Paris, Las Vegas

First . . . Las Vegas . . . and the strip

One of the magnificent trips that I will never forget was my recent visit to the city of lights and entertainment - Las Vegas! It is the most densely inhabited city in the United States of America.

Las Vegas is known for its gambling places and games; for unusually shaped large hotels, casinos, restaurants, resorts, properties and spacious houses.

Most of the first class hotels, casinos and entertainments are laid out over a mere 3.8 miles.

The most extraordinary hotel I have ever seen was the Paris Hotel . . . in Las Vegas! It’s not only a hotel . . . it’s like an amusement city! This hotel was arranged, decorated and designed just as if a slice of Paris had been pulled out and put down in Las Vegas!

I was lucky enough to go to Las Vegas . . .

I work in a travel agency; part of the job is securing deals and agreements with other hotels and resorts where we send our tourists and vice versa. The perks of working in the travel and tourism industry include having discounts; being given special airfare prices and sometimes going places free of charge! The boss and several colleagues were going to Vegas; fortunately for me, I am the one who speaks the best English, so my boss offered me the opportunity to go with them to help with translation, read contracts and help secure ‘hot’ deals. The offer was too tempting to resist, so I packed my bags for Vegas.

The location on the desert! Magnifique!

Paris Hotel is situated on the south strip of Las Vegas Paradise, Nevada, USA; which is a very appropriate and fitting location. It is near all necessary amenities (including shops) making it number one for tourist attractions.

The Paris-themed hotel is only 3 miles away from the ‘Las Vegas Convention Center’ and less than 5 miles from downtown. In addition, a lot of casinos and shops are around the complex: very convenient for travelling around or simply every day shopping trips!

Getting there . . . is so easy

After a long and exhausting trip (including changing planes), it is nice to find out that it’s only 10-15 minutes by car (taxi) to get from Las Vegas airport to the hotel. Keep in mind the average charges are between $15 and $20 (and if they sense that you are a foreigner - in my case it was very obvious - they may charge you even more)! So try to talk as little as possible - especially if the driver is one of those friendly talkative people!

The buildings . . . a very unique and differently shaped Hotel

I’m not going to review the hotel only, as there is a lot more to come . . .

The property includes several authentic replicas of famous Parisian attractions:

Outside the hotel there are replicas of the Arc de Triomphe, the Paris Opera House, the Hôtel de Ville, and the Louvre, along with an Around the World in Eighty Days balloon marquee. What more do we need!

Inside the French atmosphere is carried on. Everything is ornamented and decorated in Gallic regalia, including village façades with arched windows, fake trees, and three massive legs of the 50-story Eiffel Tower replica jutting through the roof and resting on the Monet-style floral carpets. You can see the water fountains with various sizes and shapes and historical pre 1920’s statues are placed nearly everywhere. There's even a traditional French design paved walkway to Bally's and a small kiosks selling French pastries.

At a glance . . . exploring more . . . to find more surprises on the way!

The Hotel (celebrating 10 years of success)

The hotel is a 34-story tower that is distinctively different in shape. If you look at it from an air view, it will look like big + sign. Thus they have south, north, east and west wings. It was created and shaped after the famously momentous Hotel De Ville in Paris France. This hotel is remarkably organised and has the Parisian theme at every single inch of it. It has a gaming area of over 83,000 square feet, full of exciting games, gambling and casinos.

The Lobby

The Spacious lobby features marble floors, a seating area and numerous alluring chandeliers which have been switched on all the day and accompany you throughout the reception area.

Reception

When you first step in you can notice how much the French theme is dominating the whole place; . . . gold and beige are the main colours (a very royal theme) along with tremendously well arranged lighting.

I have visited so many different hotels, but I have never seen anything like it! I was speechless like a little child having a Christmas present or like a baby who is amused by the big deal of lights and beautiful ornaments!

By the door a well dressed man is standing aside and greeting you in FRENCH! And with a big warm smile, he guides you to the reception area, well I won’t call it
a reception area; it’s more like a palace reception!

There are separate desks spread over the lobby area . . . not sure how many they are (I didn’t get the chance to count them) but definitely there were a lot.

The reception staff greeted us with nice big brilliant white smiles. After taking down basic information (and filling in a mini form and a little questionnaire) we were each given a magnetic key (like a swat card) and were guided to our rooms.

My room with two QUEEN beds! (Red Room Luxury)

There were two French themes, the red fiery theme and the earthy one, thankfully mine was the warm earthy theme. Our room was located on the middle floor, the room was delightfully prearranged. The stripy beige and brown with a hint of gold walls seem very elegant and so French. The walls are decorated with some pictures as well as side lamps, making it more like your little home away from home.

This contained one king-sized bed or two queen-sized beds and a large sitting area. You can find also a wet bar with a compact refrigerator filled with food (which is topped-up and changed daily . . . but you have to pay for every single item in the fridge.

I thought the bed was king-sized but it’s a lot bigger than the one that I have at home . . . maybe American bed standards are different. There were two of them (they call them queen beds!) and I shared the room with a female colleague. Crispy white bed sheets with one long pillow and another smaller one; a beige – brownish lightweight blanket to accompany the bed! A beautiful brown leatherette headboard gives each bed a touch of luxury. Anyway the bed was very comfortable, the mattress was extremely soft and the pillows were as well (although I wished that I had brought my own pillow!)

The other furniture included a side table next to the bed with a multi phone lines to make calls with certain charges; a dressing table, and two mirrors; and an ample spaced cupboard to hang your clothes and three drawers for your other bits and pieces. There are two armchairs with the same stripes as the walls.

The armoires contain TVs with pay movies and video games (for a surcharge). Multi-line speakerphones come with voice mail. High-speed Internet access is available for a surcharge. Also each room has a complimentary safe in which to put your valuables but what if you have forgotten the vault number lol.
The room is provided with an air conditioner and a climate control as well as a blackout curtains in case you want it extremely dark lol!

What about the bathroom?

When I first arrived, I checked out the smallest room in this spacious place; surprisingly the bathroom size was generous enough!

Astonishing marble floors with marble furniture to match! This is a spacious bathroom compared to other hotels; containing a luxury white suite with a separate shower cubical and bathtub. I have to say that I haven’t seen a large bath tub like that one before – you can fit two people in easily!

There is also a fitted make up/shaver mirror with a fitted light; a hair dryer; bath robe; hand and bath towels; and complimentary luxury fragrance toiletries (bath soap, shower gel, hand soap and bath foam) . . . although, to be honest with you . . . I never used them, I only smelled them . . . I had brought my own favourites with me!

There are approximately 2,915 rooms in the hotel . . . I wonder how they get them all cleaned up!

I talked to one (very friendly) receptionist who helped me to have a quick look though the rooms after I promised him to be quick and maybe if I liked the rooms bring more tourists to their hotel. He was very helpful; and provided me with the relevant information and showed me the rooms. The rooms are simply splendid; tastefully furnished in a sophisticated and elegant manner, so you can notice how chic and stylish the furniture is.

Again, it was all in a Parisian style, which is easily recognised by the luxuriant colours and lush fabrics of the furniture along with bed linings and sheets.

With such a premium, first class hotel, you can’t expect one kind of room for all these stories, surely there are different rooms and different sizes at different rates to suit most people whether they are single, married or family groups. I soon realised on my tour that the higher the floor the more expensive the room price becomes, and the better the view.

Red Room Luxury

This is the room I have described already, as it was the room I shared.

LeMans Suite

This has exactly the same amenities as the Red Room Luxury but for a suite instead of a room. One king bed or two queen beds, large sitting area, Wet bar with compact refrigerator, TV in armoire and again pay movies and video games, and high-speed and dial-up Internet access and fax machine.

The Luxury Room

You can guess that it’s the best room among them all. You will be provided with one king-sized bed or two queen-sized beds - and with such a high price as you will pay, you can have a city view, plus a sitting area; a desk; TV in armoire; (pay movies and video games come with a surcharge).

Red Room Premier . . . WOW!

This contains one king-sized bed, and is located on the highest floors of the hotel tower which have a panoramic view of the whole strip. Traditional French furnishings complement the room; a comfortable sofa, a gigantic 42-inch plasma HDTV to watch your favourite films and football; a Clock radio with an iPod dock complete the luxury.

'''>> All these rooms have the same bathroom facilities as described