The qualities I enjoyed about this book are the same as those of its predecessor, the Special Edition Player's Handbook.
If you love the look and feel of a well-made leather-bound book, then this book is for you. In fact, it is ONLY for you, as you have no reason to buy it if you otherwise have the 3.5 DMG. And that is a good thing. It was nice that, as with the Special Edition PHB, they incorporated the erratta, but that was already available online. With no new content, this is no money-sop for Wizards. This is just an extra choice in the marketplace for those who love books, love the game, and want to have a book that can take years of heavy thumbing as a reference work that a rulesbook requires.
Like the Special PHB, some may complain about the pages sticking together initially due to the gilded edges, but I think that is a boon. They unstick easily enough the first time you open them and you can quickly separate them all with a quick spin past your thumb. I like it because it tells me that I'm the very first person to open the pages of the book. (And they don't make a papercut hazard as someone fretted about with the PHB - in fact, the silver gilded edges make the paper thicker on the ends, making a paper cut less likely). It also makes the book have a stiffer, more substantial feel as you flip through the pages, as if it were an older tome rather than a modern book.
The blue cloth bookmark, as contrasted to the red one with the Special PHB, was a nice touch. It helps identify the books, which look at a glance to be very similar when they are lying on the tabletop. When one is stacked on top of the other, the red and blue cloths make a nice contrast and there is almost an artistic beauty to seeing the books together that way.
This is a well constructed book that is sure to last a long time and I love having it under my fingertips with each game.
I'd love to see a few other of the more heavily-used Wizards books given this treatment - like perhaps the Monster Manual (to make the core books complete) and something like the Spell Comependium.