BEST STANDARD ROOM The Venetian

BEST MEAL Nobu at the Hard Rock; the Renoir at the MGM Mirage; Napa at the Rio; Prime and Le Cirque at the Bellagio

BEST SHOPPING Caesars Forum Shoppes; the Via Bellagio at the Bellagio; Desert Passage on the Strip (702-866-0703)

BEST BUFFET BREAKFAST Le Village at the Paris; Garden Court Buffet at Main Street Station

BEST PASTRY Lenôtre at the Paris; Palio at the Bellagio

BEST POOL Mandalay Bay; the Mirage

BEST SPA Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian

BEST SHOW Cirque du Soleil's "Mystère" and "O" at the MGM Mirage (800-392-1999 or 702-796-9999; tickets for "Mystère" are $68, for "O" $90 and $100); "Danny Gans: The Man of Many Voices" at the MGM Mirage (tickets are $67.50)

BEST RIDE The Big Shot Drop from atop the Stratosphere Las Vegas tower (if your heart can take it; 800-99-TOWER; admission is $6)

BEST SPECTACLE The Bellagio's Dancing Waters; the Fountain of the Gods Show at Caesars Forum; Masquerade in the Sky at the Rio (all free)

BEST VIEW The blimp ride over the Strip, provided by Las Vegas Air Ship (www.vegas.com or 702-646-2888; tickets start at $179, pickup in North Las Vegas)

BEST MUSEUM The Liberace Museum (702-798-5595); Madame Tussaud's Celebrity Encounter (702-990-3530)