Topless European Style Sunbathing Pools seen as a gimmick in Las Vegas

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!

Many women enjoy wearing beach cover ups at clothing optional resorts

Vacationing in the nude is the fastest growing trend in the travel industry. However, many women are still very nervous about vacationing at nudist resorts.

First, everyone should know, ALL nudist resorts are different. They are independently owned. Some like our resort where Norma works, pictured above, are very first timer friendly and very women friendly.

About 90% of our guests had their first topless or nude sunbathing vacation here. Now of course, they are our repeat guests.

Women, are you nervous about your first nude sunbathing experience? Then you will love our resort.

We are one of the few nude sunbathing resorts that let women wear beach wraps, or pareos, or topless bikinis by the pool. You can even wear a topless bikini in the pool or jacuzzi here. We even sell wraps for you to wear.

We find that most women are OK with the idea of topless sunbathing or as it is called European Style sunbathing. Las Vegas even has European pools. Women are nervous about exposing themselves below the belly button. So if you say it is OK to wear a topless bikini or beach wrap, the woman will book. And then when they get here, they see that their fears are for naught. and they feel comfortable nude sunbathing right away.

Many nude places have strict rules where it is mandatory nudity at all times or at the pool. This makes women especially first timers feel very uncomfortable. I'll never understand why so many nudist resorts are so women unfriendly.

If you want to wear a beach wrap, it is OK at the Terra Cotta Inn in Palm Springs, California.

This is one of the reasons why we are the most popular nude sunbathing resort in the western US and why guests fly here from around the world for their vacations. Of course it helps that Palm Springs has the best nude sunbathing weather in the world.

Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/nudist_resorts

Call us at 800-786-6938 for more information or to make reservations.

We hope to see you soon in sunny Palm Springs.

European Sunbathing pools in Las Vegas are not the same as clothing optional resorts

We have had guests go to Las Vegas trying out their European style sunbathing pools thinking they will have the same experience as vacationing at our clothing optional resort, The Terra Cotta Inn in Palm Springs, California. They have nothing in common with nudist resorts.

We have been to 2 ourselves. What sets Las Vegas topless pools apart so much is the men way outnumber the women. So much so that many women are intimidated and do not go topless sunbathing. Another thing is they are very heavily drinking oriented as they make lots of money on drinks. One of the pools we were at was charging $15 for mojitos. And their beer and wine were way overpriced too.

On weekends, it is a major drunken party bash. Alcohol is flowing, girls are screaming, it is not a great place to relax. If you are looking for a frat party atmosphere, it is perfect, but not a romantic place for couples.

Finally, they have no shade unless you want to pay around $300 for cabanas. They haven't even invested in poolside misters or a salt water pool. We are a 17 room inn and we care about our guests and we invested in misters and pool umbrellas and salt water pool, but not Las Vegas topless pools. Those things don't make them money.

An Australian writer wrote for their big news organization news.au.com about his experience at the European style topless sunbathing pools in Las Vegas:

"Party like a Las Vegas rock star


...Even though sunlight burns my bleary eyes and a jackhammer pounds my brain, a broad smile covers my face.


My hangover fades as I soak in my surroundings...

...Bare it all

The hedonism continues the next day at Bare at The Mirage.

Adult pool bars that allow topless sunbathing are all the rage in Vegas...

A surprisingly small pool is the focus of the venue...

VIP cabanas are elevated above the water, perfect for starlets to lie back on the comfy sofas and see all the competing posers.

I soon realise why the pool is so small the beautiful people come to be seen beside it rather than in it.

...Elevated above the pool, feet up in the cabana, sun shining on my face and enjoying the parade of half-naked women walking by.

Have I just stumbled into my adolescent fantasy?

Surely it can't get better than this? That's when a waitress in a baby-blue bikini brings me my mojito..."

Living like a rock star the partying, the food, the booze,... man, it's exhausting."

For the full article click here

Vegas expects the female guests to be the entertainment for the men like this Australian reporter. Some of the topless pools like the Rio have to hire topless dancers to topless sunbathe as they are so overwhelmed with men and so intimidating that no regular woman would ever feel comfortable topless sunbathing there.

So if you are a big time exhibitionist and love the attention of lots and lots and lots and lots of men, Las Vegas European style sunbathing pools are perfect for you to go around topless and shake it for all the boys.

Above is an ad for one of the topless pools in Vegas at a shopping mall.

If you are a regular woman who wants a nice romantic vacation experience and want to try topless or nude sunbathing, then come over to sunny Palm Springs, California only 280 miles from Las Vegas. Our resort is perfect.

Our resort is the most mainstream clothing optional resort in the US and is perfect for couples trying topless or nude sunbathing for the first time.

Even the company that published this article news.au.com from Australia this month picked us as one of the 10 best nudist resorts in the world. We were the only one for couples that they picked in the US

So for a fun vacation experience, give us a call at 800-786-6938.

Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

We hope to meet you in sunny Palm Springs!

European Style Sunbathing in Las Vegas

I have always contended that two of the biggest threats to legitimate nudist resorts are swinger/sex resorts pretending to be nudist resorts and regular hotels trying to get into the topless or nude sunbathing business.

A number of years ago, Carnival Cruises had topless sunbathing decks. We heard from guests that they were terrible as guys constantly were going to the decks and walked by the women gawking as they topless sunbathed. I guess a guy would tell his wife or girlfriend he was going to the bar or whatever, run up to the topless deck, stare for a minute or so and then walk down.

Las Vegas started topless pools for guests a few years ago. To make them sound more exotic, they call them European style sunbathing pools.

We have been to two. Caesar's topless pool which was terrible because it allowed so many single men into the pool area when we were there. The ratio was probably 8 or 10men to every woman. You could tell the female guests were the only reason for this pools existence. And Mandalay Bay's topless pool, which was much better as they restricted the amount of men that could go to the pool.

The Venetian had a topless pool that they closed saying no one used it. My guess is they were like Caesar's and packed in the guys.

Now the Rio has come up with an even worse idea for their topless pools. Having strippers at their European style sunbathing pools. This will give the idea to guys that women who like to topless sunbathe are no different than strippers.

Here is the story:


Strippers by the pool: Vegas casinos get sexier


LAS VEGAS – Brittany McClain spends her nights stripping at Sapphire gentlemen's club in Las Vegas under the stage name Electronica. By day she sunbathes topless at an adults-only pool at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

“My life now is, if I'm not stripping or at the pool, I'm sleeping,” McClain said of the new partnership between the Rio and Sapphire that keeps her busy day and night.

...casinos like the Rio, owned by Harrah's Entertainment Inc, are always looking for new ways to make money, especially in the current downturn.

“It brings the sexy angle to the casino business and that is what Vegas is all about right now,” said Sapphire Senior Vice President John Lee. “All of the casinos are trying to get gentlemen's club-type entertainment without actually crossing that line.”

Caesar's Palace, Mandalay Bay, the Mirage, the Venetian and the Wynn have also opened topless pools, but the Rio's Sapphire Pool is the first formal partnership between a casino and a strip club to keep its lounge chairs stocked with bare breasted women.

The idea is for the women to attract men who will stick around and gamble at the Rio's tables. The Sapphire Pool charges men $30 to $50 admission and is fenced off from the Rio pool, where the women keep their swimsuit tops on.

...The Stippers who frolic topless under the attentive gaze of the male guests also get incentives from the club and free poolside food and drinks. No cameras are allowed.

...The Rio and Sapphire say they would like to explore further opportunities from their partnership, including possible night-life venues, within the law.

For the full story click here

Now if you have always wanted to go topless or nude sunbathing, you need to go to a real nudist resort, not some sleazy Las Vegas topless pool. Our resort, The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa is one of the best as tripadvisor.com picked us as one of the 10 best clothing optional resorts in the world.

Give us a call at 800-786-6938. Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Hope to see you in sunny Palm Springs!

Topless Sunbathing and First Timers

More about topless sunbathing for first timers

At tribe.net, I came across this post about topless sunbathing from a woman named Lizz. Here it is:

"Lizz...
I totally want to do some topless sunbathing. It's so not my personality, I'm usually pretty modest, but I figure, it's Vegas, why not?"

We just celebrated our wedding anniversary at Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas in July. They have a topless pool there. It is pretty well run for a non nudist pool.

They call topless sunbathing European style sunbathing in Las Vegas to make it sound more exotic. The pool is 21 and over, so you don't have noisy kids like at most nudsit campgrounds and parks. That is good because if you found a babysitter for your kids, you don't want to have to listen to other peoples noisy kids all day long. Our resort is also 21 and over.

They limit the amount of men allowed at the pool, so women feel comfortable, and most women were topless sunbathing at that pool. This is contrasted to last year when we were at Caesar's and it was maybe 10 men to every women and the women felt so intimitated, most kept their tops on.

Now one of the downsides of Mandalay Bay's topless pool is there is hardly any shade there unless you want to spend around $350/day for a cabana. Also they don't have a high pressure misting system or salt water pool like we have at Terra Cotta Inn. I guess not all places care as much about their guests as we do.

We were there midweek and it was pretty busy. Maybe 60 men and 40 women were there. Unlike our resort, the people did not talk with other couples. They sat by themselves unless they already knew each other. Now we of course did talk to other people as we wanted to learn why people went to the topless pool at Mandalay Bay. We talked with some of the employees and they said on Saturday and Sundays it was mobbed and much more of a party atmosphere.

It was a warm day and without misters people kept going into and out of the pool to cool off which was great for us to talk with people.

We probably talked to at least 10 women, some with a husband/boyfriend. We introduced ourselves as owning The Terra Cotta Inn in Palm Springs. That easily broke the ice. We found that for everyone except for 1 couple, this was their first time topless sunbathing. The other couple had topless sunbathed at Mandalay Bay before.

All of the women did not intend to go topless sunbathing when they originally booked Mandalay Bay. However, their husbands/boyfriends encouraged them to try it. Every single woman said it was fun and they would do it again. For them, trying topless sunbathing was a spur of the moment decision.

We asked would you ever go to a nudist resort. All of the women said no. They told us nudist resorts were for old people (thanks mass media for giving that impression to Americans). They also did not want to have to go nude. All of the women we talked to were from around age 25-50. They liked the idea that Mandalay Bay's topless pool was clothing optional.

The women said they would try a clothing optional resort as long as they could just go topless sunbathing (not nude). That is encouraging. Like Lizz, who I quote at the start of this story, many women will give topless sunbathing a try as they think it would be cool and fun, but are not as open for nude sunbathing. That is one of the reasons we have always called our nudist resort a clothing optional resort.

We talked with 3 pairs of women that were there for a girlfriend getaway. At our resort, we rarely see girlfriends coming here for a vacation, yet in Las Vegas it is very common. The women also mentioned seeing the ads for topless sunbathing at Mandalay Bay and deciding to give it a try since they liked sunbathing.

All the guys we talked to said they would love to go to our nudist resort with their wife/girlfriends.

What we learned is there is definitely a market for girlfriend getaways that nudist resorts are not tapping into and a lot of women want to try topless sunbathing, they just don't know where to go to find a nice safe place.

Also, it seems if nude sunbathing were easier to get to like at Mandalay Bay in nice resort communities, more people would try it. Here in the US you normally have to trek hundreds or thousands of miles to find a nude beach or nudist resort. And Palm Springs is the nicest location for a nudist resort as we are the sunniest city in the US.

So if you have always wanted to try topless or nude sunbathing, CBSmarketwatch.com picked us as the most mainstream clothing optional resort in America and perfect for first time nude sunbathers, give us The Terra Cotta Inn clothing optional resort and spa a call at 800-786-6938. Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Hope to see you in sunny Palm Springs!

Topless sunbathing in Las Vegas

We are in Las Vegas this week for a short vacation. A number of the hotels allow topless sunbathing which is also called European sunbathing in Las Vegas.. We have been to Caesar's and didn't like it - they were overwhelmed with single men

Mandalay Bay was much better, although it still had a lot of single men.

Last night, we went to the Bob Dylan concert at the Hard Rock Hotel. What I was so surprised to see was young women playing at the slot machines in bikinis in the casino. And not just regular old sting bikini bikinis, but many of them wearing thong bikinis.

We went to the pool which was packed. I would bet 25% of the young women in their early 20's had on thong bikinis.

There is a major market that nudism has not been able to market too, younger women.

At my hotel, The Terra Cotta Inn, we have guests from their 20's to 70's. However there is a large market of young people who appear comfortable enough to be in thong bikinis playing at slot machines that other nudist venues seem to be missing.

If only nudism had more marketing muscle.

And if you have always wanted to try topless or nude sunbathing, give me us a call at 800-786-6938. Visit our site at http://sunnyfun.com

Hope to see you in sunny Palm Spring!