Highlights: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

•The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino features elegant guest suites overlooking the famous Las Vegas Strip

•Award winning chefs prepare unique cuisines from around the world in 17 on-site restaurants

•Excellent business venue with more than 1.2 million square feet of meeting and convention space

•Full gaming casino with one of the largest poker rooms in Las Vegas

•The Mobil Four-Star-rated Canyon Ranch SpaClub for health and fitness services

•Exciting live Broadway Theater and Guggenheim Hermitage Museum displays available onsite

Amenities: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

• 4,027 rooms, 35 story, all suites. Check-in 3 pm, check-out 11 am. Nineteen restaurants, six bars. Fitness room, spa. Outdoor pool, whirlpool. Business center. Casino. Credit cards accepted.

General Impressions: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

Located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino features more than 4,000 suites. The Venetian is a complete destination resort that caters to all getaway desires. You don’t have to leave the grounds for world-class dining choices, and family travelers with children will love the quick snack shacks lining the Grand Canal Food Court, where street minstrels are ready to entertain.

Romantics can make this hotel their playground, especially with such amenities as an on-site wedding chapel and staff designated to help you plan every intimate detail of the ceremony, or a large dinner for your guests. The attention to detail continues in the exclusive suite featuring a large bed with quality linens, rose petal turndown on the second night of your stay, and couples massages available at the onsite spa. It’s no wonder some people call this hotel one of the most romantic places around.

For business travelers, the Venetian offers a full-service business and package center. There are also many ballrooms and conference rooms for larger business functions.

While you would expect gaming in every Las Vegas hotel, the Venetian boasts an outstanding casino with one of the largest poker rooms in the city. For guests who don’t want to gamble, the Mobil Four-Star-rated Canyon Ranch Club Spa delivers health and wellness services on two levels, with gourmet snacks in its own café.

As one would expect from one of the top vacation destinations in the world, the Venetian is able to accommodate just about any type of traveler.

(+) Ideal location near the Las Vegas Strip and numerous onsite amenities cater to all types of travelers

Guest Services: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

All guests of The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino have access to the 24-hour concierge for show and dinner reservations, travel planning, and activities. The hotel also has its own Golf Steward for tee time reservations on area golf courses. Needless to say, the Venetian staff is quite professional and personable toward guests and tries to show they care by offering a variety of special services.

The staff showed genuine concern when I called Priority Service for an Internet service problem, which was fixed promptly. I felt that the housekeeping staff took care when servicing the room. Clothing left on the bed was folded neatly and placed on the bench at the foot of the bed. My personal belongings on the desk weren’t disturbed.

Guests who want to celebrate a wedding or an anniversary milestone will enjoy the pampering and services designed to make their stay special. Those services include access to a 25,000-square-foot wedding chapel and an in-house staff that will help plan the ceremony and provide audiovisual support. There’s also ample space for couples to enjoy a full reception and dining services.

Although most of my stay was pleasant and satisfying, I was disappointed with a delayed checkout because the porter took more than 15 minutes to arrive. I was aware, however, that the Venetian is a large hotel and, occasionally a guest might have to wait for service.

(+) Prompt, caring service from a very attentive staff

Guest Rooms: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

All of the guest rooms in the Venetian are considered suites, and they are offered in a variety of styles and locations. There are two levels of rooms offered: the Venetian Suites and the Venezia Suites. The Venezia Tower is a 12-story addition on to the main hotel that offers a level of service beyond the Venetian’s already impressive standard.

All suites throughout the hotel and Venezia Tower include sunken living rooms, flat screen TVs, marble baths, and either king or queen canopy beds. The larger suites feature dining tables, powder rooms, sitting areas, and wet bars -- a true urban oasis.

The Venezia Suites in the Venezia Tower deliver an ultimate state of luxury with private express check-in, elite amenities, and access to the fourth floor pool and private Venezia Villa Deck gardens, where the chapel is located.

My bed was luxurious and inviting with rich gold and burgundy fabrics draping over the headboard. The decor was luxurious with traditional Italian touches throughout. The bathroom floor and vanity were Italian marble and sconces and light fixtures had gold accents.

(+) A wide range of room and suites in different styles of elegant Italian-inspired decor

Facilities & Activities: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

High above the hustle and bustle of the Las Vegas Strip, you’ll find the innovative Mobil Four-Star-rated Canyon Ranch SpaClub. This 65,000-square-foot facility features a 40-foot rock climbing wall, movement therapy, Pilates studios, spinning gym, Watsu pools, free weight rooms, steam, sauna, and whirlpool areas. In addition, the spa offers a vast menu of specialty treatments.

During my visit, chilled towels were available, but only in the steam/sauna areas. The cardio equipment was of high quality and included Precor, Life Fitness, and Star Trac. Most cardio machines had individual television with personal headsets, which makes working out easier.

The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum and store is located near the front desk of the Venetian, with self-guided audio tours showcasing artworks, antiquities, and sculptures.

The Grand Canal Shoppes have a Mall Valet and 24-hour shopping telephone line in world famous stores. Costumed entertainers, opera singers, and magicians perform in Streetmosphere in St. Mark’s Square throughout the day. You can also take a romantic ride in an authentic Venetian gondola and float beneath bridges and café street scene.

There is also the Venetian’s 120,000 square-foot casino, featuring 120 table games, 2,100 slot and video machines, and 20 games in a private salon. The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino also boasts the largest poker room in Las Vegas at nearly 11,000 square feet, with 39 tables.

(+) A wide variety of entertainment for families and leisure travelers

Dining & Lounge: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino hosts 17 acclaimed restaurants with menus to suit any connoisseur’s palate.

Cuisine breaks down into two categories, fine dining or casual. The restaurants are located on the casino floor, St. Mark’s Square, in the hotel towers, or along Restaurant Row. Many chain type restaurants are also available along the Food Court.

The concierge gave me three French restaurant options: Bouchon, a Napa Valley Bistro located in the Venezia Tower; the famous Mobil Three-Star-rated Lutèce; and Parisian Pinot Brasserie, which combines a French and California seafood menu.

The Italian fine dining choices are the highlight of restaurant choices. Canaletto, a rotisserie and grill under 16-foot ceilings, features a superb wine cellar, exhibition kitchen, and five private dining rooms. Wolfgang Puck’s Italian Postrio recreates his San Francisco showcase with casual dining on the patio or in a private salon. The original Zefferino Ristorante in Genoa made pesto famous, and now guests can enjoy this Escoffier Award winner in Las Vegas. Zeffifrino bakes its own breads and boasts more than 600 wine varietals from boutique wineries. Valentino’s highlights traditional and contemporary Italian cuisine with over 24,000 bottles of boutique wines.

Other fine dining options include AquaKnox, with fresh seafood flown in daily, a walk-in wine cellar, and an open kitchen. Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans’s Creole-themed Delmonico Steakhouse opens its 12-foot oak doors to reveal vaulted ceilings, a petite grand piano, and a hot and spicy menu. Pan Asian treats are renowned at the Tao Asian Bistro, which serves Chinese, Japanese, and Thai cuisines and includes a 42,000-square-foot nightclub. The other Oriental influenced restaurant is the Tsunami Asian Grill, with one of the best sake selections in town.

The Canyon Ranch Café in the ClubSpa on the fourth floor of the hotel features its own juice bar. Takeouts are welcome at the Grand Lux Café with 150 specialty food items. Noodle Asia serves large portions of noodle and vegetarian specialties, rice, congee dishes, and soups. Taqueria Cañonita offers Mexico cuisine on the patio over the Grand Canal. The Grill at Valentino is for grilled pizzas and traditional Italian food. Tintoretto Bakery is an intimate café and mercato. For poolside service, Wolfgang Puck’s Riva provides menus from a special take-out window.

For those who prefer privacy, they can take advantage of room service. The service is quite efficient, with fine food delivered within 30 minutes. The server pampered me while setting up the dining table in the room, offering to serve me wine while before my meal was presented.

The Venetian also offers two lounges, La Scena and V Bar. At La Scena, the server easily answered my beer, wine, and food questions, and the menu offered a good variety of festive mixed drinks, scotches, and bourbons. V Bar is a trendy, urban bar along Restaurant Row, featuring double-sided leather couches and opaque glass walls.

(+) Extensive selection of restaurants, cafés, and lounge choices available on the property

Business Services: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino

Las Vegas hosts hundreds of conventions every year, and most of the area’s hotels are designed to accommodate business travelers. The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino is no exception.

The Congress Center adjacent to the Casino offers more than 500,000 square feet of space with 298 flexible meeting rooms, conference rooms, and boardrooms on five levels. In addition, there’s also the 85,000-square-feet Venetian Ballroom suited for any size function, in addition to six Junior Ballrooms and 27 Hospitality Suites.

The Venetian features indoor walking access to the 1.2 million-square-foot Sands Expo and Convention Center with three exhibit halls on two levels. A complete in-house marketing service is available to help with planning and provide support services for tradeshows.

The hotel also offers a full-service business center to provide help with faxes, packages, and other secretarial services. In-room amenities like high-speed Internet access and fax machine, are designed to make business on the road as easy as possible.

(+) Vast meeting and conferences spaces and full-service business center available