The other dining spot is Simon, the latest Las Vegas venue by star chef Kerry Simon. At Palms Place it is a casual cafe experience with plenty of picks from Simon’s creative menus of comfort food. The glassed-in space is flanked on three sides by the tower’s outdoor pool scene on the sixth floor. The pool here, a design-intensive oeuvre of steel and glass, light and water, is known as a less obvious “it” spot—a place with a scene of its own. It’s quiet, chic and often celebrity-pocked, but without the loudness and spring break crowds usually found at the Palms pool next door.
Also filling the sixth floor is Drift Spa. The title fits the space as you drift from one space to another, from the relaxation room to the shower room, to the wet room’s hot and cold soaking pools, to the outdoor lounge and fire pit to the fabulous hammam. The sprawling tiled hammam room is all low lights, steam, soft music and cozy corners for both genders patterned after a Turkish steam bath, which cleanses without the discomfort of too much heat. The relaxation lounge provides teas and juices, a medley of fruits and endless helpings of trail mix. Curtains separate chaise lounge seats. Magazines abound, and a small outdoor meditation area allows for fresh air and sunshine amid bamboo stalks in a Zen garden.
Upstairs, guests who want to work on their tan without working for it by the pool can have a Sunset Tanning session or get a perfect airbrush tan. Primp, a salon by Hollywood hair god, Michael Boychuck, is at the ready for spontaneous blonding or styling. A well-recommended treatment for tired travelers is the Fresh Start Facial, an 80-minute session of aromas, rubs and enriching elixirs guaranteed to leave skin radiant.
Although Palms Place is perfect for couples and families, it is a chosen mark for singles. Bachelor parties seem to gravitate to this property, possibly because of the array of sleeping areas in each unit. Still, rooms are amazingly sound-proof and private for all the action the tower gets.
Service can be spotty, often a citywide consideration. Reports of skipped maid service and other problems surface in the crowd sourcing sites and this reporter did have the problem of a broken coffee maker. However, all other service issues proved smooth. Some guests might balk at the expensive charges for dining or room service or the $1 per day fee attached to the room phone whether used or not. However, for the current average room rates of $159, the value more than makes up for any surcharges or service mishaps.
Currently, and through the summer, an on-going $159 Monday through Thursday package rate includes studio accommodations, a poolside cabana, a VIP nightlife pass at Palms, access to Drift Spa, and an upgrade to a 1-bedroom suite as available. Several other amenity-packed midweek packages running $159 to $179 per night include such value-added elements as a $50 food and beverage credit at Simon. Other packages contain tickets to top concerts at the resort’s Pearl Auditorium, a 2,500-seat concert venue with A-ticket entertainers that include The Killers, Steely Dan, Diana Krall, Flogging Molly, Stone Temple Pilots and others.
Located just west of the Strip, the property offers access to the action and shopping of the Strip by a series of shuttles that run to the Fashion Show and Forum Shops every 90 minutes between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.
