Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

HENDERSON 121
accepted. Amenities: Restaurant; bar; concierge; 2 pools; health club and spa; business center; shuttle to
Strip; water taxis to nearby attractions; some free exercise classes; 24-hr. room service; in-room massage;
babysitting; laundry and dry cleaning; nonsmoking rooms; Club-level rooms. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies,
Nintendo, dataport, high-speed Internet access (for a fee), minibar, hair dryers, irons and ironing boards, safe.
EXPENSIVE
Green Valley Ranch Resort Now, for all our heartfelt rhapsodizing
above about the Ritz, do not think that we love Green Valley any less. It’s not
fair to this flat-out fabulous resort to compare the two—they can’t quite compete
on the same playing field, because it doesn’t have the same level of pedigree
as the Ritz, nor does it have the knockout physical positioning on the lake. But
it makes up for that with earnest efforts and lower prices (plus it’s about half the
distance back to the Strip, which is visible from the pool area), and if you can’t
stay at the one, you won’t be unhappy staying at the other. Two different experiences,
but each will make you feel like a resort should. Anyway, it seems that
Green Valley’s designers took careful notes on places like the Ritz-Carlton when
coming up with their design—the interiors, rooms and public spaces both, feel
completely influenced by same, while the exterior pool area borrowed much
from hip hotel concepts such as the Standard and the W. This sounds like a
potentially risky combination, but it works smashingly. You can stay here with
your parents or your kids and every age group should be happy.
Inside all is posh and stately, a dignified classy lobby, large rooms with the
most comfortable beds in town (high-thread-count linens, feather beds, plump
down comforters) and luxe marble bathrooms. Outside is the hippest pool area
this side of the aforementioned Hard Rock; part lagoon, part geometric, with
shallow places for reading and canoodling, and your choice of poolside lounging
equipment, ranging from teak lounge chairs to thick mattresses strewn with
pillows, plus drinks served from the trendy Whiskey Beach. The tiny health club
is free, and the spa is also modern and hip. At night, you can hang out at the
ultra-trendy Whiskey Sky as more mattresses and pillows get strewn about, all
the better to attract the most beautiful bodies in town (desperate souls try to get
past the velvet rope—you can pass with ease because you are staying here), or
you can head over to the entirely separate (as in, an adjoining building) casino
area, which offers a disappointingly old school–looking gambling area, plus a
variety of restaurants, from a Pancake House to a small Stage Deli to fine steaks
and fried goodies at kicky BullShrimp. There is also a multiscreen movie theater.
2300 Paseo Verde Pkwy. (at I-215), Henderson, NV 89052. & 866/782-9487 or 702/782-9487. Fax
702/617-6885. www.greenvalleyranchresort.com. 200 units. Sun–Thurs $109 and up double, Fri–Sat $159
and up double. Extra person $12. Children under 12 stay free in parent’s room. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Free selfand
valet parking. Amenities: Casino; lounge; 10 restaurants; outdoor pool; health club and spa; Jacuzzi;
sauna; concierge; business center; 24-hr. room service; in-room massage; laundry service; dry cleaning; nonsmoking
rooms; executive-level rooms. In room: A/C, TV w/pay movies, high-speed Internet access (for a fee),
dataport, coffeemaker, hair dryer, iron and board, safe.