Venetian Hotel Las Vegas

The Venetian is a simply gorgeous hotel and casino and one of the best resorts in Las Vegas. With just under 4050 rooms (all of them suites), the Venetian, along with its new sister hotel the Palazzo, is part of the largest AAA Five-diamond rated resort complex in the world.

The main hotel tower is a whopping 40 stores high (475 feet), with a second tower, the Venezia at the Venetian, containing 1013 suites.

The Venetian opened in 1999 (the Venezia in 2003), and the tower is already getting a complete overhaul. They keep the place in world-class shape, and it continues to look incredible, inside and out.

If you couldn’t already tell, I am a big fan of the Venetian. The place just has a wonderful look and feel to it. The outside, along Las Vegas Boulevard, has a re-creation of the Grand Canal of Venice, along with a towering reproduction of Venice’s St Mark’s Campanile.

You can take a gondola ride along the outside canals, complete with a serenading gondolier. I’m told the cost is roughly 1/3 that of a ride in the real Venice canals, and it’s a whole lot cleaner too – if not exactly as authentic.

Entertainment and the Grand Canal Shoppes

If the weather’s too hot, you can also hop on a gondola inside the complex through the beautiful Grand Canal Shoppes, where the gondolier’s voice will echo across the arches ceilings and store fronts made to resemble shops in the historic core of Venice.

The Grand Canal Shoppes truly are gorgeous, including a large central square area with cafe-style dining. The shops connect with the Shoppes at The Palazzo, which, if anything, are even more spectacular.

In fact, if it’s shopping you want, this place is close to literally hundreds of incredible stores, with not just the malls at the Venetian and Palazzo but also the Las Vegas Fashion Show Mall and the Forum Shops at Caesars both diagonally across the Strip and the shops at the Wynn just a pedestrian bridge away.

There is also some great entertainment at the Venetian. The Blue and Group and Phantom of the Opera both can be seen in theaters here. And the TAO is an Asian-themed nightclub that was ranked #2 of the top 100 clubs.

The All-Suites Hotel

The hotel rooms at the Venetian are all suites, and they are gorgeous too. The tower has magnificent views, especially from the higher floors, with vistas of the Las Vegas Strip, downtown, and the mountains, depending on which way your room is angled.

One tip when selecting a room here: ask for a room not facing the pool area or the adjacent TAO night club, as there is an additional club on the second floor known as TAO Beach, and, according to a number of reports from guests in adjacent rooms, the music can be quite loud, especially on the lower floors.

The Venetian Lobby

Perhaps my favorite part of the Venetian is its stunningly beautiful lobby and the hallway leading from the lobby to the Grand Canal Shoppes.

The artwork on the ceilings is absolutely beautiful, and the lobby and hallway are breathtaking in their own right. If you have to wait a bit to check in or out, you won’t even notice – you will be too busy looking at the ceilings!

All in all, this hotel really can’t be beat. It is rivaled by the Bellagio and the Wynn/Encore, and CityCenter has an incredible and unique urban design aesthetic, but the Venetian and Palazzo are simply wonderful recreations of classic art and beauty. Their services are top notch, as are the facilities, and there is so much to do here, you will never have to leave the resort (nor will you probably want to).