Review: The Venetian Resort

How did it strike you on arrival?
When you walk into The Venetian lobby, it's completely frescoed to its vaulted ceiling, and its centerpiece is a massive, gilded sphere held up by four golden women. After having passed a replica of Venice's Campanile and Rialto Bridge, arriving in this basilica-style registration area should feel totally cheesy… and yet, it is SO over-the-top and grand, you can't help but be impressed. Yes, even if you have actually been to real Venice. The Venetian and its sister tower, The Palazzo, are both a part of The Venetian Resort.

What’s the crowd like?
The Venetian and Palazzo complex is so enormous—more than 7,000 rooms and three million square feet of retail and meeting space, there's absolutely no way to categorize the travelers you see at this hotel. They run the gamut from conventioneers of all kinds to people who know and love the Venetian, to people checking in to the massive Canyon Ranch that spans both hotels.

The good stuff: Tell us about your room.
The Venetian has made much of how all its rooms are suites. They are all quite large (the standard size is 650 square feet, and they go up from there). Especially if you are here on business, the step down in each room from sleeping area to a small living room, with desk and big flat screen television, makes a huge psychological difference. All the suites have been recently refreshed, too, to keep pace with Strip-wide renovations. (And this is before the $1 billion renovation the Venetian announced in late 2022.) I've stayed in both a Luxury Suite (the standard, with a king-sized bed) and a Bella Suite (essentially the same layout, slightly larger, with two queens). All done with cream-colored walls and neutral carpets but with jewel-toned accent chairs, they're more modern and definitely lighter than they were a few years ago.

We’re craving some deep, restorative sleep. They got us?
The Venetian's beds are pillow-top custom mattresses that are really soft and high and are topped with a big duvet. The bed can seem a bit...royal, since it has big heavy curtains on either side (they don't go all the way around, but they're what you'd imagine a Renaissance-era bed would have had) and there are big heavy bolsters on the bed.

How about the little things, like mini bar, or shower goodies. Any of that find its way into your suitcase?
The mini bars at The Venetian are pretty standard, with electronically sensored refrigerators (like most casino hotels). I pulled out a Diet Coke and then realized it was one of the mini bar sized 7.5-ounce bottles (not a regular 12-ounce can), which was annoying.

Please tell us the bathroom won’t let us down.
The bathrooms at The Venetian are great: There are separate showers and soaking tubs, the finishes are sleek stone and there are double sinks in the vanity. My favorite feature is the small makeup table, though, and the mirror whose lighting you can switch to daytime or nighttime. It's a nice extra feature.

Maybe the most important topic of all: Wi-Fi. What’s the word?
Strong enough for streaming and covered in the daily $39 resort fee.

Food & Drink Venetian has always played a major role in the food scene in Las Vegas (especially in the celeb chef arena), and it has recently made some welcome changes. 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 seriously dramatic room—dress up!) you can have on the Strip.

Room service: Worth it?
Even though The Venetian, like most all casino hotels, charges a delivery fee ($7) and attaches an 18 percent gratuity and taxes on top of it for room service, their in-room dining is really good. It's an entirely separate kingdom in Venetian, since it has to serve 7,000 rooms, sometimes multiple times. It has all the standard stuff—continental breakfast, chicken fingers—but adds items that are inspired by its 40 (!) restaurants and has a really good vegan menu. For instance, you might steer toward a Japanese Breakfast (organic salmon, a poached organic egg, pickled vegetables), or order a plate of American cheeses from Beehive Creamery, Old Chatham, and Roth. You can even order bone broth. Touches like cannoli from Buddy V's are nice, and the prices overall are slightly lower than Wynn and Caesars.

Staff: If you could award one a trophy, who gets it, and why?
I'd award trophies to the in room dining staff. With so many rooms to serve, it's a miracle that your order gets there in the time frame they promise (let alone at all).

Anything stand out about other services and features? Whether it’s childcare, gyms, spas, even parking—whatever stuck with you.
The gym is actually a Canyon Ranch (a real one). You can go on the climbing wall, get nutritional counseling, and even have your gait analyzed. It's also the spa, and there are a lot of extras here, like acupuncture, that you wouldn't find at a regular hotel spa. There are around 40 restaurants in the Venetian, which started overhauling its culinary program several years ago and now has what can arguably be called the best restaurant selection in Las Vegas

What was most memorable—or heartbreaking—about your stay?
The most memorable thing about the Venetian is the huge array of restaurants, and the fact that everything you need can be found inside the hotel. More than even Caesars, this is an entire city in a hotel and it functions like one. It's great for people who want to go to Vegas and plant themselves in one place.

Bottom line: worth it, and why?
The Venetian has some of the best room deals going. Depending on the season and who's in town for conventions, you can get one of its suites for as little as $179 a night. I always check the resort calendar, which shows you the (highly variable) room rates. The deals are easy to find, and if you think about how much you'd spend finding a cheaper room off the Strip (not much less than this rate, by the way), Venetian is actually kind of a bargain in the end.