MGM Grand Las Vegas pool: the lazy river, 4 pools, who gets in and what a cabana costs

The MGM Grand Las Vegas pool is a 6.5-acre complex of 4 pools, 3 whirlpools and a lazy river, open from 9am to 6pm when we read the resort’s page on 4 October 2026. Entry is for guests of any MGM Resorts hotel, and locals can buy a pass.

Source checked 4 October 2026: MGM Grand Pool Complex: hours, access, rentals and rules

Updated 13 October 202612 min readHow we write the guide

The lazy river at MGM Grand from above: pink, green and purple tubes on the water between clipped hedges, 2 swimmers lying back

Who the MGM Grand pool suits

Why spend the day here

You want the Strip’s best-known lazy river, room for children and a choice of seats, from a $30 chair to a cabana for 10 with its own television, fridge and 4 tubes.

Seating and prices

When to look elsewhere

You want quiet, shade without paying or a swim in November: the music is loud, the free loungers go at opening, the booking calendar offered nothing for Monday 9 November, and winter guides say the river shuts that month.

Other pools

6 and a half acres behind the casino

When MGM Grand opened in December 1993 it was the largest hotel in the world, and its pools have grown with it.

MGM Grand opened on 18 December 1993 with more than 5,000 rooms, Wikipedia records, and with a pool complex of 144,000 square feet. Today the resort describes 6.5 acres of 4 pools, 3 whirlpools, waterfalls and a lazy river, with 6 bars, one of them the Mirage Bar (pool page).

For 17 summers the loud end of it was Wet Republic, a dayclub that ran there from 2008 (Wikipedia). On 3 May 2025 Tao Group and Kygo’s Palm Tree Crew reopened the space as Palm Tree Beach Club, 60,000 square feet with a lower DJ booth and more seating around it (Las Vegas Weekly). Its Beach Villas, on the highest level, come with 3 dipping pools of their own (Palm Tree Beach Club).

The river is the reason most guests come. In the 569 newest Google reviews, read on 1 October 2026, 30 mention it. One guest in September booked a daybed for 4 on its bank and floated all day; another, in August, wished they had known that you can bring your own tube, and a third wrote that staff inflate one for about $5, against roughly $35 for one bought on site (Google reviews).

Winter is short on certainty. Las Vegas Then and Now, asking each resort about 2026–27, reports that the main pool stays open and that the lazy river usually closes in November; Like Where You’re Going agrees. The resort’s page names no winter schedule, and its booking site had nothing to sell for Monday 9 November (booking site).

A day on the MGM Grand lazy river, from 9am to 6pm

Hours and rules from the resort’s pool page, prices from its booking site, guests’ advice from Google reviews, all read between 1 and 4 October 2026.

9am

Check in, or queue

The complex opens at 9, and booked cabanas, daybeds and pods check in between 9am and 11am or may be released with the full fee charged (pool page). Free loungers go first come, first served.

10am

The river gates open

The lazy river starts at 10. Guests advise being at the gates before then, or booking a seat: on busy days the free loungers go quickly (Google reviews). Tubes must be round, with no mesh and no novelty shapes, and rafts are not allowed (pool page).

12pm

Lunch at the Cabana Grill

The Cabana Grill serves from 10am to 4pm; in October it has an Oktoberfest burger with Gouda, Swiss and a braised onion jam (Cabana Grill). Food and drinks bought at the pool, reserved seating apart, carry an 18% automatic gratuity and tax (pool page).

1pm

Next door, the dayclub

Palm Tree Beach Club, which took over Wet Republic’s space in May 2025 (Las Vegas Weekly), opens from Wednesday to Saturday, until 5pm; in October Alesso plays on the 3rd and Kygo on the 10th (Palm Tree Beach Club).

5pm

The river closes

Floating ends at 5 (pool page). A family in August called the river one of the best parts of the stay (Google reviews).

6pm

Out of the water

The pools close at 6. On the way back the District has Luchini’s slice shop and Wolfgang Puck’s bar and grill, open until midnight (Wolfgang Puck).

MGM Grand’s pools and the nearest others

The pool complex lies behind MGM Grand’s towers, reached through the District past the Grand Garden Arena. New York-New York is across the Strip; Mandalay Bay’s beach is further south.

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MGM Grand Pool Complex4 pools, the lazy river and Palm Tree Beach Club
New York-New YorkOne pool deck, 10am to 6pm, first come, first served
Mandalay Bay Beach11 acres with a wave pool, sand and its own lazy river

MGM Grand pool seating and prices, from the resort’s booking site

Every rental on MGM’s pool booking site for Monday 5 October 2026, and what was left for Saturday 10 October, read on 4 October, before the 18% gratuity on food and drink.

On the booking site

Main and Producer’s premium seating, one person: $30
Oasis premium seats $40 to $80, Riverside premium seats $70 to $90
Pods for 2 by the river: $125 on the East and West River, $150 on the Island River
Daybeds for 4 on the East River and Island River: $200
Premium Island River Daybed for 8, with umbrella, safe and its own server: $325
Cabanas for 10: East River $450, West River $575, with television, fridge, safe and 4 tubes
On Saturday 10 October only premium seats at $30 to $90 and a Producers daybed at $200 were left

The MGM Grand pool rules

From the resort’s pool page and FAQ, read on 4 October 2026, with what they do not agree on.

Hours	Pool complex 9am to 6pm daily; lazy river 10am to 5pm; Producers on Fridays and Saturdays 9am to 6pm; Splash Pool and Private Reserve closed for the season
Who gets in	Guests of any MGM Resorts hotel, as capacity allows; free seating for hotel guests as space allows, and paid seating that visitors may reserve, says the same page
Locals	A pass may be bought, at a varying price, with ID shown at the door
Tubes	Round tubes only, no mesh netting, no novelty tubes and no rafts, says the pool page; the FAQ welcomes «personal rafts and floaties»
Check-in	Cabanas, daybeds and pods between 9am and 11am, or released with a 100% cancellation fee; 24 hours’ notice to cancel
Capacity	Cabanas 10 guests, daybeds 4, pods 2
Food and drink	6 bars and the Cabana Grill; 18% automatic gratuity on food and drink bought at the pool; no outside food, alcohol or glass
Not allowed	Fins, pool toys, coolers, hookahs, smoking and vaping
Dogs	Service dogs only in the pool areas, though dogs may stay in the rooms

The room that opens the gate

A night at MGM Grand, or at any MGM Resorts hotel, is what opens the pool’s gate.

A Studio King room at MGM Grand: a king bed and a seating corner by the window

An MGM King room: a king bed with a dark headboard and a desk

The Studio King has 32.5 m² and a king bed, the MGM King 41.4 m². On Google Hotels, read on 1 October 2026 for 2 adults and an unnamed room, Wednesday 11 November 2026 showed $87 and Saturday 14 November $350, before the resort fee of $50 a night plus tax (terms).

MGM Grand’s rooms and suites, with photos

Mandalay Bay or MGM Grand, and the pool across the road

The question the search engines are asked most about this pool is how it compares.

Mandalay Bay Beach, at the south end of the Strip, is bigger: 11 acres with real sand, a wave pool for swimmers at least 48 inches tall, a lazy river and 3 bars (Mandalay Bay). Across the Strip, New York-New York has a single pool deck, open from 10am to 6pm, first come, first served.

On Google, on 4 October 2026, the search for «mgm grand pool» opened on an AI summary and a knowledge panel for the complex; the results beneath were an aid agency’s page, 2 county websites, a hotel in Michigan and the Grand Canyon, before a single link to MGM Grand’s home page (Google).

Pool	Where	From its page
MGM Grand Pool Complex	Behind MGM Grand’s towers	4 pools and a lazy river, 9am to 6pm; MGM Resorts hotel guests; cabanas $450 to $575, daybeds $200 to $325.
Mandalay Bay Beach	Mandalay Bay, south end of the Strip	11 acres: wave pool (48 inches minimum), lazy river, lagoons; 9am to 6pm daily; all ages this season; gazebos, cabanas, daybeds.
New York-New York pool	New York-New York, across the Strip	One deck, 10am to 6pm daily; first come, first served; cabanas and lounge chairs; 24 hours to cancel.
Garden of the Gods	Caesars Palace, mid-Strip	7 pools, 9am to 6pm; swim-up blackjack; Venus 21 and over; cabanas $300 to $700 in October 2026.

Each row was read on the pool’s own page on 4 October 2026; positions come from the resorts’ addresses on Las Vegas Boulevard.

What swimmers say
52 of the 569 newest Google reviews of MGM Grand, read on 1 October 2026, mention the pools and 30 the lazy river. Most are happy: the river, the staff, a day on a daybed. Their advice: arrive before the river opens at 10am, when the free loungers go; sit away from the speakers for a quieter spot; and bring your own round tube.

Questions about the MGM Grand pool

Price, access, the lazy river, tubes and winter: what people ask before a day at MGM Grand’s pools.

How much does it cost to go to the MGM Grand pool?

For guests of an MGM Resorts hotel a free lounger costs nothing, as space allows. Paid seats on Monday 5 October 2026 ran from $30 for a premium chair to $575 for a West River cabana for 10 (booking site). Food and drink bought at the pool carry an 18% gratuity, and a tube bought on site cost about $35, a guest wrote in August.

Is the MGM Grand pool open to the public?

Not to everyone. The pool page admits guests of any MGM Resorts hotel, first come, first served, and sells locals a pass on showing ID; the same page says visitors may also reserve paid seating. It says nothing of a day pass for anyone else.

What time does the MGM Grand lazy river open?

At 10am, an hour after the pools, and it closes at 5pm (pool page). Guests advise arriving before it opens: in August one found almost every seat taken once the gates opened (Google reviews).

Can you bring your own tube to the MGM Grand lazy river?

Yes, if it is round: the pool page bans mesh tubes, novelty shapes and rafts, though the FAQ still welcomes «personal rafts and floaties». A guest in August wrote that staff inflate your own tube for about $5, against about $35 to buy one there (Google reviews).

Is the MGM Grand pool worth it?

For the lazy river and a lively day, guests mostly say yes. For quiet, no: the music is loud, and on busy days seats go at opening. 30 of the 569 newest Google reviews mention the river, almost all with pleasure.

Which pool is better, Mandalay Bay or MGM Grand?

Mandalay Bay Beach is larger, 11 acres against 6.5, and adds sand and a wave pool to its own lazy river (Mandalay Bay); MGM Grand’s river is the better known and its cabanas cost $450 to $575 on an October weekday.

Is the MGM Grand pool open in winter?

The main pool is, winter guides report, while the lazy river usually closes in November (Las Vegas Then and Now). In October 2026 the Splash Pool and the Private Reserve were already closed for the season.

Book a riverside daybed for a weekday, or be at the gate before 10

MGM Grand’s pool page

Written and checked by Lumina, independently of MGM Grand. Lumina sells no rooms or tickets: every link leads to its source.

Sources