At Whimzy, our rankings are based on an analysis of our own opinions. We believe this unbiased approach makes our rankings more useful.

Even though our rankings of hotels, vacations and things to do are based on a vast collection of our own independent opinions, the best options for you may not be those ranked No. 1 or No. 2. Travel experiences are personal ones. Nonetheless, we hope that our rankings can serve as helpful guideposts as you plan your next trip.

We base these opinions on our very own experiences by staying at these locations; the level of service given, the cost, the availability of accessing restaurants/bars and the overall experience in staying at the locations reviewed.

We rank hotels and resorts that are located on the Las Vegas Strip and in the Downtown area. When people ask for guidance about the best hotels in a given place, they typically look for options in these locations. We do not rank condo properties, apartments, vacation rentals, cabins or timeshares. In the future, we expect to rank a wider variety of hotels and other accommodations.

Each hotel's place in our rankings considers our editors' aggregate opinion and the overall customer satisfaction expressed in online guest reviews. The highest-ranking hotels typically offer exceptional quality. To rank hotels, we compute a Hotel Score based on the following underlying components:

• Awards & Recognition: We evaluate the number and prominence of awards and recommendations a hotel has received from travel industry sources.
• Hotel Class: A hotel's class rating – a 3.5-, 4-, 4.5- or 5-star rating – is a general quality indicator. However, it is by no means universal. Many travellers may be surprised to learn that a hotel labelled a 3-star property by one publication may be considered a 4.5-star property by another. In our analysis, Whimzy's editors have reviewed multiple sources to estimate the mean-average class rating for each hotel that we rank. In our rankings calculation, a hotel may receive up to 10 points for its average hotel class. The number of points is directly proportional to the class rating. A 3.5-star hotel receives 7 out of 10 points, a 4-star hotel receives 8 out of 10 points, a 4.5-star hotel receives 9 out of 10 points, and a 5-star hotel receives 10 out of 10 points.
• Guest Rating: A hotel's Guest Rating is calculated using the opinions of each individual stay. The Guest Rating is worth between zero and 10 points in our hotel rankings.

We calculate these ratings from 0-10 based on the following:

• The quality of the service provided upon arriving at the venue, to the service throughout the occasion. Then what it's like once the bill has been settled; do they hurry you out of your chair to fill your space or are they accomading still?
• Seeing if the overall cost for the occasion of meal to show tickets is value for money for the experience received.
• The level of comfort and ambience of all the locations travelled too.
• The variety of choice available at our locations, from options on a restaurants menu to a dispensary selection and choice. We take it all into consideration.