A true Vegas icon, the AAA five-diamond Bellagio hotel and casino was designed with beauty (and a particularly sumptuous brand of luxury) in mind. The hotel is located on the Strip but separated from it by a driveway and a lake, featuring more than 1,000 water fountains. The hotel is also well known for its botanical gardens and a fine arts gallery. Bellagio's 3,933 guest rooms and suites are as impressively plush as you'd imagine, and priced depending on how good a view you have of the fountains.

With a stellar location on the Strip, attentive service and the best rooms boasting balconies overlooking the Bellagio's water fountains, The Cosmopolitan has deservedly become one of the top-rated hotels in Vegas since it opened in 2010. Rooms are sophisticated, modern and spacious, and amenities include a casino (of course), a nightclub, restaurants, rooftop pools and a spa. Make sure to have a cocktail in the bar built inside a giant chandelier featuring two million Swarovski crystals.

Another to offer five-diamond luxury (Vegas has more hotels with this top industry rating than anywhere else in the USA), The Palazzo opened at the end of 2007 and has already earned a reputation as somewhere that takes bling and exclusivity to suitable heights. It's an all-suite property with a European influence and the largest standard accommodation on the Strip, and offers no fewer than 38 dining options to boot, shared between it and its sister next door, The Venetian.

Located in Henderson, a short drive outside of Las Vegas, Green Valley Ranch Resort puts the focus on pampering and provides a break from the pace of The Strip. The resort is a rambling Mediterranean hacienda and houses eight restaurants, a cinema and a European-inspired intimate casino. The main buildings open onto the pool area with a small sand beach and private lounging beds in a more modern European setting.

An inventory of over 5,000 rooms makes the MGM Grand one of the big players in terms of volume, but they've done their best to retain some character. Black-and-white movie photos adorn the guest rooms, and the art deco furniture also helps. Joël Robuchon, Michael Mina and Tom Colicchio add their names to the top-class dining rooms. The casino is gigantic, with Cirque du Soleil among the entertainment options.

The Palms is one of the newer hotel/casino resorts in Las Vegas, and caters to the young, moneyed celebrity and wannabe crowd. Chicago's famous Ghostbar has a franchise here, and is one of the gathering spots for the rich and beautiful. Guest rooms feature the usual amenities as well as the not so usual, including private outdoor Jacuzzis and an on-resort palm-reader.

One of the more modest casinos in Las Vegas, El Cortez's roots actually go back to the era of 'Bugsy' Siegel, one of the city's founders. These days, this Las Vegas hotel advertises a modest selection of rooms with furnishings that are generally simple but comfortable. The friendly atmosphere and central location to downtown attractions have long been one of the draws, despite it now being outmatched by the grandiose casinos of the Strip.

It may not have an Eiffel Tower outside or a Grand Canal running through it, but the Fremont has a longer-standing claim to be one of Las Vegas's best-loved landmarks. Now the heart of the Fremont Street Experience, when it was built in 1956 it was the first high-rise hotel in the downtown area. Its history might be long in the tooth (for this city), but the 447 spacious guestrooms are regularly renovated and modernised.

This 2,000-room resort and casino is easy to spot: it's the one with the Statue of Liberty out front, standing proudly beside a miniature Brooklyn Bridge. Rooms in its Empire State and Chrysler Building towers are large, well-appointed and can be surprisingly good value. If you pick upon the faint sounds of screaming coming from outside, don't be alarmed. It's adrenaline junkies hurtling around the full-size rollercoaster that loops around the perimeter.