A number of years ago, some Las Vegas hotels decided to operate topless pools. To sound more exotic, they called them European style sunbathing pools.
We've been to 2 of them. One at Caesars and one at Mandalay Bay. Needless to say, none of them compare to nice nudist resorts.
We did a review of the Las Vegas European sunbathing pools a few years ago. Here is some of what I wrote:
"As [a reporter] writes "pool visitors regularly steal not-so-furtive glances of anything they can glimpse [meaning naked breasts]."...
The first thing you need to know is the whole purpose of those adult pools in Las Vegas... is to try to get some women to take off their tops and to be the "entertainment" for guys which will spend a lot of money on drinks and entrance fees. Margaritas for instance are $12.50. Call brand cocktails are $15.00. Entrance fees for guys are $10 to $50/day. These pools need topless women to keep the guys drinking. We were told some of the pools pay showgirls to topless sunbathe midweek when they can't get "civilians" to topless sunbathe.
...Las Vegas pools are NOT for women where it is their first time topless sunbathing in public as the guys very obviously stare and blatantly check out the topless women. They make the women feel very uncomfortable...
When we got there [Caesars] on Wednesday, the regular bathing suit pool was packed. The Venus pool was about 1/3 full. There were 4 rows of lounge chairs. The ones next to the pool were reserved for high rollers or you could rent them for $150-$250/day depending on how busy they were. They had 6 cabanas that rented for $650-1000 per day or again went to high rollers...
There were maybe 15 couples and another 25 guys with groups of 2 to 6 guys hanging around.
We sat on the lounge chairs. We looked around. Not one single woman was topless. Mary Clare commented, "this is really creepy." A pool attendant walked by and Mary Clare asked "is this really is a topless pool" to which the attendant said midweek sometimes no one goes topless all day long, and at other times a few women go topless. He said they only really have some topless women on Saturdays and Sundays.
Mary Clare told me that even though we own a nudist resort, even though she is comfortable having nude pictures of herself used on our blog and website, she feels really uncomfortable going topless there. However, since we are there to report on the Las Vegas European style sunbathing experience, she decided she will take off her bikini top. I told her she didn't have too, but she insisted to get a full flavor for their experience...
As soon as Mary Clare went topless, a woman sitting right across from us immediately took off her top too. She obviously did not want to be the only woman with bare breasts there.
Then came the next phenomenon. Guys in lounge chairs "had" to get up and walk right past Mary Clare and this other woman. And when they got in front of Mary Clare and the other woman, most slowed down and blatantly stared for a second or 2 and walked on. The other woman and her male friend left after maybe 15 minutes of her being topless.
We were there for about 3 hours and it was nonstop new guys walking by stopping and staring as if they had never seen bare breasts before in their lives. Now in all fairness, once the guys had walked by the topless women once, most didn't walk by again. They just stared from their lounge chairs.
When we left at 3pm there were maybe 20 couples and maybe 50 guys there. There was never more than 3 women at a time topless sunbathing. Most woman would take of their top and then either cover back up after being subjected to all the guys leers or they would leave shortly after going topless.
Women wearing bikinis, tops and bottoms were not subjected to the leers.
It was hot. Here at our resort, we invested in a $6000 poolside misting/cooling system. It is state of the art and our guests love it. At the Venus pool, they have the misters like at our resort, but only at the cabanas. Everyone else is treated like a second class citizen and has to suffer in the heat...
Needless to say, the experience was very unsatisfactory. If you are a woman going topless for the first time, you will feel so intimidated by all the men, you will never try it again. It is not a pleasant experience like you find at nudist resorts.
Mary Clare, said to me, she felt like a piece of meat on display for hungry dogs (the men). She would have kept her top on except to experience the European style pool for herself...
In conclusion, you can tell no one has a clue as to how to run a nice topless pool. I assume no one has ever been to a topless beach in Spain or France. If they had, they would know, just like we know, the most important thing is make the woman feel comfortable. If she doesn't, the couple will never come back. We for instance we will never try the Venus pool again unless we hear from guests that it is more women friendly.
Caesars Palaces topless pool is a phony "European style" pool as much as the Las Vegas strip is an imitation of real Venice, Paris, New York, etc."
Now a Las Vegas hotel operator admits topless pools are just a gimmick and obviously one they do not know how to properly manage.
Here's the story:
"Resorts weigh pros and cons of topless pool scene
A volatile mix of Strip debauchery — topless women and pools filled with booze-buoyed partygoers — may be running its course.
Some nightclub managers, who run the poolside dayclubs, say they may be more trouble than they’re worth.
Last summer, Metro Police arrested 11 people at the Rio’s Sapphire Pool, a topless pool run by the Sapphire strip club. The Rio ended up shutting down Sapphire Pool...
Clark County enforcement officers are sending letters to the clubs, reminding them that topless sunbathing must be separate and obstructed from other guest areas, off-limits to minors and cannot been used for contests, parties or special events while topless sunbathing is taking place.
It’s that last part that has caused the most consternation. The topless pool scene has grown to include DJs, dancing and celebrity appearances. Although they don’t call them parties, they have included headlining performers, birthday celebrations and resort anniversaries — the normal kind of fare that’s offered at nightclubs run by the likes of Pure Management, Light Group and Tao Group — which all run topless pools in town...
Light Group President Jodi Myers said one reason it decided against topless sunbathing at its new pool is because the no-party policy limits the club’s marketing. Phil Shalala, vice president of marketing at the Hard Rock, said they felt it was a gimmick that had run its course...
For the full article click here
In the comments section of this article someone innocently asked where his wife could go topless sunbathing at a nice place. Someone answeed the south of France. It just goes to show that nudism still has a long way to go if people still don't realize there are lots of nice nudist resorts in the US.
Guests of ours who work in the hotel industry in Vegas, say the topless pools are now all about the booze and not relaxing poolside. Their philosophy is get the women drunk so they go topless. Then encourage lots of guys to pay admittance and let them charge hundreds of dollars on their bar tabs.
If you're into drinking heavily and enjoy drunk screaming people, the Las Vegas pools are for you on the weekends. If however you are like most people and enjoy relaxing and having adult conversations instead of drunk talk, then I would stay away from the Las Vegas topless pools and go to a nice nudist resort instead.
Tom Mulhall
Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa, Palm Springs, California
For info or reservations call 800-786-6938
Visit our resort site: http://sunnyfun.com
Join the Terra Cotta Inn Facebook resort page at http://bit.ly/TerraCottaInnFBPage
We hope to see you in sunny Palm Springs!
