RESORT VIBE WELL OFF THE STRIP, LAKE LAS VEGAS INDULGES SOME OF LIFE'S SIMPLER PLEASURES.

Byline: ERIC NOLAND Travel Editor

HENDERSON, Nev. On the main drag outside the doors of the casino, there was no traffic jam.Because everyone was on foot.

They strolled casually along a curving pedestrian lane, paved to resemble cobblestones. They popped into the shops of a faux Italian village, lingered over a glass of wine or a gelato, or perhaps conducted the kids to the lake shore for ice skating on a special barge-mounted rink.

Not exactly what you'd expect to find in the desert of southern Nevada, nearly in the shadow cast by the high-rises of the Las Vegas Strip.

But Lake Las Vegas has staked out a different kind of appeal. It welcomes desert-resort travelers who favor a little golf, a spa treatment and a semblance of serenity with their games of chance. The frenzy of the Strip is 17 miles and a world away to the northwest, and most guests who stay here confine that to an evening's foray, like a youngster's trip to Disneyland.

There are ample reasons to stay put and settle in.

Lake Las Vegas was created in the early 1990s when water was diverted from adjacent Lake Mead to an area of starkly beautiful desert mountains (the engineering challenges included two 7-foot-diameter drain pipes that run under the lake to carry away Las Vegas' storm runoff).

The resort began to take root in the late '90s with private homes, a couple of golf courses (including a Jack Nicklaus design that the public can play) and a Hyatt Regency hotel.

Progress has been gradual, but today there is another hotel (Ritz-Carlton), with one more (Loew's) under construction, a second public golf course (this one drawn up by Tom Weiskopf), another casino to bookend the one at the Hyatt, a lot more homes and condos, and, at the heart of it all, a sight that would be perplexing anywhere but this close to Las Vegas - a lake-side enclave of shops and restaurants intended to evoke an Italian village along the Mediterranean.

This may not have a shred of congruity with the Mojave Desert, but at least MonteLago Village was fashioned tastefully, with laudable attention to detail. Its developer and manager is Intrawest, known for planting stylish villages in North American ski areas, notably at British Columbia's Whistler/Blackcomb, Lake Tahoe's Squaw Valley USA and at Mammoth Mountain.

Here, the colors are subdued, in Tuscan shades of butter yellow, salmon and ochre, with turquoise shutters framing the windows. Though newly applied, the hues have a sun-faded and dusty appearance, suggesting the character of age. The walkways -- Via bel Canto and Costa di Lago among them -- are composed of interlocking pavers, creating the feel of cobblestones.

We found those walkways bustling on weekend days, much quieter on weekdays, which speaks to the inherent challenge of creating a resort alternative to Las Vegas. The village has been around for three years, but it still seems to have an awful lot of ``Coming Soon'' signs up.

Making a go of it here clearly requires some depth of commitment, and restaurateur Joseph Keller is demonstrating that he's got it.

Brother of Thomas Keller of the incomparable French Laundry in the Napa Valley, Joseph's forte runs to more casual eateries -- the Bouchon bistros in Napa and at the Venetian hotel in Vegas -- and he has planted two restaurants within a few steps of each other in MonteLago Village. Como's Steakhouse anchors a prominent corner of the complex; Bistro Zinc opened a few weeks ago.

``We're blazing paths out here,'' Keller said while relaxing one afternoon in the bar at Como's, a room whose plate-glass windows let the sun wash in -- an unthinkable concept for most of Vegas. ``We looked at the demographics, the lifestyle out here, and it made sense.''

Bistro Zinc will be fully integrated into the village concept, he promised. It has its own bakery on site, so condo and hotel guests ``can wake up at 5 in the morning and smell bread baking, and come down and get a beignet.'' Visitors may also try their hand at the restaurant's on-site cooking school.

Another intriguing establishment is Sunset & Vines, which offers a clever guessing game of wine tastes.

Participants sample six wines and try to match the glasses with the appropriately labeled circles on a place mat. Beginners will work with distinctly different varietals -- riesling, pinot noir, syrah.

At the master's level, on the other hand, you might be puzzling over three different cabernet sauvignons, one each from France, Australia and California.

But general manager Max Saleme has a devilish streak. Even on the beginner's flight he'll select a couple of wines -- a chardonnay and a sauvignon blanc, for example -- that possess a similar dryness and flavor. He fooled us.

Anyone who aces the test gets a free glass of the wine they liked best. ``We encourage cheating,'' Saleme said. ``This is not about fooling people, it's about learning about the wines.''

Beyond the dining and the sipping, MonteLago Village presents an eclectic array of shops. Many of them are high-end, as you might expect for the setting, but there is a nice mix here.

We browsed for quite some time in Tesero, examining the Mexican folk art, jewelry, candles, furniture and mirrors. Flights of Fancy stocks all manner of items that exploit those desert breezes: chimes, kites, banners, wind socks. Premium cigars from the Dominican Republic -- perhaps a Fuente Opus X -- can be lit up at La Havana Cubana cigar bar. Other shops carry sportswear, objets d'art and fine-art photography.

What the village screams for is a small, independent outlet serving authentic Italian gourmet coffee drinks. In the meantime, you'll have to do with Starbucks.

In terms of entertainment, MonteLago Village knows that it couldn't begin to compete with those lavish productions on the Strip, but neither does it concede the field. The offerings here are a bit more folksy, and -- try not to faint -- free.

A performance stage is built onto a barge that is moored at the water's edge, and a grassy slope is perfect for picnic blankets and folding chairs.

The Lakeside Concert Series presents wide-ranging fare on Saturday nights through October -- country, rock, '80s tunes. Jazz on the Lake stages concerts on Friday nights until late November. And on Thursday nights until about Labor Day, Movies Al Fresco offers family-friendly films.

``It's like going to the drive-in without your car,'' said Kevin Shields, MonteLago Village's executive director.

Other events include fine arts festivals (held in the spring and fall) and a Hawaiian-theme bash in October, complete with music, barbecue and outrigger canoe races on the lake.

It's not Blue Man Group, or even Lance Burton's magic show ... but maybe that's OK as a change of pace.

MonteLago Village was quiet and romantically lit on a recent Saturday night as we made our way from a rented condo in the Viera complex over to the Ritz-Carlton. On a deck off its Spa Vita di Lago, the hotel conducts stargazing sessions.

Because Lake Las Vegas sits in a desert canyon, a ring of mountains blunts the searing glare of the Strip's mega-wattage, providing skies just dark enough for glimpses of distant planets, star clusters and galaxies.

The program is open to all comers, not just hotel guests, and can be enhanced with cognac and cigars or hot chocolate and s'mores (that latter treat is elevated to gourmet fare at this luxury hotel). The cost for the hourlong sessions starts at $15 per person.

A GPS feature on the hotel's telescope speeds up the hunt. Our guide, Mark Bonner, soon zeroed in on Mars, Saturn and its remarkable rings, the white-blue intensity of Sirius and the yellow-orange glow of Betelgeuse. Then it was on to the Pleiades cluster and the Great Orion Nebula.

The spiral Andromeda galaxy, at a distance of nearly 3 million light-years, resembled little more than a cottony puff. But it was magnificent.

Certainly, on this night, not one artificial sparkle on the Strip could match it.

eric.noland(at)dailynews.com

818-713-3681

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: The Lake Las Vegas Resort lies 17 miles southeast of the Strip, off Lake Mead Parkway (eastbound Interstate 215 becomes Lake Mead Parkway at its terminating point). Turn left into the resort. The entrances to MonteLago Village, the Ritz-Carlton and the road to the Hyatt Regency will all be on the right.

LODGING: Condo rentals at MonteLago Village's Viera and Luna di Lusso complexes are priced from $139 during the summer. Information and reservations: www.montelagovillage.com; [phone].

At the Ritz-Carlton, summer rates range up from $195. The hotel is convenient to the village and the events plaza. Its Spa Vita di Lago was recently ranked seventh in North America by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Information and reservations: [phone]; www.ritzcarlton.com. Hotel: [phone].

At the other end of the lake is the Hyatt Regency. Summer rates from $149. Information and reservations: [phone]; www.lakelasvegas.hyatt.com. Hotel: [phone].

GOLF: Summer greens fees for Reflection Bay are $180 during the week and $205 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. At the Falls course, the fees are $170/$190. Reservations for either course: [phone].

STARGAZING: The Ritz-Carlton's program is open to everyone. ``The Night Sky'' is priced at $75 for one to five people, ``Stars & Cigars'' costs $75 for one to five people, plus the cost of cognac and cigars ($95 is a good estimate), and ``Stars & S'Mores'' costs $95 for a group of one to five (it includes treats and hot chocolate). Each program lasts about an hour.

In addition, individuals may view the stars on Monday and Friday evenings at a cost of $15 per person. Reservations required: [phone].

WINE TASTING: The Sunset & Vines shop in MonteLago Village offers eight different ``Fun Flight'' tastings, ranging from beginner to intermediate to advanced to master. They range in price from $20 to $29 per person. [phone].

INFORMATION: www.lakelasvegas.com; www.

montelagovillage.com.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 3 -- color) Guests at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas, top, may specity an ``over-water'' room in a wing modeled after the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Visitors stray off the Strip for the resort area's acclaimed golf courses, above right, and free entertainment, above.

(4 -- 6) At top, an Italian village might be the last thing you'd expect to see in southern Nevada, but MonteLago Village provides a stylish alternative to the mania of the Strip. The village is rarely crowded on weekday mornings, above. At left, delectable snacks are laid out for a wine tasting at Sunset & Vines.

Eric Noland/Travel Editor

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IF YOU GO (see text)