.

Food is pretty good at most pool parties. Rehab has a Pink Taco platter that is not bad for the $54 price given inflated club prices. Drinks are reasonably strong but expect $17 for some of your favorites. Watermelon doused in Bacardi rum is a nice treat here. Music is a bit more geared to House with some Hip-Hop and Rock.

Encore Beach Club (Encore) has 8 bungalows that will be the second or third most upscale of any pool bungalows in Vegas. The 3 bungalows at Palms are 1,500 square feet and air conditioned with their own Jacuzzis and go for $3,000 Sun-Thur and $4,000 for Friday and Saturday. Marquee has announced some strong specs but we haven't had a chance to see them yet.

The Encore bungalows are on either the lower or upper level and are 350 square feet, air conditioned and with their own bathroom. They will hold about 20 people. Lower level units have a Jacuzzi but the upper ones have more room around them plus a better view. Both upper and lower level bungalows can be $15,000 for a major holiday. Even though EBC has not opened yet their bungalows are selling out for Memorial Day Weekend.

The 220 square feet cabanas are roughly double the size of most in Vegas and are air conditioned. Their 42” flat screens are also larger than most that are usually 32 to 40 inches. The 26 Encore Beach Club cabanas will hold about 12-15 guests for about $7,000 on the busiest weekends and as low as $1,500 when less crowded.

19 day beds joined by about the same number of lily pads. Lily pads are in the water and a little smaller than the day beds that can accommodate about 7-8 people. Pricing will be the same for day beds and lily pads with a minimum food and beverage spend of $2,000 for the holiday. Non peak these will go for about $750 which means 2 bottles at $450-$550 will meet the minimum.

Switch will be the restaurant for the Encore pool party with BBQ recently added to the coming menu. As a general rule, pool party food in Vegas is pretty good though pricy and Encore Beach Club is at the top of its game, though we did not try the barbecue.

The small 5,000 square feet Surrender nightclub is part of the complex with decking bridging the facilities for a total square footage of about 60,000 for Encore Beach Club—about the same size as Wet Republic’s 53,000.

Wet Republic (MGM) is a very good Vegas pool party choice and might be favored if you prefer a less drunken vibe, fewer fights, etc. For now we rate this as a very good third in the pool party rankings but Marquee and Nikki Beach could change things.

Saturdays are usually the busiest day for this party although adding David and Cathy Guetta as resident DJs might shift their traffic a bit to Sundays when they spin. As of now they have dropped Tuesdays and Wednesdays and probably Mondays.

They offer bungalows, cabanas, stripped down cabanas and day beds and lounge tables. 6 bungalows run roughly $2,000 or so on many weekdays and $3,000 on most Saturdays. These have private spas, limited access and a separate bathroom. They hold about 10 people.

Their 10 Deluxe cabanas have a flatscreen, Wii, fridge, etc. and hold up to 15 with Saturday pricing around $3,000. They also have 5 to 6 plain cabanas that can be merged together for a very large group, but are basically stripped down without the amenities.

Furthest away from the pools are the 17 lounge tables which can seat up to about 10 with the 14 Day Beds positioned closer to the water holding about 6-9 party people. These rent out on Saturdays for about $2,000 minimum food and beverage spend. Less crowded days can be 1/3 the price of busy days.

Other Vegas Pool Parties

Liquid (Aria) is a reasonably good pool party but not one of the top ones in Vegas. Unless there is a special guest DJ such as Tiesto, expect less House in their mix and more top 40 than usual. At 16,000 square feet it is in-between Bare and Tao Beach in size—both of them small by current Vegas standards. Guest DJs could be the strength for this pool party in 2011.

Their 16 cabanas have a minimum food and beverage spend of $2,000 on Saturdays and $500 on Mondays to Wednesdays for up to 12 people. Thursday-Friday pricing is $1,000.

Their 35 day beds are going for $1,000 to $1,250 Saturdays (depending on location) and can be shared by up to 6. Slower days can be as cheap as $350 minimum food and beverage spend. They now rent out chairs, at the door only, for $50 to $100 depending on day with some days possibly open seating.

Ditch Fridays (Palms) is less crowded, less boisterous, but with a similar quality of eye candy and when the Playboy bunnies are there, a superior level of eye candy to any Vegas pool party. The Palms is also home to the joined Moon and Playboy clubs and Rain.

The key advantage of Ditch Fridays is that it can be a prelude to a serious party mood, perhaps without benefit (or burden) of sobriety, for your Friday night clubbing. It is less crowded and you can even try to get in during the afternoon.

The 27 cabanas are open to public rental since 2010 and will continue for the 2011 Vegas pool season. Ditch Fridays cabana pricing varies from $1,00 to $3,000 depending on the crowd and can seat up to 10.

Daybeds run around $1,000 with tables at $600. Daybeds accommodate about 6 while the tables seat about 4. Their bottom bottle is currently $425 which is down a bit from last year.

Bare (Mirage) is one of the more famous “European Style” or topless pool parties in Vegas however it is not the voyeur heaven that one would expect. Typically not very many women choose to go topless although most are in smallish bikinis anyway. As is typical for Vegas, Bare “seeds” their party with paid models. Believe it or not, even local’s pool parties do the same thing.

It is a bit small by today’s Vegas standards at 14,000 square feet. They have 15 cabanas and 15 day beds that accommodate about 10 and 6 respectively. On a holiday weekend these will go for over $1,500 and $850 and when not busy for half to one-third those rates.

Tao Beach (Venetian) is a small Vegas pool party that used to have some of the most beautiful people in the Vegas pool party scene but slipped a little bit over the past couple of years. Tao Beach only has 18,000 square feet but they make full use of the highly tucked away space.

Peak pricing is about $2,500 for the cabanas that can hold up to about 20. On weekdays, cabanas can get down to $500. Corner day beds accommodate up to 12 and range from $750 to $1,000 or so while the regular daybeds hold about 8. Unlike Bare which is topless allowed every day, Tao Beach is only topless Monday to Thursdays but see our comments on Bare.

Nikki Beach Club (Tropicana) will be updated as more information is known. In other cities Nikki Beach has performed well with their brunch, a fashion emphasis and an all white decor differentiating this chain. In other locations their music has been less House than typical Vegas.

Like Encore Beach Club there will be a nightclub associated with the pool party but it will not be a very large at about 15,000 square feet. It is not clear yet if Nikki Beach will commandeer all of the Tropicana pool area but if it does, it will be a very large pool club at about 175,000 square feet or in the same ballpark as Rehab.

One of the differences between the 2011 Vegas pool scene and last year is that pricing was rising rapidly in 2010 but is flat to down in 2011. We are speculating that competition is finally affecting pricing and if Nikki Beach is a major pool party, it could become more noticeable as the 2011 season wears on. Imagine another Rehab going on 7 days a week and Rehab is adding Fridays for the 2011 season.

Marqee Day Club (Cosmoplitan) is another new entrant. This 22,000 square foot party is likely to be a very successful niche player given management's track record. Not many details have been set yet and those that have, change.