hotel reviews |

The Palm’s Place (Las Vegas, NV)

4381 West Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89103
Reservations: L 702-932-7777 | F 702-944-3257 |

http://www.palmsplace.com

The Palm’s Place in Vegas offers the perfect alternative for someone who enjoys the glitz and glamour of the Vegas club scene but likes to retire to the peace and quiet sanctuary that bigger hotels don’t offer, yet keeps the flair and sense of style that made Vegas famous during the Rat Pack years. There is something about driving up to a hotel in Las vegas without seeing any cabs. There is even more when you walk into the lobby of a Vegas hotel and realize there are no slot machines, gambling tables in sight! The peace and quiet was deafening. Oh, and you couldn’t smell a hint of cigarettes or cigars.

Upon a longer stay you will also note there are few chambermaids (not sure if we ever saw one) blocking your hallways or chattering outside your room. The front desk was very helpful with reservations and providing us with amenities into the nightclubs at the Palm’s Casino.

Originally designed as condos only by the Maloof brothers, many went unsold and are used as hotel rooms. Included among the amenities are a beautiful spa, a great restaurant, beautiful pool with cabanas, and a quiet bar. Separated from the Palm’s Casino by a 300 yard indoor moving walkway which protects you from the Winter cold or the Summer heat, one has access to the casino, top concerts, movieplex and 4 top notch clubs (Ghost Bar, the World’s only Playboy Club, Rain, and Moon) without ever needing to step outside, deal with coat checks, valets, or taxis. It should be noted that when makeing a reservation one should also check the Palm’s Place for specials which might get you priotity access to one of the clubs, spa credits, restaurant discounts and/or free drinks. A recent stay in December 2009 netted $50 in restaurant credits, a free entry for two to the spa, and two drinks at the bar (the bartender served us another on the house)

The Simon Lounge Restaurant looks over the pool deck which offers a very open feeling and probably some good people watching during the summer months. The food while good probably isn’t up to par with what you would find at Caesar’s or the bellagio, but it was above average and with a $50 credit, we weren’t being picky.

The Palm’s Place rooms offer private balconies with views of the casino as well as the entire Strip as it sits on Flamingo across the highway (a $10 cab ride to Caesar’s). Each room provides a modern efficiency kitchen, spacious bathroom with jacuzzi bath and walk in rain spout shower. The jacuzzi tub is encased in frosted transluscent glass which seems to be the new architectural feature du jour (see the Thompson LES review) along with the rain spout shower (see Carneros Inn).

As one who believes that cooking while on vacation is not a vacation, I am usually not a fan of condominiums, but this room was very well done. I like full service resorts and hotels with great little amenities, stylistic design and great service. The Palm’s Place is definitely an upgrade over the Palm’s Casino.

Most of the rooms are designed as studio suites. So they might not be large enough for many. A note about a condominium that is designed for a GQ bachelor. The room had two flat screen TVs, a lounging area that you could sleep in, mirrored walls with New Century stone wall accents to make the room feel larger than it is. There still is only one bathroom, one sink, etc. The lighting is subtle and the room might feel like a night club even in the middle of the day.

There is a 2 bedroom option which has a unique feature of a soaking bathtub in the window overlooking the Strip. You can’t get more fabulous that that!

Rio All-Suites Hotel ( a Harrah’s Property)

3700 W Flamingo Rd
Las Vegas, NV 89103
(702) 777-7634

www.riolasvegas.com

This is my second review of this hotel. Please feel free to look into the archives.

If size is your thing, the Rio All-Suites is one of the better bangs for your buck in Las Vegas if you aren’t traveling on some kind of loyalty package. If you are in the Masquerade Tower (Ipanema is the other) you’ll have a nice view of the Strip although you will be far from the convention area. The rooms are quite spacious in size although those who prefer a luxurious bathroom will be sorely disappointed. Many of the newer and modern hotels have better amenities than the Rio which is in need of a bit of a refurbishment. There is an odd feature of a see-through window from the bath/shower into the bedroom, but other than that the room is pretty much non-descript. I’m not an interior designer, but the decor of the room (the bedspread) was definitely not appealing to me. An update is definitely needed.

In need of some repairs, my room had chair rails falling off the wall. Additionally, my in-room wireless service was spotty. I told the front desk and they admitted it was a problem and removed the charges from my bill. Overall, those looking for rooms at roughly $129 a night with a large living area and floor to ceiling windows will find some appeal to the room.

Most people attending the Rio are there for the moderate pricing dining and non-pretentious environment off the Strip that reminds one more of the crowd that might be found in downtown Vegas. The other hotels located close by are the Gold Coast Casino next door, which is the economy hotel, and the more luxurious Palms across the way. The Palms though has recently been advertising specials comparable to the Rio pricing.

Shows of note at the hotel are Penn & Teller, the comedic magic duo, as well as the Chippendales revue (yes I saw and heard screaming women as I walked by and saw a few women giggling in the elevator with Chippendales bracelets. The marquee restaurant is the VooDoo steak house which affords more great views. I would say the food is modestly okay for a steak house but there are probably better steak houses in Vegas.

Tag Archives: hotel reviews

Palm’s Place (Vegas)

The Rio All-Suites (Vegas)