Five Hotels in Vegas, part 3

Hi all, this is the third part of my tour of Las Vegas hotels and casinos, five at a time, and my general and completely biased thoughts on them. Some places I've spent a lot of time in, some places very little. Some places I like a lot, some places not so much.  My lame-o maps, BTW, are made by screwing around on google docs drawing.  They are pretty much the limits of my graphic design skills.

Traveling north on the Las Vegas Strip, starting today at the intersection of LV Blvd and Harmon Ave.  I'll also note what players' club the place uses.

1. Cosmopolitan (Identity) - I still think of this as a new place, and it kind of figures to be the last new place built on the strip for a while.  It's owned by a bank, not a casino company, and it wouldn't surprise me too much if the whole place got sold at some point.  But that's another story.
   The Cosmopolitan is absolutely an upscale place, and if money were no object I would love to stay there.  They got so many things right here, the place is just beautiful, and gets prettier the more time I spend here.  The place is essentially built around the Chandelier bar, which anybody who comes to town should stop by for a drink.  The fancy drinks are supposed to be awesome, since I'm pretty much a beer drinker I can't really say.   The Chandelier bar is also Cougar Central on the Las Vegas Strip.
   Holsteins Shakes and Buns is a great upscale burger and beer place, I described Holsteins earlier on my list of places I'll go .   Holstein's is also a nice place to watch the beautiful people queue up for the Marquee club, which is always interesting.  The restaurants are first class, and the staff is pretty nice.  I had a problem with a slot machine once and had a friendly and efficient slot manager take care of it for me.   Even though this is a very upscale place, I've never felt uncomfortable or unwelcome at the Cosmopolitan, despite being a first-class low roller.
  For all the things that Cosmopolitan gets right, they seem to have missed something about the casino.  Everyone loves the place except the gamblers.  Cosmopolitan gets the party crowd, the foodies, the five-star hotel seekers, but the gamblers just have not shown up.  The casino itself is nice enough, but compared to the rest of the place, it seems rather plain and generic. 

2. Planet Hollywood (Total Rewards) - Hey, this is where I'm booked for my July trip.  I've never stayed here before, but I've been to the casino.  The more I look at it, the more I like the place.  Maybe I'm just buying into all the hype since I'm booked there, but the rooms look great, and the place  consistently gets good reviews on a couple of websites I check.  I'm liking the restaurants, Yolo's, Pink's Hot Dogs, Planet Dailies.  Not sure if Cabo Wabo is my kind of place, but I've been to PBR Rock Bar for beer and apps and it's a good spot.  I have no real interest in the shopping mall, but might take a look at the Stripper Bar back there.  I'm thinking it will be a bit too tacky for me, but we will see.  Blondies sports pub is another place that gets good reviews, but I'm not sure I'll make it there either. 
   As to the casino, it's bright, it's loud, way overstimulating, it's everything a Vegas casino should be.  I haven't spent too much money here, just some VP and a bit of slot play.  Oh, and the go-go girls are super-hot.  The bars are a wee bit fancy, but not so fancy that I can't find a spot to fit in.  The Cougar count at the Heart bar was kind of high, and I did spot a few working girls hanging around the last time I was there.
  This is a place for the young party crowd.  Being neither young nor much of a partier, we will see how I do here.

3. Paris (Total Rewards) - It's just like the real Paris, only it's fake.  A nice place, very good restaurants, and people rave about the food choices here. For whatever reason, I just don't feel the "vibe" here, somehow the place just isn't for me.  Last summer, I was staying at Bally's, and had a view of the pool, which looked very nice but also very crowded. 

   The casino, like the rest of the place, is very pretty and overall a fun place to play.  It's a reasonably upscale place, but not ridiculously so.  The last time I was there, the hooker count at the casino bar was pretty high.








4. Bally's (Total Rewards) - If your Dad got to pick your hotel, he would probably pick Bally's.  It has clean, comfortable rooms, a fine if rather plain pool, good bars, a big and somewhat nondescript casino, a couple of good restaurants.  Tequila Bar and Grill might not have the best tacos on the strip, but I'm pretty sure they have the best two dollar tacos on the strip.  I'm a big fan of the sportsbook here, like the rest of the casino, the decor is pretty forgettable, but it's bright and I like that it is somewhat separated from the rest of the casino.  There is a nice little bar there, and it's a comfortable spot to watch a game. 
   I stayed at Bally's last summer.  My check in was late, and I was told there were no more smoking rooms available, so they put me in a suite for the night.  People like me don't get to stay in suites very often, and boy was it nice.  Big living room, two bathrooms, a hot tub.  It was sweet.  After one night there I was back to reality, which was a south tower room.  The south tower is the older part of the hotel, but there was nothing wrong with the room. It was slightly bigger than most rooms, the toilet worked, the TV worked, the bed was comfortable, the shower was hot.  That's pretty much everything I need in a hotel room.  I had a nice view of the front door and the strip, it might have been a great view if I was higher up. 
  Maybe the best selling point for Bally's is that it is an affordable place with a great location.  Seriously, Bally's might have the best location on the strip.  For the price.

5. Bellagio (Mlife) - If Bally's is your Dad's casino, Bellagio is the place for your Mom.  On my first trip, I had heard of the fountains and thought it seemed kind of lame.  When I saw it, I was amazed.  It really is that cool.
  Anyway, the Bellagio has everything your Mom would love.  A somewhat sedate crowd, a big, splashy casino, first class rooms.  The restaurants and bars are all just a bit fancier than they need to be.  There is a conservatory and botanical garden there, which is a nice way to take a break from the craziness of the strip for a little while.  Bellagio is a huge property and a bit confusing to walk around in. Overall it's a bit fancy for my taste.  Nice place though.
  There is a tram way in the back of Bellagio that will take you to Aria and down to the Monte Carlo.  It's free and a cool way to get a different view of the city.

So there are my five for today, bringing my grand total up to fifteen.  Stop by again sometime.

Places I'll go in Vegas, part 4

This one just came on my radar, but it looks so good I had to put it on my list.  I need to add some new things, nobody wants to fall into the rut of just hitting the same places over and over again.  I don't know how new this place is exactly, but it's new to me!!

Public House at the Venetian.  The Venetian is a great place to walk around, it really is a beautiful property, and I've always found it less pretentious than it appears to be.  The last time I was in town, I had a great lunch at First Food there, a terrific spot with a nice view of the strip.  It was pretty empty when I was there, and there was a great bartender who let me try a couple of local beers they had on tap.  I'll probably stop in there too, but Public House has really caught my attention.  The Venetian is certainly a high-end place, but they do have a few restaurants that are very good and don't have outrageous prices. 

Looking over the menu at Public House, it is certainly fancier than your average pub food.  They call themselves a "Gastropub", which I really think means slightly fancier pub.  They also advertise that they have "Nevada’s first certified beer cicerone – the equivalent of a wine sommelier."  I think this means that the staff knows their way around the beer taps.  I love craft brews, and like to try the local brews when I travel, so I often ask for recommendations from the barman.  I'm guessing the people here can help me out.  Keep the flair bartenders, please, give me someone who knows what "hoppy" means.

So, if you are keeping track, or planning on stalking me, here is the list so far.

1. Holsteins Shakes and Buns at the Cosmopolitan
2. Mob Museum downtown
3. Margaritaville at the Flamingo
4. Public House at the Venetian