Did you know that the Phantom of the Opera is playing at the Venetian in Vegas? If you’re staying at the hotel, you definitely do. Because it’s everywhere. The music in the elevators? Phantom. The music in the lobby? Phantom. The welcoming card in the bedroom? Phantom.
We’ve stayed in quite a few places in Vegas. But this was my first time at the Venetian.
It was, well, very Italian. And full of marble. And frescoes. The Venetian is very beautiful and classy. No doubt about it. The lobby is gorgeous, complete with fountains, wide marble avenues and columns, and an accordion player in a striped shirt and straw boater.
The outside was all dressed up for the holidays, with a really cool clear glass bulb LED Christmas tree out front and an ice skating rink.
Check out went fast and seemed easy (XFE was in charge). Cab lines were a bit ridiculous on Saturday and Sunday, but fine by Monday and Tuesday.
It’s an all-suite hotel and the rooms are large and in charge. It had a nice foyer when you walk in, two queen sized beds, a sunken living room, two queen sized beds, and a ginormous bathroom.
Seriously, the bathroom made the place. It had a separate shower and fantastic large tub that filled up very quickly – I used that thing every day. It also had a little dressing table with a light up makeup mirror. But Venetian, what’s up with the cheap toiletries? And it would be alright by me if you upgraded the towels a bit.
That was a pretty common theme – overall it seemed like the Venetian was once quite luxurious, but is getting a bit dated. XFE and I tend to like clean, modern design, so for us, the opulent European castle bit is not really our thing. Which isn’t to say it’s not a nice room.
Other oddities: no fridge in the room, which is weird. Plus, no free water or wifi, despite the “resort” fee. Yes, the gym was included and that’s becoming rare in Vegas.
And they REALLY don’t want you to order room service. We called room service twice and were informed both times that it would be an hour wait. And we had no room service menu in our room, a fact which wasn’t remedy, despite the fact we both mentioned it when we called.
That might be because they have so many great restaurants at the Venetian, including Grand Lux Cafe, CUT and SUSHISAMBA. The only place we ate was at Bouchon and like I said yesterday, it was meh.
My biggest complaint might be how huge it was. I got lost more than once trying to find the damn elevators. I ended up just following the sound of the Phantom soundtrack, and always ended up in the right place.
I really like the casino. They had all the newest slot machines and my old favorites (like Goldfish). It was large but still felt intimate and well-maintained.
It’s also connected to the newer Palazzo and all the wonderful shopping there. And there’s the Canyon Ranch Spa, which I went to the day after the marathon and was nice. Not great, but nice.
The Venetian really is a great, one-stop place. You really didn’t even need to leave the property, it had everything you could want. Good shopping, a decent spa, nice casino, interesting shows, world-class restaurants.
It’s also a great location, right in the heart of the Strip and right next to the Wynn and the Encore.
So, totally serviceable and a nice choice, but with so many other, newer (more modern) options in Vegas, I probably won’t be staying at the Venetian again. In fact, we’re planning on staying at the Cosmopolitan a couple of nights at Christmas, so expect another Hotel Crashing then.
