Upon entering the Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino, past its grand waterfall, you'll see the golden, luminous words "Dos Caminos," which are visible from the casino floor through hand-hammered gates. Just inside is the happening Sala Lounge, the restaurant's grandiose bar area, which seats up to 350 guests at the bar, at tables and in semiprivate booths. The bar itself is curvilinear and made of wood, with an iridescent tile column and an illuminated tile base. Elaborate snakeskin leather stools line the bar beside copper tables that are strategically placed throughout the room. Lighting is provided both by cylindrical golden pendant lights that follow the curve of the bar and by spotlights in the ceiling. Brown banquette seating, in addition to round barrel-shaped seats -- which like tree stumps -- are scattered throughout the long lounge, which extends from the casino floor to the back of the restaurant, giving the effect of several separate lounge areas: the front, the bar and the side that borders the restaurant. Behind the bar is an abstract nightscape of a Mexican village. It's saturated with the same red that permeates the rest of the lounge and is accented by the highly polished wooden bar and hardwood floors. A screen of open wooden frames -- flanked on each side by other wood-framed screens in abstract red and dark colors -- separates an elevated portion of the lounge from the main dining area. Additional lighting throughout the lounge is provided by a series of several gold globes encased in cocoons of branches. Who needs to think about lighting, though, when this 185-seat lounge gets going? It serves more than 35 unique tequilas by the bottle, each one accompanied by specially designed flavored salts that are served in test tubes for those who wish to imbibe. And for those who need a little food with their alcohol, the lounge menu certainly satisfies.

As you make your way down toward the main dining area from the Sala Lounge, three booths line the wall perpendicular to the end of the bar and prior to the dining area. Each includes a small flat screen TV that's fastened against a patterned wall made of wood and metal woven together. The main dining area is a few steps past the lounge and a few steps down, but also accessible by ramp. It's unique in and of itself, as it’s a combination of Mexican artifacts, colors and textures. Once you make your way past the Sala Lounge and down a few stairs, you'll walk into this cavernous dining room, which is carpeted in areas. Further back is the rear dining room, which has a completely different feel. You'll note that the walls of the main dining room -- and the ceilings, too! -- are covered with panels, similar to collages, taken from actual Mexican markets. These panels depict people, horses and the like in various scenes of Mexican life, all in the restaurant's primarily red, pink and yellow theme. Rows of tables are lined throughout the room, each offering a slightly different visual experience. To the left, immediately as you walk in, there's even a row of tables directly parallel with the Sala lounge. To the right is a wall of skull-like structures. When you first look at them, they look like small globes of light. Seating here is provided by a lighter leather banquette with standalone armless chairs. The wall is further lit from below and above, giving this area an almost alcove-like presence that's furthered by the slightly dropped ceiling over this area, which creates a feeling of separateness.