Las Vegas is home to countless raucous, wide-open public places that are hard to miss. But the city also has several more subdued, discreet spots. Some are hidden in plain sight, a few require a little bit of research and some may even require a password or a knowing nod and nuanced directions from a fellow guest or an employee to get to the right place.
Some of these hidden-away locations could actually become a vacation highlight. Here are a few worth checking out:
One of the newest inconspicuous spots on the Strip is The Vault, behind a gold-colored door near the Bellagio's casino cage. The chic cocktail club, open from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. nightly, offers creations from distillers and vintners amid the work of artists from around the world, including Cuban painter Tomas Esson. Guests can enjoy eare spirits and imaginative plates while gazing at a variety of art under a chandelier with 80 faceted glass globes. There's a reservation link in @TheVault on Instagram or email thevault@bellagioresort.com.
Visitors to The Cabinet of Curiosities on the Horseshoe Las Vegas' lower level must first find the locksmith to enter the Safe Room, where they must solve one of two hidden puzzles to gain entrance to The Lock, an intimate speakeasy. Story-driven, Prohibition-era craft cocktails are served, but mixologists can also devise drinks that match guests' personality and mood. The Lock opens at 4 p.m. daily; reservations are not required but are highly recommended.
1923 Prohibition Bar at the Shoppes at Mandalay Bay (and coming soon to the Venetian) offers discretion and bourbon-centric cocktails. NOLA Nights and ghost stories add to the aura of a spot adjacent to the Minus5 Ice Experience.
The Count Room in Bugsy & Meyer’s Steakhouse at the Flamingo. Photo Credit: Caesars Entertainment
The Count Room speakeasy, hidden in Bugsy & Meyer's Steakhouse at the Flamingo, offers full dinner and drink menus. There is live entertainment from 8 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations are not required for The Count Room. But guests can make a reservation and add a note about their preference to visit the speakeasy.
In addition to Secret Pizza, which can be found down an unmarked, record-lined hallway on the third floor, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas houses a saloon behind the janitor's door of its men's grooming salon on the street level. The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails features live music nightly. Stars such as Bruno Mars. Anderson Paak, Zac Brown, Dave Matthews and Machine Gun Kelly have performed before surprised fans nestled in leather couches and lush chairs. Guests can book a salon appointment and VIP reservations. The Saloon opens at 8 p.m. Sundays to Wednesdays and 6 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays.
The Cosmopolitan offers an array of other hidden gems, as well: Ghost Donkey is a hidden mezcal and tequila party in the Block 16 Food Hall at the Cosmopolitan. Tasting flights and cocktails made with traditional Mexican spirits and artisanal brands are offered with truffle nachos among other snacks. A pawn shop storefront conceals the wonders of the Beauty & Essex restaurant with tables in jewelry box-inspired rooms, and the Ski Lodge (behind a door with a small bronze square with a skier emblem) in Spiegelworld's Superfrico fashions itself as the "slope-side hole-in the-wall" Bar-Gyu in Hokkaido, Japan. Reservations are not accepted.
Over at the Park MGM, the On the Record Speakeasy and Club, itself obscured behind a record store entrance off the main casino floor, features out-of-the-way karaoke rooms. At Best Friend, guests must pass through thick plastic door curtains in the back of a modest bodega to taste Roy Choi's food, made famous from his L.A. food truck
Easy’s is a 1920s-styled cabaret lounge in Aria’s Proper Eats food hall. Photo Credit: Jeff Green
At Aria's Proper Eats food hall, which opened last year, behind a small doughnut shop, is Easy's Cocktail Room, a 1920s-styled cabaret lounge with up-tempo jazz, among other genres. Floor-to-ceiling, emerald-green drapery and velvet-upholstered panels surround the stage. Floral imagery on the ceiling and the carpet also set the mood. Guests can lounge in deep sofas and chairs while sipping "showstopper" cocktails and sampling caviar. Easy's is open from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursdays to Mondays.
Here Kitty Kitty Vice Den, open from 5 p.m. daily, is just behind a small gift and sundries shop in the Famous Food Street Eats at Resorts World Las Vegas. It describes itself as an "elegantly grunge speakeasy … offering guests a laid-back hangout and expertly crafted mixology program inspired by the Prohibition era with a Singaporean twist."
Downtown Las Vegas also offers a few intimate haunts: On Commonwealth's first floor is the Laundry Room (go to the back wall underneath the stairs), with extra attention to detail behind the bar for no more than 22 guests at a time.
Visitors to the Mob Museum must talk a good game or know a secret password (on the website) to convince the doorman at the Underground they are not "coppers."
And once guests find their way into the Downtown Cocktail Lounge (push the unmarked door on the left), they can drink and be amused by those still figuring out how to get in from the other side of the glass. They can also visit the adjacent Mike Morey's Sip 'n' Tip, which bills its "clandestine, low-brow New York City vibes."