VegasChatter

Here’s our rundown:

Las Vegas Premium Outlets
This is without a doubt the most conveniently located and largest outlet center in the vicinity. Located between the Strip and downtown at the Charleston exit of I-15, this outlet Mecca is a 10-minute taxi ride from just about any resort. Its 150 stores include Burberry, Coach, Dolce & Gabbana, the ubiquitous Ed Hardy, Elie Tahari, Theory, French Connection, Ted Baker, Movado and True Religion.

Onsite dining is standard-issue, outlet-mall food-court fare, save for the Makino sushi buffet (yet another respectable sushi joint that didn’t make our Top 5, but a worthy effort regardless). Instead of a taxi, you can also take the Route 301 Deuce bus from the Strip to the downtown transit center, and then hop on the Downtown Shopper’s Express bus.
Regular hours are Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Fashion Outlets Las Vegas
Fashion Outlets is located in Primm at the Nevada-California state line, about 45 miles southwest of Vegas on I-15. For $20, you can hop a roundtrip shuttle from the MGM Grand or Planet Hollywood (that rate includes a discount booklet, mall directory and free Mrs. Field’s cookie break). Its 100 stores include the Neiman Marcus Last Call and the Versace Company Store.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve when it closes at 6 p.m. Holiday hours vary

Las Vegas Outlet Center
Deuce buses travel from the Strip to this outlet mall roughly 2.5 miles south of Mandalay Bay. The best way to decode the schedule, though, is to visit the Deuce Web site. Housed here are 130 stores in the lower-to-middlebrow range (think Aeropostale, Dress Barn and Van Heusen), although there’s a splurge-worthy Off 5th Saks Fifth Avenue store in the mini-strip-mall to the south of the outlet center.

[Photo: Sirgiu Biris]