Caesars Palace Las Vegas

Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip continues to reinvent itself and redefine luxury, solidifying its legacy as a world-class destination for dining, gambling, shopping, service, entertainment and nightlife. Built in 1966, the hotel-casino never falls behind the times and instead raises the bar for what visitors can expect when they travel to Las Vegas.

The legendary casino offers maximus gaming choices suiting the tastes of high-rollers, celebrities or anyone with cash to spend. There is even a Pussycat Dolls-themed gaming area, where go-go dancers perform in bronzed cages as games are dealt by buxom burlesque babes to gamblers sitting in leopard-spotted chairs. The race & sports book is open and inviting with huge screens broadcasting all of the sporting action.

In a private enclave off of the casino floor is Las Vegas' largest poker room, measuring 14,000 square feet. Host to NBC's "Heads Up" Poker tournament, Caesars' non-smoking room includes 29 live tables in the main area along with an adjacent tournament room. The décor is fit for an art gallery: Vintage LeRoy Neiman paintings line the entranceway, evoking memories of old school Vegas; iconic images by sports photographer Neil Leifer, including his famous shot of boxer Muhammad Ali's 1965 victory over Sonny Liston, decorate the main room (more can be seen in the Neil Leifer Gallery on the casino level of the Augustus Tower); and portraits of Caesars' own poker aficionados surround the tournament room. Players at Caesars are treated like champions, with table side food service and massages.

The hotel rooms in Caesars' five towers – Forum, Roman, Centurion, Palace and Augustus – are as spacious and lavish as any palace accommodations should be, with marble bathrooms and several amenities among the top-rate offerings.

Located just off the lobby, the Augustus Tower is Caesars' newest. French Chef Guy Savoy's restaurant, two VIP lounges with private check-in for high-end players, three indoor wedding chapels, the relaxing Qua Baths & Spa and boisterous Color salon by celebrity stylist Michael Boychuck, all hold court here.

A sixth tower, the 665-room, 23-story Octavius Tower, will open at Caesars Palace in 2009. With this expansion, Caesars will also add a ballroom facility and three new swimming pools to its Garden of the Gods pool complex. Patio seating for Rao's, an award-winning Southern Italian restaurant from New York's East Harlem, overlooks the 4.5-acre pool complex, which also features an outdoor wedding facility. Inside the hotel, Rao's has an indoor patio resembling New York's Jefferson Park with seating that spills over into a common area surrounding a fountain. Located near the convention rooms and a slight distance from any gaming, the common area provides the ideal atmosphere for hotel guests to relax, enjoy a cup of coffee or read the newspaper.

As home to the first celebrity chef in Las Vegas, (Wolfgang Puck at Spago in the Forum Shops), Caesars Palace remains meticulous in the restaurants it introduces on property, bringing only the finest of dining choices, such as the seasonal, farm-fresh American cuisine of Bradley Ogden and the Southwestern cuisine of chef Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. Feast on premium steak and chops at Neros.

For a truly unique dining experience, savor the French cuisine of the charming Payard Pâtisserie & Bistro. Payard features an adjoining chocolate shop with a crepe station and an assortment of chocolate delights. The shop reopens late in the evenings with a dessert tasting menu – about the next best thing to being fed grapes from the vine – and the perfect topping to a show by Caesars headliners Bette Midler, Cher or Elton John, all of whom bring star-power to the 4,100-seat Colosseum. If shopping (rather than chocolate) is the indulgence in need of satisfying, Caesars has plenty with hundreds of choices (including even more restaurants) in the Forum Shops as well as a hallway of high-end shops in the casino.

Ultimate party seekers will find one of the hippest nightlife venues in Las Vegas, Pure nightclub, and the adjoining Pussycat Doll Lounge. Flair bartenders and shadow dancers keep the energy going at Shadow Bar while guests can literally rock the boat at Cleopatra's Barge Nightclub by dancing atop a water-soaked barge, flanked by a trademark topless Egyptian goddess statue. For something a bit more subdued, unwind with a drink at the Seahorse Lounge while enjoying an impressive aquarium with actual seahorses.

From the moment guests pass the majestic fountain at the front of Caesars Palace, it is clear that all roads lead to Rome. This hotel-casino surpasses expectations and does its namesake proud.

--Review by Aleza Freeman