My standard hotel reviews include a breakdown by the following topics. Feel free to skip to whichever section you find most interesting.
- Highlights
- Lobby
- Room
- Hotel Space / Ambience
- Food & Drink
- Fitness
- Miscellaneous
VIP Access Courtesy of SPG Platinum Status! Obtain at Planet Hollywood Total Rewards Center!
Highlights: Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino Las Vegas
As always with Caesar’s properties, the highlight is getting a complimentary room (thank you, wise younger me) and paying nothing but the resort fee and tax, (~$33-36, with the Planet Hollywood being $35.84). It’s a great deal on the Las Vegas Strip, especially in this world of mandatory resort fees (except the highest level gamblers). Additionally, I was able to pay them with the Total Rewards credits earned earlier in the year in Atlantic City, thanks to the various promotional credits earned there! This was the first time I have gotten a comped room at Planet Hollywood, as the options are usually limited to the more entry-level properties – Rio, Bally’s, Harrah’s, or Flamingo.
VIP Access: Getting upgraded to and taking advantage of VIP Access was a blast, courtesy of my Starwood Platinum status. Being able to stand in Diamond and VIP lines saved my lady and me time.
Lobby
The lobby/checkin area is located in the basement floor below the casino. Head to the Diamond lounge – which was quieter, with somewhat faster checkin. A few hosts were available to discuss play, comps, and offers for guests. It’s a much more relaxed and less hectic atmosphere, with gigantic pictures of celebrities on the wall.
Room
The room was a PetStay room for my nonexistent pet, for a spacious 550 sq ft. Simply palatial by comparison to standard Caesar’s rooms (anywhere between 250-400 sq ft). The large expansive bathroom had two separated sinks, making it easy for parties to get ready. Living area was similarly open, with a very weird layout and closet configuration on the far side across the room. Typically you hang up clothes soon after entering hotel rooms, but this closet took a while to find.
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- Planet Hollywood Bed + Far Closet
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- Living Area
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- Bathroom Left
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- Bathroom Right
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Hotel Space / Ambiance
The hotel and casino has a very party and shopping vibe, most likely due to the Miracle Mile shops surrounding the complex. It has many shops, bars, and restaurants, all designed to separate you from your money. It is a bit hard on the casino to know where to go – the directions and signs could use some work as it was hard to find elevators for my hotel tower. With multiple entrances to Miracle Mile, it is not too difficult to shop for those who win big in the casino. Random movie and celebrity memorabilia is all over the casino and hotel, befitting the Planet Hollywood name.
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- Captain Hiller (Will Smith) from Independence Day
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- Commander Data (Brett Spiner) from Star Trek Next Generation
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Food & Drink
We ate at Earl of Sandwich, Pinup Pizza and BurGR. The first two are fast-food take out places with decent value.
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- Fresh, fresh pizza right at opening. Confused why each one already shows a slice missing!
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- My slice and garlic roll – $8. 15″ slice is 5 times the size of a normal Domino’s Medium slice (6”)
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BurGR by Gordon Ramsay was decent, and fell far, far short of the hype and my expectations. Combine that with middling service, and it was an experience I do not care to repeat (they made us wait when checking in as a VIP guest, by forgetting about our party). To their credit, the BurGR management did offer to comp an appetizer. The food was decent, with everything being extremely rich and decadent, especially the fries and shake.
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- Seated at the bar
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- Truffle Fries
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- Oreo & Creme Brulee Shake. Delicious
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- Ahi Tuna Slider. Lady ate one before I could get a picture of both.
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- Farm Burger
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- Gordon Burger (Special)
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Fitness
Due to illness, neither of us checked out the fitness center or pool. Perhaps next time! Entry is, as always, included in the resort fee.
Per Vegas.com, the resort fee includes the following:
- Fitness center admission for two people per day.
- Daily in-room internet access for two devices.
- All local calls.
Miscellaneous
This was my first ever comp at Planet Hollywood, and I have yet to see it again. The excellent large rooms are good to return to. The retail food shops such as Earl of Sandwich are good in taste and value, and I have not spent much time exploring Miracle Mile, with their more expensive sit-down restaurants and bars. I did enjoy the random movie memorabilia in the casino area. The Diamond checkin is always a nice touch, and they were helpful in printing out some items for me without charge.
I hope to return here as it is a good place to start casino and club hopping!
Note: I am not (or rather, no longer) a large gambler. This trip I broke even, and typically bring a bankroll of ~$100 per day. It is still nice to get comped rooms for activity many years ago.
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