AAA Four Diamond Hotel South of Vegas Strip

Fewer than 10 miles south of the Las Vegas Strip, the Mediterranean-inspired Green Valley Ranch- Las Vegas cuts an imposing figure, with Spanish-style architecture, tiled roofs, and a recessed driveway lined with towering palms. You don't have to worry about transportation to the city's main corridor, thanks to a complimentary shuttle that runs back and forth from the strip four times a day. But there's a lot to do right here-the sprawling Green Valley Ranch- Las Vegas encompasses restaurants, pools, a casino, and a movie theater.

In the upscale casino, exposed stone columns support towering arches and a vaulted ceiling. Gamers have the run of the place, which offers 2,200 slot and video-poker games, a poker room, race and sports book areas, and more than 55 table games such as blackjack, craps, and roulette. Spend your winnings at one of eight onsite restaurants, including Hank's Fine Steaks & Martinis, known for its selection of aged meats, and Terra Verde, a cozy Italian eatery with house-made pasta dishes and an extensive wine list. Getaway holders can use their resort credit at the onsite spa for services such as massages, facials, and mani-pedis.

Green Valley Ranch- Las Vegas's outdoor recreation area stretches across more than 8 acres outfitted with manicured lawns, private cabanas, and infinity-edge dipping pools. Head to the Pond, the resort's private pool and lounge, to see and be seen during pool-party season. Come nightfall, you can catch a live band at Ovation or slip into Drop Bar for a nightcap.

Greater Las Vegas: Shops and Restaurants Off the Strip

The town of Henderson is conveniently close to Las Vegas, but it's also far enough to be an escape from the bustle of the strip. Next to Green Valley Ranch- Las Vegas sits The District, a pedestrian-friendly promenade lined with boutiques and restaurants. On Friday and Saturday nights from May through October, enjoy live music as you stroll the plaza.

To head to the Strip, hop onto the resort's free shuttle, which drops riders off at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. If you're tired of gambling, check out one of the long-running shows, such as Cirque du Soleil's Love, an acrobatic and visually stunning homage to the Beatles.

Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.

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Party Venues and Luxurious Beach Club at Rock-Themed Casino

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino takes music so seriously that speakers have been hooked up below water in the swimming pool-when you cannonball into the pool's deep end, the guitar licks of an epic jam play loud and clear. With oversize sunbathing beds, sandy beaches, and grass-shack bungalows, the Beach Club at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino pampers its guests in sun-soaked luxury. Cocktail-sipping guests float along a lazy river connecting a network of shallow pools, where they can play swim-up blackjack on floating palapas. With a rotating roster of featured celebrities and a vibrant party scene, the sprawling poolside paradise epitomizes the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino's indulgent atmosphere and posh ambiance.

Inside Paradise Tower's pool-view king rooms, doors swing open to reveal a modish room with charcoal carpet extending to floor-to-ceiling windows. Velvety drapes, patent-leather ottomans, and plush beds with suede headboards enhance each stay. Casino Tower's modern rooms feature a style of clean, modern lines and warm colors. Pool-view king rooms also have oversized bathrooms, plasma TVs, and a host of other amenities.

Hard Rock Hotel caters to diverse appetites with eclectic dining and dance venues. Pink Taco serves carne asada, shrimp tacos, and other Mexican dishes in a room with gilt-framed folk art and retro lowrider bicycles. The vibrant cantina plays loud tunes and hosts diners at a wooden bar with personal electronic-gaming screens. At Vanity, the casino's electric nightclub, 20,000 light crystals from a cyclone chandelier illuminate a sunken dance floor, where the party continues until 4 a.m. Taking place on Saturdays through October, the hotel hosts the Nectar Music Festival, which it promises will "rejoice the juices of life" with the world's best DJs and musical acts.

Las Vegas: Casinos, Shows, and Lights in the Mojave Desert

The original Las Vegas Strip, Fremont Street glitters with 12 million lights and several costumed street performers. Lined with iconic casinos, flashing neon signs, and showgirls crowned with headdresses, this vintage boulevard evokes Vegas in the days of the Rat Pack. A 90-foot LED screen hovers above the bustling avenue as passengers zoom by on an 850-foot-long zipline.

While the Strip's casinos and shows are well documented and beloved, Las Vegas' cultural attractions are often overlooked. A mile east of Hard Rock Hotel, the Marjorie Barrick Museum delves into Latin American culture with one of the country's most comprehensive collections of pre-Columbian art. This University of Nevada gallery proudly displays Mexican dance masks, Hopi basketry, and Navajo jewelry, some of which dates back thousands of years.

Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.

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Sumptuous Accommodations amid Mountain Terrain

The Resort at Squaw Creek's golf course looks out over lush prairies and mountainsides covered in pine trees. It's a gorgeous scene in sunny weather, but summer is technically off-season here. In the distance, you can see the six peaks of Squaw Valley USA, a sort of Shangri-La that served as the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. When the landscape is blanketed with snow, the mountains are dotted with skiers and snowboarders. The golf course is transformed for the season into the Nordic Center, leaving it crisscrossed with tracks left by dogsleds, cross-country skis, and snowshoes.

Whatever the season, The Resort at Squaw Creek serves as a convenient home base from which to enjoy the outdoors; it's tucked into the Sierra Nevada on Lake Tahoe's north shore. Hiking trails wind through the property, and on hand you'll find a private outdoor ice rink and an onsite fly-fishing center. Guests can also feel free to stop by the outdoor pool complex's plunge pool and 120-foot water slide and choreograph water ballets in its heated lap pool and three hot tubs.

Six Peaks Grille, one of the resort's four dining venues, serves up breakfasts of fresh fruit, lox, and a goldmine of pastries kept warm in white linens. The breakfast buffet allows you to load up on made-to-order omelets, bacon, french toast, and pancakes.

The resort's 405 rooms and suites underwent a $53 million renovation in recent years. The deluxe forest-view room has a marble shower and a grand picture window that overlooks Tahoe National Forest. In fact, the entire guest tower-where all the rooms are located-is sheathed in lustrous black glass to maximize views of the valley.

Squaw Valley USA: Hiking and Cycling Through Mountains on Lake Tahoe's North Shore

Located about a 15-minute drive from North Lake Tahoe, Squaw Creek is situated amid some of northern California's most revered scenery and varied terrain. The resort rents out bicycles by the hour, including Marin cruisers for adults, Trek mountain bikes for kids, and tagalong carts for infants and beloved pet rocks. Use these to hop on Truckee River Trail, a gently rolling, paved path that follows a crystal-clear river 7 miles to Tahoe City. There, you'll happen upon a paved trail with views of the Lake of the Sky and access to Tahoe Vista's beaches 10 miles to the north.

Lupine and buckwheat paint the mountainside, and the High Camp here is a nice jumping-off point to hike on some dry, pebbly trails. If you're unaccustomed to the high altitude, you may find yourself easily winded on even short hikes; still, the 1.5-mile jaunt uphill to Emigrant Peak is worth the trip, as you get 360-degree views of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada.

Quaint clapboard buildings housing shops and restaurants line the Village at Squaw Valley. One of these is PlumpJack Cafe, the brainchild of former San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom. In a dimly lit dining room, the restaurant serves seasonal contemporary fare such as the inventive ceviche cone, a feuille de brick cone filled with tuna, avocado, and ginger and topped with chili threads ($15).

Read the Fine Print for important info on travel dates and other restrictions.

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The best pizzas, like the worst Elvis impersonators, are cheesy, doughy, and often live in cardboard boxes. Eat like a king with this Groupon.

Choose Between Two Options $5 for $10 worth of pizza and breadsticks $10 for $20 worth of pizza and breadsticks

Build-your-own pizzas range from $7 for one topping to $9.50 for three, specialty pizzas ($12) such as garlic chicken come with predestined toppings, and orders of breadsticks ($3) supplement the feast.

Johnny's Pizza

Johnny's Pizza massages dough into puffy pizza crust before arranging toppings such as bacon, green peppers, pineapple, and fresh tomatoes. Heaps of curated toppings pile on to Johnny's specialty pizzas, which include the spicy hawaiian with pineapples and jalapeños or the garlic chicken with bacon and white garlic sauce. On the side, orders of breadsticks come with a choice of cheesy garlic or italian herb. For dessert, cinnamon breadsticks are accompanied by a sweet cream cheese sauce, ideal for dipping or decorating a friend's face.

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Red sky at night is a sailor's delight, but red sky at morning means the ship's been steered inside a volcano. Discover further aquaformation with this Groupon.

Choose from Three Options $37 for a half-day whitewater-rafting trip for one (up to a $75 value) $74 for a half-day whitewater-rafting trip for two (up to a $150 value) $199 for a half-day whitewater-rafting trip for six (up to a $450 value)

Paddlers set out on the Salmon River north of Sun Valley, launching at Elk Creek and splashing down the waterway. An experienced guide captains the boat through Class II and III rapids while telling stories and sharing facts about local wildlife. Groups take a 30- to 45-minute break at Jump Rock, where paddlers can leap from a rock into the deep, calm pool and feast on provided fruit, trail mix, and granola bars, accompanied by bottled water. Expeditions leave in the morning, noon, and early afternoon and last between three and four hours.

White Cloud Rafting Adventures

Along the banks of the Salmon River, elk and moose lumber through the trees, bald eagles soar overhead, and kingfishers plunge downward to snatch fish from the white-crested rapids. This world of rushing water and bustling wildlife is the playground of White Cloud Rafting Adventures' skilled whitewater-rafting guides, who tailor their trips to fit each group's unique chemistry. "Once you get out there, you're on river time," says Jeremy, manager of White Cloud Rafting Adventures. "We aren't having board meetings." Accordingly, each trip proceeds at its own pace, drifting along lazily or tackling rapids that rank up to Class IV in a precise system that measures each wave's level of belligerence.

The licensed guides who captain each expedition not only meet but exceed state requirements, having trained in first aid and CPR techniques. In addition to taking paddlers on rafting and kayaking expeditions, they lead fly-fishing jaunts that nab rainbow, brook, and cutthroat trout for feeding to pet alligators. Whether battling rapids or slicing through quiet waters, Jeremy hopes his customers will "get something out of them that they can't experience on a regular basis."

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The majority of real-life lasers are productive members of society, contrary to their negative Hollywood portrayals as family shrinkers and stealers of guns' jobs. Discover the truth with this Groupon.

Choose Between Two Options $125 for one laser treatment for visible veins on the entire face (up to a $350 value) $299 for three laser treatments for visible veins on the entire face (up to an $800 value)

After a patient consultation, lasers warm up and prepare to target blemishes such as visible blood vessels. In 30-minute sessions, the Cutera laser traverses the face, penetrating the skin to fade visible veins, reduce redness and the size of pores, and stimulate collagen production. Veins are heated to the point of cauterization, preventing blood flow and facilitating their absorption into the body like a college lecture. Results appear in short order, and sometimes veins fade immediately.

Dermaesthetics

Dr. Diane McConnehey helms Dermaesthetics, where she brings the swift retribution of a cosmetic laser to patients' skincare challenges. Originally board certified in family medicine, Dr. McConnehey developed a deep interest in cosmetic dermatology, and, like an adolescent X-Man, has now been wielding a laser for 14 years. A thorough consultation precedes all cosmetic procedures and nonsurgical face-lifts, allowing the doctor to fully assess conditions, make well-informed recommendations, and show the patient applicable before-and-after photos.

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Your housecleaning routine is so thorough that you scrub the inside of the dishwasher and wipe down the vacuum. Use today's deal from Body Rejuvenation to shower yourself with the same attention: Pay $36 for a detoxifying, balancing AromaTouch Technique session (regularly $75); or, get a truly deep clean with a colon hydrotherapy session with essential oils for $50 (regularly $100). AromaTouch reduces stress and inflammatory responses and boosts the immune system with the use of certified pure therapeutic-grade essential oils applied along meridian lines and contact points on the back and feet. These pure, potent oils are known to offer relief from sleep disorders, infection, post-traumatic stress disorder, and more. Or, reduce internal residue and toxins while restoring regular elimination function with the hydrotherapy session at this convenient Boise Bench location -- owner Tracie McBride has 22 years of experience providing gentle colon care using state-of-the-art equipment and essential oils. With today's deal, the one thing that won't get cleaned out is your wallet.

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Children occupied by afterschool activities are shown to be less likely to buy BB guns or hang out with stray dogs that are willing to buy children BB guns. Keep kids away from man's worst friend with this Groupon.

$30 for Six-Week Session of Kids' Dance Classes ($60 Value)

In a six-week dance session, which consists of one class per week, little dancers aged 18 months to 12 years can shape up their shuffles during combo-dance classes, which are divided by age and marry the basic techniques of tap and jazz. Alternatively, instructors teach kids to move to Latin rhythms during Zumbatomic classes, and toddlers and parents can get their grooves on during Mommy and Me classes, which teach children to listen to music, follow directions, and interact with others and allow them to show up their parents' old-school moves.

The Experience Dance & Fitness

The Experience Dance & Fitness's instructor and owner Amanda Eames-a certified personal trainer and Zumba instructor-has developed rock-solid dance technique throughout her 20 years of dance training. Her skill and creativity blossomed under the instruction of such industry masters as Mia Michaels and Debbie Reynolds. Now, she and her staff help adults and little ones hone dance skills and shape up muscles through a diverse roster of group exercise and dance classes, which include cardio conditioning, Zumba, and core-strengthening Pilates. Kids' dance classes foster a healthy lifestyle in little toe tappers as they learn such important techniques as leaps, shuffles, and the funky chicken.

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Learning about science in a museum is safer than experiencing it firsthand by accidentally ingesting a science textbook. Embrace science with today's Groupon: for $15, you get a family day pass to Discovery Center of Idaho (a $35 value). Family passes are valid for up to six immediate family members.

Discovery Center of Idaho's hands-on exhibits foster fond memories and expand understanding of science, technology, engineering, and math in adults and children. Visitors explore temporary and permanent exhibits, such as a 7-foot-tall, made-to-order tornado, an unbreakable bubble wall, and a Bernoulli Blower, which suspends large objects in midair using airflow and a rotating staff of invisible NBA players. Children 5 and younger hone cooperative play skills amid tyke-size displays of play food in the Discovery Market. Visitors can also peruse the educational games, books, and toys in The Science Store, which peddles many items for fewer than $5.

Discovery Center of Idaho's expertly engineered doors are within walking distance of the downtown transit hub. Parents can cultivate further learning through home activities and educational videos regularly updated on the center's website.

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