STRICTLY BUSINESS WESTIN TAKES OUT BUSTLE, ADDS MEETING SPACE A BLOCK AWAY FROM VEGAS STRIP.

Byline: Eric Noland Travel Editor

LAS VEGAS - In a city whose marketing slogan is unashamedly hedonistic - ``What happens here stays here'' - it's probably unthinkable that a hotel would try to succeed by being all-business, but the Westin Casuarina has proven that there's room even for that niche amid the glitter of the Strip.

The hotel celebrates its two-year anniversary next month, despite having a modest-size casino, no entertainment (the showroom, in fact, was converted to meeting space), and not a statue, fountain or thematic architectural indulgence in sight.

The Westin occupies the former Maxim hotel, a block off the Strip at the corner of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane. Thus its guests can reach the center of the action - the bustling corner anchored by the Bellagio and Caesars Palace - in a short walk. More importantly, after dabbling in the glitz they can easily return to the relative calm of this hotel.

``We really pride ourselves on that small-hotel feeling,'' said spokeswoman Karin Davis as she led a reporter on a recent tour. ``There are lots of mega-resorts in Las Vegas, but who wants to walk a mile to their meeting or wait half an hour for their car?''

Also, she added, ``some companies find that their people will take (a business meeting) more seriously if it's held at the Westin than at Circus Circus. And they don't have to wonder if people will come to the first meeting and never be seen again.''

The hotel also appeals to Las Vegas tourists who are put off by the over-the-top elements of the massive hotel-casinos.

On our visit, for example, we appreciated a lodging option that was free of gimmicks and understated (in Vegas? - what a concept). The decor throughout features sleek lines, an earth-tone palette and polished woods. Our guest room had a granite countertop in the bathroom, a spacious shower with double shower head, and stylish furniture, much like a Pottery Barn catalog come to life.

Because the hotel is a block off the Strip, that spares guests the headache of venturing into the traffic quicksand of Las Vegas Boulevard South. Its parking structure opens onto convenient Koval Lane, an unsung roundabout route for savvy Vegas visitors.

The hotel's setback also means some rooms have pleasing views - of such northern Strip features as the Stratosphere tower and a wing of the new Wynn Las Vegas hotel.

The building was extensively renovated to make way for the Westin Casuarina, but since then hotel management has scrambled to carve out even more meeting space. New construction spilled into the parking lot, and the hotel's original showroom was converted. As a result, this hotel is quite the anomaly in Las Vegas - more square footage devoted to business event space (25,000) than to its casino (20,000).

Even workaholics need an occasional respite, though. The Westin Casuarina obliges with its Hibiscus Spa, a soothing hideaway with 15 treatment rooms.

A signature treatment is the Hibiscus Island Paradise, which opens with a papaya-pineapple skin scrub and then proceeds to a soothing Vichy shower (imagine lying in a basin as a multiheaded spray contraption lightly rains warm water over your body). The treatment concludes with a massage employing warm tropical oils.

The Westin Casuarina, in spite of its businesslike atmosphere, still can't escape some standard Vegas touches. The requisite high-energy music is piped into the pool area - even when it first opens at the bleary-eyed hour of 7 a.m. The same soundtrack also pulses through the Silver Peak Grill, a 24-hour, three-meal restaurant that is the only dining option here.

--160 E. Flamingo Road. Brochure rates from $139. www.westin.com/lasvegas. Reservations: [phone]. Hotel: [phone].

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(1 -- 2) Although the Westin Casuarina in Las Vegas caters to a business clientele, there still is a pool with the gambling town's usual high-energy music.