I was a guest at Paris Las Vegas in August 2007. Here is my review of Paris, which includes 15 photos. I had been a guest at their "sister property" (both are owned by Harrah's) next door, Bally's, in December 2005. Bally's and Paris are connected by an indoor walkway that ends with a row of shops modeled after a Paris, France street right before you arrive in the Paris casino.
Bally's is a nice property and I almost chose to stay there again; but I usually prefer new things over the familiar so I paid the slightly higher rate and booked a room at Paris.
During the online reservation procedure, I indicated a preference for a "quiet room up high." Which is exactly what I got. The top floor (33), in between a room marked "Staff Only" and what looked like an unoccupied high roller suite. It was definitely the most peaceful Las Vegas hotel room I've ever experienced. August is a slow month for tourism in Las Vegas, however; if you visit during a busier time you might not get so lucky.
The view from the window of my room was impressive (photo included below), with Wynn and Stratophere presenting a view not seen by most visitors to Las Vegas.
The room itself was nice. Quiet, as I mentioned; clean, comfortable. However, it didn't offer any special amenities not found in other standard rooms I've stayed in at other mid-range properties like Luxor, Bally's, and Monte Carlo. When I choose a property that charges a higher rate than other properties I'm familiar with, my expectations are slightly elevated. So I was just slightly disappointed not to find some kind of super cool bonus feature in the room like a fridge full of snacks or PlayStation.
Something most hotels do, which is somewhat misleading, is that they refer to their standard rooms as "deluxe rooms." The newbie tourist may think that the DELUXE room is something above and beyond what's normally offered; when in fact it is the least expensive, most basic room offered. Unless the hotel also has "garden" or "courtyard" rooms, which would be lower priced and less luxurious. Very few Las Vegas strip properties offer garden or courtyard rooms, however. You'll most often find them at budget properties and off-strip properties like Palace Station. So when booking a room at a strip property, your choice will usually be limited to a deluxe room or suite.
Some properties such as Venetian and Treasure Island also offer "view rooms" at a higher price than deluxe rooms. These are, however, simply the standard deluxe room with a nice view of the strip or mountains. If you don't specifically mention the view when booking the room (many tourists aren't concerned about the view) you might get stuck in a room facing a brick wall or huge air conditioning unit or something else unattractive. Strip views, pool views, and mountain range views are the most commonly types of views offered.
Paris is one of the few Las Vegas strip properties that is easily accessible by pedestrians from the Las Vegas Blvd. sidewalk (just a few steps away). It's also in an excellent mid-strip area, in between Planet Hollywood (formerly Aladdin) and Bally's; across the street from Bellagio. If you're going to take photos during your trip, I highly recommend hanging out by the Paris fountain at sunset. You'll get a view of the sun setting behind the Bellagio.
Here's a table you can use to get the exact times of sunrises and sunsets during your trip to Las Vegas.
The exterior of Paris is very attractive, with the marble fountain on Las Vegas Blvd., hot air balloon logo, the Arch de Triomphe (Arch of Triumph) reproduction, and miniature (half scale) Tour Eiffel (Eiffel Tower) reproduction being the most prominent features. You can ride an elevator to the top of the Eiffel Tower reproduction, and there is a restaurant on the 11th floor.
Inside, the Paris is fairly quiet and peaceful in comparison to other Las Vegas casinos. The ceiling is an artificial sky, which is a unique and attractive feature. However, it can be as difficult to navigate as most casinos. Not if you're just gambling... the specific games are fairly easy to find. The tricky part is finding the correct elevator to take up to your room. You might wander around in circles several times before finding it. There are signs pointing you in the correct general direction, but it's still confusing since every direction you look in is very visually busy with slot machines, blinking lights, other signage, and Parisian style decorations.
Paris offers more than a few food and beverage options. In addition to the prominently featured Eiffel Tower restaurant, a cafe on an elevated platform at the edge of the casino, and Gustav's Bar in the center of the casino; there are a number of sidewalk cafes along the 19th century style Parisian street recreation you have to walk through to get to the parking garage or Bally's next door.
I highly recommend Paris, especially if you're going to be taking a mostly walking vacation rather than renting a car. One extra convenience I almost forgot to mention is that you can check into your Paris room at the airport. There is a check-in office for all the Harrah's Entertainment owned properties (Paris, Bally's, Harrah's, Imperial Palace, Rio Suites, Caesars Palace) near the baggage claim at McCarran. Walking from the passenger gates into the baggage claim area, you'll see the office directly to your right and slightly behind you. It's easy to overlook if you don't specifically seek it out... very small and nondescript. There is rarely a long line, however, and they'll check you in and hand you your room key so you can avoid the almost certainly much longer line at the hotel check in desk.
Also, a taxi driver told me to say "PAREE" when indicating Paris as the destination; otherwise you might be taken to Harrah's. (Paris, Harrah's, sounds similar.) I'm not sure if it's a common problem or if he was just hard of hearing.
Please visit the Paris Las Vegas web site for more details.
(Harrah's Entertainment is currently owned by Apollo Management and Texas Pacific Group.)
