Well, had a short break in Macau this weekend and had the opportunity to stay at the Venetian. I'll let the pics do the talking with some short commentary. Enjoy.
Front Desk Area/Hotel Lobby
The hotel was booked solid from the day it opened right up until the 11th of September - that's all 3000 rooms!
VIP Check In Desk
We checked in at the VIP Salon which is just off to the left of the main reception desk. Staff here were top notch and within two minutes we were checked in.
VIP Check In Salon
There is a nice seating area with TV and reading materials.
Small Buffet in the VIP Check In Salon
A small buffet including finger sandwiches, cookies, fruit, cheese, soft drinks, and fresh juices was on offer within the VIP Salon. Cookies were amazing! Yum..
Sculpture in the Hotel Lobby
Lots of Gold - not OTT like the Burj al Arab but just right to play to the sensitivities of the mainland punters...
Corridor towards the Casino and Hotel Wings
This is the first hotel in Macau where you had to walk through the casino to get to your hotel tower. It is quite confusing at first, but plenty of maps available.
Suite King Size Bed
The standard suite is just shy of 800sq.ft. Housekeeping was probably the saddest part of the experience. It was obvious that we were the first ones to occupy that room. However, there were no amenities, bathrobe missing, and a very noticeable layer of dust on all the table tops. Not impressive.
Suite Living Room
Food Court at the Grand Canal
There were plenty of restaurants open (or soon to open) within the hotel. However, these are all concessions, with only a few being operated by the hotel itself. Amongst the bigger restaurants are Morton's and Cafe Deco. Surprisingly, Cafe Deco is supposed to be the biggest restaurant within the resort, however in the 3 days that we were there, we never came across it! We didn't eat at any of the restaurants here (we ate all our meals at the Wynn which was SUPERB!) except for the food court.
Food Court Seating
The outlets within the food court are mainly geared towards the mainland cuisine with few exceptions at the moment. International options include Thai, Vietnamese, Pasta, Burgers and Pizza (coming soon). We did try some Thai for a snack, and it was possibly the most awful food court food ever! Three pieces of fatty chicken in a green curry sauce with stale rice for HK$60. One of the previous posters mentioned that the Venetian should have used their clout to attract some big name F&B operators to the venue, however, what we saw was pretty 3rd rate.
Entertainers at St. Marks Square
You have musicians, and those human statues in 3 locations around the grand canal shoppes. But not nearly as much street entertainment as in LV.
Gondola Rides
Gondola rides are available for HK$120/person or HK$480/private gondola. No one was seen taking the gondola ride during the 3 days we were there.
Central Atrium
One of the Bars within the Casino Area
Live entertainment within the casino was in the same variety as you will find in any Macau casino now. Sadly nothing special. Guess we have to wait for the Cirque du Soleil.
Pool Area
The pool area was a hive of activity - sadly not with swimmers but rather construction workers. Watch out for the nails and other construction materials on the floor....
Other comments....
The shopping mall was huge, with plenty of shops that even HK doesn't even have. Yes, it would be great if you came here exclusively for shopping, but the average mainland punter would rather be spending his/her money in a casino. Again during the 3 days we were there, we observed plenty of window shoppers - but not one person carrying a bag from any of the stores. There are also some very very high end stores such as a diamond jewelry store whos shop window display didn't have anything under HK$1million displayed. I don't know how these shops will fare in the long run - apart from acting as a loss leader or to generate publicity.
Overall the stay was pleasant, but not great. I still think the Wynn is the benchmark in Macau in terms of service and product. The Venetian for one lacks staff who can communicate well in English. We found this to be a problem with almost everyone we encountered at the Venetian, or any other Macau hotel for that matter - with the exception of the Wynn. Service also was another issue.
Just an example, just before dinner we both developed severe headaches (from inhaling all those mainland cigarette fumes) and wanted some Panadol. We called the 'Priority Service Line' and was told that the hotel couldn't provide us any, but the Apothecary sold Panadol. So after a 15 min. walk from my room down to the shopping level to the Apothecary was told that they didn't sell any medicines and was given directions to go to 7-11 by taxi. I chose not to do this as we have dinner reservations at the Wynn. Got a cab to go over to the Wynn, asked reception to get us some Panadol and told them that we would be having dinner at Il Teatro (mini review after this rant). A minute after being seated at Il Teatro, a nurse came up to check if we were ok and after a few questions gave us some panadol. My wife was feeling cold and was offered a shawl whilst being seated - but as we were leaving the manager told her to keep the shawl as it was a little cold and raining outside - that's service.
Now Il Teatro at the Wynn is by far the best Italian dining experience in Macau now. Forget about Don Alfonso at the Grand Lisboa (too many reasons to list why). The steak was divine, the service was sublime, and i felt like giving a standing ovation every time the fountains danced for us. Enough said.