Formerly the Las Vegas Hilton—and briefly, LVH—Westgate has taken over the hotel most convenient to the Convention Center. The developers are best known for their timeshare properties around the country. They treated the 40-year-old hotel and casino to a multi-million-dollar facelift, hoping to make the iconic property near the north of the Strip relevant once again. Though they converted some of the rooms into timeshares while they were at it, it still operates primarily as a hotel, so you don’t need to own one to reserve a night here. You may get a quick pitch to "stop in for a quick presentation" while you're there, which is code for "let us take 90 minutes of your life you'll never get back and try to sell you on a timeshare." But the few folks I talked to who experienced this said it was low-pressure, and they never fetl obligated to go. 

The premium rooms are still efficient, but since it’s a new hotel, try to stay in one of the updated rooms or 300 suites. The Signature Rooms reveal some much-needed color and pizzazz, and Hollywood-inspired touches like black tufted-leather headboards and red-leather pullout sofas in the king suites. Marble floors, Keurig coffeemakers, 60-inch TVs, and sateen linens have guests relaxing in style.

The hotel has a lot of dining options, including the country’s largest Benihana, Park City, Utah transplant The Edge Steakhouse and a 24-hour American comfort food spot, Sid’s Café, named for Westgate Las Vegas owner David Siegel’s father, Sid Siegel.

Close proximity to the Las Vegas Convention Center make this an easy choice if you’re attending a show there (Barry Manilow just announced a residency), but a convenient Monorail spot on-property also makes the rest of the Strip just as accessible.

There’s 95,000 square feet of gaming space, so this isn’t the biggest casino floor in town, but nearly 5,000 square feet of it constitutes the world’s largest race and sportsbook called the “SuperBook” (bonus: it’s totally non-smoking).