Midpriced among the Center Strip's high-profile resorts, Paris actually offers more elegant digs -- even in its standard units, which have marble baths with separate tubs and showers -- than some of its pricier and more talked-about competitors, although some find the heavy-handed decor a little busy. Every room has custom-designed furniture with Franco-inspired decorative elements and artwork, and east-facing rooms overlook the magnificent fountains and lagoon across the street at Bellagio. Otherwise, your room may overlook the pleasant pool area. Suites add more space, of course, plus considerably more dashing red, beige, and gold furniture and rich fabrics. The fabulous buffet serves dishes from five French regions. The other dining options are mostly quite good, a couple of them excellent, although none is truly a showstopper, save perhaps for Mon Ami Gabi bistro. A massive octagonal pool sits in the shadows of the ersatz Eiffel Tower, on the hotel rooftop -- it could use a little more shade, but it's surrounded by neatly tended gardens.

The Casino. The spacious and whimsical dazzler of a casino may make you forget that you won't find many breaks here. The main casino floor conveys a dreamlike feeling, which you enter under an artificial pastoral blue sky dotted with white clouds (future historians might note the '90s-era of Vegas architecture as the "domed ceiling painted blue with fake clouds" period). The attention to French detail, down to fancy floral wash basins in the Provençal-style bathrooms, adds up to a charming yet classy casino.

Amid all this Parisian charm, take note that game rules are poor for the player. Roulette is slightly more prominent here than at other casinos; perhaps it's in keeping with the theme. Be sure to check out the dozen LeRoy Neiman paintings that grace the walls of the high-roller pit. An increasingly rare live music lounge, Le Cabaret, can be seen and heard in the larger casino. As all the dealers say, bonne chance!

Member Reviews & Ratings: