HotelChatter

Check In
Check in took no time at all. Wait a second: this is Vegas, there was a giant line at check in, right? Nope. Blame it on the recession if you want, but we are crediting Palms -- they offer check in for Palms Place at either the Palms Casino or Palms Place, which should help alleviate long waits during peak times.

They even accommodated an early check in for us, and did not take our bags and send us off to the casino while we waited for our room to be ready.

Common Areas
There is no casino at Palms Place, which, in our humble opinion, is refreshing. You walk through a moveable walkway (ORD style) called the Sky Tube to get to the Palms casino. The main casino is definitely a bit dingy when compared to Wynn or Mandalay, but the separation from the main Palms allows Palms Place to have a much crisper aesthetic. Dark wood, a quiet hotel bar, uncrowded elevators and friendly staffers help elevate the common area experience.

Room Reaction
Room 17321 had that new hotel smell we love so much. The space was a two bedroom suite, which is actually just a studio and a one bedroom suite where you can close an outer door to the two rooms. When you enter the one-bedroom side, the kitchen, complete with plenty of stainless steel fixins, is on your right, and on your left you'll find the living room. There is a sectional couch that turns into a bed, a big Panasonic flat screen television, a gas fireplace, a desk, and chairs. Around the corner from the living room is the master bedroom. Here you find an awkwardly placed bathtub (guess it was for those who enjoy baths with a view in the middle of their hotel room), a super comfortable bed, and yet another flat screen television.

The bathroom proper is spacious and is fully equipped with a double shower head. There is plenty of closet space, and most necessities (think iron and ironing board) are on the scene.

Over on the studio side, it's more traditional hotel room than suite -- though you are still treated to a balcony and flat screen televisions.

Views
Here is the thing: your instinct tells you strip views are best; however, we toured both rooms with strip views and mountain views and decided on the latter. Why? You can see both the strip and the mountains from the front side rooms, while the back side rooms are strip only. Check out the views in the photos and decide for yourself which way you want to go on this. Hint: Ask for a room on a high floor for better views, unless heights make you dizzy.

Property
Simon is your gorgeous go-to spot for Vegas breakfast post-mortems. The food is incredible, the service sweet, and it overlooks the gorgeous sixth floor pool. The drawback? This place is pricey. If you do hit Simon for lunch, give the tuna sliders a go -- you won't regret it. Sunset Tan and a hamman spa facility called Drift are also on site.

Pool
The pool area is quiet, not overrun, and nowhere near the grungy party scene of Palms proper. Of course, it depends what you're looking for, but you shouldn't have a problem getting a chair here. And they still play rock and roll music, so it doesn't feel too old, just a bit more of an upscale environment than some Vegas pools.

WiFi
In-room wireless is $13.99 a night and you have to pay that price for every device. So if two or three of you rent a suite, prepare to each shell out for wireless. This is such a joke. We are staunchly in the "WiFi for free" camp, but especially at a place like this. To make matters worse, we went to work out in what looked like a state-of-the-art gym and guess what? It was $30 for a gym visit. Charging for services like these leave a bad taste in guests' mouths quickly, especially if and when they're combined with sub-par service -- luckily the latter did not occur, but the fees can really mount up at Palms Place.

Service
The housekeeping service was relatively quick for Vegas, but we did call down and ask for a room service tray to be removed at the beginning of the day and found it still there at days end. Remember, this is a condo hotel, so there is a chance service can vary depending on the room you get and what management company is in charge of it.

Location
It's on the strip, and extremely centrally located. Actually, one of the biggest advantages of staying here is that it is a very popular hotel for visitors, so in a way, some of the action comes to you.

View
Okay, it is Vegas. We expected a view of gray rooftops. However, this gray rooftop view had a twist! Peering construction workers on a catwalk. Caesars is building a new tower and if you stay in rooms facing the construction you might be lucky enough to make eye contact with one of the workers if you leave your blinds open.

Cost
It ranges. When this place opened, we found deals for around $179 a night. Deals like that are still available, usually for the studio rooms. If you're looking for the one or two bedroom suites, those will run you more depending on the time of year. Expect to pay somewhere between and $500 and $900 for one and two bedroom suites.

Bottom Line
If you are a Vegas veteran who doesn't necessarily want to walk through a casino every time you go to your room, don't mind being off the strip, and you are looking for an alternative to THEHotel, you will be happy here. It will be hard for future Vegas boutique experience hotels to beat these rooms.

Tags: Las Vegas Hotels / HotelChatter Reviews / Viva Vegas

by markj