Best Las Vegas Pool Parties

Rehab (Hard Rock) is still the top pool party in Vegas but those seeking the plushest pool party will favor Encore Beach Club which has surpassed Wet Republic, our former second choice. However, unlike Rehab and Encore Beach Club, Wet Republic is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays which might end up being its stronger days over time.

Day Dream (M Resort) is recommended for locals or those on a budget. They changed days from last year and have lowered prices making this even more local friendly.

*Encore is open 11 am to 7 pm Friday and Saturday and 10 pm to 4 am on Thursday night.

Rehab/Relax/S.K.A.M. Saturdays (Hard Rock)

Rehab at Hard Rock is the largest, most popular Las Vegas pool party and our top recommendation. 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 but never quite had. If you are not a drinker, you will feel out of place here though.

There are 2 changes for 2010. First, the expansion is complete. The Hard Rock pool complex was formerly rectangular comprised of the Rehab pools, connected by the lazy river.

Now the complex looks like an upside down state of Nevada with a major pool, smaller non-topless round pool and a stage added but for hotel guests--not as part of Rehab. The guests will share the new 2 story Skybar with the Rehab party. Also, as part of the project, roughly 100 cabanas have been added.

Second, a new day has been added to Rehab Sunday and Relax Monday. On S.K.A.M. Saturdays, a live DJ will spin mostly open format (Hip-Hop, Top 40, etc. along with the House that is more typical of Vegas pool party music). 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 strong on Saturday.

The Rehab queue starts before 8 am with an 11 am opening on Sundays. They might catch you if you try to sneak in over the wall from Pink Taco. 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.  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 less crowded, you might get away with under $1,000 for a cabana but on many days you will pay over $2,000. A holiday can run $10,000 or more. 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 although Saturdays are more open format.

Encore Beach Club (Encore) has 8 bungalows that will be the second 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.

The Encore bungalows are on either the lower or upper level and are 350 square feet and also air conditioned 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 $20,000 for a major holiday.

The 220 square feet cabanas will be 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 $10,000 on the busiest weekends.

19 day beds will be 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 $4,000 for the holiday. We will guess that non peak these will go for $1-2,000 which means 3 or 4 bottles at $450-$550 a bottle plus food 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.

Surrender will be open Wednesday through Sunday and overlap with Encore Beach Club's Thursday night which is different from the other Surrender nights because the pool is open.  All other nights, guests can't use the pool.

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. Saturdays are usually the busiest day for this daily party although over time Tuesdays and Wednesdays could be recognized as good days for them too. They offer bungalows, cabanas, stripped down cabanas and day beds and lounge tables with prices up quite a bit from last year.

6 bungalows run roughly $3,000 or so on many weekdays and $5,000 on most Saturdays. These have private spas, limited access and a separate bathroom. Holiday pricing could be double or more but has not been set yet. They hold about 10 people.

Their 10 Deluxe cabanas have a flatscreen, Wii, fridge, etc. and hold up to 15 with Saturday pricing around $3,500. 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 8 with the 14 Day Beds positioned closer to the water holding about 6 party people. These rent out on Saturdays for about $1,500 minimum food and beverage spend.

6 bungalows run roughly $3,000 or so on many weekdays and $5,000 on most Saturdays. These have private spas, limited access and a separate bathroom. Holiday pricing could be double or more but has not been set yet. They hold about 10 people.

Their 10 Deluxe cabanas have a flatscreen, Wii, fridge, etc. and hold up to 15 with Saturday pricing around $3,500. 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 8 with the 14 Day Beds positioned closer to the water holding about 6 party people. These rent out on Saturdays for about $1,500 minimum food and beverage spend.

Liquid (Aria) started March 18 with their grand opening on April 8th. It 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.

Their 16 cabanas have a minimum food and beverage spend of $2,500 on Saturdays and $1,000 less on other days for up to 12 people. Their 35 day beds are going for $750 on Saturdays and can be shared by up to 4. When we visited on a Thursday the crowd was having fun but it seemed their cabanas and day beds were not sold out even though it was almost 1:30 pm.

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.

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 now open to public rental in 2010. Ditch Fridays has a $500 area fee plus a $2,000 food and beverage minimum spend with average bottle pricing for Vegas ($475 for Grey Goose plus 20% tip).

The Palms pool party has day beds for rent but only 3 of them. The area charge is $300 with a $1,000 minimum food/beverage on top of that. No one else has an "area" fee except for Venus Pool at Caesars.

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 attendees whose qualifications are usually immediately apparent. Believe it or not, even the local’s pool parties like Day Dream do the same thing.

If you go to enjoy the party, you will find that it’s not bad at all but 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 $1,500 and $500 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 year. Tao Beach only has 18,000 square feet but they have been very busy expanding with cabanas up from 7 to 16.

Peak pricing is about $2,500 with the day beds about $800 for major holidays. These will cost about 1/3 to 1/4 of those prices when not busy. About 20 can share a cabana and up to 6 for their 32 day beds. Tao Beach also has larger corner day beds further away from the pool that peak at $700.

Day Dream (M Resort) grand opened May 15th with a new schedule of Friday to Monday but with no live DJ on Friday. They have a free champagne for ladies night called Rendezvous on Saturdays which is also new from last year.  Prices are local friendly with their cabanas (10 total) peaking at $500 each on a major 3 day weekend and about $150 less for a regular Saturday. Although they still comfortably hold 10 and offer a flat screen and fridge, the pulled the video games from last year.  Day beds (6 total) run about $150 on most weekends and seat 5 or so.

Friday is Industry day with the 50 or so poolside and 20 bar chairs first come first serve instead of the usual $50 on Saturday and Sunday.  Bottle prices are roughly half of the Strip prices with a Stoli or comparable starting at $225.  The 6 beer bucket is $30-$35 with most food items $9-15 catered in from M Resort room service.  Day Dream has a nice party vibe, closer to Wet Republic than Rehab, for much less money with music that is similar to Liquid's open format (a mix of rap, pop, house,etc.)