Las Vegas Hotel Dumps Beige, Adds Bling

After a late-spring opening, Palms Place has quickly become the new it-hotel for Las Vegas weekenders looking for a stylish crash pad that's not full of synthetic floral carpeting and bland, beige furnishings.

Once privy to TheHotel at Mandalay Bay and MGM SkyLofts, luxury travelers are demanding more than just oversize rooms and jetliner views from their all-suite hotels. Adjusting to these demands, Las Vegas is on the verge of a watershed architectural moment that will say goodbye to those ubiquitous V-shaped faux-Hausmann and Italianate high-rises and usher in a new era of cutting-edge design by some of the world's top architects, including Libeskind, Pelli and Foster.

What to expect ...