The Venetian Resort
How did it make you feel when you got there?
When you enter The Venetian, the lobby’s high ceiling is frescoed, and the centerpiece is a sizable, gold sphere that four golden women are holding up. After seeing a copy of Venice’s Campanile and Rialto Bridge, this registration area in the shape of a church should feel really cheesy. Still, it’s so big and fancy that you can’t help but be amazed. Of course, even if you’ve been to the real Venice, The Palazzo, which is next door to The Venetian, is also part of The Venetian Resort.
How is the crowd?
With more than 7,000 rooms and three million square feet of retail and meeting space, the Venetian and Palazzo complex is so big that it’s impossible to put the visitors you see at this hotel into any one group. There are all kinds of conventioneers, people who know and love the Venetian, and people who are staying at the huge Canyon Ranch, which is spread out over both hotels.
What’s cool: Describe your room.
The Venetian has made a big deal out of the fact that all of its rooms are suites. All of them are pretty big. The smallest is 650 square feet, and they get bigger from there. Each room has a step down from the bedroom to a small living room with a desk and a big flat-screen TV. This makes a huge psychological difference, especially if you are here on business. Also, all of the rooms were recently remodeled to match the rest of the Strip. (This is before the $1 billion makeover that the Venetian said it would do in late 2022.) I’ve stayed in both a Luxury Suite (the standard, with a king-sized bed) and a Bella Suite (with two queen beds, but basically the same setup). When you put in jewel-toned accent chairs and walls that are a neutral color, they look more modern and lighter than they did a few years ago.
We really need some deep, healing sleep. They got us?
Each bed at the Venetian has a pillow-top handmade mattress that is very soft and tall, with a big duvet on top. Two big, heavy curtains on either side of the bed make it look a bit royal. The curtains don’t go all the way around, but they’re the right length and style for a bed from the Renaissance.
What about the little things, like a minibar or shower treats? Do any of those things end up in your bag?
The minibars at The Venetian are pretty normal. Like most casino hotels, they have refrigerators that are constantly checking for food. When I took out a Diet Coke, I saw that it was a 7.5-ounce mini bar bottle instead of a normal 12-ounce can, which was annoying.
Tell us that the bathroom will be good.
The bathroom at The Venetian is great. It has a separate shower and a soaking tub, a desk with two sinks, and a smooth stone finish. The small dressing table and the mirror with lights that you can change from day to night are my favorite parts. This is a nice extra.
Wi-Fi is likely the most important subject of all. What do you call it?
Strong enough to stream, and the $39 daily lodge fee covers it.
What to Eat and Drink Venice has always been an important part of Las Vegas’s food scene, especially when it comes to celebrity chefs. It has recently made some changes that are good. Eyal Shani’s HaSalon has opened, bringing legit Israeli food to the Strip; Estiatorio Milos relocated its incredible seafood (and best lunch deal around) from Cosmopolitan; and Mott 32 is some of the best Chinese food (in a pretty dramatic room—dress up!) you can have on the Strip.
Is room service worth it?
The Venetian, like most gambling hotels, charges a delivery fee of $7 plus taxes and an 18% tip for room service. However, the food they serve in your room is really good. In Venetian, it’s its own kingdom because it has to take care of 7,000 rooms, sometimes more than once. The usual things are there, like continental breakfast and chicken fingers. But it also has food from its 40 (!) other places, and the vegan menu is really good. If you want a Japanese Breakfast, you could choose organic salmon, a poached organic egg, and pickled veggies. You could also choose a plate of American cheeses from Beehive Creamery, Old Chatham, and Roth. You can even get bone soup. Buddy V’s cannoli are a nice touch, and the prices are generally a little lower than at Wynn and Caesars.
Staff: Who would get a prize if you could give one? Why?
The room service staff should get prizes. Your order barely gets there in the time they say it will, let alone at all, since they have so many rooms to serve.
Do any of the other services and benefits stand out to you? It doesn’t matter if it was babysitting, gyms, spas, parking, or something else.
Canyon Ranch is the real name of the gym. They have a climbing wall, nutritional advice, and even a place to look at your walk. And it’s the spa. This spa has a lot of things that you wouldn’t find at a normal hotel spa, like acupuncture. About 40 restaurants are in the Venetian. The hotel started improving its food service a few years ago, and now it may have the best selection of restaurants in Las Vegas.
What did you remember or find most upsetting about your stay?
What stands out about the Venetian is its huge number of restaurants and the fact that it has everything you could want inside. This hotel is more like a city than even Caesars, and it works like one. This place is great for people who want to stay put in Las Vegas.
In the end, is it worth it, and if so, why?
Some of the best room deals can be found at the Venetian. There are times of the year and conventions in town when one of its rooms can be had for as little as $179 a night. The resort schedule always tells me how much a room costs, but the prices change a lot. It’s easy to find deals, and the Venetian is a pretty good deal when you consider how much you’d pay for a room off the Strip that was only a little less expensive than this one.