Q: positive

A: Every time we visit Las Vegas we try to stay in a different hotel...so this past weekend we stayed at The Hotel for the first time. Here are my thoughts: The Good: 1. From the vibe to the decor, everything is very quiet and calm. 2. Rooms are enormous and clean (With the exception of the throw pillows on the bed. Those could use a wash or two). We had a suite with two queens, a living room, and 1.5 bathrooms. And the view? Fabulous. 3. The Cafe is excellent. Had breakfast there twice and for a hotel restaurant I will say that the quality is better than expected and the prices quite reasonable. I highly recommend the smoked salmon and the pancakes. 4. The Bathhouse is a great spa. I don't do spa treatments often but since Amex was kind enough to give us a $100 spa credit I went ahead and had a 25 minute facial for $85. Yes it was expensive but afterwards I used the gym, sat by the indoor pool, and spent some time in the sauna, so I'd say I got my money's worth. And really, the man who did my facial was excellent. 5. My 7-year-old and husband loved the wave pool and lazy river...which was a good thing because that's why we stayed at The Hotel. The bad: 1. The one time we utilized them, the concierge was utterly unhelpful and a bit on the rude side. 2. The Hotel is on one end of the strip so it's really inconvenient to most other hotels and shopping. Be prepared to pay for a lot of cabs if you want to leave the hotel. 3. Tacking on "The" to everything can be a bit tiresome after a while. But I suppose I'm easily annoyed by kitschy marketing. Overall I think we'd probably stay here again if we brought our daughter with us. But if we took a kid-free trip I'd rather be more central and I'd likely stay in a hotel closer to the middle of the strip.

Q: negative

A: Came here for a beer after work on a Friday and wasn't too impressed. I don't think I am asking too much for my beer to be cold. I think it was served in a glass that came right out of the dishwasher.

Q: negative

A: For a bit of a change, I decided to check out the menu at dinette. So, I did a quick search and decided to place a pick-up order. When I called in, I was told that you had to come in to the restaurant to place the order,that they did not take orders over the phone. I was a little disappointed,but I decided to go down there anyhow. When I arrived I was greeted by a very friendly wait staff that directed me to the counter. I began to place my order and was told, " oh, we only sell pizza to-go." Again, another disappointment. I said ok and ordered a pizza. For all the effort and at the price of $15, the pizza was at best medium. It was somewhat dry and burnt in places. I am not eager to dine there anytime soon.

Q: positive

A:
I really, really like breakfast food. That being said, it's really, really hard to find good breakfast food. I heard about these pancakes at Du-Par's and I had to see what I was missing. Well, I won't keep you in suspence... they're GREAT! =) I ordered the full stack. Not because I was super hungry, but because the price differential between the short stack and the full stack was so inconsequential, I didn't see the point of bothering with the smaller version. Well, these things are huge, so don't be a hero. I made it through less than half of my mountain of pancakes before throwing up the white flag. I was so tempted to finish that mo-fo up, but I just couldn't do it. Next time, I'll share! ;-) I need to go back and try some of the fresh baked pies as well. This place is a treat and definitely worth venturing downtown for.