We wanted a truly 'Vegas' hotel, by that I mean; on the Strip, a bit tacky, a bit silly and covered in neon. However, we also wanted to avoid Pirate themes and the trashy side of the city. So we settled for the PH. It gets average reviews on here and I can see why. Compared to the higher ranked hotels there are some clear differences. But you literally get what you pay for in Las Vegas.

So, the rooms. We originally booked the basic resort room. But we asked on arrival for an upgrade, we were willing to pay for it but it was comped. It couldn't have been better, with a view of The Bellagio and The Paris. I usually hate people who complain about their hotel room views, but in Vegas it's half the fun. (Word of warning; if you get a room at the back or South side you're going to be looking at mostly construction sites). The room its self is big. Huge bathroom with bath and shower. It was clean and in good shape. They have clearly updated the decor from when this use to be the Aladdin. But they missed the door handles and bathroom fixtures. Which is no big thing just a bit odd. The room was quiet. It had the fiercest aircon I've ever known which took some getting use to. Some one on here also complained about room service; they cleaned when we needed them too and stayed away when we asked. There are also some comments on here regarding the overall decor and style of the hotel. It is moody, dark and stylised. Perhaps a little too much. But it’s deliberate to make it stand out against the themed hotels. It actually appealed to me more after we'd walked through the various pirate, tropical, Italianate inspired places on the strip. If you are expecting the 'Hollywood' thing, you'll be disappointed. There are 'bits' from movies in the rooms and lobbies. But that's it. And all the better for it. I think it's more adult targeted than other Strip hotels. Not in a Hooters/Palms kind of way, just more grown up. There are no rides or attractions. Just a smallish casino and the shopping mall (which tries but fails to rival the Forum or Fashionshow Malls). The location is also a huge bonus. It's in the middle of the Strip. You can get cabs so easily but it's so much better to walk, despite the construction.

Food wise, the selection is pretty good and well laid out. Full marks to Yolos (Mexican) and Planet Dallies (anything 24/7). PF Changs was good but the service was shambolic and s-l-o-w. The Spice Market is amazing value, but try breakfast at the Bellagio for something a bit more fancy. In a nutshell, it's a good hotel. Having been through most of the other places on the Strip you notice that some are clearly better quality (Bellagio, Palazzo etc) but that doesn't mean I'd want to stay in them. The Wynn comes across as just snooty and none of the photos I'd seen of it correctly show just how orange everything is there. Perhaps it's supposed to be sophisticated 'bronze' but the place just looks cheap. Equally, spend 10 minutes in TI or Excalibur and you get the opposite side to the Strip; crazy amounts of tacky stuff, smoke and noise – something for everyone.

Couple of general points (not directly about PH); Americans seem to visit Vegas simply to smoke indoors. You can smoke in the casinos but it's banned in adjoining restaurants and shops. Which is just pointless. Clearly there is reason; gamblers like to smoke. But it's awful. (I actually got the feeling more people were there NOT to gamble, but anyway). If you're visiting for the first time my advice would be to avoid the touts on street corners. Just don't get involved. Do check out Tkt4tonight booths at the Showcase Mall or Fashion Show, really worth it, get there for 9.30am. And don't try and do too much before 10am, nothing is open. And finally be prepared to queue; at immigration, for cabs, for check in, for tickets even to cross the street etc. It’s just the way it is.

If you enjoy minimal lighting in your room, with stained carpet, this is the place for you. The furniture looked OLD and had broken hinges on cabinet doors. The room was depressing - felt like a dungeon!! The casino chairs were filthy! Didn't like PH - won't go back there! Very disappointing!!! All the PH website hype is false!

This was our first trip to Las Vegas and having read the reviews before we left We were unsure as what to expect. We had an enormous room, with a big bathroom that had 2 sink areas, a walk in shower and separate bath. We also had a good view of the strip from our window. The room was not themed as described in the Virgin brouchure ,but had been refurbished,and the room was cleaned every day. The location of the hotel was great right in the middle of the strip,the Bellagio and Caesars Palace were across the road and the Paris hotel was next door. There is a good bus service that travels up and down the strip a 24 hr ticket cost $5 to get to other hotels, although some eg: the MGM Grand is in comfortable walking distance of the Planet Hollywood. Plenty of places to eat in the hotel, the Earl of Sandwich was very good and if you like a big breakfast Planet Dailies was good also. There is also a nice bar outside the hotel in which to unwind,do a bit of people watching and watch the Bellagio fountains.The only small downside was the 45 min wait to check in and the timeshare touts outside the hotel who were polite and not in your face!! and with apolite ' no thanks' they left you alone. Overall I would reccommend this hotel

I use to stay at this hotel when it was the Aladdin, which was great. I took my stepdaughter for her 21st birthday. we booked a strip suite. its suppose to be 850 sq. ft. Okay, so when we arrived, check in is always easy there, i must say, that hasn't changed since the aladdin days. we get to our room and i'm surprised. i called the front desk to ask if this was a strip suite. they said yes. i asked them if ray charles measured the room cause this was NOT 850 sq ft. do not get fooled into booking this room. granted, we got a deal through AAA but if i paid full price, i would have demanded my money back.

the only good thing about this room was the view from the bathroom. the actual room was smaller than the regular rooms. they have alot of wasted space. definitely NOT worth the full price. Too much memorabilia in big glass cases they take up the room's size. however, the bed was by far the most comfortable bed i've ever slept in. i wish i remembered to check out the mattress name. the hospitality staff is also very nice and efficient.

PH is extremely centrally located so that's why I chose it again. I should have saved the money on the room. the bathroom is smaller than the standard room with its columns so like i said, do NOT waste your money on a strip suite.

outside of that, the hotel has improved its casino floor, not by much but its never been known to have anything great going on there so that wasn't much of a surprise. the good thing is the mall. they call it Miracle Mile now, it looked better as the Desert Passages.

overall, would i stay here again (i have stayed there quite a few times in the past both as the Aladdin and the PH). I'm not sure. It seems whenever a corporation takes over a hotel in Vegas, it goes down in its services.

like i said, it is the most centrally located hotel, very very very easy to maneuver through it (not like Caesar's where you need a GPS to get around). but do yourself a favor. do not spend the money on a larger room, stay in the deluxe or the resort (not much difference in size). if we weren't too lazy, we would have changed rooms to a cheaper room but of course we didn't, our own fault.

i also heard so many reviews on this hotel about its for the younger set. all i know is my stepdaughter was 21 and she was the only young set there just about. so i wouldn't worry about that if you're from the slightly "older" crowd and don't want to be run over by that age group. (how could they afford that place anyway, lol). PH is new because they redid it so everything is not dated at this point but it is really not worth the money. for what the average person pays for a room there, you can clearly stay at the venetian or one of the other places for the same price.

I can't comment on the pool though i did see it from our room and it looks ordinaire. no big deal.

i've been to vegas maybe 35 times in the last 15 years, time to find a new place to stay. we're going to the rio in a few weeks in vegas, stayed there many many times in the past so we'll see how they do now. let you know when i get back.

all in all, the PH is alright, not great, not bad, definitely overpriced for what you get.