MGM Grand's Academy Pool...

Hotels in this story

Price Dates

MGM Grand Hotel and Casino

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas

Trump International Hotel Las Vegas

Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino

And how it really looks.

We can’t blame Vegas hotels for going out of their way to make their pools look incredible. High-priced drinks, cover charges pushing $50 and day bed rentals have turned an afternoon dip into a major money mill for casinos, and at least one property is better known for its pool party than anything else.

Browsing hotel websites, you might get the sense that you’ll have that swanky pool all to yourself, particularly if you drop $250 on a “private” cabana. But with literally thousands of guests clamoring for a lounge chair, you’re more apt to see snow in the desert than an empty pool. Our reporters visited three Vegas properties where the marketing photos didn’t quite match reality.

Picture-perfect in-pool relaxation.

But what happened to our lounge chairs?

Leave it to the Donald to perpetuate an air of luxury—frosty beverages! in-pool lounge chairs!—that simply doesn’t exist at the .

Look at all those empty chairs!

Actually, not so much.

The adults only pool at the sure looks like a great place to relax—until you see the crowd on a typical day.