Is it really 'Sin City'?

The Palms is the epitome of excess at its best. I have been a friend of the owner, George, for many years, as I am a former employee of his family for about 15 years now.

Anyway, the Palms rooms, restaurants, clubs, and ambience are spectacular! This is where ALL the beautiful people flock when in town. Let's start with the lime-green limo that picks you up at the airport. There's no mistaking WHERE you’re going in that car! When the hotel first opened 2 years ago, it was featured on MTV's show The Real World Las Vegas. A reality show about seven strangers picked to live and work together. The Real World suite is a top seller, getting booked up to months prior. At about $5,000 a weekend, it's sure to please! There’s a suite named after George’s sister and Playpen rooms that include dance floors and stripper poles. Standard rooms are spacious and well-appointed, as well.

But who stays in their room while in Vegas? The REAL fun is at the Ghost Bar on the 55th floor of the hotel. Take a quick ride up and let your inhibitions loose, baby! With futuristic furniture and a ceiling that changes colors, beautiful people crowd into this bar, which has a phenomenal view of Las Vegas and a see-through floor on the patio named the ghost deck, Ghost Bar is one of my favorite places! Or perhaps Rain nightclub is more your speed--a 28,000-foot club with an elevated dance floor, private cabanas, and fire and smoke that billow out above the dance floor when you least expect it. This is the place where Britney Spears played an impromptu concert.

Skin Lounge is a pool/nightclub that includes go-go dancers and floating chairs. I love the pool here. There are several private cabanas, a small sand beach, and white chairs that float in the pool!

There are several restaurants, but I have never been to any of them. Of course, all this luxury comes at a price, but you never know who's going to be sitting at the table next to you, drinking martinis! There's even a palm reader in the casino if you feel the need for some help from the 'other side'. This hotel does accept small pets.

I usually give only good reviews, but in this case, I had to share my horrible experience at The Clarion Emerald Springs, in Las Vegas. From the website, it looks really nice and clean, and it’s only 3 blocks from the Strip. They offer free limo service to anywhere on the Strip. They have a nice, heated outdoor pool, a 24-hour fitness center, and all the rooms include coffee makers, Nintendo game systems, refrigerators, wet bars, and free cable with HBO. Some rooms have microwaves and Jacuzzis.

Now, to start off, the front desk clerk who checked us in was wearing GREEN nail polish. I work in the hospitality industry, and that is just plain unprofessional.

Our room was filthy: stained carpet, cigarette burns on the counters (even though this was a nonsmoking room), stained wallpaper, flimsy, plastic closet door, stained tile in the bathroom. It was quite a sight. I felt like I was in the ghetto. I called to move rooms and was told that because it was Friday night, the entire hotel was sold out and there was no other room to move us to. That was just unacceptable for the price I was paying: $125 a night. We had no choice but to stay, but the night only got more interesting.

Now, I realize we’re in party central, but the ceilings and walls were paper-thin. I could hear the people above us walking around--sounded like elephants, of course. And I could hear the muffled conversation of the people next door. That went on all night, as the people above us kept coming and going.

I’ve stayed in all kinds of hotels, and I’ve never been able to hear the people above me. The pool was the only nice thing about the property. It was cool and refreshing.

I was under the impression from the website that this was NOT a budget hotel, but based on the condition of the room and common areas, I beg to differ. It’s in a GREAT location, right down from the Strip, and it would have a lot of potential if someone would repair and maintain the property.

After my sleepless weekend, I vowed to never stay there again and make sure no one I knew would. My only comfort was the letter I wrote to the GM, and he replied by refunding all of my money. Thank you for that. GOOD JOB.

We stayed at Residence Inn for a couple nights because it was close to a friend's house. It's only a 10-minute drive to the Strip and the airport.

This particular hotel is great for families because every room is a suite with a full kitchen and sitting area. You can choose from a studio or one- or two-bedroom units. The rooms come with breakfast every morning 7 days a week, complete with scrambled eggs, breakfast meats, make-it-yourself waffles, oatmeal, fruits, juice, breads to toast, and cereals. There is a small "market" by the front desk to pick up essentials and snacks, BUT there is an Albertsons across the street to get stuff to stock your full-size fridge for less money.

We had a one-bedroom suite and the room was just okay, nothing fancy. The bed was comfortable enough, but the carpet was in need of a cleaning. There was a small living room with a couch that folded out into a single bed, a two-person dining table with chairs, a small work desk with a high-speed Internet connection, stove, sink, dishwasher, microwave, coffeemaker, fridge/freezer, dishes, and utensils. The room is stocked with coffee, tea, and sugar every day.

The hotel has a pool/hot tub and exercise room, and they also offer a social hour Monday through Friday from 5 to 7pm. There is no real restaurant on-site, except for the breakfast. But again, across the street are a couple options, like Dairy Queen, a breakfast place, and a sushi place. Also across the main street, Sunset Road, is a Trader Joe’s if you’re interested in that and a Walgreen's farther south, about 2 miles.

My main complaint was the thinness of the ceiling. At about 1am, I heard the people above us (we were on the ground floor) slam the door as they came in, and it must have been a family, because all I heard for the next 15 minutes was children screaming and them jumping on the bed above my head. The parents must have been in a room next door. It was miserable.

So anyway, it’s not a real fancy place, but it does the job for less money than you would pay ON the Strip. For families or those on a budget, it’s great and not a long drive in to Las Vegas. Henderson is a nice little place and a LOT quieter.

Lotus of Siam, or LOS to the locals, is a small but very busy Thai restaurant. It’s been named by several publications, as the best in the country.

Located in a nondescript strip mall called Commercial Center, LOS has some great dishes at very reasonable prices. I’ve eaten here many times, and I have never been disappointed. A casual place with little ambience inside, but that’s not why you’re there. You’re there for the food, baby! The entry way walls are covered with newspaper and magazine reviews from all over the country, even the Food Network loves it here.
They have a lunch buffet, but I recommend skipping it and ordering off the dinner menu instead. You’ll be happy you did! Among my favorite dishes are the sour sausage and crispy rice salad, which has so many flavors and textures going on—your mouth is sure to get excited! It's very cilantro-ey and crispy and minty...it's hard to explain. The duck curry is so wonderful, I almost moved right next door to the restaurant so I could have it every day! The Pad Thai is so-so—the sauce isn’t all that great—but the steamed fish with sweet and sour sauce is a must! I know it sounds weird, but it’s GOOD! Tom yum goong is great, but ask for it to be ‘not spicy’; otherwise, you may not be able to eat it. Don't forget to have a Thai iced tea...yummy!

LOS is a great little place, and it’s always packed. They’re closed between 2:30 and 5pm. It's located East of The Strip on Sahara, four lights past Las Vegas Blvd in the 'Commercial Center'. It's right next to a Korean place.

Emeril has done it again! Delmonico is a bit pricey but worth every penny... especially if you like beef. This place, located at the Venetian Hotel, attracts a dressy clientele--no jeans or hats. It also take time to eat here. It’s no In-n-Out Burger, for sure.

As you walk in, it’s classic steakhouse décor: dim lighting, and tall leather chairs at white-clothed tables. The menu is creole-inspired, so there is plenty of heat and seafood to choose from. Not to mention the wine list.

Service can be spotty. The first time I went there, the waiter never missed a beat. The second time, my waiter was nowhere to be found during the entire meal. BUT the food is always wonderful, and I can overlook bad service if the food keeps me busy.

This last time we went, we were brought over an amuse of shredded BBQ pork, which was very tasty. I started with the arugula salad with vanilla apple dressing and fried brie wontons. I wish they would bottle that dressing--it’s SO good.

The filet mignon is the best piece of meat I've ever had--it literally melted like butter. It comes with their signature potato chips, which are doused in parmesan cheese, garlic, truffle oil, and parsley. Highly addictive. And the side of roasted asparagus with shallots is a fabulous mix of flavor.

The Cowboy steak, which is a bone-in ribeye, is wonderfully marbled and tasty. Served with bourbon mashed sweet potatoes, this dish will make your mouth sing. In the past, I’ve had the BBQ salmon, which is served with parsnip smashed potatoes, which is excellent. They also make a Ceasar salad for two at your table--a wonderful ‘old school’ touch.

Delmonico is a wonderful place to indulge your cravings and the desire to spend some cash.

Viaggio is a locally owned Italian place and wine bar. The restaurant itself is upstairs and has a great view of the city lights below. It’s a small place with maybe 15 tables, a small lounge area, and an open-air kitchen. The main dining room has floor to ceiling windows on two sides to enjoy the view. White-linen-covered tables and napkins give it a romantic feel. The walls are apricot, and the floor is orange with a yellow design on it. They also have a small, private dining room that can be closed off.

The menu is not your typical meat and sauce. Dishes like crab ravioli and osso bucco make this an experience. The prices range from about $17 to $29 per entrée, and the food is really, really good. They do offer your regular pasta and sauce choices, but with so much more to offer.

This particular evening, we only had appetizers, but they were wonderful and filling. I wished I had enough room for dinner; the chicken fiore looks WONDERFUL! So we started off with the tomato lobster soup. It was a creamy tomato soup topped with swirls of pesto sauce. A beautiful presentation. Hubby thought the soup was great, but I thought it was mediocre. It tasted like canned tomato soup to me, which was disappointing. But it did have chunks of lobster in it.

Next we had the beef carpaccio, which was topped with drizzled olive oil, lemon, capers, Roma tomatoes, and red onion. Really good. The beef seemed a little dry to me but good just the same.

Our next item was the bruschetta and prosciutto. Now, this was really good. My favorite, actually. Toasts topped with a tomato, prosciutto, and red onion mix. It was crunchy, garlicky, and tasty.

Our final menu item was the appetizer version of the crab ravioli. Little pillows stuffed with snow crab and topped with a light lobster and Parmesan cream sauce. This dish was great. Light and creamy and off the scale as far as calories are concerned.

There is a downstairs lounge that also serves small plates, and they’re open after 10pm if you’re hungry after the restaurant closes.

The Las Vegas Premium Outlets mall is just a hop, skip, and a jump from Fremont Street, and is a fabulous place to spend the day wandering around, getting great deals on your favorite brand names. We went the day after Christmas (crazy, right?) and the place was crawling with shoppers, dying to get their hands on an inexpensive Coach bag or some Dior sunglasses. Every designer brand name that you can think of is here, just waiting to tempt you.

Try on a suit at Armani Exchange, or get some new Timberlands. How about some Calvin Klein jeans, or some Kenneth Cole cologne? There are 120 stores to keep you busy for hours. There’s a food court in the middle of it all, with choices like pizza, Chinese, Japanese, Dairy Queen, Subway, cheese-steaks, and of course, Starbucks. I mean, you can’t possibly shop without a jolt of caffeine, right?

There’s a Nike outlet, Bose, St. John, Tommy Hilfiger, Coach and many, many more. It made me dizzy just walking around, trying to figure out what shop to go in next. There was actually a line to get into the Coach store. I gave up and moved on the Charlotte Russe, to get some new, hip jeans. There are also shoe stores, luggage stores and ‘intimates’ stores. Too much to chose from.

This is an outdoor mall, so bring a jacket on chilly days. It was really windy the day that we went, REALLY windy. There is valet parking available and bathrooms throughout the center. The walkways are flat and wide enough for wheelchairs or motorized scooters. There are directories throughout the center for easy planning, and plenty of parking spaces.

The website gives sale information and directions. www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/sales.asp?id=58.