Paris was one of the few hotels that opened in the late ‘90s that could be described as “instant hit.” While many of the other mega-resorts stumbled out of the gate and took awhile to catch on (Venetian), Paris was immediately popular with just about everyone, including myself. Every subsequent visit only reconfirms what I had been thinking – Paris is one of the best hotels on the Las Vegas Strip.

The concept is nothing new: take a scenic city, country, or locale and recreate it in the Nevada desert. It's been done with Rome, New York, Venice, Egypt, New Orleans, and on and on. But from the massive Eiffel Tower replica to the cute little tins that the soap comes in, this place stands above the pack with nice touches and awe inspiring detail.

Of course the centerpiece of Paris is the Eiffel Tower replica, soaring some 50 stories above The Strip. As you pull in to the main drive you are greeted by a row of fountains leading to a faithful replica of the Arc de Triomphe. The French flags are back, although not quite as omnipresent as they were before nervous execs took them down during the whole Iraq brouhaha. I decided to forgive them for their temporary loss of rigid spines and have moved on.

And since it is one of the few themed casinos in town that has retained its theme (I'm looking at you Luxor and New York-New York) I have to give them extra credit.

The casino area is surrounded by a Parisian village façade so you feel as though you are wasting your money in a park in the heart of the city. The ceiling is even painted to resemble the sky, lending to the feeling of openness. The turn of the century setting lends an air of romance and elegance that are probably missing from the real city at the turn of the millennium. When you come here you have to take some time to notice the little things like the ornate cherub statuettes holding up the light posts and the accordion player wandering the cobblestone streets of the shopping area. Also notice the big things like the legs of the Eiffel Tower, which extend into the casino through the roof. They built the tower first and then built the casino around it.

Once you register in the ornate white marble lobby, it's a short walk alongside the casino to the elevators. Upstairs, the rooms are a treat. Standard rooms are not the biggest in town but more than adequate with one king or two queen beds, a couple of chairs, a writing desk, alarm clocks, data ports on the phones, irons and boards, and an armoire with a big TV featuring pay-per-view movies and other online services. The bathrooms are average size with lots of marble, hair dryers, and your typical bath amenities.

When you check in find out if you get one of their “petit suites,” a room I have been lucky to stumble into a couple of times. These are at the end of the wings of the tower and are a bit larger than the average room, adding a few more square feet, a dressing area, and a proper desk to work at, although you may struggle to find enough outlets to operate the phone, the lamp, and your laptop computer but hey, this is Vegas, what are you doing on a laptop computer anyway?

Back downstairs you’ll find a host of entertainment and dining options scattered around the casino and through the French village themed shopping arcade plus a nightclub and a showroom.

There’s also a pool and spa on the roof above the casino. It’s a little too plain and expansive for my tastes but there is something about sipping a cocktail on a lounge chair at the base of the Eiffel Tower that is undeniably appealing.

Oh and of course there’s the Eiffel Tower itself. If you can handle the stomach churning ride in the glass elevators up to the top of the thing you won’t find a better close-up view of The Strip anywhere in town. It’s also a great vantage point from which to watch the Bellagio Fountain Show across the street.

The staff is required to say "Merci" and "Bonjour" all the time, which at first seems silly and affected - especially when you hear Myrna from Little Rock saying it to you at the sundry store. But after a few times it becomes charming and part of the fun. Everyone here in my experience has been friendly, attentive, and forgiving of people who lock themselves out of their hotel rooms. Thank you Paris security.

As with most hotels in Las Vegas these days, this level of luxe treatment doesn’t come cheap. They usually have an average room rate of around $125 and up weekdays and anywhere from $30-100 more than that on weekends, however we've seen them as low as $99 on off-peak weekdays. Unfortunately I’ve also seen them well over $300 on peak weekends so who knows?

It’s hard to imagine using the word “charming” to describe a 3,000-room mega-resort on the Las Vegas Strip but we’re going to – Paris is without a doubt the most charming hotel on The Strip and one of the best in all of Las Vegas.

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