Nestled in a corner past the Mirage's general pool area, beyond the Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat and down a winding concrete path, is Bare, the hotel's exclusive, adults-only pool. Shrouded in greenery and teak paneling, the velvet-roped entrance is guarded by an employee who checks IDs.
Loud music booms from within, and after paying a cover charge, you turn a corner and are instantly hit by a scene of bronzed bodies glistening from the sheen of spray-on sunblock. Several surgically enhanced women scuttle topless around Bare's precious 14,000 square feet. If not ensconced in a cabana or daybed, people dance and flirt with the nearest body in the shallow pool. As the heady mix of 90-degree heat, tanning oil and frozen margaritas slowly seeps into your system, the place begins to resemble a party in a certain millionaire's secret grotto. The only thing missing is Hef.
I admit I never partook of spring break shenanigans in college. Vacations taken during that weeklong hiatus from studying somehow never involved wet T-shirt contests or anything remotely close to "Girls Gone Wild." But anyone deprived of such experiences can make up for lost time in Las Vegas, where the latest crop of party pools is setting the stage for raucous revelry this Fourth of July weekend and beyond.
If you're expecting Jello shots and beer in plastic cups, though, think again. These 21-and-over, publicly accessible pools are the daytime equivalents of glitzy dance clubs. Rehab, the Hard Rock Hotel's regular Sunday party, introduced the concept of "daylife" when it launched five years ago, and since then, designated adults-only pool areas have emerged at hotels up and down the Strip. "Originally Rehab was for locals to come relax after a hard weekend," says Phil Shalala, Hard Rock's vice president of marketing. "That lasted about half a day before turning into a big party. Then we started opening it up to just about anybody."
Moorea Beach at Mandalay Bay, Venus Pool Club at Caesars Palace and Bare and Tao Beach at the Venetian have since established themselves as the city's daytime hot spots, with Wet Republic at the MGM Grand joining the fray this year. Their increasing popularity has spurred other hotels to revamp their general poolside offerings (see sidebar for more options), as well as open their own public, adults-only areas.
