This is a question we're routinely posed at least once a year, and the answer remains the same, in that the lack of indoor-pool facilities can be attributed to two principal factors: cost and climate. With the scorching summers we're known for, almost every hotel has an outdoor pool, allowing guests a cool-down opportunity and, these days, often a social/entertainment scene to rival the city's famous nightlife offerings. Virtually every major Strip hotel has at least one pool that's heated year-round, so you can still take a dip or get your aqua workout in, even if it's well outside of sunbathing season.
To maintain an indoor pool in addition to the popular outdoor offerings, when a fitness-oriented facility would be likely to experience only limited use, but would still need to be heated, treated, and overseen by lifeguards etc., is simply not cost-effective, plus pools tend to take up a large amount of real estate. We're actually surprised by how many hotels include a fully-equipped fitness center, Las Vegas in general being an escape destination where we tend to overindulge, rather than hit the treadmill (although we realize this is something of a generalization, especially considering the number of business visitors the city attracts these days).
For many years, the Tropicana was the only hotel on the Strip that operated a year-round indoor-outdoor heated pool, but this disappeared during the 2011 remodel, so now the only hotel even near the Strip to offer an indoor pool is the non-gaming Platinum, which is located a few blocks east of the action on Flamingo Road. It's open year-round, but to hotel guests only unless you book a treatment in their spa, in which case you can also use the pool and the fitness center. The Best Western Plus North and West Las Vegas properties each has an indoor heated pool, as does the Embassy Suites Convention Center -- all popular with business and convention travelers as well as budget-conscious tourists.
If you're feeling adventurous and aren't afraid to hang with us locals, there are a couple of other options you can check out. On the west side of town, the Desert Breeze indoor pool and outdoor water park (located on Spring Mountain Rd., just east of Durango) celebrated its 10th anniversary back in 2011. Adult admission to the pool, which has a schedule for daily lap-swim hours, is $3.
Then in 2012, the East Valley residents gained the Hollywood Aquatic Center, when amenities include a 10-lane indoor competition pool, an indoor instructional pool, and an outdoor activity pool and water park.
Call 702/455-7798 or visit the Clark County Parks Services website for up-to-date information about schedules and activities at these and other pools in the valley.
Click here for our complete listings of Las Vegas Hotel Pools, including those that are heated year-round (even including, where available, to what temperature); for information on which of these are open to non-hotel guests, usually for a fee, see our Cool Pools feature, where you'll also find details on event schedules, topless pools, poolside/swim-up gaming, and much more, updated throughout the summer season.
