Palms Hotel

A mile or so off the strip, the Palms Hotel and Casino is a bit of a trek off the beaten track, the only places within real walking distance are the Rio and The Gold Coast and to be honest if your staying at Palms you won’t want to bother visiting either.

We got there pretty early and our room wasn’t ready but the staff were very helpful, they checked us in and got the bell desk to look after our luggage until our room was ready.

Even at 9.30am the Palms is busy, expect to see a local crowd in there on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday. The Palms management give away free spins to all the locals for the $15m jackpot slot machine, as you can imagine this is very popular and we found the queue to be half way round the casino by 11am. Don’t be fooled by the blue rinse brigade at these times, the usual crowd are young, trendy party animals.

Rooms:

Average prices per room per night were around $300-$350, there was four of us staying so we went for a suite which cost $750, the little extra cost meant we had a fantastic room with loads of extra space, well worth it.

The suite consisted of two bedrooms, both with Bose CD players, 42” plasma TVs, mini bars and desks, two queen size beds, telephones and a coffee machine, which was a first for us on our Vegas travels. Our rooms had good views looking out towards the back of strip. Two bathrooms, one slightly grander than the other with an opaque glass wall, but both were equipped with 15”TVs, Jacuzzi baths, twin sinks and separate showers and WCs. You hit the jackpot with the freebies at Palms; they load the bathrooms with goodies from Aveda, mouthwash, eye drops and deodorant, everything you’ll need to get over the night before.

Dining:

There is not a massive selection of restaurants at Palms but they do have something to suit most guests. Whilst we were waiting for the room to be made ready we had breakfast in the buffet, this was one of the best we found in Las Vegas, for food, service and value. At $6.50 we ate like kings. Check out the made to order omelettes, all the food is fantastic but steer clear of the coffee, it’s awful.

Palms have French cuisine with spectacular views of the strip at reasonable prices in the restaurant Alize. Traditional Mexican and an extensive margarita selection at Gardunos and if you want to splash out Little Buddha offers Pacific rim with a French twist and a sushi bar, whilst N9ne has an extensive menu of American fare, seafood and caviar.

Nightlife:

Palms has plenty to offer a 14 screen cinema with a decent size food court attached to it, but lets face it you don’t go to Vegas to catch a movie.

Ghost bar was by far our favourite, the atmosphere was great and the dance floor surrounded by water was very cool, full of fashionistas, this is definitely the one to be seen in.

The Playboy club does exactly what it says on the tin and is exactly as you would expect.

Rain, a theatre by day transforms into a 3 storey club at night, it is very popular but personally we didn’t think it was all that.

Gaming:

With 95,000sq ft to play in the Palms Casino is a good size, it is quite narrow and spans the whole length of the property. It is not the best laid out but the atmosphere is lively and the clientele fairly young and hip.

The lowest minimum you’ll find on the tables is $15 and $5 on the roulette. There are masses of slots and video poker machines, over 2000 by all accounts and you can bet from a penny to as much as you can afford.

Overall:

A bit out of the way but has all you’ll need under its roof.