Las Vegas: Palms pours $50 million into renovation

Hoping to recapture its rep as the trendiest resort in Las Vegas, the Palms is undergoing a $50-million renovation that includes new restaurants and lounges and renovated guest rooms.

Almost immediately upon opening in 2001, the Palms became known as the place to see and be seen in Sin City. It’s where Britney Spears honeymooned in 2004 after a marriage that lasted 55 hours. The opening of other properties (the Cosmopolitan, for instance) stole some of its thunder.

As part of the redo, the Ivory Tower’s 428 guest rooms are now awash in warm woods and velvet accents. The most striking feature is a dramatic mural on the wall above the bed that features a seductive pair of women’s eyes.

Heraea restaurant, which offers American cuisine but honors the Greek goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, opened this month. It’s a high-energy place where deejays will be spinning records nightly.

Similarly edgy Xishi (pronounced “zai-she”), a restaurant and lounge, is scheduled to open in March. It will offer traditional and contemporary Asian food. The dining area will surround the central bar, from which deejays also will provide nightly music.

Two stand-alone bars have also opened recently. Scarlet employs well-known mixologist Francesco Lafranconi to create signature cocktails using top-shelf liquors and spirits with unique infusions. Social, the new bar in the center of the casino, specializes in whiskey.

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