The catch at Red Rock Casino Resort & Spa

Red Rock stands in Summerlin, on the western edge of the valley, and most of the Las Vegas on a first-timer's list is a drive away: the Bellagio fountains are 24 minutes by car on clear roads, Fremont Street 21, and the airport 24 to 29, depending on the terminal. The resort runs no shuttle to the Strip or the airport. Its concierge books sedans, SUVs and limousines, and hire cars can be collected at the valet. The public alternative is the 24-hour Sahara Express bus from the Downtown Summerlin transit centre, about seven minutes' walk away, which takes about 45 minutes to reach the Strip at Sahara Avenue on a weekday. So every evening on the Strip needs a plan for the ride there and the ride back.

Every rate carries a resort fee of $55 a night plus tax, $62.15 in all, due at check-in on top of the room rate. It covers Wi-Fi at 30Mb (50Mb costs $9.99 a night more), casting to the television, the 24-hour fitness centre, two bottles of water a stay, local and toll-free calls, and copying and faxing at the bell desk. The rate itself moves with the week: on a mid-May Tuesday the entry room is $249, a Friday or Saturday in the same week can cost about twice that, and a holiday weekend more again. The small charges follow. A refrigerator is $15 a night, a third adult $25 a night and a rollaway $35, and there is no coffee maker in the rooms, a recurring complaint among guests.

Red Rock was built as a locals' casino as much as a resort, and it still runs as one, with 2,629 slot machines, 62 gaming tables, a 72-lane bowling centre and a 16-screen cinema under the same roof. Nevada's indoor smoking ban exempts the casino gaming areas, though not the restaurants, and smoke drifting from the casino floor is one of the complaints that recurs among guests who do not smoke. The rooms themselves are non-smoking, with a $500 cleaning charge for tobacco, and large, clean rooms are what guests praise most.

The pool area opens from 10am to 5pm, with its kitchen and bar closing at 4pm, so there is no early swim and no swim at sunset. Through the winter it runs from 10am to 4pm with the kitchen and bar closed for the season, and the over-21s pool, Rouge Cabanas, opens only at weekends and closes for the winter. Shade is paid for: in October 2026 a cabana for eight was $200 to $300 on a weekday and $300 to $400 at the weekend, and a daybed for four $75 to $100, or $175 to $200, before any food or drink. At the spa, the steam room, sauna, cold plunge and outdoor spa pool come with a booked treatment, from $170 for a 50-minute massage on a weekday, with a suggested gratuity added to the bill.

The canyon is the reason to stay out here, and it is not a turn-up-and-drive affair. From 1 October to 31 May the 13-mile scenic drive needs a timed-entry reservation for arrivals between 8am and 5pm, released on Recreation.gov 30 days ahead at 7am Pacific time, with a second release two days ahead, and the $20 private-vehicle fee is paid as well. The drive closes early in the short months: at 5pm from November to February, 7pm in March and October and 8pm from April to September. From June to September no reservation is needed, but average highs at the canyon reach 91°F to 97°F (33°C to 36°C) from June to August, and the conservation area's own advice is to hike, bike and climb early in the morning or late in the evening.