Hotel at a Glance: Boulder Station Hotel & Casino

Before Las Vegas was a casino and entertainment hotspot, it was a railroad town, eventually leading to the city’s official founding in 1905 and an influx of saloons, shops, and boarding houses. Boulder Station Hotel & Casino pays homage to this Vegas of old with hardwood walkways and stained-glass decorations, recalling a traditional Western train station. But Boulder Station also channels the more modern aesthetic of the Strip—located about 7 miles to the west—with an onsite concert hall, movie theater, and casino in addition to renovated guest rooms that boast a modern decor.

• Where you’ll say: The hotel’s modern guest rooms feature boutique furniture and 40-inch plasma TVs.
• Never go hungry thanks to five onsite restaurants, which range from The Broiler steak house, where you can enjoy aged beef grilled over mesquite charcoal, to the more casual Cabo Mexican restaurant, home to 20 kinds of margaritas. Select options of this Groupon include a daily $10 dining credit.
• Play your heart out in Boulder Station’s casino, which has thousands of slot machines, half of which are penny slots, as well as blackjack, roulette, and other table games.
• Go big or go home inside a 24-hour poker room that hosts both Texas hold’em and omaha high play.
• Entertainment abounds in the hotel’s Railhead music venue, which hosts prominent musicians playing blues, jazz, country, and rock.
• Nearby attractions: Sam Boyd Stadium, Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, the Neon Museum, the Fremont Street Experience, and Old Town Boulder City

Beyond the Las Vegas Strip: Old Vegas, Red Rock Canyon, and the Hoover Dam

It can feel like the entire city of Las Vegas revolves around the Strip if you never venture beyond that neon-lit corridor. But there’s plenty to see and do once you step off Las Vegas Boulevard. You can find a taste of Old Vegas on Fremont Street, where vintage signs and showgirls crowned with headdresses recall the days of Sinatra and Martin. Beginning at dusk, a canopy of more than 12 million LED lights erupts in a psychedelic light-and-music show every hour. For an aerial view, zoom down the center of Fremont Street on a zipline.

Nature puts on its own show at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, a landscape of fiery-red sandstone formations and limestone cliffs just 17 miles outside the city. Motor down the 13-mile scenic drive or ditch the car and strike out on any of more than 20 hiking trails that course through the region’s otherworldly topography.

Hoover Dam, a marvel of modern engineering, lies just 35 miles away, near the Nevada–Arizona border. Take the 30-minute power-plant tour or the 60-minute dam tour, which takes visitors inside the dam’s narrow passageways. You can actually kayak down the Colorado River from the base of the dam—just be sure to arrive early, as only 30 permits are issued per day.

Love to travel? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest for travel tips, inspiration, and photos from around the world.