Las Vegas Business Travel Guide

While many tourists visit Las Vegas to forget about work, a whopping 21,000 conventions were held there in 2012 with nearly five million attendees. There's a lot of business going on in Vegas, and GAYOT.com can help you make the most of your trip. We can tell you where to stay, eat and even celebrate when the ink is dry on that new contract.

WHERE TO STAY

Alexis Park Resort Hotel

Set within twenty lushly landscaped acres (with a sprawling courtyard as its centerpiece), this smoke-free, all-suite resort offers a quiet alternative to the Strip's hustle and bustle. Although within walking distance of the Strip, the property is casino-free — there isn't a slot machine in sight! Some of the suites are two stories and feature fireplaces, European wet bars, high-speed Internet access and refrigerators. On-site facilities include a bar and grill, lounge with live entertainment, a fully equipped health spa and an exercise room. This property is popular among business travelers for its audio-visual and secretarial services as well as its newly remodeled 50,000-square-foot meeting space for up to 1,600 people.

For more information, visit www.alexispark.com

Aria Hotel and Casino

Situated on the Strip in CityCenter, the Aria Hotel boasts technologically advanced guest rooms and an environmentally friendly policy that has been awarded several LEED Gold certificates by the U.S. Green Building Council. The casino resort features guest rooms equipped with audio technology that verbally greets guests by their names when they enter the room. A simple "Good Night" even turns off the lights, closes the curtains and activates the "Do Not Disturb" sign. Dining options include Michael Mina's American Fish, Sage, Bar Masa, Jean-Georges Steakhouse, Sirio Ristorante and Julian Serrano. Resort-wide Wi-Fi access is available for a fee, thus allowing you to spend your downtime surfing the Internet. The property also boasts 300,000 square feet of meeting space: there are four ballrooms ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 square feet and 38 meeting/executive rooms. A free tram connects Aria to the Bellagio and the Monte Carlo. Entertainment options include Haze Nightclub and Zarkana, which is a Cirque du Soleil acrobatic spectacular.

For more information, visit www.arialasvegas.com

Caesars Palace

Since it opened in 1966, Caesars Palace has become synonymous with Sin City. Thankfully, this Las Vegas icon has been able to survive thanks to its ability to consistently reinvent itself. The casino is constantly expanding, and several new suite towers — including the rather regal-sounding Augustus Tower — and the world's first Nobu Hotel were recently added to provide additional rooms for guests. The rooms at The Augustus Tower are modern and spacious with amenities ranging from 42-inch plasma screen TVs to oversized soaking tubs. Nobu's rooms feature over-sized walk-in showers made with traditional black Umi tiles with multiple showerheads and a teak bathing stool, a fixture of traditional Japanese bathhouses. Some 240,000 square feet of meeting and convention space house events and gatherings of all sizes, with rich furnishing for a truly executive feel. Entertainment is always top notch, with headliners such as Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Elton John or Rod Stewart in residence at the Colosseum. Dining can be as casual or as formal as you choose, with options such as Payard Patisserie & Bistro, New York's legendary Rao's and Old Homestead Steakhouse, Central Michel Richard, Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill and Restaurant Guy Savoy.

For more information, visit www.caesarspalace.com

WHERE TO DINE

Aureole

Dine at this Mandalay Bay restaurant just to see its unique four-story wine tower. Showgirl-style wine "angels" ascend the tower with the help of cables and pulleys to choose your trophy bottle. The menu features small plates to share, such as scallop ceviche with crispy shallots and a spicy Serrano vinaigrette, or rich and savory beef tortellini in a truffle port wine sauce. Choosing dessert may be difficult — the chocolate torte may sound tempting, but wouldn't it be more fun to order a dessert wine and watch an "angel" soar into the air to secure your sweet libation?

For more information, visit www.aureolelv.com

Botero

Named after Colombian artist Fernando Botero (several of his works are on display), this chic restaurant offers an experience almost like visiting an art museum. Executive chef Mark LoRusso has crafted a menu divided into three unique sections: Farm and Fields, Inspired by the Sea, and Surf & Turf. A vegan/vegetarian menu includes potato-crusted tofu with quinoa salad tossed with garlic vinaigrette. A highlight from the sea menu is the hamachi tartare composed of yellowtail, crispy rice cake and sweet chili vinaigrette. Turf offerings feature steaks with three choices of preparation — pepper steak, chimichurri and traditional — as well as options for filets, which include New York strip, bone-in rib-eye, porterhouse and Châteaubriand. Any selection from among the more than 600 available wines will complement your meal wonderfully.

For more information, visit www.wynnlasvegas.com

Nobu

Nobu at Caesars Palace is the first restaurant in Chef Nobu Matsuhisa's collection to open on the Las Vegas Strip; it's also the first to reside alongside a Nobu Hotel and offer teppanyaki tables and an in-room dining menu. Design elements include bowed columns of bamboo, colorful private dining pods and oversized light fixtures inspired by Japanese tea whisks. Begin with yellowtail sashimi with jalapeño, cilantro and garlic purée; or the thinly sliced tiradito-style white fish with Peruvian chili paste and dehydrated soy salt. Among toban-yaki offerings is beef tenderloin enlivened with flamed sake, deglazed yuzu, caramelized onions, and shiitake and enokitake mushrooms. A brick oven allows the signature dish to shine: Alaskan black cod miso that is marinated and broiled to the point that it melts in your mouth. The house special sushi roll consists of yellowtail, salmon, tuna, whitefish and snow crab wrapped in paper-thin daikon. Be sure to take advantage of a list of ten sakes, imported by Hokusetsu exclusively for Nobu in the U.S.

For more information, visit www.nobucaesarspalace.com

OFF THE CLOCK

"O" - Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil promotes its spectacular "O" as an aquatic celebration of life, love and death. And oh, what a celebration it is! Taking its name and theme from the French word eau for water, the extraordinarily talented cast performs in, on and above the water in a show that dazzles all the senses with its colorful tableaus and state-of-the-art synchronization, backed by the magnificent music of a ten-piece orchestra. The quality of "O" and its spectacular ever-changing settings have made this one of the most popular shows in town since its debut in 1998.

For more information, visit www.cirquedusoleil.com

Red Square

After a day in the city of capitalist decadence, take a trip behind the Iron Curtain to Red Square, Mandalay Bay's swanky Soviet-style lounge. The Communism-themed nightspot comes complete with a headless statue of Lenin, an extensive caviar menu, a bar topped with a sheet of ice and a frozen locker chilling more than 100 brands of vodka. Guests don fur coats and caps, then brave the walk-in freezer to hand-pick their poison.

For more information, visit www.mandalaybay.com

TPC (Tournament Players Club) Las Vegas

Located in the Summerlin area twenty minutes from the Strip, this 7,063-yard golf course features vistas of the Las Vegas skyline, surrounding mountains and the backdrop of the beautiful Red Rock Canyon. A PGA Tour facility, it offers the same links that some of the biggest names on the professional circuit have played. This is a course that will challenge all aspects of your game and require the use of every club in your bag. The fairways are wide, as much as 50 yards on some holes.

For more information, visit www.tpc.com/tpc-las-vegas

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