Planet Hollywood Resort

Information

Planet Hollywood Resort
Location: Center Strip
3667 Las Vegas Blvd. S.
Las Vegas, NV 89109
Contact: 866-919-7472
website
Number of Rooms: 2,567 Rooms
Rates: $99 and up
Average: $150-$250 per night
Resort Fee: $37 per night plus tax
Parking Fee: $24 per day valet; free self-parking
Vegas4Visitors Rating: 87

At a Glance

Highs

Nice casino and rooms; location.

Lows

Prices can be high.

Location: 10

In the heart of the action.

Price: 7

Expensive but not as bad as some nearby hotels.

Value: 7

You get a lot for the money, no matter how much it is.

Rooms: 8

Gorgeous, fun, and very comfortable.

Casino: 9

A huge improvement over the Aladdin days.

Amenities: 9

The rooms have everything you need.

Facilities: 10

You never need to leave the hotel if you don’t want to.

Service: 8

Very friendly, especially in the casino.

Fun: 8

Fun rooms, fun casino, fun entertainment.

Bonus: 7

Just because I said so.

Total: 87

Full Review

Eschewing the kind of over-the-top Tinseltown idolization that puts their restaurants in theme park territory, the look and feel of Planet Hollywood is upscale and modern, at times even dramatic, and a vast improvement over the Arabian Nights detail this place had when it was The Aladdin. Dark woods line the walls of the casino and act as accents to the vibrant colors and warm lighting details, infusing the entire space with an air of classy energy. Notice the support columns – all gauzy cream fabrics, backlit to give them a healthy glow, and then offset by iron and ebony stained wood. It is design details like this that set this gaming space apart from ones that focus more on the games themselves than what surrounds them.

Even the slot carousels have been turned into works of art, many of which topped with eye-catching sculptures and flat panel televisions. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the gaudy “Quartermania” type slot toppers that adorn most rows of one-armed bandits.

The casino floor is well laid out, with plenty of space between machines and tables and soaring 100-foot high ceilings to keep the claustrophobia level near zero. All of the usual slot machines are offered in the main casino along with all of the popular table games. In addition there is a poker room and a race and sports book in you are so inclined.

I have done very, very well at this casino, which doesn’t necessarily mean you will also. You could say that it makes me more inclined to like a casino and you’re right. Winning money makes me happy, sue me.

A mezzanine level surround the casino and features several restaurants, a theater, a wedding chapel, and a spa.

There are plenty of places to eat. Restaurants include the popular coffee shop style Planet Dailies; a branch of the Chinese favorite PF Chang’s; a tremendous steakhouse, the bordello themed Strip House; the Asian inspired Koi; and the Earl of Sandwich, a deli-style concept from the descendants of the guy that first put meat between two slices of bread about 400 years ago; a burger joint from Gordon Ramsay; and more. Out front along The Strip are even more eateries including the rodeo themed PBR Rock Bar and Grill, and Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina.

The whole thing is surrounded by the Miracle Mile shopping mall featuring more than 100 boutiques, theaters, and more restaurants. It used to be fun when it was the Arabian themed Desert Passage, and although some of that detail work still exists, much of it was replaced by bland, sleek marble and white walls. Kinda boring. But there is an H&M, a Sephora, and a Bettie Page Boutique so who cares about the hallways?

Headliner entertainment is the big draw here with full recurring production shows from Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, and others in the big theater and illusionist Criss Angel in the mezzanine theater. Check the related reviews below for more shows and entertainment.

All of the rooms have been redone as of mid-2017 and the Hollywood memorabilia that used to be a central feature is all gone. Now rooms are lighter, brighter, and more modern but a little bit more bland, too. They are done in shades of white, grey, and silver with punches of color in the artwork and the accessories, but if you were to show a picture of these rooms to someone and ask them to distinguish them from the light, bright, and modern rooms in any other hotel and they’d probably have a hard time doing so.

Rooms have everything you need including big TVs, mini-fridges, coffee makers, and more. Bathrooms are spacious with plenty of marble, deep tubs, and separate shower stalls.

The Resort rooms are a little bigger in terms of square-footage, most notable in the bathroom, but otherwise have similar furnishings.

Elara, managed by Hilton Grand Vacations, is a separate but connected part of the property with its own hotel tower and facilities. Built as a time share, most of the rooms are rentable as hotel accommodations and they are quite swank. Done in bold red, white, and black decor with more Hollywood touches, the rooms are big, comfortable, and undeniably modern. Check out the projectors that will broadcast the TV on the blackout shades – cool! Each comes with a litany of standard features that includes a kitchenette.

Downstairs in this tower is a separate lobby, all marble and multi-hued lights that change color, a lobby bar, its own pool with a cafe, a fitness center, and its own valet parking.

It’s worth noting that Elara is managed as a separate property and you can’t book rooms there through Planet Hollywood – you have to go through Hilton via their website or by calling direct.

And as far as the overall hotel, there was only one serious thing that I could find wrong with it – the parking situation. The main valet is usually not open for anyone other than upper level players club members and charges $24 day to park there.

Unfortunately self-parking is not much better. Unlike most hotels on The Strip these days it is free to park but the issue is that the garage is located at the back of the property and requires a very, very long walk through a crowded shopping mall to get to the front desk. If you’re toting luggage it isn’t fun. A solution here is if you stay at the Elara the parking garage is much closer.

So how much is all of this newfound glory going to cost you? I am seeing rates as low as $79 during the week and $149 on the weekend for the standard Deluxe rooms, although $100-150 weekdays and $150-$250 for the weekends is more common. The Hollywood Hip rooms are running about $40 more per night. Those kinds of rates are more expensive than I had hoped to see here but are very competitive with similar hotels on The Strip, especially for what they are offering. There is also the now-standard resort fee of $37 to add into this, which covers things like in-room Internet and gym access.

Service has been fantastic every time I’ve visited, especially in the casino where the dealers and slot attendants are extremely friendly.

Although not as wildly over-the-top as past Las Vegas hotels, Planet Hollywood does the best job in recent memory of balancing an upscale ethos with a fun and funky atmosphere. Instead of the bland luxury preferred by most new hotels on The Strip, this one does luxury without getting all serious about it.