6 ways (Cher! new hotel!) Las Vegas will sizzle Memorial Day weekend

New, hot and cool are the buzzwords for Memorial Day weekend in Las Vegas, where Cher will perform, a new resort will welcome guests and a beer cocktail — yes, we said that — will be served.

The incomparable Cher brings her D2K (Dressed to Kill) tour to the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 25 at 8 p.m. The concert will also feature special guest Cyndi Lauper.

Tickets are from $64.60 to $208.70, including fees.

Meanwhile, the Cromwell hotel — the redo of Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall — will welcome its first overnight guests on Wednesday.

With fewer than 200 rooms, the boutique property is dwarfed by its super-sized neighbors at Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road: Bally’s, Bellagio and Caesars Palace.

The Cromwell’s small size, combined with rooms featuring a mix of classic and contemporary French design, is among its selling points. Room rates, priced on May 15 (so they may have changed), varied from $239 on opening night to $459 on May 24.

The hotel’s hub is sure to be on the roof, which will be home to Drai’s day and night club. It will boast five pools and 10 bungalows, each with its own restroom and shower and commanding views of the Strip 11 stories below.

Memorial Day weekend at Drai’s will feature an international lineup of DJs. Event calendars for the daytime beach club and the nightclub include information on pricing.

The Cromwell’s restaurant, Giada, named for celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, is slated to open June 3.

A free and fun option: A Jazz in the Park concert May 24 at the Clark County Government Center Amphitheater in downtown Las Vegas. The show, featuring Sax Pack and the Las Vegas Academy Jazz Combo, gets underway at 7 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets or low-back chairs. The parking is also free. Food vendors will be available.

Ultimate Fighting fans are expected to pack the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 24 for UFC 173. The action includes the bantamweight title fight between champ Renan Barao and challenger TJ Dillashaw. Tickets are from $89.15 to $791.35, including fees.

The Best Dam BBQ Challenge returns to Boulder City, Nev., the town near Hoover Dam (hence the cook-off’s name). Teams will compete the evening of May 23 and all day May 24, vying for blue ribbons in the beef, brisket, chicken and pork categories. There will be plenty of barbecue at this family-friendly event. Admission is free.

Fun in the sun can create a mighty thirst, so the mixologists at Monte Carlo have crafted a quenching beer cocktail to be served poolside. The banana guava shandy contains Absolut Miami vodka, Briottet crème de banane liqueur, guava nectar and Shock Top Belgian White Ale.

Bottoms up!