Skip to content
Hacker Summer Camp is back, and the 2027 calendar is brutal on your feet. Black Hat USA 2027 runs July 31–August 5 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the south end of the Strip, while DEF CON 35 runs August 5–8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) on the north end. If you’re doing both — and a large share of attendees are — you’re not attending one conference, you’re crossing the entire Strip mid-week with a badge swap on August 5. Where you sleep decides whether that transition is a short elevator ride or a 40-minute cross-Strip slog twice a day. This guide ranks hotels by what actually matters: walk time to each venue, the August 5 transition day, and the late-booking reality when thousands of hackers booked before you.
The Geography Problem: Why Black Hat and DEF CON Hotels Are Different
Most “Black Hat hotels” guides ignore the single biggest logistical fact of the week: the two conferences sit at opposite ends of the Strip, roughly 6 km (4 miles) apart. Black Hat lives at Mandalay Bay, the southernmost megaresort. DEF CON 35 is up at the Las Vegas Convention Center, near the northern Convention Center corridor by Resorts World and Fontainebleau. Booking a hotel that’s perfect for one can leave you stranded for the other.
The right choice depends entirely on three things: which days you’re actually in town, whether you’re doing the full nine-day stretch or just one conference, and how much you value walking distance versus a single unpack. Get this wrong and you’ll spend the most expensive week of the Vegas summer in rideshare queues. Get it right and the logistics disappear into the background so you can focus on the Briefings, the villages, and the recovery.
Best Hotels at Mandalay Bay for Black Hat (On-Site & Connected)
If your week is mostly Black Hat — Trainings through Briefings, July 31–August 5 — stay south. Staying inside the Mandalay Bay complex means you roll out of bed and into the convention center without ever stepping outside into the August heat, which regularly tops 40°C.
- Mandalay Bay — the host hotel, connected directly to the convention center. Zero transit, but it books out first and charges a clear premium during the event.
- Delano — the all-suite tower attached to Mandalay Bay. Quieter, more spacious, and still a 5-minute indoor walk to the halls — a favorite for attendees who want calm after a day of Briefings.
- Luxor — connected to Mandalay Bay by a free tram, a budget-friendlier option just a few minutes north.
- Excalibur — the value play at the end of the free tram line, for attendees watching their budget.
For Black Hat-first attendees, proximity beats price: the time you save not commuting across the Strip every morning is worth the premium, especially during Trainings when sessions start early.
Best Hotels for DEF CON 35 at the LVCC (North Strip)
If you’re a DEF CON-first attendee — August 5–8 at the Las Vegas Convention Center — the math flips entirely. You want to be near the north end of the Strip, not Mandalay Bay. DEF CON’s culture is also different: villages, CTF, badge life, and community parties that run late, so being close to your bed at 2 AM matters more than a polished lobby.
- Westgate Las Vegas — connected to the LVCC by the monorail and the closest big hotel to the venue. The pragmatic top pick for DEF CON.
- Resorts World — a newer megaresort a short ride from the LVCC, with strong late-night options on site.
- Convention Center corridor hotels — anything from Harrah’s up toward the Sphere and Fontainebleau puts you within a short monorail hop of DEF CON.
One caution: DEF CON draws a huge crowd to the north Strip, and the closest rooms move fast once badges go on sale. If the LVCC-adjacent hotels are gone, prioritize a monorail-line hotel over raw distance — the monorail is the one piece of Vegas transit that actually serves this venue well.
Attending both conferences? See our complete DEF CON 35 hotel guide for north-Strip options near the LVCC.
The “Do Both” Strategy: One Hotel for the Whole Week?
Here’s the question nobody answers well: if you’re doing the full nine days, do you book one hotel or two?
Option A — One mid-Strip hotel + monorail. A central hotel on the monorail line (which runs along the east side of the Strip and stops at the LVCC) lets you reach DEF CON easily and rideshare to Mandalay Bay for Black Hat. You unpack once and never deal with a mid-week move. The trade-off: you’re never walking distance to either venue, so every day carries a commute.
Option B — Two hotels, split the week. Book south near Mandalay Bay for July 31–August 4, then move north toward the LVCC for August 5–8. You optimize walk time for each conference, but you pay two booking fees and lose half of August 5 to checking out and checking in — on the single busiest hotel day of the week.
For most attendees doing both, Option A wins. The time lost to a daily commute is far less painful than packing and relocating mid-week, when every front desk in town is slammed and check-in lines stretch long. Reserve the two-hotel split only if walking distance to sessions genuinely changes your conference.
August 5 Transition Day: Black Hat Morning, DEF CON Afternoon
August 5 is the pivot of the entire week. DEF CON 35 opens that day at the Las Vegas Convention Center — the same day as the final day of Black Hat Briefings at Mandalay Bay. Many attendees registered for both use August 5 as a transition day: Black Hat schedule in the morning, cross-Strip move at midday, and DEF CON badge pickup plus opening events in the afternoon.
One detail worth checking: in 2026, attendees who bought their DEF CON ticket through Black Hat could pick up the DEF CON badge at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center before heading north. Confirm whether the same option is offered for 2027. Plan that morning carefully: hit your priority Briefings early, then make the cross-Strip move before the afternoon rush builds. If you booked the two-hotel split, this is your checkout-and-relocate window, so build in buffer time.
Getting Between Venues: Monorail, Rideshare & Walking Reality
This is the part that trips people up every year. The Las Vegas Monorail runs along the east side of the Strip and stops at the Las Vegas Convention Center — excellent for DEF CON. But it does not reach Mandalay Bay: the monorail’s southern terminus is MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay is served instead by a separate free tram that connects it to Excalibur and Luxor only.
So your realistic options for the cross-Strip Black Hat ↔ DEF CON move are:
- Rideshare — fastest door-to-door, but surge pricing during conference rush hours is real, and pickup zones at the megaresorts get congested.
- Monorail + walk — economical and reliable for the LVCC end, but it doesn’t solve the Mandalay Bay leg, so you’ll still need a tram or rideshare on the south side.
- Walking — not realistic for the full 6 km in August heat, though short hops between adjacent north-Strip properties are fine.
Budget extra time and money for August 5 specifically, when thousands of people make the same move within the same few hours. If your schedule allows, shift your transition slightly earlier or later than the obvious midday window to dodge the worst of it.
Booking Timeline: When Thousands of Hackers Book Before You
Hacker Summer Camp fills hotels fast. The host blocks at Mandalay Bay and the prime LVCC-adjacent rooms go first, often months out, and rates climb as inventory tightens. If you’re reading this late, don’t panic — but do act today rather than next week.
- Book a refundable rate now to lock something in, then re-shop closer to the date if a better option opens up. A held reservation beats a sold-out Strip.
- Consider a vacation rental if hotels are sold out or overpriced — a condo or apartment near the Strip can be cheaper for a multi-day stay, especially split across a team of colleagues.
- Watch the resort fee. It’s easy to underestimate the true nightly cost; the headline rate is rarely what you pay.
For deeper hotel rankings near the north-Strip venue, see our guide to the best hotels near the Las Vegas Convention Center, and check exact dates for every major show in our Las Vegas trade show calendar 2026–2027.
FAQ: Black Hat & DEF CON 2027 Hotels
Can I stay at one hotel for both Black Hat and DEF CON?
Yes, but no single hotel is walking distance to both venues. A mid-Strip hotel on the monorail line is the best compromise for attending both conferences without relocating mid-week.
Does the monorail go to Mandalay Bay?
No. The Las Vegas Monorail stops at the LVCC (useful for DEF CON) but its southern end is MGM Grand. Mandalay Bay is connected to Luxor and Excalibur by a separate free tram, not the monorail.
When does DEF CON 35 start?
DEF CON 35 runs August 5–8, 2027 at the Las Vegas Convention Center — the same day Black Hat Briefings wrap at Mandalay Bay.
How far is Mandalay Bay from the Las Vegas Convention Center?
About 6 km (4 miles) — opposite ends of the Strip. Plan on a rideshare or a monorail-plus-walk for the transition, not a walk.