Hotel Shopping Arcades

Just about every Las Vegas hotel offers some shopping opportunities. The following have the most extensive arcades. The physical spaces of these shopping arcades are always open, but individual stores keep unpredictable hours.

Note: The Forum Shops at Caesars, the Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian, and the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood -- as much sightseeing attractions as shopping arcades -- are in the must-see category.

Bally's -- Bally's Avenue Shoppes consist of around 20 emporia offering, you know, stuff (kitschy card-shop knickknacks and the like). In addition, there are several gift shops, art galleries, and a pool-wear shop. There are blackjack and slot tournaments right in the mall, as well as a race and sports book. You can dispatch the kids to a video arcade here while you shop (or gamble). A recent addition of a walkway to neighbor Paris Las Vegas features more stores and restaurants.

Bellagio -- The Via Bellagio collection of stores isn't as big as some of the other megahotel shopping arcades, but here it's definitely quality over quantity. It's a veritable roll call of glossy magazine ads: Armani, Prada, Chanel, Tiffany, Hermès, Fred Leighton, Gucci, Dior, and Yves Saint Laurent. That's about it. You need anything else? Well, yes -- money. If you can afford this stuff, good for you, you lucky dog. (Actually, we've discovered affordable, good-taste items in every store here, from Tiffany's $30 silver key chains to $100 Prada business-card holders.) A nice touch is a parking lot by the far entrance to Via Bellagio, so you need not navigate the great distance from Bellagio's main parking structure; instead, you can simply pop in and pick up a little something.

Caesars Palace -- Since 1978, Caesars has had an impressive arcade of shops called the Appian Way, highlighted by an immense white Carrara-marble replica of Michelangelo's David standing more than 18 feet high. All in all, a respectable grouping of hotel shops. But in the hotel's tradition of constantly surpassing itself, in 1992 Caesars inaugurated the fabulous Forum Shops, an independently operated 375,000-square-foot Rodeo-Drive-meets-the-Roman-Empire affair complete with a 48-foot triumphal arch entranceway, a painted Mediterranean sky that changes as the day progresses from rosy-tinted dawn to twinkling evening stars, acres of marble, lofty Corinthian columns with gold capitals, and a welcoming goddess of fortune under a central dome. The architecture and sculpture span a period from 300 B.C. to A.D. 1700, so you've got all your ancient Italian cityscape clichés. Then there is the Festival Fountain, where some seemingly immovable "marble" animatronic statues of Bacchus (slightly in his cups), a lyre-playing Apollo, Plutus, and Venus come to life for a 7-minute revel with dancing waters and high-tech laser-light effects. The shows take place every hour on the hour. The entire thing is pretty incredible, but also very Vegas -- particularly the Bacchus show, which is truly frightening and bizarre. Even if you don't like shopping, it's worth the stroll just to giggle.

In 1998 The Forum Shops added an extension. The centerpiece is a giant Roman Hall, featuring a 50,000-gallon circular aquarium and another fountain that also comes to life with a show involving fire (don't stand too close -- it gets really hot), dancing waters, and animatronic figures, as the mythical continent of Atlantis rises and falls every hour. The production values are much higher than those of the Bacchus extravaganza, but this "performance" takes itself more seriously, so the giggle factor remains. A 2004 expansion upped an already high ante. The three-story addition tacked on a new Strip entryway complete with a deliriously audacious circular escalator and another 175,000 square feet of retail space. The multistoried extension tries to permanently move past "kitsch" and into "classy rich person's shopping experience" -- though any sort of movement, literal or metaphoric, is tricky, what with all the giant marbled pillars, statues and fountains, plus an atrium that actually admits sunlight.

So with all the gawking opportunities, it may be easy to forget that there are actually stores here where you can shop and buy things. (So much so that Caesars claims this is the most profitable mall in America.) Tenants are mostly of the exclusive variety, although there are a few more Average Joe kind of stores (yes, of course there's a Gap). Some examples: Louis Vuitton, Bernini, Christian Dior, Christian Lacroix (sweetie darling), A/X Armani Exchange, Nanette Lapore (drop-dead cute clothing with only a handful of stores worldwide), Gucci, Gianni Versace, Harry Winston jewelers, Brooks Brothers, Juicy Couture, Taryn Rose, a branch of the famed barbershop to the Royal Family Truefitt and Hill, a Playboy store, Kiehl's cosmetics (worth a trip just for that), M.A.C., FAO Schwartz (complete with two-story horse towering over the entrance), and especially Vosages Haut Chocolate -- makeup and sweets, that sounds like shopping heaven to us!

The majority of the Caesars Palace shops are open Sunday through Thursday from 10am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday from 10am to midnight.

Circus Circus -- There are about a dozen shops between the casino and the Adventuredome, offering a selection of gifts and sundries, logo items, toys and games, jewelry, liquor, resort apparel for the entire family, T-shirts, homemade fudge/candy/soft ice cream, and, fittingly, clown dolls and puppets. Adjacent to the Adventuredome, there's a shopping arcade (with the usual souvenir stores and such) themed as a European village, with cobblestone walkways, fake woods, and so forth, decorated with replicas of vintage circus posters.

Excalibur -- For the most part, the shops of The Realm reflect the hotel's medieval theme. Dragon's Lair, for example, features items ranging from pewter swords and shields to full suits of armor, plus crystal balls and the like. Other shops carry more conventional wares -- gifts, candy, jewelry, women's clothing, and Excalibur logo items. And most importantly, they have a branch of that medieval staple -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts!

The Flamingo Las Vegas -- The Crystal Court shopping promenade here accommodates men's and women's clothing/accessories stores, gift shops, and a variety of other emporia selling jewelry, beachwear, Southwestern crafts, fresh-baked goods, logo items, children's gifts, toys, and games.

Harrah's -- Carnaval Court is a small outdoor shopping promenade, a concept unique to the Strip. It consists mostly of little stalls selling bits and bobs, like hippie-inspired floaty dresses and tops, saucy underwear with catchy phrases on it, jewelry, and knock-off purses. A store highlight is a Ghirardelli chocolate shop, a branch of the famous San Francisco-based chocolate company. It's remarkably like a smaller version of the one in San Francisco (alas, without the vats of liquid chocolate being mixed up), and in addition to candy, you can get a variety of delicious sundaes and other ice-cream treats.

Luxor -- The Giza Galleria is a 20,000-square-foot shopping arcade with eight full shops. Most of the stores emphasize clothing. Adjacent is the Cairo Bazaar, a trinket shop.

Mandalay Place -- In appearance, more like an actual indoor mall than a hotel shopping arcade, but in content it is neither the rarified atmosphere of Via Bellagio or the Wynn Promenade, nor does it have the collection of the Forum Shops. But there a bookstore (a rare entry), a men's shop called The Art of Shaving, a great wine store, a shop for way-too-pampered pets (Lush Puppy), and a superior chocolatier.

MGM Grand -- The hotel's Star Lane Shops include more than a dozen mostly pedestrian emporia lining the corridors en route from the monorail entrance. Studio Walk is another shopping area adjacent to the main casino, featuring some upscale boutiques and several restaurants.

Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood -- To our dismay, our favorite hotel-related shopping area is currently undergoing a $50-million total redo. The one-time Desert Passage, all Middle Eastern souk-themed, is getting made over with some vague "Miracle Mile" theme meant to invoke every high-end shopping district in any major metropolis. (Note to designers: L.A.'s own Miracle Mile lost its luster years ago -- way to be on top of the trends.) The result isn't even all that glamorous: It's pretty much every nice upper-end mall in America, a generic letdown all the worse because the original version was so charming. The one bright spot may be the upcoming "water feature" in the form of a reflecting pool with sheets of water on which various shows will be projected.

At least the shops somewhat stand out, including several listed separately below, plus a Showcase Slots (where you can bring home your own one-armed bandit), Frederick's of Hollywood, Crocs, Two Lips Shoes (affordable stylish and comfortable shoes), Steve Madden, Ann Taylor, Urban Outfitters, bebe, BCBG, Sephora, and probably by the time you read this, the first Vegas introduction of the insanely popular H&M clothing store. You can also get your Tiki on at a branch of L.A.'s late, lamented Trader Vic's restaurant, not to mention all kinds of loud big-screens and other electronic gizmos because that's the way Vegas is these days. Interior changes have continued throughout 2007. For information, see www.miraclemileshopslv.com.

The shops are open Sunday through Thursday from 10am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday from 10am to midnight.

Monte Carlo -- A cobblestone arcade of retail shops, the Street of Dreams, includes several upscale clothing, timepiece, eyewear, and gift boutiques, plus a Lance Burton magic shop.

Rio -- The 60,000-square-foot Masquerade Village is a nicely executed shopping arcade at Rio. It's done as a European village, and is two stories tall, featuring a wide variety of shops, mostly selling clothes, jewelry, and gifts. One notable outlet is Nawlins, which includes "authentic" voodoo items, Mardi Gras masks, and so forth.

The Riviera -- The Riviera has a fairly extensive shopping arcade comprising art galleries, jewelers, shops specializing in women's shoes and handbags, clothing for the entire family, furs, gifts, logo items, toys, phones and electronic gadgets, and chocolates.

Stratosphere -- The internationally themed (though in a high-school production kind of way, compared to what's over at Planet Hollywood and The Venetian) second-floor Tower Shops promenade, housing more than 40 stores, is entered via an escalator from the casino. Some shops are in "Paris," along the Rue Lafayette and Avenue de l'Opéra (there are replicas of the Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe in this section). Others occupy Hong Kong and New York City streetscapes.

TI-Treasure Island -- TI's shopping promenade is nowhere near as interesting since they took out all the pirate-themed bits. Emporia here include the TI Store (your basic hotel gift/sundry shop, also offering much pirate-themed merchandise) plus the Sirens of TI themed lingerie shop. Cirque du Soleil and Mystère logo wares are also sold in a shop near the ticket office in the hotel.

The Venetian -- After you've shopped Ancient Rome at Caesars, come to The Grand Canal Shoppes and see if shopping in Renaissance- (more or less) era Venice is any different. Certainly the production values stay high: This is a re-created Italian village, complete with a painted, cloud-studded blue sky overhead, and a canal right down the center on which gondoliers float and sing. Pay them ($15), and you can take a lazy float down and back, serenaded by your boatman (actors hired especially for this purpose and with accents perfect enough to fool Roberto Benigni). As you pass by, under, and over bridges, flower girls will serenade you and courtesans will flirt with you, and you may have an encounter with a famous Venetian or two, as Marco Polo discusses his travels and Casanova exerts his famous charm. The stroll (or float) ends at a miniature (though not by all that much) version of St. Mark's Square, the central landmark of Venice. Here, you'll find opera singers, strolling musicians, glass blowers, and other bustling marketplace activity. It's all most ambitious and beats the heck out of animatronic statues.

The Shoppes are accessible directly from outside (so you don't have to navigate miles of casino and other clutter), via a grand staircase whose ceiling features more of those impressive hand-painted art re-creations. It's quite smashing. The Venetian's Palazzo hotel addition, due to open in late 2007, will eventually adjoin the Shoppes at the far end of St. Mark's Square (and include a branch of Barneys New York).

Oh, the shops themselves? The usual high- and medium-end brand names: Jimmy Choo, Mikimoto, Movado, Davidoff, Kenneth Cole, Ann Taylor, BCBG, bebe, Banana Republic, Rockport, and more, plus Venetian glass and paper shops. Madame Tussaud's Celebrity Encounter is also located here, and so is the Canyon Ranch Spa Club. The shops are open Sunday through Thursday from 10am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday from 10am to midnight.

Wynn Las Vegas -- The Esplanade is along the same rarified lines of the Bellagio shopping area, in that it's a Euro-style-esque (love those Vegas qualifiers!) shopping street lined with pricey places with famous names -- Chanel, Cartier, Dior, Judith Leiber, Jean Paul Gaultier, Manolo Blahnik, Oscar de la Renta (his only store outside of NYC), La Flirt (a sort of mini-Sephora), Chocolat (excellent pastries and gourmet chocolates), and Jo Malone. We prefer it some to the one at Bellagio because it seems like it has just enough shops (like La Flirt) that nearly reach an average person's budget.