Shopping, Las Vegas

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the assorted shops at the southern end of the strip just after the miracle mile shops up to before the MGM Grand offers lots of items for every shopper. between the two points are the Hard Rock Cafe, M & M World (too bad I don't have time to enter here), the big Hawaiian Marketplace where you can buy assorted kinds of souvenirs at the large number of souvenir shops inside and dine at a number of cheap restaurants. There is even a Ross Store where you can buy off season cheap branded stuffs. So while walking at this side of the Strip going to the MGM Grand and Tropicana, you can check out the shops at this area.

I bought a lot of gifts that were big at the Coca-cola store. I bought four huge Coca-cola plastic bottles that are piggy banks as gifts for my nephews and nieces. Since I have just a carry-on luggage, I asked them to ship them for me! It only cost me $15.00 to ship the gifts that I bought, instead of paying extra $25.00 for my luggage at the airport. And, I don't even have to check it in. It arrived at my house few days later!

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PLEASE SEE ALL THE PHOTOS TO ENJOY THE PALAZZO ELEGANCE

One of the most beautiful and elegant hotels, in my opinion, is The Palazzo along with The Shoppes at Palazzo

A magnificent two-story waterfall and a lovely decorated skylight is just one example of the elegance displayed at The Shoppes of Palazzo. [See Photos #s 3 and 5]

Another simple, but elegant touch is the live piano and guitar music.

The Casino has a cathedral ceiling that is majestic. The 80 foot dome in the lobby uses natural light to flood the area. Best of all, Smoking is off limits for the majority of the Palazzo and that includes 50% of the casino floor!

The style of the hotel is Italian, and this luxury hotel has remote controlled draperies and Agraria bath products.

Dining is special here with places such as Chef Wolfgang Puck's "CUT" and Chef Simon "To's" authentic Chinese cuisine at "Zinc", and "Sushi Samba" unites "Brazilian flavors, Peruvian tastes, and Japanese technique"!

There is a 4-acre pool complex on the hotel's 3rd level! On that same level is the entrance to the Canyon Ranch SpaClub.

We also saw a large race and sports book that features a huge projection screen and over 80 flat panel televisions called Lagasse's Stadium at the Palazzo.

A very special feature of The Palazzo is the 400 seat Palazzo Showroom and the 450,000-square-foot retail complex, THE SHOPPES AT THE PALAZZO with more than 50 really upscale sores such as Barneys New York, Coach, Jimmy Choo, Ralph Lauren, and Kors.

While visiting there, we saw their Celebration of the Year of the Rabbit [See Photo #4]
This was one of my favorite places to window shop.

I've been going to Vegas for over 15 years, and passed this place many times, but never had stopped in. What a mistake on my part! If you are looking for anything gambling related, this is the place. It runs the gamut from decks of cards, to trays of chips, to display cases and actual blackjack tables. They also have an extensive selection of books to choose from. The ladies who were running the shop were extremely friendly, and with each purchase were giving away a "good luck" chip (didn't work for me, but the thought counts!) We spent a good half hour checking out all they have to offer, and likely will visit again in the future.

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The most exciting and attractive shopping center in Las Vegas fronts the boulevard at the City Center and is connected directly to its several hotels and trams. Design is by two foremost international firms - David Libeskind for the exterior and David Rockwell for the 500000 sq ft interior. There are no signs on the outside blaring Crystals, just the names of those retailers whose space includes an exterior wall. The shape of the building and particularly the roof is jagged and irregular, with the steel and glass roof allowing natural light into the building. And the interior is wonderful - wide curving halls with pockets of brightly colored flowers as well as two water features by WET Design, creators of the Bellagio Fountains and Mirage Volcano. Image 3 illustrates one of these water shows, translucent sculpted tubes of constantly changing color in which water seems to flow within. At the center, a treehouse with a curved staircase set well above floor level serving as the entrance to a seafood restaurant, as well as a nice place for drinks overlooking the main level.

The vendors here are uniformly the most upscale and haute we saw in Las Vegas. Besides all the usual international designers - Prada, Vuitton, Ford - there is a decided emphasis on high end jewelry stores like Stern, Tiffany, van Cleef and Arpels, Bulgari. Porsche Design also hawks its clothing and accessory line here, and there is a Dale Chihuly exhibit and store. The several restaurants include Wofgang Puck and Todd English outposts and a nightclub restaurant owned by TV personality Eva Longoria.

There are no shows, attractions, or gimmicks at Crystals. The shopping center IS the attraction, and well worth a visit.

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A popular free attraction at the Forum Shops is incongruously located in front of the Cheesecake Factory sign, not totally inappropriate for this somewhat cheesy and dated presentation. Marginally life like animatronic figures of King Atlas and his children Gadrius and Alia re-enact the destruction of the city. Old Atlas tries to determine which of his children will inherit the crown, but the two greedy siblings anger the gods who dispatch a 20 foot winged beast appears behind the throne and oversees the destruction of the city with fire, flame, and fog preceding the fall of the city. The show is seven minutes long but presented but once an hour - good enough if your timing is good but probably not worth a long wait.

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The Caesar's Palace attached shopping mall occupies 636000 sq ft extending to Las Vegas Boulevard via a 2004 expansion. With 160 stores and 11 restaurants ( including outlets by Wolfgang Puck, Il Mulino New York, and Bobby Flay, it is the highest grossing mall in the United States on both an absolute basis and on per square foot sales. The decor evokes ancient Roman streets with replicas of the Appian Way, Trevi and Triton fountains, and fountains and statues everywhere. The street front store facades are in the style of ancient Rome as well. Unlike some venues, the streets are aligned to allow walking around discrete blocks so that everything can be seen without backtracking. And, as in so many other sites, note the trompe l'oeil ceilings, beautiful blue Italian skies with light clouds.

The new addition fronting Las Vegas Boulevard is worthy of note. Three stories high, the entrance includes a large reflecting pool, massive statues, and one of only two spiral escalators in the United States. The mall is best known for a large number of specialty shops not seen in many other malls like Lalique, Judith Lieber, and Stuart Weitzman as well as all the usual international design and clothing suspects - Bulgari, Vuitton, Kate Spade, Miu Miu at the upper end and Gap and Diesel for the rest of us. This is a very interesting venue to walk through.

I must confess that I'm so must pushed into shops by... you know who... that I always try to skip them, with two exceptions: Dubai, where shopping meant freshness, and Las Vegas. Of course, tourist is the target to almost all those shops, but, trying to match the references of town, imagination is everywhere, turning many shops into something that we see with interest even when the selling gadgets have no interest at all.

A nice alternative to the smashing size of the hotels.