Saturday, January 19, 2008 was the official Grand opening of the Palazzo Hotel and Casino. It had been open before that, but the big names, Wayne Brady, Aretha Franklin, etc showed up for some Grand Opening hoopla. My husband and I were in town so we decided to check it out. Not surprisingly, it looks very much like the Venetian, but with less extravagance, like murals on the ceilings, and more simple elegance. The casino was nice, similar to the Venetian. There were only a few restaurants open while we were there, but I have heard that many more are forthcoming. Names such as Mario Batali, Wolfgang Puck, Charlie Trotter, and Emeril Lagasse will have restaurants there. Also, rapper Jay Z has his 40/40 Club there.

The most appealing elements were the lobby and atrium. The atrium is a grand area with beautiful, huge skylights, a waterfall, various potted greenery, and escalators to the shopping level.
The shopping level is sort of a mix of the Wynn’s Esplanade with their high end names, and the Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes, sans canal. It actually attaches to the Venetian Grand Canal, but the gondolas do not venture in to the Palazzo shops. The most remarkable store is certainly the beautiful Barney’s New York. The décor inside is similar to that of an art museum. It is almost completely white, open and has a beautiful spiral staircase in the center. As you would expect of Barney’s, there are various designer clothes and shoes to lust over. Don’t worry about your husband, there are many comfy chairs to sit in and play solitaire on his Blackberry.
The remaining shops include names such as Jimmy Choo, Coach, Chloe, Tory Burch, Christian Louboutin, Diane Von Furstenberg, Van Cleef & Arpels, Anya Hindmarch, Poleci, Lambertson Truex, Phillipe Charriol, Edidi, Piaget and Michael Kors, among many others. Less than half of the shops appeared to be open, with many displaying “Opening Spring 2008” signs on their windows.

As far as the suites, which I have only seen pictures of, they appear to be very similar to those at the Venetian’s Venezia Suites. That is to say, they are nice, but nothing we have not seen before. Even though it is being marketed as it’s own new hotel, it’s actually sort of like THE HOTEL at Mandalay Bay vs Mandalay Bay, it is really just an extension of the Venetian. They even share the same players card, called Club Grazie.
So if you are a fan of the Venetian, you might as well check it out. I’m glad I went, since it’s always nice to check out a new property, but I wasn’t wowed like I was the first time I saw the Wynn.