I'm A Las Vegas Local Who Has Swum In Nearly Every Strip Resort Pool — These Are Some Of My Favorites

Live in Las Vegas long enough, and there will come a time when you wake up and realize you've stayed at all of the major Strip resorts, eaten at many of the most famous celebrity chef-owned restaurants, and swum in all the fanciest, most popular resort pools. Most of us locals don't set out to accomplish this feat, but between visiting with out-of-town family, attending friends' poolside birthday parties, and the odd comped staycation, sooner or later, it happens. It's one of the perks of being a local, and I like to think of it as a reward for surviving Nevada's scorching desert summers.

There are 46 resorts and hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, and while I haven't swum in every single resort pool — Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas remains, for now anyway, out of my price range — I've gotten pretty close. I've swum in most of the major resort pools, including all eight of the Caesars Entertainment properties and all 12 of the MGM properties. And with the exception of a few timeshares and budget motels, I've swum in the pools of most of the major independent chains, too. The following are six of my favorite resort pools on the Las Vegas Strip that I'll continue to return to again and again.

Fontainebleau is known as the new ultra-glam Las Vegas casino resort with star chefs and sky-high Strip and Sphere views. The resort's seven pools are equally glamorous and effortlessly retro. The mid-century modern aesthetic gives Palm Springs vibes, and the navy blue color motif with splashes of sunflower yellow and poolside bars and restaurants with names like "Bleau Isle" and "La Côte" bring to mind images of cafes along the coast of the French Riviera. 

Fontainebleau opened in 2023, and the pools reflect this newness with a hip, cool vibe that some older properties can struggle to achieve. They're elegant without feeling stuffy. Plus, their poolside food is excellent, especially the mahi mahi tacos with cabbage slaw. Though the pools are closed for swimming during the winter, the deck stays open, transforming into a large skating rink where you can rotate in circles among the palm trees and fairy lights, roast s'mores outside at the cabanas, and get cozy on the couches watching holiday movies play on the big screen. 

The MGM Grand Pool Complex is loud, rambunctious, and has a party atmosphere that tends to draw hordes of fun-loving people of all ages. The 6.5-acre poolscape has four pools, three hot tubs, and a lazy river, though "lazy" is probably not the best description, as it's fast-moving and gets crowded with people bumper-car-ring into one another in their inner tubes. If the river gets too intense, however, you can always veer over into a connecting pool and cool off under a waterfall or rest at the side with a drink from the poolside bar (the pool complex has a total of five pool bars).

Though the MGM Grand pool's music is deafening and snagging a lounge chair might require circling the maze that is the pool deck a few times, I've never had quite as much fun swimming as I've had at the MGM Grand pool.

No list of Strip pools is complete without mentioning the king of Vegas pools — Mandalay Bay Beach. Mandalay Bay doesn't just have a pool; it has an 11-acre "aquatic playground," according to its official website, with a massive, 1.6-million-gallon wave pool, a lazy river, white-sand beaches, and an adults-only pool and beach club. Offering a little something for everyone, Mandalay Bay Beach is great for families with elementary school-aged children or teens, as you have to be at least 48 inches tall to enter the wave pool.

Out of all the resort pools in Vegas, Mandalay Bay Beach is the most exciting and feels more like an amusement park than anything resembling a typical hotel pool experience. It can get crowded in the summer, however, so if you want to get a lounge chair, I recommend you arrive early – the pool opens at 8 a.m. – to beat the crowds, or else splurge and reserve a cabana. At the upscale, 21-and-older Moorea Beach Club, you can rent a villa that has a private bathroom and stunning views of the turquoise-colored wave pool below. 

The Wynn is the largest casino in Las Vegas and is known for its luxe shopping and picturesque gardens. With their perfectly sculpted hedges and classical Italian cabanas complete with Juliet balconies, the pools at Wynn and Encore bring a level of understated luxury you'd expect from a 5-star resort. The Wynn has two main pools — one at the Wynn and another at the connecting Encore Resort — as well as an adults-only European-style pool, two private pools for Tower Suites guests, and the Encore Beach Club, which hosts nighttime pool parties on the weekends. 

My favorite pool is The Pool at Wynn. I love the plush lounge chairs and the shaded, tree-lined walkways, which are so quiet that on a recent visit, I could hear the birds chirping. The two circular pools that make up The Pool at Wynn are connected by a straight, narrow canal that gives castle-moat vibes. The water is shallow enough that I could walk between pools, lemon water in hand, admiring the bridges and gardens along the way.

The five pools at the Bellagio Las Vegas, which include the adults-only Cypress Pool, don't attract a ton of kids, and there's no dayclub, making it a great choice for more mature visitors or couples looking to get away from the party scene. While other Vegas pools make headlines with poolside concerts and celebrity DJs, at Bellagio, you're more likely to find people reading, napping, or talking quietly than dancing en masse to EDM. 

Like many of the themed resorts in Vegas, the decor at the Bellagio Pool borders on kitsch, but the traditional Vegas opulence also has a refined vibe that offsets the gaudiness. I love the serene fountains and soundtrack of classical music. I also appreciate that many of the comfy, padded lounge chairs have umbrellas. The Bellagio Pool has the Como Poolside Cafe & Bar, where both the lemon blueberry pancakes and heirloom tomato salad, with feta cheese, red onion, cucumber, olives, and red wine vinaigrette, are very tasty. 

Resorts World may be known for its innovative tech, spa theatrics, and food hall with street eats from around the world, but my favorite amenity at this massive Strip resort is the 5.5-acre pool complex. Resorts World has seven pools, but the one that gets the most press attention is the tranquil, adults-only 1,800-square-foot infinity pool that overlooks the Strip. I prefer the family-friendly Main Pool (pictured above) because it allows for discreet people-watching from the little island in the middle.

The Resorts World pools do a nice job of straddling the line between fun and refined. The music may be thumping, the pool deck may be bustling, but because the pools are located on the fifth floor of the resort, they feel far enough removed from the noise of the casino downstairs that it's easy to forget you're in Las Vegas.