My standard hotel reviews include a breakdown by the following topics. Feel free to skip to whichever section you find most interesting.
- Highlights
- Lobby
- Room
- Hotel Space / Ambiance
- Food & Drink
- Fitness
- Miscellaneous
Highlights: The Venetian Las Vegas
My third Venetian experience was significantly different from my previous ones. The first and second ones were during the high season – July and August. Back then, I had to pay the male entry tax for TAO ($40, despite being a hotel guest, normally $80, Tao Beach ($35?), and others.
However, this off-weekend (mid-October) was so much better. Free entry on Saturday to Tao, same for TAO Beach on Sunday, as well as free guestlist at another nice club on Sunday, made for an enjoyable weekend.
The other highlight was the extremely late checkout (5pm!) that we got due to their errors and repeated attempts to deliver an amenity. Using the Art of the Ask, I was able to press them to get the 5pm without charge!
Lobby
As opulent as I remember. Everything is lavish, decked out in gold. Wide open walkways, sculptures, art, with an Italian and (obviously) Venetian theme.
There is also a secondary “lobby” en route to the Venezia tower and Bouchon restaurant. I referred to this as the Fake lobby since it was only sparsely staffed and only during regular hours.
Room
Every room is a suite – 650 sq ft (for a king suite), 700 sq ft for our two queen bed suite, with a separate living area down a couple stairs. The suites are designed to comfortable house 4-6 people, and even more if necessary. There was an excellent view of the outdoor pool near Bouchon Restaurant.
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The bathroom was similarly lavish and golden in design, with a shower, tub, double sinks, and separate toilet. There was also a very helpful vanity area with a large mirror. Excellent for those large parties and dress up times before going to the clubs.
However, we were located in the Venezia tower, which required a very roundabout route to get to our room. Not ideal, but because these resorts are so large it was necessary.
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Hotel Space / Ambiance
Per the Wikipedia, the casino is 120,000 square feet. Huge, with all sorts of slot machines, both new and old, and table games to cater to many types of gamblers. Table minimums are typically similar or higher to other casinos on the strip ($10-$15+), depending on time of day and seasonality.
They also have the separate Shoppes at Venetian, where you can get a gondola ride a la Venice on the Grand Canal. They are expensive ($29/person, or $116 for a private gondola for couples).
TAO, the Venetian’s nightclub, is located at the entrance. It has a gigantic buddha statue, an Asian flavor (to accompany their lounge/restaurant next door, LAVO), and was an interesting experience.
TAO Beach, the dayclub*, is located near the main hotel pool which was closed when we went due to high winds. It’s a smaller enclosed area, with a couple small pools, many lounge chairs, and several bars. It definitely does get crowded during party season over the summer, but during the off-season the atmosphere was more muted and relaxed.
The ambience is definitely opulent and expensive, catering to more upscale travelers, large groups, and business conventions.
*For those who are unfamiliar, dayclubs are beach clubs located at many resorts in Vegas. They are typically huge, often double as a nightclub in the evenings, have many bars, resident and celebrity djs, and cater to a younger crowd looking to have a good time. Swimwear attire is necessary, and the drink servers are extremely fit, attractive, and tall women wearing bikinis. The men checking in, providing towel service, or making drinks are similarly conventionally well built.
Food & Drink
Lobster Me had an unexpected spicy lobster roll. It went well as I was on my laptop in the hotel room.
The Chinese & Taiwanese food was excellent at Noodle Asia, located on the Casino floor near the main entrance. While the price is anywhere from 50-100% more expensive than usual, the lady said the food was definitely authentic and I had to agree.
On a previous trip I really enjoyed my experience at Grand Lux Café – which is part of the Cheesecake Factory empire. Think American food, huge portions, reasonable value.
Fitness
Apparently, the fitness center is a very far walk from our hotel tower (Venezia, maybe 15 minutes?) so I did not check it out. The lady did in an early morning and she said it was quite nice. The hotel pool (one of them, at least) is very large, but due to the windiness of the day (mid-October) chairs were flying around, and so they had to close the pool.
Because of this, I got an excellent shot of the empty pool area.
Miscellaneous
The Venetian (and Palazzo next door) is part of Las Vegas Sands, owned by mega-billionaire Sheldon Adelson. They are affiliated with, but not directly part of, InterContinetal Hotel Group (IHG). This means you are still responsible for the exorbitant resort fee of $35/day + tax, for still-really-slow 3MB internet. You do get a free room upgrade if available, and access to priority lanes.
The resort fee covers the below, per the Venetian website.
Access for two to the fitness facility at the Canyon Ranch SpaClub, in-suite Internet access (Wi-Fi or Ethernet), boarding pass printing at the Concierge desk, unlimited local and toll-free calls, access to thousands of top magazines and newspapers through free PressReader app, and daily newspaper available at Café Presse.
A timeshare presentation for Tahiti Village was available at the main entrance. Nearby, in the middle of the escalators is a Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum.
Location wise, the Venetian is located mid/North Strip, on the right side (East). It was a wonderful experience returning to the Venetian and Las Vegas, and I plan to do so again in the near future.
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