Whew! Where to begin this comedy of errors? Well, I got this hotel off Priceline Express, and was very excited about it - my first 5-star hotel! Priceline wins are for the standard suite, with one king bed, and I knew my friend and I would need two. I was told on the phone it wouldn't be an issue to upgrade once I got there, but unfortunately, it was an issue. Oh boy, was it an issue!
Let me backtrack a bit - before my trip, I'd been reading all about the front desk tip - where you tip your desk clerk and they (hopefully) give you a complimentary upgrade. It felt sketchy to me, but my friend who works in Vegas assured me it's how things work. I figured it couldn't hurt to try, and if it worked, I'd save some money, right?
So an acquaintance who was travelling with us and staying in another room at the Palazzo, also a Priceline special, tried the front desk tip first. It worked like a charm for her - she was informed no complimentary upgrades were available. She slid a $20 over the desk, the clerk smirked at her, and magically, complimentary upgrades became available! I felt better about my chances to get an upgrade to a room with two beds, and tried my luck. I took a deep breath and braved the desk.
Instead of the usual $20, I put a $50 in between my credit card and ID when I checked in, and asked if a complimentary upgrade to a room with two beds was available. The ultra-polite clerk didn't even acknowledge it and discreetly slid it back to me, and oh man, I was overcome with embarrassment.
I then said, I'd like to pay for a Bella upgrade, please. He said that no rooms with two beds (Bella suite) were available. I started to panic, and asked if he could please look at the Venetian availability as well. Nope. My panic grew. (I have terrible insomnia, and knew that if I had to share a bed, I literally wouldn't sleep for four days, and I was already suffering from lack of sleep.) The clerk appeared nervous and new, and I now wonder if he wasn't being closely monitored. He kept trying to upsell me to a bigger suite than the Bella, which I couldn't afford. He could see how (quietly) panicked and upset I was, and assured me that the standard suite had a pull out bed. I was still terribly embarrassed and am not the type to fuss, so I meekly took my room key and went up to the room.
We were appalled by the narrow, lumpy, hard-as-a-rock pullout sofa bed. Plus there was stale popcorn on both sides of the pullout bed, and visible dust in the room. I tried to make a joke of it, "Well, this is clearly the Priceline room!" but was very upset (I'd really been looking forward to this trip, and was exhausted/still feeling the effects of the Ambien I'd taken to try and sleep the night before). I plopped down on the bed and burst into tears, like an idiot, but luckily my friend sprung into action. She called down to the front desk, politely but firmly told them the room was unacceptable, and ended up getting us a Bella suite, which I had *just* been told was unavailable. They couldn't have been nicer, but I wondered why they had just told me no Bellas were available, when they obviously were! I knew they had to be. So that felt very odd and off-putting, and at that point, I really just wanted out of the Palazzo and to start my trip over.
But we went up to our new room, and it was a hundred times nicer and brighter and cleaner than the old one. They threw in a view of Treasure Island for free (view rooms usually cost more). Still some visible dust and drink rings, but really lovely. The beds were comfortable and it was spacious, but the best part was the glorious bathroom! A soaking tub you could practically float in, with a separate shower, and a TV over the double sinks. The toilet is in a separate room with its own door, so someone can take care of business while another person bathes. The water pressure was great (turn on the bath tap and it's filled in about a minute), but weirdly, the shower head didn't produce a very strong flow, so if you take showers instead of baths, be warned that you could get frustrated.
There was a mini-fridge, but it's motion-activated, so if you remove anything from it, you pay (incredibly inflated prices) for it. You can rent a mini fridge from the Palazzo, but it's something like $25 a night. So instead, go down to the Walgreens between the Venetian and Palazzo (just go out the Palazzo front doors and walk to the left), get yourself a styrofoam cooler and fill it with ice, and voila!
I had medication I had to keep cool, so I called the front desk, and they told me I could move a couple of things out of the fridge and they wouldn't charge me for it, which was very sweet.
The staff was always lovely, from the concierge desk to housekeeping. I got a terrible nosebleed, so housekeeping brought me a humidifier, which really helped in the dry desert. Because I had a medical issue, the humidifier was complimentary, but normally I think they charge for it - so if you need one for non-medical reasons, hit up the Walgreens, would be my advice. It's going to be cheaper than using the hotel one.
There's a little gift store downstairs, before you hit the elevator bank up to the guest suites, but they charge $6 for a bottle of water, so again, Walgreens! Definitely try the wonderful and reasonably priced Grand Lux Cafe, we didn't have a bad meal there! And you can get your food to go and eat it in your room, a do-it-yourself room service we enjoyed. The made-to-order beignets were heaven!
The Palazzo casino was smaller, quieter, and way less smelly and smoky than most. Compared to its sister property, the Venetian, the Palazzo is quieter, darker, and more understated. The crowd felt older. The room color schemes were going for understated elegance, but I found kind of dated and depressing. Lots of seventies mustard gold and burgundy. Our second room was teal, which was the best, in my opinion. The Palazzo lobby decor changes, and during our trip, it was a weird blend of purple ribbon roses on the tall marble columns and...barrels? Wooden barrels strewn about decoratively, I don't know why. I think just plain flowers would have been prettier.
The Grand Canal Shoppes that connect the Palazzo and Venetian are fantastic, if you like shopping/window shopping. We enjoyed wandering around for hours, enjoying the ice cold a/c. Speaking of a/c, the temperature in the guest suites was easy to change and maintain. The curtains were remote controlled, which was neat.
So, would I stay at the Palazzo again? Probably not, because of that awful first day. But next time I might stay at the Venetian. (But not using Priceline, if I need two beds!)
