Palazzo Resort Hotel Casino — Hotel Review Rating: 5.0 Pearls

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Oyster Hotel Review

Reporter: Jessica F.
Updated: August 21, 2009

 Scene

Opened in December 2007, and stacked next to the Wynn and the Bellagio as one of the premier “New Vegas” hotels, the Palazzo (meaning “palace” or “excellent residence” in Italian) is simply meant to wow its visitors with its scale, texture, and even scent -- like its next-door sister property, the Venetian, this hotel is famous for its perfume-scented air. Las Vegas may be known as the place that allows you travel to Egypt, Paris, Italy, New York, the great open sea, the Middle Ages, or Venice, but at the 3,066-room Palazzo, there is no recognizable theme or gimmick. It markets itself as "Vegas all grown-up" -- even though no one really goes to Vegas to act in a mature fashion. During my visit, the lobby was filled with high schoolers on the way to their prom or the LAVO nightclub.

Not that the place totally lacks for grand eccentricities. The lobby's 50-foot high glass dome with elegant nudes fashioned from blown glass serves as the backdrop for elaborate seasonal installations. During my visit, at least 100 umbrellas were suspended from the ceiling -- an "April showers bring May flowers" theme. During Christmas, the hotel filled their two-story fountain with cranberries, donated by Ocean Spray.

Boasting seven pools, four hot tubs, more than 15 restaurants, and a Lamborghini showroom, the Palazzo is an even fancier extension of the Venetian, though it can be difficult to tell the difference. A five- to 10-minute walk through the Palazzo's haute-couture shopping mall (featuring Van Cleef & Arpels, Diane von Furstenberg, Chloe, Christian Louboutin, Catherine Malandrino, and Anya Hindmarch) leads to the Venetian's lower-end retail and Grand Canal, where plenty of Palazzo guests head to take a ride with a goofy, singing gondolier.

 Service

The Palazzo has all of the usual services provided by a luxury resort, including dry cleaning and laundry, overnight shoe shines, and 24-hour room service. The concierge -- open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays -- will arrange just about any recreational activity, including theater tickets, restaurant reservations, and sightseeing tours.

But the Palazzo, along with its neighboring sister property, the Venetian, experienced three rounds of staff cuts since the start of 2009, which means that guests might get stuck waiting for poolside drinks, room service, or to check in and check out. At check-in, a porter promised my luggage would be delivered to my room in 15 minutes. After waiting 20 minutes, I called the desk to find that my luggage had never been sent. Likewise, when I ordered drinks up to my room late in the evening, they didn't arrive until 45 minutes later, and only after several reminder phone calls.

 Location

The Palazzo is located on the north end of the Strip, between the Venetian and the Wynn. The hotel is also across the street from Treasure Island and during my stay guests of the Palazzo seemed to have the best view of the “Sirens of TI” fireworks and pirates extravaganza from the balcony of LAVO.

Most Las Vegas visitors want to explore all of the big properties along the densely-packed, three-and-a-half-mile-long stretch of hotel-casinos known as the Strip. Cabs are easy to find at virtually any time of day or night. A generally less expensive option is the Deuce, a double-decker bus that runs up and down the strip 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and costs $3. There's also a monorail system, which stops at Bally's, Caesars Palace, Harrah's, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Hilton, and the Sahara. A single ride ticket is $5; a one-day pass is $13. If you're traveling along the Strip with at least one other person, a cab is often the least expensive option.

Virtually every hotel on the Las Vegas Strip is a 10- to 15-minute cab ride from McCarran International Airport; the ride typically costs about $15.

 Rooms

The Palazzo (and its sister hotel, the Venetian) have extremely large standard rooms, each containing a bedroom and a sunken living room with L-shaped sofas that open up to full-size beds. Art Deco-inspired touches like the lamp and the dresser and the crushed-velvet couch add to the luxurious and tasteful ambience.

The king-size, pillow-top beds are dressed in Egyptian cotton sheets and topped with wool throws.

The rooms feature three flat-screen TVs: a 32-incher in the living room, a 42-incher in the bedroom, and a 20-incher in the bathroom. Each offers about 40 channels, but no HBO, and a wide selection of films on demand.

The bathrooms -- which, at 130 square feet, are larger than some New York City hotel rooms -- come with deep soaking tubs and twin sink basins, plenty of soft towels, and Agraria San Francisco bath products.

The desk includes a private workstation with a personal fax/printer/copier and a dual-line telephone. In-room, high-speed Wi-Fi costs $9.95 per day.

If all this luxury doesn't cut it, or you need some extra space, guests can book a Fortuna Suite (for an extra $70 a night) or a Siena Suite (for an extra $230 a night with a view, $200 without).

 Features

The Palazzo has seven pools filled with guests serious about sunning, swimming and tabloid reading. Guests are also welcome to use any of the six pools at the Venetian next door, which are connected via a pedestrian walkway to the Palazzo pool decks.

The world-famous Canyon Ranch Spa offers more than the usual range of spa services. A $40 day pass buys access to "Aquavana," which includes the Herbal Laconium (a warm, ceramic-tiled room with individual thrones and color-changing ceiling), the Hydro Spa (a fancy name for a Jacuzzi), a Finnish sauna, the Igloo (the opposite of a sauna), Experiential Rains (a shower with new-agey sounds like "Cool Fog," "Tropical Rain," and "Caribbean Storm"), and other highfalutin features. One warning: the spa, especially the facilities for women, can get crowded.

The hotel’s fitness facility has a huge range of cardio and strength equipment (all with video monitors), an indoor climbing wall, and spinning and yoga classes.

Guests may upgrade to concierge-level rooms, which buys them access to an exclusive 23rd floor lounge with free amenities like a continental breakfast, snacks, and early-evening cocktails. The cost to upgrade depends on the availability of rooms, which dictates the nightly rate.

 Casino

The casino at the Palazzo is somewhat smaller and more intimate than most of the mega-property casinos, and the staff is more attentive. It offers 139 different table games and countless slot machines, but no poker room. (For that, you have to go next door to the Venetian.)

 Eco-Friendly

This is the largest LEED-certified green building in the nation; 95 percent of the building's structural steel is recycled material in addition to 26 percent of the concrete.

According to the Palazzo, the entire hotel was built with sustainability in mind: the artificial turf reduces the need for irrigation; the swimming pools use a solar heating system; and air conditioning systems in guest rooms have sensors to automatically adjust when no one is in the room. The hotel claims to save enough energy each year to light a 100 watt lightbulb for 12,100 years.

 Family

At the Palazzo, you won't find a roller-coaster like they have at New York-New York. But for the family that plans to explore the Strip as a whole, the Palazzo would be an excellent choice -- if only for the huge, suite-style standard rooms, which are the largest on the Strip and feature couches that pull out into beds. Rollaway beds are also available for an additional $35 a night (though the hotel allows them only in rooms larger than the standard suites). Cribs are also available at no extra cost.

Kids will certainly enjoy hopping among the seven pools. The fact that the adults-only party pool, TAO, is located next door at the Venetian arguably makes the Palazzo the more family-friendly of the sister properties.

Many of the more casual dining restaurants offer a kids' menu.

 Food

Mario Batali. Emeril Lagasse. Wolfgang Puck. These are just a few of the chefs who helm a restaurant at the Palazzo. The property has 17 restaurants in all, and an in-depth breakdown -- with a pricing scale -- can be viewed on the Palazzo's website. Of course, guests of the Palazzo can eat at any of the eateries at the Venetian. Meals at all restaurants at both properties -- except for the food court -- can be charged to a room.

The highlights at the Palazzo include the dueling steak houses (Puck’s CUT versus Batali’s Carnevino), the New American offerings of Lagasse’s Table 10, the Japanese-Peruvian-Brazilian cuisine of Sushisamba, and the popular Dos Cominos for the best guacamole on the Strip (at least 700 orders served a night). Guests should expect to spend anywhere between $20 and $50 for dinner.

The casual Puck eatery, Solaro, offers poolside dining at breakfast and lunch.

The Palazzo does lack for places to get a quick bite or a late-night snack. But fast food is plentiful next door at the Venetian's large food court.

An extensive room service menu is available 24/7.

 Entertainment and Nightlife

Like most other hotels on the strip, the Palazzo offers high-quality entertainment. At the time of my visit, the theater was showcasing a production of Jersey Boys, the hit Broadway musical.

The hotel is home to Las Vegas' Lamborghini showroom, a display of more than a dozen real-life hot wheels. Admission is $10.

In the evening, the Italian restaurant and bar LAVO transforms into a bustling nightclub that draws long lines of twentysomethings.

The Salute Lounge, located in the casino, features nightly cover bands.

At the Venetian, next door, crowds gather for "street performances" in Saint Mark’s Square, gondola rides along the hotel's canals, and Madame Tussaud’s wax museum.

 Bottom Line

Big, elaborate, and packed with the kind of luxuries you see at the Bellagio and the Wynn, the Palazzo has some of the best and biggest standard rooms on The Strip. Its world-class spa, seven pools, busy casino, and name-brand fine dining all connect to its sister property, the Venetian, via an haute couture mall. Less theme-y than many Vegas hotels, but right at the top of the list in terms of glitz and extravagance.