Vegas resort fees 2026: every Strip resort fee compared
By The nyvegas.com desk · Published September 27, 2026 · Updated September 27, 2026 · 6 min read
What a resort fee actually is
A resort fee (you'll also see "facility fee" or "destination fee") is a mandatory nightly charge that covers wifi, pool access, the fitness center and similar amenities whether you use them or not. It exists because it lets a property advertise a lower headline rate than the price you actually pay — a practice US regulators have pushed the industry to clean up, which is why the full fee now has to appear before you pay on major booking channels.
The practical takeaway hasn't changed though: in Vegas, the advertised rate is the start of the price, not the price.
Strip resort fees compared
Resorts adjust fees seasonally and by tower or view, so treat these as planning ranges rather than quotes — the exact fee for your dates is always shown on the booking screen before payment.
| Resort | Typical nightly fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Bellagio | $45–55 | Top-tier fee; premium towers price higher |
| Caesars Palace | $45–55 | Varies by tower (Novus, Colosseum, Julius) |
| The Venetian | $45–55 | Suite rates often soften the fee's relative bite |
| Wynn | $45–55 | Fee list includes a few real inclusions — check current terms |
| The Cosmopolitan | $45–55 | Fee applies to all room types |
| ARIA | $45–55 | CityCenter pricing tracks Cosmopolitan |
| MGM Grand | $35–45 | Mid-tier; renovated rooms price closer to $45 |
| Fontainebleau | $35–45 | Newer property; fee varies by season |
| Paris | $35–45 | Mid-tier Caesars fee band |
| Mandalay Bay | $35–45 | Fee covers pool complex access |
| Resorts World | $35–50 | Varies by tower (Hilton/Las Vegas/Croydon) |
| The STRAT | $25–35 | One of the lowest fee bands on the Strip |
Sources: resort-published fee schedules and booking-channel total-price disclosures, checked September 2026. Fees are set by each property and change without notice.
The math: a $79 room that isn't $79
Here's the checkout math on a realistic mid-tier Tuesday: a $79 headline rate plus a $40 resort fee is $119, and Clark County's roughly 13% lodging tax applies to both lines, adding about $15.50. Your "$79 room" costs about $134.50. Same dates, same room, and the only thing that changed is that you saw the real number before paying — which is exactly the comparison our live resort price grid is built for.
Five ways to pay less — legally
- Compare total price across partners. The same room, same night, same fees can still total differently across booking sites and direct. Two tabs, total-price view, pick the lower one.
- Check loyalty status waivers. Some programs waive or discount resort fees for elite tiers — if you stay at a brand more than twice a year, status may pay for itself in fee waivers alone. Check the program's current terms, they change.
- Go off-Strip or Downtown for fee-free rooms. If the fee genuinely bothers you, the Strip is where it's unavoidable. Downtown and locals' properties regularly have no mandatory fee — and Fremont Street is its own kind of fun.
- Price the whole stay, not one night. A $45 fee on a $99 Tuesday stings proportionally more than on a Saturday where the room itself is $300. Midweek total-price wins compound.
- Read what the fee includes. At some properties the fee covers real money — credits, attractions, breakfast. It rarely makes the fee "worth it," but between two similar hotels a richer fee list can tip the math.
The honest version
Resort fees aren't going away — they're a quarter to half of the room revenue math at this point. The travelers who win in Vegas aren't the ones who find a secret fee-free Strip room; they're the ones who compare real totals across two or three partners and book the genuinely cheapest one. It takes two minutes and it works every single trip.
Next step: put real numbers on your whole trip with our Vegas trip cost guide, or see which months price cheapest.
Frequently asked questions
Are Vegas resort fees optional?
No. At nearly every major Strip resort the fee is mandatory for all guests — it isn't waived if you skip the pool or gym. Only some off-Strip and Downtown properties, and a few downtown casino-hotels, still quote a rate with no mandatory fee.
Can I refuse to pay a resort fee at checkout?
Refusing won't work — the fee is part of the room's terms. What you can do is make sure you saw it before booking: hotels and booking sites are required to disclose the total with mandatory fees before payment. If a site hid it, that's a complaint worth filing, not a bill worth disputing after the fact.
Do booking sites show resort fees up front?
Major OTAs show a total-price view that includes mandatory fees, and the resorts show the full breakdown on the final booking screen. The trap is the first price in a search result — sort or filter by total price and compare like with like.
Which Las Vegas hotels have no resort fee?
A handful, mostly off the Strip: several Downtown properties and locals-casino hotels off-strip still have no mandatory fee. On the Strip itself, expect a fee essentially everywhere; the practical move is comparing total price, not hunting for a fee-free Strip room that doesn't exist.
Is tax added on top of the resort fee?
Yes — Clark County applies lodging tax to the fee as well as the room, roughly 13% on Strip properties. A $45 fee really costs about $51. Factor tax on both lines when you budget.