Stratosphere

The Stratosphere is the northernmost hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip and the only Strip hotel and casino inside the City of Las Vegas. (The rest of the Strip is in Clark County.)

Aptly named, the Stratosphere has become the principal beacon and landmark for navigating in Las Vegas, as its 113-story tower is visible from nearly anywhere. It is said that the tower is the tallest observation tower in the United States. This property opened in April of 1996 and offers 2,444 rooms and 100 suites. It was thought to be a little remote in its extreme north Strip location, and it took a while for the Stratosphere to "catch on." But now it is considered to be strategically well-positioned, about at the midpoint between Las Vegas' renewed downtown area (the Fremont Street Experience [link]) and the middle of the Strip.

On the top of the Stratosphere tower is the Big Shot, a ride that uses compressed air to pro-pel the courageous for another 160 feet above the tower into the sky. Other rides include Insanity -- the Ride (a mechanical arm spinning people 64 feet away from the tower to 3 G's of acceleration, all over 900 feet in the air) and X-Scream (a see-saw at 866 feet that propels riders 27 feet away from and over the Tower). For the less adventurous, there is a lounge on the 107th floor with the best views in the valley.

The Stratosphere's casino covers 80,000-square-feet, with over 50 table games (mainly blackjack of different types, roulette, Pai Gow poker, mini-baccarat, Let it Ride, craps, three card poker and Caribbean stud), a separate poker room, slot and video poker machines including the popular favorites. The race and sports book has 120 seats, 24 large screens, and 33 TV's. Betting lines are set up on premises and also from outside makers.

Top of the World is a sophisticated, urbane fine dining restaurant high in the Tower, with views of the whole city below in all directions. The restaurant rotates one full cycle every 80 minutes. Diners have an extensive menu from which to chose, including seafood and steaks, rack of lamb and Chateaubriand for two. The desserts and wines are of the same high caliber as the main dishes.

Roxy´s Diner is a modern version of the Las Vegas diners of bygone eras. It offers a large breakfast buffet or something off the menu. Guests can always take advantage of the complete, old-fashioned, American food menu, like meatloaf or chicken-fried steak. In tune with the rock ´n´ roll era of the '50's, the wait staff may just break into song and dance while on the job.

The Courtyard Buffet has all the variety anyone could want, with live food stations, a section of American favorites, and an international section with dishes from all over other parts of the world.

Fellini's Ristorante provides a romantic ambiance and a delicious reminder of all the tastes of classic Italian recipes.

For people in a hurry, Naga Chinese Express offers a variety of Asian dishes including noodles, stir fry and even sushi.

The Crazy Armadillo is a Mexican cantina with drinks, fun, music, and DJ dance parties on weekend nights.

Romance at Top of the World is normally a quiet bar, but it also hosts a meet and greet with the cast of BITE on the nights when there are performances. This bar also books live jazz music.

The Broadway-style showroom, called "The Theater of the Stars," is the Stratosphere's entertainment venue, which it fills with two shows: The first is American Superstars, which is a "tribute show" (i.e., convincing impersonators of famous celebrities) to modern popular music. It includes a lot of dancing, rock ´n´roll and personalities like Madonna, Tim McGraw, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson, and, naturally, Elvis. Later on, an erotic production called "BITE" is presented, featuring topless vampirettes.

The Roni Josef Salon and Day Spa is a complete beauty salon as well as an upscale spa, which will provide a full array of massages, body treatments and skin treatments, including facials. There is also a fully-equipped health club, with cardiovascular exercise equipment and resistance training equipment.

The Stratosphere seeks to accommodate mid-sized groups. It has a meeting staff with an audio-visual department, specialists in catering and planners to configure the 8,100 square feet of available facility space. Six meeting and banquet rooms are on floors 103 and 104 of the Tower. The observation decks are available to meeting participants. The hotel also operates a business center.

Polly Esther's, is an acclaimed national chain of nightclubs. The Stratosphere's 26,000 square foot version can accommodate 1,300 people in four separate sub-venues: Nerva-Ana, Suite 2000, Culture Club, and Polly Ether's. Each venue celebrates the music of a recent decade and each offers a busy dance floor. The décor comes from the decades celebrated, including flashbacks to Saturday Night Fever and the Brady Bunch. A DeLorean hangs from the ceiling and OJ's white bronco is there in Nerve-Ana.

The Oasis Lounge never closes. In addition to the best of drinks and wines, it has a dance floor and an in-house DJ. Videos and important sporting events play on a large projection screen.

The Images Lounge also books live bands and has a large stage area and dance floor. Each night features a different music genre.

The round and sexy C Bar in the center of the property has a sound system and big screens, playing the hottest new music videos. The décor is essentially dimly-lit neon.

The Stratosphere's pool is large -- 15,000 square feet -- and includes a large capacity whirl-pool and a waterfall. Cabana rentals are available. The whole pool area is about an acre and a half, on the 8th floor of the hotel, and includes a deck with plenty of room for sunbathing. On the 25th floor of the tower guests can partake of "European" sunbathing in an adults-only environment.

The Tower Shops at the Stratosphere offers guests close to 50 retail outlets and several carts. A few of the many choices are: caricatures, airbrush body art, fragrances, women's apparel, accessories, jewelry, art, photos, menswear, an oxygen bar, house wares, leather, magic, logo shops, gifts, and lots of special places for food, snacks and drinks.

Bridal couples can chose to be married in the Bella Luna wedding chapel or in any of a number of other great venues, including over 1,000 feet off the ground in the tower. Several packages are available, including all the necessary elements from flowers and champagne to music and photography. The Stratosphere can handle the catering, too, for groups from just a few to many hundreds. An Elvis impersonator can always be added to the event for an additional fee.