Haunted Inn at Palms Review: Dinner and a Show With a Halloween Twist

^{Dinner and drinks at the Haunted Inn come with creepy characters to keep you in the Halloween spirit while you enjoy ghoulish treats. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)}

LAS VEGAS -- Palms Casino Resort is back with another seasonal pop-up bar, and this time the casino is getting spooky with the Haunted Inn, a free 21-and-over Halloween experience that goes through Oct. 31.

Following the success of Santa’s Saloon in 2025 and Camp Palms earlier this year, Palms Popup Playhouse has once again created a fun adult pop-up experience with themed decor to take you into this dark hotel experience while munching on some delicious treats. Palms invited me to check out the Haunted Inn during a media preview, and I was more than happy to start October with some spooky, boozy fun.

I went into The Haunted Inn with higher expectations than that, especially after seeing videos of this online. Palms managed to deliver a night of frightful dinner and drinks that started off my October strong.

Make no mistake, the casino floor still looks the same when you walk in from the valet or parking garage. The Haunted Inn is a contained pop-up near Scotch 80 Prime rather than a full Palms Halloween transformation.

Haunted Inn is 21+ but has no cover charge to get in. It runs Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. until late through Halloween. Parking at Palms is also free, which makes the pop-up an easy option even for locals like me who were intrigued enough to give it a try.

Meet the Residents of Haunted Inn

The Haunted Inn has a completely different atmosphere from the casino floor outside. Cobwebs and fake blood cover the ceilings, and creepy dolls line the walls in rows.

The staff will have you grab a “room key” before you sit down, and you’ll want to sign your name in the guestbook. The room has been expanded from its setup during Camp Palms. A small catwalk gives performers their own stage, with a larger seating area facing it so guests can watch the action.

The cast is just as important to the experience as the decorations. The Haunted Inn has its own dysfunctional family of characters, featuring people like Lady Palms, who runs the “inn,” and the resident killer, Todd.

The staff at Palms told me that every visit has a different set of acts lined up. You might potentially join a séance, become a mock murder victim, or even join a conga line murder procession. The unpredictability of each experience gives it a strong return value.

The performances go beyond comedy and crowd interaction, too. One of the biggest surprises of the night was seeing Lady Palms take the stage for a full burlesque routine, stripping down from her elegant black dress.

Between the dance numbers and comedy bits, the experience turned out to be an unexpected dinner-and-show. For comparison, think of the Mayfair Supper Club at Bellagio, but replace the polished fine-dining atmosphere with an immersive Halloween theme. The campy, raunchy vibe works perfectly for a Vegas casino celebrating Halloween.

The Best Scary Sips and Treats to Try

The food and drinks at the Haunted Inn certainly exceeded my expectations. Many of the dishes are large enough to share or extremely filling for a solo diner.

Entree prices range from $22 to $38, and dessert options are around $20. For drinks, prices are on par with a usual casino bar, around $18 before tip.

Filling Entrees Perfect to Share

The Fresh Catch From the Yard is one of the best options on the menu with strong value for your wallet. For $38, you’ll get a massive sushi skull platter with nigiri, sashimi, and hand rolls. I worked my way through fresh ahi tuna, yellowtail, salmon, crab, and avocado in this lovely entree. Expect to be stuffed after finishing it, all that rice makes it extra filling.

There are plenty of other options I missed out on during my visit that would be worth trying. The Vampire Repellant is a succulent, grilled skirt steak served over garlic-truffle “stake” fries (vampire puns galore!) with Cipollini onion relish and chimichurri aioli.

The Bite Me! wings come in Buffalo, barbecue, or ghost pepper flavors if you want to keep it simple for dinner. The Murder Burger features an 8-oz Wagyu beef patty loaded with charred onion, bacon jam, guacamole, a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, pickled jalapeños, and Jack cheese. If that wasn’t enough, it’s served to you with a knife stabbing directly through the burger.

The dessert options were a delight. The One-Bite Stand is a vanilla-and-salted-caramel tart with whipped cream and chocolate bats, served under a smoky glass dome. The Cupcake Massacre is a set of red velvet cupcakes topped with cream cheese frosting and a bloody drizzle. They’re all topped off with fake knives and arranged on a candelabra.

I’d skip the Stolen Candy Stash, since you’re paying $23 for a bunch of candy in a Halloween jar. There are better ways to spend your money on the menu — it used to be free on Halloween when we were kids!

Save Room for Some Drinks

The cocktails are where Palms’ creativity really shines. I enjoyed sipping on all of them, but had gripes with the presentation of just one.

The Kill of the Day was my favorite drink of the night, combining Grey Goose vodka, black cherry juice, ginger beer, and jalapeño. It’s fizzy, sweet, and spicy all in one. I should’ve asked the staff how much it would cost to take the skull-shaped glass home with me.

I also sipped on The Toast From the Grave, which features peach Red Bull, prosecco, elderflower, and raspberry, served in a skeleton-hand champagne flute. Whiskey lovers will enjoy the Smashed Pumpkin, which features Jack Daniel’s poured tableside into a jack-o’-lantern mug filled with apple cider.

For larger groups, two options work well for sharing. The Nightcap features a full bottle of Don Julio 1942 served in a lantern for $99, while the Blood Drive is a mix of Patrón tequila, Cointreau, and cranberry and served through a blood-bag reservoir.

The latter is $69 and designed to serve about four people, making it about $18 per person. I admit I had a bit of FOMO seeing people sip on this, but it’s best reserved for a group unless you want to end up passed out on the casino floor after your Haunted Inn visit.

The House Favorite is a cocktail of Jack Daniel’s Apple, cranberry, and lime served inside a small poison bottle. This drink, in particular, is served with a fake tarot card you scan for an AI-generated “horror selfie”, which gets displayed on screens around the restaurant.

On that note, the AI element is probably my least favorite part of the experience. Palms is no stranger to AI-generated imagery in some of its recent pop-up marketing, so seeing it here wasn’t exactly surprising.

But it certainly could’ve been worse. The Haunted Inn is a step in the right direction compared with Camp Palms, since there seemed to be less AI-generated imagery in the restaurant and on the menu. Luckily, there are no fake food photographs pretending to show guests what their meals will look like.

Despite some of my reservations about the presentation, I still really enjoyed the drinks overall. Nothing I tried was overly strong, and the flavors came through well. They felt like actual cocktails rather than gimmicky Halloween drinks with assorted liquors thrown into a themed glass.

Another Reason to Make the Trip to Palms

After spending about two hours at the Haunted Inn, I left feeling satisfied with this experience at the Palms. If you prefer to avoid haunted houses, but still want something more than wandering around at a Halloween pumpkin patch like me, this is a great option in Vegas.

There’s nothing that’s overly scary, except an actor that might pop out from behind you. This is great for a group looking for something to do in Las Vegas during October. You can come for dinner and drinks, and end up enjoying the interactions with the characters way more than you might’ve expected. Since there’s no cover charge, you can stay as long as you want.

The pricing helps, too. While some of the desserts and specialty items are on the expensive side, the larger portions make it possible to split several dishes rather than ordering an individual meal for everyone. The drink menu offers a wide range of options, and mocktails are not treated as an afterthought either. There are even more dishes and signature cocktails built specifically around the Haunted Inn’s cast that you just need to try out yourself for the full experience.

The space feels substantially different than previous pop-ups with entertainment that delivers. The Haunted Inn runs through Oct. 31, so there’s plenty of time to check it out before the next seasonal concept takes over. After seeing firsthand what Palms has done with Camp Palms and Haunted Inn, I’m excited to see what Santa’s Saloon delivers in December.

Refer to Cashback Terms & Conditions for full program terms.