Thanks for the kind words, folks - very much appreciated.
Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, a Sheraton Resort
Las Vegas Blvd (aka "The Strip") South
This was one of two Starwoods in Vegas that I could choose from, the other being the Westin that was off the Strip. As we wanted to be on the Strip, and the reviews for this property didn't seem to be too bad, we chose the PH for our stay in Vegas.
This hotel does not come with standard Sheraton amenities, being a special-themed resort. It did not have an Executive lounge - but in-room internet was relatively affordable and there was free wifi at the Starbucks located on the Casino floor. And being a resort property, late check out was based on availability on the day of check out instead of being automatically guaranteed - they do generally have no problems with granting late check outs when requested on the appropriate day according to the front desk, we certainly got ours without having to promise any of our organs to the person on the other end of the phone.
Our bags were taken from us by the porter as soon as we pulled up at the hotel. Tacky late 90s music (am still trying to work out whether this is part of the theme) was blaring out from the very gaudy lobby as we entered the hotel. We were concerned at the huge queue in front of the check in desk but were pleased that the hotel vigourously maintained a distinct queue for Golds and Plats (and some other category of hotel guests - can't quite remember what) which was empty when we got there. We'd booked a standard city view room. There weren't any suites which fulfilled our requirement of having 2 double beds, and so our upgrade was to a resort view room on a very high floor with a view of the Strip and apparently had a larger floor plan than other rooms of the same category. We had to call the porter for our bags, perhaps because this was such a huge property with a poor staff:guest ratio - but said bags were returned very efficiently after we'd asked for our them by ringing up the extension on our baggage claim ticket.
We got a renovated room and floor. I am not sure if all rooms had been renovated but there were still some floors yet to be converted over from the old Aladdin theme. The room was very spacious indeed - a suite it ain't but there was more than adequate space for all 3 of us. We were pleased with the decor and general conditions of the room. We had 2 Queen beds and they were much larger than the beds at the W LA which were doubles. The room came with a huge bathroom fitted with a Jacuzzi and a separate shower. The supplied bath amenities didn't took too tempting and so we used the Bliss Sinkside 6 sets that we'd amassed from our stay at the W LA, as well as my visits to the Bliss spas in London and the W LA earlier in the trip.
Dad having a quick rest on the comfy armchair
There are hotels that are overly fussy to the point of being intrusive, then there are those that totally ignore you and treat you like a mere statistic to be processed asap. Most hotels manage to balance a fine line midway between the 2, regardless of the size of the property. The PH unfortunately falls pretty much into the latter category.
Physically, the entire set up felt very cold and unwelcoming, and had a total lack of personality. Service-wise it was not the easiest reaching anyone on the phone - one had to go through an entire list of automated menu options when trying to reach the front desk if your request fell into 'other.' It also sometimes took a long time to get anyone to answer the phone. Staff in the lobby weren't the friendliest. I'd say that the concierge was the hotel's best asset - except that the hotel had outsourced all concierge functions to be performed by Travelocity on location and so all praise be to staff of that organisation and not the hotel. Annoyingly, the outsourced concierge desk also meant that we couldn't charge stuff we booked to the room when I'd been hoping to increase my Starpoints balance.
The hotel has its own Casino and some shops. According to my parents (I refuse on principle to spend a single cent on casinos) the Casino at the PH was pretty boring and lacking in games. It is located on the Strip itself - but the whole street is so huge that we'd get a taxi to go to most places. There was no shortage of taxis with hardly anyone in the taxi queue whenever we needed to catch a taxi. The Paris next door had some very good restaurants though, particularly Mon Ami Gabi which served some sensational steak frites.
On the whole, don't expect much else other than a good room with clean, comfy beds and a reasonable location - after all the most important factors when choosing a hotel, and you'd be right.
Next: Las Vegas