I agree that its a big place but its not hard to generalize when the vast majority (I'm talking at and around the tables....the only place I hang out) of people are dressed well above my t/jeans.

I've taken another couple in there and without saying a word they thought the same thing. There is a distinct difference between there and say NY/NY, Mandalay, or similar.

I'm not saying its a bad thing. But I could see it making some uncomfortable. For me I could be in t/jeans and everyone else in a tux and I wouldn't be uncomforatble :)

Stayed at Palazzo last weekend. Probably not as seasoned as some Vegas travellers on here, but I've stayed at Caesars, Paris, Bellagio, Wynn and the HRH on previous trips. My impressions--

I think the place is still finding its way. We checked in and had a bella suite with a view reserved. We tried the old $20 trick (but since there were 3 of us and we were staying on a Thurs, Fri and Sat night we tried it with a $100 bill) and it worked fantastically. We were upgraded to a larger suite than you can't even book online--1450 square feet on the 45th floor overlooking the Wynn and its pool. Huge living space, bedroom, bathroom and a second bathroom in the foyer. There was also a small room that had nothing in it--since there were 3 of us and only one king bed, we had a rollaway put in the small room--the person who lost the most money every night had to sleep in there. So I give the room and service to get said room an A+++.

Restaurants--we hit the Grand Luxe Cafe for lunch and really liked it a lot--a bit expensive, but cheaper than the coffee shops at Wynn or Bellagio. That night we went to 40/40 for dinner. Walked in, were told to sit wherever we wanted, we pulled up a couch with a table and nobody waited on us for 15 minutes. Finally, what I assume was a waitress came by and asked if we had been helped. We said no and she said she'd be right back (she had shopping bags so it looked like she was just getting there). 10 minutes later she hadn't returned so we left. Went to Dos Caminos for dinner and had exceptional service and I thought the food there was fantastic. We also went to Cut for dinner one night which was great--very expensive so if you don't want to drop $150 a person minimum don't go there, but it was excellent.

Casino--this seems to be the big debate--I really wasn't crazy about it. The Wynn style with the canopies and such is my favorite--to me, the Wynn and Bellagio casinos are very intimate, but very spacious at the same time. The high ceilings made this place almost feel too open--there's a lot of space between the tables and where the slots are and there are big bars on the floor that were rarely filled. Never really felt like there was much excitement on the casino floor.

Pool--we had reserved a cabana for the day only to get out there and find out that they weren't ready yet. We were given one at the Venetian which turned out to be great--I really liked the cabanas at the Venetian--good amenities, close to the pool and you get a little patio--that's key to me in a cabana--you like to have your own private space to lay out in the sun. Personally, I think they geeked the cabanas at Palazzo--the amenities look the same, but there is no patio--the pool deck near most of them starts almost immediately after the opening to the cabana, so if you put your lounge chair out in front of the cabana, it'll be about 6 inches to the chair in front of you. If I'm spending $400 a day for a private space at the pool, I like to have a bit of separation from the rest of the people there. I also didn't like that the only food option was Riva--we ate it and the food was fantastic, but sitting at the pool, I usually just want a burger and fries or more general bar food--I like that you can order from a place like Riva, but I would have liked another option or two as well. I like the Venetian pool which you have access to from Palazzo, but I wasn't wild about the Palazzo pool at all and was thankful that the cabanas there weren't open yet.

Overall, it's a very nice place, but I will be staying at Wynn for the foreseeable future and eventually Encore when that opens up. I liked the Palazzo, but prefer the Wynn property.

Has anyone eaten at Carne&Vino-Mario Batalli's new place in the Pallazzo?
it is kind of pricey-but if the food is wonderful.....
Also-any Valet secrets to access the Pallazzo?
Thanks in advance for the feed back.

My 2 cents on the Palazzo-not impressed
 

Some may think I'm being too picky & that I should give them a break because they are still trying to work the kinks out. That's fine-you're entitled to your opinions. My feeling is that much of what I'm describing here should have been caught before they ever opened the doors, but that's just my opinion. I did send a note to the hotel's mgr on Thurs, but no response.

Stayed only 1 night (thankfully!) for a conference. I'm not a gambler, so I can't attest to anything to do w/the casino, other than it seemed pretty empty. Not as smoky as others in Las Vegas, but I suspect that has more to do w/the fact that it hasn't been open long enough to get that way. The Shops area also seemed pretty deserted the one time I walked thru, though there were more stores open than I expected.

My biggest peeve w/this hotel is the guest room plumbing. Never, in all the hotels I've stayed in over the years, have I been in one where the plumbing in the guest rooms is as loud as it is here. If I have to turn up the volume on the tv in order to hear it over the sound of the shower running in the next room (or 'suite' as they insist on calling them here), as I did, then there is a serious problem. (I apologize to whomever was next door to me & had to listen to my shower running @ 6am)

Check-in is a rather convoluted process that requires one to first identify oneself, & the reason for needing to speak w/someone @ the front desk, to a roving hotel staff person. He/she then goes over to a registration person for a brief discussion before allowing you to approach where, of course, you then must re-state your request. I was actually scolded when I tried to walk up to the counter, not knowing I had to wait for permission. The lobby area is huge, w/marble everywhere, & loud music blasting throughout which means all conversations w/anyone in this area must be SHOUTED in order to be heard. Suggestion to hotel mgmt-TURN THE MUSIC DOWN!!!!!!!!!! Also, despite having a registration counter than ran the width of the lobby, all the check-in staff are bunched up together shoulder to shoulder which meant that not only could I clearly hear the conversation of the guest checking in beside me, w/o even trying, that guest could easily hear my conversations. No reason staff can't be spread out to provide a bit of privacy during this process.

Be warned, this is a hotel that has rent-a-cops stationed at the guest elevators to harass anyone trying to use them, especially if, it seemed, the guests hands were full. The first time I tried to go up to my room, not only did I have to show these people my key, they also demanded to know what room I was in! Keys did not work on my first trip up, after having successfully gotten past the rent-a-cops, which meant trekking all the way back down, across the casino, & repeating the above process to once again approach the registration desk for a new set of keys. This also meant dealing w/the rent-a-cops again, as well, even though literally not 10 minutes had passed. When I came back from dinner that night, 1 of the new keys had already deactivated itself & no, it was no where near my cellphone.

The decor chosen for the guest suites, as others have pointed out, actually gives the impression of a hotel that is much older, run-down, & dated than it is. They actually managed to dig-up a cordless phone that I would swear is straight out of the 70's! It took me 3 trips up & down the hall to find the room w/the ice machine in it since the wall sign for it was tucked behind a pillar & not well lit. I don't know that all the elevators to the guest rooms are working yet-certainly, in the tower I was in, I ended up in the same elevator every time I went up or down. They are not only incredibly slow, but also very noisy to the point that, as others also remarked at one point, you do wonder whether it's safe to be in them.

Like the suites @ the Venetian, the suites here feature a sunken living room. Someone must have decided that a green nightlight was in order for the 2 steps that lead down to the living room. The problem is that I could not see any way to turn it off @ night & that little light gives off an amazing amount of light in what is supposed to be a darkened room! Control for the A/C is wedged into a corner behind a bedside chair which made it difficult to get to. Doors are incredibly heavy & even when holding on to it, when exiting the room, it's nearly impossible to keep the door from slamming. My room overlooked Sands, the Wynn & it's golf course (which is very nice), but unfortunately, also all the A/C units for at least one area of the hotel. Even though I was on the 17th floor & they were quite a few floors below, it was still possible to clearly hear the roaring of the machines all night; same w/planes taking off from the airport.

I give them points for actually putting a work desk in the living room area since so many of the LV casinos don't, however, it has a glass top on it & an optical computer mouse doesn't work on those. In addition, there is a rolling cart sitting beside the desk w/a fax machine/printer on, but since it is squeezed in between the desk chair & wall, & in front of the window curtains, there is a overwhelming feeling of being squeezed in when trying to use the desk. Remote control for the tv in the living room was very sluggish in changing the channels-I'm not sure whether it needed batteries or just didn't work well w/the tv in the room. Ice bucket they provided is very small & the glasses in the room don't really fit into it for getting ice out nor did they provide tongs to use instead which left no other option besides one's hands.

Bed is a pillow top, but there is no mattress pad on it. In addition, they have put a flat sheet on the bottom which, of course, ends up in a wadded up knot under your back the first time you turn over. Note to hotel mgmt-invest in fitted bottom sheets. If the Crowne Plaza, Hilton Garden Inn, & even Hampton Inn, to name but a few, can do it, so can the Palazzo.

Bathroom is quite large, though it took time to figure out how to get the lights turned on in there! Very large & thick bath sheets, along w/large bath towels, but only 2 of each; same w/handtowels & washcloths. Large towel rack over the tub, but the only way to get near it, especially if you want to hang towels on it to dry, is to actually climb into the tub. Door to the 'wc' compartment will not stay open on its own. Double sinks w/granite vanity, but there are already stains around the bottom of the faucets (ick!). Toiletries are from Agraria & are 'lemon verbena'. If, as a little girl reading 'Little House on the Prarie' you ever wondered what Miss Beadle's 'lemon verbena' smelled like, get a can of Pledge furniture polish & you'll know. I think the hotel is trying to be 'green' w/low flow water fixtures; unfortunately, this has translated into very low water pressure & the water temp in the shower fluxuated constantly while in it which was very annoying.

The only restaurant I tried @ the Palazzo was the Grand Lux Cafe. As is typical for a single female diner, they tried to seat me at the smallest table they could find initially-it even had only 1 chair! Then I had to send my lunch back as it had been prepared incorrectly. Though the waiter apologized & took responsibility, there was no reduction on the check, of course.

Meeting space for the Palazzo is actually the Sands Convention Center which itself is @ the Venetian which translates into another hike to get to it. Those attending our mtg either from the local area or staying elsewhere were not happy to find out, upon arrival @ the Palazzo, they were actually at the wrong place. Meeting rooms are not very well soundproofed-we could clearly hear the group next door to us & I would assume they could clearly hear us, as well. Banquet staff actually bus the tables in the meeting room by dragging around gigantic trash bags vs. using trays, which I found very odd & not very hygenic. Wi-fi in the public areas was difficult to access; multiple attendees had problem getting connected.

I give the Palazzo points for actually providing newspaper delivery to my room in the morning; many of the big casinos in Las Vegas don't. However, no copy of the hotel bill slipped under the door & I had to argue w/the staff person who checked me out to see a printed copy of the bill. She tried to fold it up & stick it in an envelope w/o my ever seeing it. When I asked to see it, she said, 'Why? It's just the room & tax & you already paid that', as the woman next to me was arguing w/another staff person about charges on her bill that didn't belong to her!

Overall, as my title suggested, I was not impressed. Had I had another option for that night, I certainly would have taken it. Thankfully, I did have another option for the next night!

When I came up from the garage last week, upon arrival, one of the first things I saw in the grand lobby entrance was a woman sitting @ the fountain, mountain of luggage around her, happily working away on a laptop.

My immediate thought was that I was in the wrong hotel-no way a LV casino would permit such a thing!!

I see women working in the lobby of the Venetian all the time, but they don't have laptops ;)

FWIW, I do think you are being a little bit picky, but to be honest, a lot of those little nits just add up, and this is why I really can't stand either Palazzo or Venetian. I've stayed at one or the other four times so far in 2008, and for my last trip, where the conference was (also) at the Sands, I just flat out decided to stay elsewhere, inconvenience be damned.

I would point out that the Sands expo center (and meeting space) is actually equidistant from the Palazzo and Venetian tower elevator banks; it was master planned that way. Of course the Venezia tower is another story...just be GLAD you weren't stuck there!

Wow, did you keep a written list? This is a very long litany of nitpicks. Where do you usually stay in Vegas that does better, and are you usually as attuned to minor details?

And so what?Those "nitpicks"add up and I thank txrus for her thorough and detailed review-that is what this site is all about.
I have no desire to ever stay in one of the Venitian hotels ever-the whole place feels as cheesy as a bad amusement park.There are some good restaurants-but getting in and out of the place is a pain.

Agreed, worst valet/parking in Vegas...

Good memory :D Plus, I've done a number of hotel site visits for large mtgs in the past couple of years, for another hat I wear, so it's somewhat second nature now when I go to a new hotel for the first time.

As I said, it's my opinion & you can use, or disregard, some or all of it as you desire.

P.S. You're very welcome, BigguyinPasadena (home of my all-time favorite flea market, the Rose Bowl!).

Really? I think Palazzo self-park is fantastic. You drive right in, park near the escalators, and a minute later your smack in the middle of the casino. One of the few redeeming qualities of this property. :D

I agree, it has the best parking of all the hotels we have stayed in there. I am really suprised with the negative comments about the Palazzo, ofcourse everyone is entitled to their opinion and everyone has a different experience. We had a great time and a great experience when we went. I will be making a return trip to the Palazzo this year. We usually go to vegas a few times a year and this is my favorite hotel!

sorry, was actually thinking of the venetian when I posted that!

I applaud your memory! :) While most of the items you listed don't matter to me, others (like the check-in experience) do and I will consider them when planning my August trip to LAS. Thanks for sharing.