Vegas Minus Madness

Is it just me, or does your nervous system have a 48-hour kill-switch when you're staying on the fabulous Las Vegas Strip? The masses of lumpen humanity, big-voltage billboards, the constant din -- isn't the desert supposed to be a respite from these urban maladies? Cut to the J.W. Marriott Resort & Spa and you've got yourself actual peace and quietude to go along with the spinning strawberries and the clacking of the roulette wheel. Yes, Martha, they do have a casino that will be as happy as the glitzy others to take your hard-earned.

The J.W. is in nearby Summerlin (Howard Hughes's mother's maiden name, fyi), just a fifteen-minute drive from the nutso vibe and congested traffic of Las Vegas Blvd. For my money, this is the only place to stay for the golf-oriented traveler -- the hotel's Executive Golf Desk can get you priority times at the TPC Las Vegas just down the road, and the plush layouts at Paiute are just down the highway another twenty minutes or so. Hiking and biking trails are nearby in stunning Red Rock Canyon; and they'll even shuttle you to the Strip when you feel the need to join the rabble -- nice not to make that twenty-minute walk from self-parking to the casino.

But why leave at all? There are more than half a dozen eateries on property, from excellent fish and chips at the J.C. Wooloughan Irish Pub to teppanyaki dining or sushi at Shizen. A buffet is de rigueur and always popular, and a 24-hour a day café sits casino-side for those who find it difficult to stay away from the action. My advice: bet it all on double-zero at midnight, always works for me. Not.

Win or lose, hit the 40,000 square foot Aquae Sulis Spa afterwards and let their most capable therapists erase the muscle memory of those shanked shots you made on the golf course earlier in the day. The fitness center is top-drawer and the service attentive without being obsequious. Option two: hang out in your room, where the marble bathrooms feature whirlpool bathtubs and are built so solid and old-school, you never hear a peep from another patron. Hang the Strip and call the J-Dub home!