The New Rio Las Vegas: Everything You Need to Know

“The Rio is a large all-suite hotel and casino just west of the Las Vegas Strip, built around a Brazilian Carnival theme and known for oversized rooms, free parking, and a value-oriented off-Strip setting. It sits at 3700 West Flamingo Road in Paradise, about a mile west of Las Vegas Boulevard and just off I-15. Neighbors include the Palms and Gold Coast. Driving or rideshare to the Strip is short; walking is less practical because of the freeway and wide roads. Free self-parking is a longtime draw. The property opened on January 15, 1990, as the Las Vegas Valley’s first all-suite hotel-casino. Developer Anthony Marnell and Marnell Corrao Associates started with 424 suites and a much smaller casino; later expansions added the Ipanema and Masquerade towers. Harrah’s (later Caesars Entertainment) bought it in 1999. Dreamscape Companies acquired it in 2019 for about $516 million and took over operations in October 2023 after a Caesars lease ended. A roughly $340 million refresh finished around the end of 2024, covering much of the Ipanema Tower, the casino floor, public spaces, dining, the pool deck, and convention space. Today it has about 2,520 suites and roughly 117,000 square feet of gaming space. Suites are the main hotel selling point: even standard rooms are typically around 580–600 square feet or larger, with separate living areas and floor-to-ceiling windows. Renovated Ipanema rooms are the ones reviewers generally recommend booking by name; older inventory can still feel dated. High-end rooftop villas sit at the top of the range. The casino offers slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, a dedicated baccarat room, and a sportsbook, with its own Rio Rewards program rather than Caesars Rewards. Dining runs from the Canteen Food Hall and casual spots such as Hash House A Go Go and Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho to the long-running VooDoo Steak and Lounge high in the tower. The pool complex includes multiple swimming areas, loungers, cabanas, and an adults-oriented section. Entertainment has included Penn & Teller, The Empire Strips Back, and WOW – The Vegas Spectacular. The property also has a spa, fitness center, and substantial meeting space. Visually, the towers are hard to miss: curved glass faces with red and blue panels, outlined at night by vertical pink and purple neon and a rooftop “Rio” sign. The overall feel is a hybrid locals-and-visitors resort—big rooms and lower rates than many Strip peers, with the tradeoff that you are not on the Boulevard itself. Be sure to check out the channel that has more Vegas content than anyone on YouTube—@VegasIRL (Vegas IRL). Their walkthroughs, before-and-afters, and constant coverage of every casino, remodel, and corner of the city (Strip, downtown, locals spots, and beyond) are unmatched for real, on-the-ground Las Vegas footage.”