I was unimpressed with Caesar's Palace especially since Caesars Palace markets so much hype behind its name.  I was expecting more upscale hotel common areas, lounges and casino floors. We even had an updated room in the Palace tower, but it still didn't make up for the less than appealing casino and tacky common areas.  I was also expecting a customer service oriented hotel/casino staff that most people would expect from any hotel in the US.   We really enjoyed visiting and gambling at the Bellagio, Wynn/Encore, and Planet Hollywood (all of which had much cheaper rooms when I had booked CP).  The Bellagio and Wynn/Encore felt and looked (and smelled) 4-5 stars and that is what I had in mind when I booked Caesars. In my opinion, Caesars Palace is a 3 star hotel if you stay in the newer towers.  2 star for the Roman tower rooms.   The poor guest service, outdated 80s lack luster casino areas, and thick throat constricting stench of the place really brings Caesars Palace down. Sure the marble and statues are nice and some areas are nicer than others, but Caesars Palace as a whole is disappointing.  The place reeks of cigar smoke and an airfreshner that is a mix of kitty litter and sunless tanning spray.  The sports book is lacking in a huge way.  If the prices for Caesars were more around $169 or less than it would be a reasonable place to stay.\n\nWe paid $330 a night to stay at Caesars and for that price we could have booked the Bellagio and received true Vegas luxury throughout the hotel and casino.    Our room was not comped or discounted.   Our trip was pre-paid and set up through a travel agent.    We were there Nov.4- Nov.7, 2010.    \n\nCheck-In was horrible.  As seeing how they have over 3300 rooms, Caesars Palace should be experienced with how to check-in guests efficiently even during the busiest times...that is their job as a hotel.  There should be no excuse for how we were treated like second class citizens upon check-in.   I was very patient, polite and kind to the check-in staff during my dealings with them.   We waited over 7 hours to check-in.   I called to talk with a manager after our return home to let the hotel know about our check-in experience, and the supervisor I talked with could care less.  Apparently, having to wait hours for a room is par for the course during busy times and the hotel doesn't care.  The supervisor chalked it up to being busy and that they have to deal with travelers all of the time (Hello... what hotel doesn't have to deal with travelers??)  It seems like the hotel staff and bar staff and casino staff assumes that everyone is comped and getting a free room because they are the most uncaring and apathetic lot of staff I have ever dealt with at a hotel.   \n\nOur palace tower room was nice, but outdated some.  The casino was lame and slots were tight.  Cocktail waitresses were unattractive and rough on the edges.  This is not the hip place in Vegas to be.  The Forum Shops and Forum shops restaurants are nice. Dont be fooled by the marketing.  Caesars Palace is a rip off!  There are several other casino hotels on the strip that are much higher quality and updated, with better customer service, and the same price or  much cheaper than Caesars.