Pictures show Las Vegas pool parties are back as the city reopens, and some tourists say now they're better than ever
- With more of the country opening up, Las Vegas pool parties are back - and so are tourists.
- At these parties, people rent out daybeds and cabanas for a day of drinking, dancing, and swimming.
- Despite social-distancing and mask-wearing hotel policies, the CDC says to avoid large gatherings.
"Four months ago, Vegas was a complete ghost town," said Alyssa Waggoner, who has attended pool parties in the Nevada city over the years.
Alyssa Waggoner, 25, has been visiting Las Vegas at least once a year since she turned 21.
She told Insider she comes for the pool parties. Earlier in April, she visited Las Vegas and attended an all-day pool event at Circa Stadium.
Since visiting in January, Waggoner said the city is more energetic, and many more things are open, like the city's popular pool parties.
Waggoner said she got her second coronavirus vaccine a few days before her most recent trip. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 approximately two weeks after their second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine (or after their first, if they have had the Johnson & Johnson vaccine).
Waggoner said people at the party were spaced out and mask-wearing was enforced outside of the pool.
"Even walking through the casinos they have handwashing, sanitizer, tissues, and mask stations so you feel really safe walking to the pool parties," she said.
Circa Stadium's coronavirus safety measures don't appear to be on its website.
But today, it's a spaced-out party. "You have so much room to swim it almost seems like you have the whole pool to yourself," Waggoner said.
After trying to enter a couple of parties that were at capacity, Waggoner's group found a good deal at Circa Resort & Casino's Circa Stadium.
Waggoner said that if you pay "$20 for the whole day, you get 6 pools to choose from, and you get to watch a 40-foot HD Screen on the top of the casino."
"We rented a daybed and lived like luxury," she added.
These parties are not typically a last-minute affair, The New York Times reported, as many require advance reservations.
"It's like trying to book a dinner reservation on New Year's Eve. It's not something you do the day before," Derek Stevens, the owner, and chief operating officer of Circa Resort & Casino, told The New York Times.
As vaccinations ramp up, many Las Vegas hotels have brought back the city's famous pool parties.
Destinations like Las Vegas are filling up with tourists as more people get the coronavirus vaccine, The New York Times reported.
Though the holiday weekend is historically the city's second-slowest of the year, March Madness and NCAA basketball tournaments made this year an anomaly.
At the Pool Marquee, parties resumed with larger seating areas and more cabanas. The parties practice social distancing, too.
At the same time, the CDC still recommends avoiding large gatherings to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. At the time of writing, there were 239,748 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Clark County, Nevada, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Some partygoers said the socially-distanced Las Vegas pool parties are even better than the pre-pandemic ones.
Cynthia Cruz went to Las Vegas for a bachelor and bachelorette weekend at the end of March.
Cruz said that one person in her group of 14 had been vaccinated. Like the Circa Stadium party, Cruz said everyone had to wear a mask unless they were in the pool.
"For the most part, we stayed within our group but we were able to mingle with others in the pool," she told Insider. "We still maintained a good distance when interacting with people outside of our group."
MGM Grand requires all guests to wear masks except when they're in the pool, walking to and from the pool, and eating, drinking, or smoking. Each cabana has a capacity for six guests.
"It felt like a private event," Cruz said of a Wet Republic party at MGM Grand.
Cruz said she wasn't sure how she'd like the party with coronavirus restrictions in place, like enforced mask-wearing and social distancing, but she ended up preferring it.
"We were able to comfortably enjoy ourselves and not feel like packed sardines in the pool or at the bar trying to order drinks," Cruz said.
Spending extra money on a cabana is worth it, too, she added. Cruz's group spent $1,700 on private tables, she said.
At the Flamingo Hotel pool day club, Nicole Catherine had her first Las Vegas experience.
Catherine said she stayed at the Flamingo Hotel and rented out daybeds by the pool. She said she had a good time, and mentioned that there was a mask mandate.
According to the Flamingo Hotel's website, masks are required indoors while cabanas and lounge chairs by the pool "have been arranged to allow for appropriate social distancing" and are sanitized between guests. There is also hand sanitizer available.
Jennifer Ferro, a Las Vegas resident, has been to parties at Planet Hollywood, Paris Hotel, and Circa pool recently, and she said she felt safe at all of them.
"The pool party experience has definitely changed since pre-COVID days, but it's for the safety of all," Ferro told Insider.
Ferro said she had not been vaccinated at the time of writing. She said her group distanced themselves from other groups.
On their websites, Planet Hollywood and Paris Las Vegas say the hotels have reduced their capacity and encourage social distancing, while staff are said to frequently clean commonly touched surfaces.
"I had a blast these last few days running around Vegas from pool to pool," Ferro said.
Although the pool parties aren't as energetic as they were in pre-pandemic days, Ferro said she had fun catching up on celebrations with friends and family.
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