Las Vegas: Less Sleaze, More Swank

	Photo: MGM-Mirage Corp.

(Editor's note: Since publication of this article, Simon Kitchen has changed hands and is now named Ago.)

It's a bumpy landing into McCarran International as you begin to regret using your fractional jet miles to simply come to Las Vegas.

Synonymous with $5.95 prime rib, dizzying hotel themes and mass-produced entertainment, Vegas is hardly the luxury getaway you'll be bragging about back at the office. But here you are.

Somehow, the hotel driver managed to meet you almost planeside and rolls your overstuffed Etro bag to a waiting Mercedes Maybach, without a single moment of sedan-service small talk. The 10-minute ride to the hotel doesn't last long enough. The door is whisked open with a "Welcome to Vegas," and you're ushered to the private reception area of the hotel.

A Room with a View

In a city with over 125,000 rooms, very few modern Vegas resorts qualify as luxury hotels. Most luxury travelers are unaware of MGM Grand's SkyLofts, a separate all-suite hotel within MGM Grand offering ultra-luxurious 1,500-sqaure foot loft accommodations with Maybach car service, private concierge and on-call butler.

More affordable luxury comes via THEHotel at Mandalay Bay, an all-suite high-rise hotel with apartment-style guest rooms, featuring separate living and sleeping areas. Guests of the hotel use the newly renovated Mandalay wave pool, a splashy oasis of string bikinis and board shorts, but then escape to the THEHotel's sleek Bathhouse Spa.

While one would think that an outpost of the Four Seasons Hotel (also within Mandalay Bay complex) would be a natural luxury selection, the poorly decorated guest rooms and drab common areas are not the high-end hotel chain we know and love. Instead, the Wynn Resort is the next best choice with five-star accommodations and a slate of high-roller suites offering private plunge pools and golf course views.

High Noon in Sin City

Since the reopening of Wynn's Las Vegas Country Club, it's been the hottest course in town. Located directly on the strip, the famed links now offers The Country Club overlooking the 18th hole with a clubby social setting and classic steakhouse cuisine.