McCarran International Airport (LAS): Approximate driving time is 10 minutes and distance is 4 miles.

Driving directions from McCarran International Airport: Exit the airport via Swenson St. Turn left on E Naples Ave, then right on Paradise Rd. Turn left on E Flamingo Rd, then turn right onto Las Vegas Blvd (the Strip).

Getting there: The best option from the airport is a taxi ($5–$15; fees subject to change without notice) or a rental car.

Getting around: Guests wanting to visit other locations on the Strip have several convenient options. City buses (less than $5) run the length of the Strip; private trollies (less than $5) serve some of the larger casinos. Many guests choose to walk. As of spring 2004, guests can also take the Las Vegas Monorail (less than $5) to other major casinos and the Convention Center. For other destinations, a rental car is the best option. (All fees subject to change without notice.)

808 - Memorializing the Hawaiian area code where chef Jean-Marie Josselin achieved fame, 808 features fare such as roast duck with lilikoi-caramel glaze under a ceiling of copper seashells.

Palm Restaurant - An outpost of the legendary New York steakhouse, this place features prime-grade beef, Italian-style veal dishes, and jumbo lobsters.

Spago - This spot replicates celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck's original casual-dining, fusion-food Hollywood restaurant with choices such as roast John Dory with shrimp couscous, blue crab salad, and lamb with baked polenta.

Chinoise - Another example of a Wolfgang Puck restaurant that outlived the Los Angeles original, Chinoise features dim sum, sushi, noodles, and Asian-accented dishes such as lobster in coconut-curry sauce.

Empress Court - This ornate, second-floor restaurant overlooks the pool complex, features Asian delicacies such as shark's fin, abalone, and bird's nests, and keeps seafood fresh in live tanks.

Hyakumi - Waitresses in kimonos and a Japanese garden. Sushi, teppanyaki, and other Japanese specialties. Asian noodles for lunch.

Neros - Intimate steakhouse serving beef, seafood, lamb, chicken, veal, and prime rib and featuring the Caesar salad, crab cakes, and chocolate soufflé.

Terrazza - Tuscan-style, traditional, and contemporary Italian fare such as pastas, risotti, grilled lamb, and seared ahi with balsamic vinegar. Terrace seating by the pool complex and inside under an elaborate dome. Fronted by a lounge offering live jazz Wednesday-Sunday.

Café Lago - Breakfast, lunch, and dinner buffets, plus a 24-hour à la carte menu. Big booths, long banquettes, and poolside terrace seating.

Cypress Street Marketplace - This nine-shop food court includes everything from pizza to wok-cooked dishes.

The Cheesecake Factory - Chain restaurant featuring long global menu, huge portions, many cheesecakes and other desserts.

Bertolini's - Pasta, pizza, Italian fare in casual setting, with expansive "sidewalk" seating inside The Forum Shops.

Planet Hollywood - Movie memorabilia and long American-food menu.

La Salsa - Mexican specialties and margarita bar.

Stage Deli - New York-style deli sandwiches, cheesecake, matzo-ball soup.

Post-Time Deli - Burgers and hot dogs in race and sports book.

Room service is available 24 hours.

Amenity highlights: A spectacle of Roman-style grandeur featuring cypresses, palm trees, marble columns, and classical statues, the 4.5-acre Garden of the Gods supplies three pools and two spas for outdoor relaxation. The focal point is the round, 10,000-square-foot Palace Pool containing a rotunda in which stands an outsized, gilded statue of Caesar. The rectangular Neptune Pool provides 5,000 square feet of lap-swimming space. Screened from the others, the narrow, 150-foot-long Venus Pool welcomes topless sunbathers. The oval, 12-person spas offer secluded soaking behind hedges in the company of lovely statues. For-rent cabanas include television, telephone, ceiling fan, and padded lounges.

Insider tip: By going to the Caesars Palace desk near luggage carousel Number 1, guests arriving at the airport may check into their rooms while waiting for luggage to arrive.

Under a sky-painted ceiling whose lighting varies from morning to evening, The Forum Shops mall offers shopping, dining, and entertainment amid a depiction of an ancient Roman neighborhood. Shops number nearly 100 and restaurants and cafés a dozen. Entertainment includes a sound-light-laser show featuring Roman gods at one giant fountain and, at another, a fire-water-smoke show during which mythical Atlantis rises and falls in a 50,000-gallon aquarium while outsized, animatronic characters struggle to rule the island.

An IMAX 3-D ride, Race for Atlantis, is also located in The Forum Shops mall.

At the Shadow Bar, juggling bartenders entertain up front while topless dancers perform in silhouette behind screens flanking the bar.

Clubbers rock the night away at Cleopatra's Barge, where the dance floor is located on a floating barge.

In two casinos of different character, Caesar's Palace supplies 129,000 square feet of slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette, baccarat, min-baccarat, pai gow poker, and pai gow. Included are a high-limit salon and a race and sports book offering individual flat-screen televisions and plush table seating. The hotel's original Palace Casino remains draped in crystal. The newer Forum Casino features a high ceiling, one half sleek, black, and all curves and the other half elaborately decorated in Roman classical style.

ParkPlace Connection offers free membership cards that consolidate in single accounts slot and gaming-table play at five casinos: Caesars Palace, Bally's Las Vegas, Hilton Las Vegas, Paris Las Vegas, and Flamingo Las Vegas. Members earn cash and/or comp rewards redeemable for food, drink, and hotel services and facilities. Members also receive 10-percent discounts at gift shops owned by the hotels and may charge expenditures at all five hotels to their rooms.