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Choosing a hotel in Las Vegas can be a daunting task as there’s no shortage of high-end, amenity-laden resorts vying for your business. If you want to ‘go big’ on your trip to Sin City, look no further than The Palazzo Las Vegas. Its massive tower is the second-tallest hotel on the Strip — only the still-incomplete Fontainebleau Resort Las Vegas is taller — while the property boasts the largest standard suite of any hotel in the city.
I found an Air + Hotel package through the American Express travel portal and paid for my four-night stay at The Palazzo Las Vegas, plus a round-trip economy flight from JFK to LAS on JetBlue, in one transaction. By using the Amex Premier Rewards Gold card to book the package, I was able to earn bonus Amex Membership Rewards points and score some fantastic savings in the process.
The total cost for the entire package was $1,273, a great deal considering the room alone would have cost me $1,071 if I booked directly with the hotel. The price I paid didn’t include an additional daily resort fee of $36, which provided access for two to the fitness center, in-suite Wi-Fi, boarding pass printing, unlimited local and toll-free calls, a daily newspaper (which I never received, by the way) and a two-for-one coupon for well drinks, domestic beer, or wine at any of the casino bars.
The Palazzo Las Vegas (as well as its partner resort, The Venetian) is a member of IHG hotels and resorts, but since I booked a prepaid package through the American Express Travel portal, I wasn’t eligible to earn IHG points for my hotel stay.
Check-In
While sitting in my Uber from the Las Vegas airport (LAS) to the hotel, I was bracing myself for a painfully long check-in line. However, when I arrived at the cavernous check-in area, there were only a few people ahead of me — I guess Wednesday morning is the perfect time to arrive in Las Vegas! There was a general check-in area as well as an IHG Rewards Elite check-in line.
By the time I got in line, there were only two other guests in front of me. A check-in agent at the IHG Rewards Elite desk motioned for me to approach and complete the check-in process with him, but I suspect that at a busier time, I would have been waiting along with everyone else in the non-elite line. Overall, check-in was very quick and efficient and within just a few minutes I had the key to my Luxury Suite on the 29th floor.
The Room
I booked a base-level room, which the hotel calls a Luxury Suite. Every room at The Palazzo is a suite and thus my room was much larger than I imagined it would be. The room measured 720 square feet, making it the largest standard-sized suite on the Strip.
Immediately upon entering the suite, you’ll notice a very large bathroom that’s separated from the rest of the room by a set of very elegant-looking double doors. The suite was decorated in a beige and brown color scheme and the furniture (other than the couch) appeared to have stood the test of time very well.
Situated in the middle of the suite was a king-size bed featuring a headboard that went all the way up to the ceiling, helping to enhance the overall larger-than-life theme of the property.
A special design feature of this suite was its living room, which was just a step below the sleeping area. The step-down created a perfect nook for the very cushy — and oddly colored — sectional couch that could easily host a large group for a swanky Vegas bachelor or bachelorette party. The sunken living room made the whole place feel even larger and really split up the suite well.
Next to the sectional couch were a desk and a table with four chairs. I found the desk to be an awesome spot to work from — while the couch was definitely comfortable, it was really showing its age and the color was not appealing at all in the slightest.
Opposite the couch was another TV and a mini-bar area that contained a fully-stocked mini-fridge as well as a selection of snacks.
While the view from my suite wasn’t a stunning Strip view like the one from the Fountain Suite at the Vdara, I found it to be excellent nonetheless. My room at The Palazzo looked out onto the vast desert landscape as well as the golf course and pool areas of the nearby Wynn and Encore hotels.
The bathroom was very large and decorated in a style that was consistent with the hotel’s European aesthetic.
Almost every surface in the bathroom was covered in beautiful marble. The spacious vanity featured two sinks and was covered in a darker shade of marble, adding a nice contrast to the tan color used elsewhere throughout the room.
The toiletries and cosmetics were provided by a brand I’d never heard of before. The Paiza products left me feeling fresh after showering — and they smelled great!
Amenities
With the daily resort fee of $34.58, you receive access to several features of the resort and in-suite Wi-Fi. Personally, I thought the Wi-Fi performance was pretty good despite what the SpeedTest showed. One minor annoyance, however, was that the network would randomly drop me after I left the room and I would have to manually reconnect whenever I returned.
I only called the staff once to order lunch from the room service menu. Our meals were delivered after a fairly long wait, but everything was correct with the order and the food was delicious!
My favorite amenity at any Las Vegas hotel is undoubtedly the pool. The Palazzo and The Venetian have a total of 10 pools combined so you’re sure to find one that suits your mood.
The Palazzo’s main pool is where I spent the majority of my down time. It was large, refreshing and featured a beautifully decorated deck with elegant planters that flanked each side of the pool. The lounge chairs themselves were very large and had supremely comfortable cushions.
Bottom Line
I loved my stay at The Palazzo, especially considering the savings I got when booking the hotel as part of an Air + Hotel package through the American Express Travel portal. It’s an elegant property that blends typical Vegas amenities — like a full casino and numerous bars — with a quieter, luxurious resort experience.
Source: thepointsguy.com