Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino Rating: 4.0 Pearls

The Strip, Las Vegas, Nevada

The pool

Compared to the other thematic mega-hotels on the Las Vegas Strip like the Paris, Venetian, New York New York, and Treasure Island, the Roman Empire certainly has its own unique appeal -- classical architecture; imperial statues; a giant rotunda and marble (looking) columns that flank the pool.

Like the MGM Grand or the Venetian, the main design principle seems to be excess -- the largest poker room in Las Vegas; an enormous, 50,000-square-foot spa; a long labyrinth of a shopping mall; and three pools pieced together to form the "Garden of Gods Pool Oasis."

Built in 1966, Caesars Palace is one of the Strip's first giant hotel-casino stunners. It was packing its over-the-top-theme house with high-profile entertainers well before current Vegas visionary Steve Wynn took the mind-blowing-hotel concept to the next level with the Mirage in 1989 or the Bellagio in 1993 (and all the other glitzy behemoth hotels that followed) -- and still is, with Cher, Jerry Seinfeld, and Bette Midler performing dinner-shows at the Colosseum. (Also, notably, the 2009 comedy The Hangover was set largely inside Caesars Palace.) But the downside of the hotel's age is that its base-level (appropriately named) "Classic" rooms are smaller and far more basic than what you'd find in the newer, mid-tier-luxury properties like Mandalay Bay or the MGM Grand. Despite this, Caesar's Palace is still a Vegas innovative powerhouse and has recently announced that it will hand over one of its buildings to one of the world's most recognized Japanese restaurant's, Nobu. The worldwide chain will embark on its first foray into lodging in the existing Centurian Tower. Set to be called Nobu Hotel Las Vegas, the boutique hotel will house 16 suites and a penthouse with a ground floor 9,500 square foot Nobu Restaurant and Lounge.

Like most of the large hotels on the Strip, there are doormen waiting at the entrance to open taxi doors and carry bags. There's a concierge on hand from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. to help arrange dinner reservations or tickets to see Cirque du Soleil and room service is available 24 hours. On the whole, the service is no different than what you'll encounter at top-tier hotels like the Venetian or Wynn hotels, and a big step up from more crowded hotels like Mandalay Bay.

But the staff is quick to answer requests -- like some extra towels for your room. In addition, I found the desk staff to be a bit more efficient than at the Wynn, Venetian, or several other large-scale resorts. During check-in, they made it through a line of about 18 people in about five minutes (at many other hotels, you might get stuck waiting for 30 minutes or longer).

View on a Larger Map

Caesars Palace is in the middle of the densely packed three-and-a-half mile long stretch of hotel-casinos known as the Strip. The Bellagio (with its famous, street-facing fountain shows) is to the north, and the Mirage (connected to Caesars by a free tram) is to the south. The Flamingo and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville restaurant are directly across the broad street.

Most Las Vegas visitors want to explore all of the big properties along the Strip. Cabs are easy to find at virtually any time of day or night. A generally less expensive option is the Deuce, a double-decker bus that runs up and down the strip 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and costs $3 to ride. There's also a monorail system, which stops at MGM Grand, Bally's/Paris, Flamingo/Caesars Palace, Harrah's/Imperial Palace, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Hilton, and the Sahara. A single-ride ticket is $5; a one-day pass is $13. If you're traveling along the Strip with at least one other person, a cab is often the least expensive option.

Virtually every hotel on the Las Vegas Strip is a 10- to 15-minute cab ride from McCarran International Airport; the ride typically costs about $15.

The Forum Tower Room

As far as Vegas luxury hotels go, the standard rooms (called "Classic" rooms) are, well, pretty standard, and pretty outdated -- they still have the old, 27-inch tube TVs and Caesars doesn't even mention these rooms on its website (unless you go to the booking page). Starting at about 350 to 400 square feet, these base-level rooms are larger than the standard rooms in just about any other city in the world, but they're fairly small by Vegas standards. Basically, the rooms don't look much better than an older Hampton Inn by the airport.

The quality of the room varies greatly between the hotel's five different towers: the Forum, the Roman, the Centurion, the Palace, and the Augustus. (A sixth tower and additional pool area are currently under construction on the north side of the property.) Rooms in the Forum and Augustus towers were more recently renovated than the rooms in the other towers (renovations took place between 2008 and 2009) and therefore cost more, but they at least come with all the luxury essentials -- a flat-screen TV, a Sony clock radio (with an auxillary jack to connect your iPod), a minibar (that charges you the minute you lift a mini bottle of vodka), motorized drapes with a bedside control, two waffle-weave bathrobes, dual rainfall showerheads (showers in the Palace tower, by contrast, are a little on the weak side), a tiny, 14-inch flat-screen in the bathroom, an electronic safe big enough for a laptop, and Wi-Fi (for $14.95/day).

Rooms in the Palace and Augustus towers (called "Deluxe rooms") are significantly larger -- 525 square feet in the Palace rooms; 648 square feet in the Augustus rooms -- and have deep-soaking Jacuzzi tubs in the bathroom (though the Palace's tubs have a tacky-looking plastic laminate covering the tub).

But unlike the rooms at the Venetian or Wynn, the base-level rooms at Caesars don't have a desk or a couch, and as for a sitting area, there are just two ordinary, Marriott-grade chairs by the window.

The beds -- either a king or two queens in the base-level rooms -- are plenty comfortable and come with high-quality Anichini linens, a heavy cotton comforter, and oversize throw pillows. There's no pillow-top padding on the mattresses (unlike some of the other luxury hotels on the Strip) but the bed is still perfectly comfortable.

The casino

The fitness center is big, and feels even larger with its especially high ceilings. There are about 15 cardio machines (elliptical and treadmills) along with ample free weights and weight training machines. The cost is steep -- $45 to use the spa and fitness center, and $25 just to use just the fitness center -- but with it includes an on-site fitness concierge trained to offer any guest a specialized fitness regimen. (Harrah's Rewards Club Members, however, get discounted prices -- and guess what, it's free to sign up at the hotel and become a member.)

The Forum Shops, a mega-mall with everything from Apple to Michael Kors and Gucci outposts, is directly connected to the Caesars Palace property.

The adult pool

"Garden of Gods Pool Oasis!" is Caesars' own, highfalutin title for the trio of pools -- the Temple, the Neptune, and the Venus -- which collectively span 4.5 acres, between Roman columns, elaborate marble and granite mosaics, and cabanas (available to rent, with a TV and refrigerator). To Caesars' credit, I felt the need to add the exclamation point. Pumped through fountains, water flows through the massive, circular Temple pool -- one of the biggest and most visually interesting pools in Vegas, rivaled only by a select few others, like the Bellagio, and the more boisterous pool scene at the Hard Rock. The Neptune pool, though still beautiful in its own right, serves as more of a lap pool -- a rare find in Vegas. Venus acts as the adults-only pool area. Though it's attached to some of the parties at the PURE nightclub, it's generally much more laid-back (less obnoxious) than some of the more notorious pool parties in Vegas, such as those at the Palms or Hard Rock.

As of March 2010, Caesars Palace has added eight new pools and 44 cabanas to Garden of the Gods, which are spread out over three levels. Each pool is named for a god or goddess and has its own personality: one has a swim-up blackjack table, one has cabanas only for invited VIPs, and one features an 18-foot waterfall.

Caesar's closes all of its pools, except for Venus, during the off-season.

Qua Bath and Spa

The massive, 50,000-square-foot Qua Baths & Spa includes 51 treatment rooms and 35 massage studios -- if it's not the best spa in Vegas (that might go to the Canyon Ranch spa at the Venetian), it's at least one of the biggest. For the $45 fee, guests get access to the Roman baths, Laconium steam baths, Vichy showers, chakra balancing crystal "body art" rooms, an herbal steam room, cedar sauna, and the expansive fitness center. The spa is split into male and female sections, and includes a barber shop for the lads and a salon for the ladies. Couples rooms are also available. Among the massage treatments offered, there's the signature "hourglass treatment" ($200/hour) in which you get a combination of facials, hot stones, and aromatherapy.

All of the standard games, slots, and cards are available, as well as a 250-seat race and sports book. Aside from the giant TVs mounted on the wall of the race and sports book, each table is equipped with its own monitor. Caesars is also home to a large, 14,000-square-foot poker room -- one of Las Vegas' biggest. The casino isn't as fancy as the casino at the Bellagio or the Venetian, but it's on par with the casino at Mandalay Bay and much nicer than the casino at the Flamingo.

Caesars Palace is happy to host children -- the rooms are large, the pool is excellent (and mellow), and the concierge can arrange baby-sitting services (something the groomsmen in The Hangover probably should have considered before dragging the poor baby all over town) -- but it doesn't specifically target families. Unlike the other theme-centered hotels like Excalibur or the Venetian, there are no exciting, Roman-inspired performances for the kids. Though it's probably for the best that the hotel doesn't inspire young gladiator battles.

Cribs and rollaway beds both cost an additional $30. (Note that Caesars is one of the very few hotels that charges extra for a crib.)

You'll likely see the occasional beer can floating in the pool or left in the hallway. But the rooms, especially those in the Forum, Augustus, and Palace towers are spotless.

Oysters on the half shell

There are 13 restaurants on-site, some of which are even fairly affordable -- unlike at the Bellagio or Wynn hotels. Below is an assessment of some of the most popular restaurants.

One of France's most acclaimed chefs, Guy Savoy, (who was awarded a Legion d'honneur from the French Minister of Agriculture) helms the Michelin two-star Restaurant Guy Savoy, the most prestigious (and most expensive) of Caesars' restaurants. Many -- well, Newsweek at least -- regard it as one of the best restaurants in Vegas, and the $140 tasting menu is well worth the splurge. Reservations are highly recommended.

Bay Area pioneer and James Beard-award-winning chef Bradley Ogden has his own Michelin one-star American restaurant on-site, which serves what GQ magazine praised as the best burgers in 2009. It's not cheap (entrees range about $40 to $60) but it does offer a three-course prix-fixe tasting menu for about $59 per person.

Rao's is the Las Vegas edition of the famous New York Italian restaurant -- complete with its own boccie court -- and the pasta sauce is so good, New Yorkers have been known to pay upwards of $9 for a jar of it in the grocery store. The Las Vegas Review-Journal named it both a reader- and staff-pick for the best Italian restaurant in a hotel in 2009.

Beijing Noodle No. 9, a unique northern Chinese restaurant, serves authentic dumplings and house-made noodle dishes for about $15-25 per entree. As for the food, some love it, some find it overpriced, but the surreal, dining among the goldfish experience is universally praised.

Mesa Grill, a southwestern restaurant run by celebrity-chef Bobby Flay (of Food Network fame), serves brunch, lunch, and dinner (entrees range about $32 to $45). It doesn't get the same high-profile accolades now as it did back in 2005, but the guests still love it.

The Cafe Lago buffet has less variety than the great majority of other buffets in Vegas, especially when compared to the buffet at the Bellagio. And at $30 for dinner, it's also one of the most expensive. You're better off dining at either the Augustus Cafe, a 24-hour cafe that sells quick sandwiches, or the Cypress Street Marketplace, which is like a food court in a shopping mall (i.e. fast food take-out restaurants that surround a central eating area).

Spago, a less-expensive mini-franchise from Wolfgang Puck, offers great entrees for around 20 bucks and has "outdoor" seating on the main thoroughfare of the Forum Shops mall.

In the summer of 2011, James Beard award-winning chef Michel Richard opened an outpost of his Washington "Central" restaurant, which serves American fare "with a French accent" 24 hours a day. The 9,600-square-foot restaurant seats up ot 300 guests, and features a full bar, an outdoor terrace adjacent to the lobby, and a solid cocktail menu.

In 2012, guests can look forward to renowned Japanese restaurant Nobu opening at the forthcoming Nobu Hotel Las Vegas. (The David-Rockwell-designed hotel will take over the existing Centurian Tower.)

Room service is available 24 hours (from a very extensive menu), and in addition to the standard room service menu, you can also order from the Paynard Patisserie, so you don't have to run out to pick up some chocolate-dipped strawberries for $12.