Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

HOTEL SHOPPING ARCADES 237
and slot and video-poker machines 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 neighboring hotel Paris 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, and Moschino. That’s 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, and an expansion is in the works.
But in the hotel’s tradition of constantly surpassing itself, in 1992 Caesars
inaugurated the fabulous Forum Shops , an independently operated 250,000-
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 whole 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.
There are more than 70 prestigious emporia here, including Louis Vuitton,
Plaza Escada, Bernini, Christian Dior, A/X Armani Exchange, bebe, Caché,
Gucci, Ann Taylor, and Gianni Versace, along with many other clothing, shoe,
and jewelry stores.
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. The hall is also the entrance to the Race
for Atlantis IMAX 3-D ride (p. 183).
In this shopping area, you’ll find a number of significant stores, including a
DKNY, Emporio Armani, Niketown, Fendi, Polo for Ralph Lauren, Guess,
Virgin Megastore, and FAO Schwarz. Do go see the latter, as it is fronted by
a gigantic Trojan horse, in which you can clamber around, while its head moves
and smoke comes out its nostrils. We love it. Also in the shops are Wolfgang
Puck’s Chinois, a Cheesecake Factory, and a Caviartorium, where you can