LAS VEGAS (Day 12 - part 3)

The complex included a half scale Eiffel Tower (original plans called for full-scale but that would have interfered with the nearby airport), a Montgolfier balloon and a two-thirds size Arc de Triomphe. The front is based on the Paris Opera House and the Louvre. It was completed in 1997 at cost of around $760 million.

The hotel was 33 stories tall and had 2,916 room.

Misters blew down cool water.

Unfortunately it turned out to be one of the least pleasurable hotels we had been in. Parking (even the valet parking) took a long time and was quite inconvenient; there was a long wait to check in with zero places to sit and wait (and in typical French fashion, they even closed two desks right in front of us when it was our turn); it was a long walk to the elevators; there were hidden fees; there weren't enough towels; and one of our key cards didn't work.

The lobby

Waiting for the elevator. Apparently they have a wedding chapel here! With an average of some 100,000 marriage licenses issued annually, Vegas is considered the world's wedding capital.

Our room was on the 22nd floor... but it first took us a wrong elevator to figure out that different elevators only went to different groups of floors.

Um... this was confusing

Finally made it to the room! The lighting was so limited, however, that we had to use a flashlight to see the numbers on the phone!

Our view

Charming French scenes hung on the walls.

Vegas was all about making it super easy for you to spend, spend, spend...

... while they took, took, took. In spite of the fact that we had paid for three people, we were only given the privileges of two... unlike at all our previous far-cheaper hotels where we could all use the wi-fi as much as we wanted.

The prices were quite shocking...

Four pancakes... $14
One plain Belgian waffle... $14
One pot of coffee... $12 (with 2 croissants... $18)
A bowl of strawberries... $8
One muffin... $6
Some toast... $5

We headed back downstairs to explore the building.

An empty wine glass lingered in the hallway... creating even more of a French atmosphere!

A map of the main floor (Click for a larger view)

Everything was designed to look like a charming old French shopping street. The small details were wonderful!

The floor even resembled old cobblestones.

The ceiling and lighting were done to resemble permanent dusk. This quite successfully distorts your sense of time so that you end up spending many more hours either shopping or in the casinos (aka spending money). After all, you don't feel like going to bed when it looks like its only 6:30 out, do you??

Fashionable French-looking mannequins

How about an Eiffel Tower wine glass?

The ballrooms were modeled after the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles.

Louis XIV (1638 - 1715) - the Sun King

Wonderfully done tapestries!

A large fountain

One of the legs of the Eiffel Tower comes down through the ceiling into the casino.

After browsing our food options, we ended up dining at Martorano's. Opened in 2014, this is Steve Martorano's second restaurant.

"Yo Cuz!" Along with food, Martorano brings his South Philly attitude.

Enjoying a night out on the town!

We're ready to eat!

Lighted menus...

... as well as computer pads you could order food and drinks off of yourself

Pan fried breaded eggplant, homemade mozzarella, marinated tomatoes, arugula... While technically just an appetizer, this proved to be a delicious, complete meal!

Bill agrees with the sign... having just had the chicken parmesan!

The leftovers even had a lovely presentation... complete with shopping bag and fancy plastic utensils.

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