Some time ago I posted a blog that describes my favorite upscale / luxury suites in Las Vegas. But I don’t always get to stay in upscale rooms; I sometime stay in what I’ll call ordinary hotel rooms (even though Las Vegas is far from ordinary).

So, here are my current top 10 places to stay in Las Vegas, assuming I’m not going to stay at a luxury suite of some sort.

1. Encore – I love the Encore Hotel. It’s at the north end of the Strip which means I can’t walk to a lot of venues, but other than that, Encore is just about perfect. It’s hard to describe, but the Encore just feels right. The prices here are a bit higher than most hotels, but well worth it in my opinion.

2. Wynn – The Wynn and the Encore are practically the same — the two hotels are connected and many times are referred to as Wynn/Encore collectively. I love the Wynn, especially the restaurants, which I think, as a group, are the best of any hotel in Vegas.

3. Bellagio – The Bellagio has a different feel than the Wynn and Encore — it’s hard to describe, but the Bellagio is a bit more conservative in some ways, mostly the décor I think. I’ve noticed that staying at the Bellagio either before or after staying at the Wynn/Encore makes the experience at all three hotels seem even better.

4. Palazzo – The Palazzo has great rooms — essentially all suites. And the Palazzo is directly connected to the Venetian which has a lot of great restaurants and shopping.

5. Aria – The Aria doesn’t seem to have one characteristic that makes it really stand out, but the property is good in a lot of ways. Nice location near the center of the Strip, nice rooms, good restaurants, and one of my all-time favorite bakeries (Jean Philippe).

7. The Venetian – Every time I stay at the Venetian I recall one of my all-time favorite shows, The Phantom of the Opera. I like the rooms at the Venetian (all 700+ square feet), and the shopping arcade with restaurants by the indoor canal.

8. Cosmopolitan – The Cosmopolitan is a nice hotel, but clearly a notch below the hotels I’ve listed above. The Cosmopolitan tries a bit too hard to be trendy, but it’s still a good hotel, and much better than older properties like the Luxor and the Tropicana.

9. The MGM Grand – the MGM is maybe one of the best values in Vegas. On the downside, MGM is near the very south end of the Strip which makes it impractical to walk to many other places. But the MGM has a lot going for it, and I’ve often stayed there.

10. Mandalay Bay – The Mandalay Bay is a good hotel, but not in the same league with my top five Vegas hotels. Mandalay has good (but not great) restaurants, good (but not great rooms), good (but not great) service, and so on.