The Palms

Striated shadows across the ceiling bring palm fronds to mind in this contempo California-style hot spot. Considered the city's first luxury boutique hotel when it opened in 2001, The Palms still attracts both the glitterati and a younger, cool crowd that keeps the public places—lounges, clubs, and restaurants—hopping on the weekend. The three-story spa has an aromatherapy bar, massages, wraps, and facials; and the 50th-floor Alizé restaurant offers one of the most memorable and romantic dining experiences in the city. There are plenty of ways to have a blast here, from sipping cocktails in the open-air Ghost Bar, a snazzy rooftop lounge, to catching a flick in the movie theater, which is outfitted with high-back rocker love seats and wall-to-wall curved screens. The first new Playboy Club in 25 years arrived here in 2006, a new 600-room condo-hotel and spa opened in 2007, and several more themed "megasuites" have been added to the 40-story Fantasy Tower.