Sorry this is a little late - trip from March 28-31 - posted as a reply
TR %26ndash; Palazzo Hits Its StridePlayers
Traveler771 – 50ish female – still recovering from knee injury
BFF – Traveler’s Best Friend Forever – 50ish female
Jerry – BFF’s son
Laura – BFF’s DIL
Ricky – BFF’s Grandson – 4 years old – EEEK a kid in Vegas
The flight was delayed so BFF and I got to the Palazzo late, around 9pm on a Friday night. All they had available in 2 Queen smoking was on the 3rd floor. I was really hoping for a room with a view, but since the room is a comp, I didn’t complain. I was assured that we could switch the next day if we didn’t like the room. No biggie.
Got to the 3rd floor, our room was the second from the start of the hallway. Entered the room, very clean, nicely furnished(same décor as remodeled Venetian rooms), living room area was on the same level as bedroom (all the Venetian suites I’ve been in and most pictures of Palazzo suites show a couple of steps down to living room area). Okay, maybe this is a handicap room, check out the bathroom, no special bars or other arrangements. HUMMMM, the room felt smaller than the Venetian suites I’ve been in. Go to open the shades – WE HAVE A PATIO!!!!! Yes folks, French doors that open onto a real life private patio. It’s got brick walls for about 6 feet, then a gate that can be opened into the patio next door, then another brick wall with a planter, then another set of gates. The patio is almost the same size as the room. Looking over at the patio for the suite next door (major suite with double entry doors from the hall), they have an outdoor FIREPLACE. This is so much better than a view.
Got unpacked and out the door to gamble. Friday night, March Madness – it was really crowded. Wandered around the Palazzo and Venetian, stopped in a Harrah’s. Lots of people playing and surprisingly I was hearing lots of winning too. Now it might be that the Spring Breakers and March Madness folks get excited over even little wins, but I did see quite a few hand pays over the weekend – more than I’ve seen in quite awhile. Even though it was crowded drink service was good wherever we went. Never waited more than 5 minutes for the first drink at any casino, and after that I was never without a drink.
The Palazzo casino is very nice. It’s not really themed, just a touch of glitz. It has a more open feel than some of the others, you don’t feel as crowded. It’s smaller than the Venetian, and the aisles feel wider. They have a non-smoking slot section, but every time I went by it, it seems less crowded than the other casino areas. Table limits I saw started at $15 during the day, most $25 at night, but that was the weekend and I really didn’t pay attention to them on Monday.
Grabbed a sandwich at esspressemento and in bed my 2AM. No big wins.
Since injuring my knee, I wear pedometer to record when I start to limp, feel pain, etc. I will give you pedometer readings for each day.
Pedometer reading starting from when I left work. 3.6 miles. (must have been those long treks through the airport).
Day 2
Room service coffee and croissants delivered within 30 minutes of ordering. Opened the door to the patio, used the wastebasket as a doorstop. We could hear some construction noise (not loud) when we opened the doors, prior to that we heard no noise in the bedroom or living room area. If you were in the bathroom, you could faintly hear the shower running on the floor above. By the way for those who want to know the Palazzo uses Agraria bath products – a slight lemony odor. In addition to the usual shampoo, bath gel, etc. you also get a little box containing q-tips, nail file, buffing puff and a sewing kit (pre threaded needles!) Robes and slippers are provided.
BFF went off to meet with son, DIL and grandson. BFF’s father used to live in Vegas and passed away last fall. Her son was there to take some of the furniture to his place in Arizona and to help get the house ready for sale. We agreed to meet up at 5pm.
I went off to the spa. I had a massage scheduled for 12, so I first did my usual workout. The Palazzo spa is not yet ready so everyone is using the Spa at the Venetian, and it was really crowded. Not so crowded that you couldn’t get a machine, but crowded. According to the attendant it is usually this crowded on Saturdays. I even saw someone using the rock climbing wall (never saw that before). The two guys trying the rock climbing collected quite an audience of people looking over the balcony. Got my workout in, showered and went to the quiet room to await my massage. Contrary to other reports the room was quiet, even if it was crowded. Those speaking did so in soft voices. If you wanted absolute silence you would be disappointed, but it was quiet and restful.
My massage was great! Tracey did some extra work on my shoulder muscles that are still sore from my being on crutches. Back to the room to change. Ready for my day I proceed to make donations at Palazzo, Wynn, TI and Mirage. I took a shopping break at the Fashion Show Mall. Not having a particularly good day. Little wins, but my gambling money is going steadily down.
I stopped at the front desk before heading out and asked if they would be putting a table and chairs on our patio in the near future. The front desk wasn’t sure, but they would certainly ask. According to their records we were the first people to be staying in that room.
At 5PM I meet up with BFF and gang at the Grand Lux at the Palazzo. I was still mad at the restaurant for removing my favorite appetizer from the menu (Coco-mac skewers – coconut, macadamia nuts coating chicken on a stick). Perusing the menu what did I see but Beignets? Now those of you who have never been to New Orleans have probably never tasted this southern delight, but for me a warm beignet is as close to heaven as I’ve ever been. Could they possibly translate the magic of this warm doughy sweet delight to Las Vegas? Tentatively we placed an order. Shortly the waiter appeared with a basket of 8 beignets and three sauces. Sauces with beignets? Oh well, why not. Now the real test the first tentative bite. YES!!! These are great. Lighter than the version served at Café du Monde in New Orleans, and not smothered in as much powdered sugar (aka beignet dust). The sauces (chocolate, butter crème and raspberry) are overkill and not needed, but Jerry and Ricky really liked them. A single order (8 smallish beignets) will serve 4 people, but beware, even though these are not covered in beignet dust like the New Orleans ones are, you will still get powdered sugar all over yourself. I highly recommend these to everyone. I was so excited with the beignets, I can’t remember what else we ordered, but it was all good.
Jerry, Laura and Ricky take off (they are staying at the Excalibur) and BFF and I go back to the room to change shoes. A Vegas habit I usually try to change my shoes at least once a day. Open the curtains in the suite and low and behold, our patio now has a table and chairs and two lounge chairs!
Off to make donations at Mirage, Caesar’s and Bellagio. No big wins. Strip was again really crowded and the wind picked up. Many of the young ladies were dressed up in those babydoll mini dresses that were being whipped around by the winds, much to their consternation, but to the delight of the male population.
Again heard lots of winners screaming, but none flowed our way. Back to the hotel by 2AM.
Pedometer reading – 5.45 miles
Day 3
Room service coffee and croissants on our patio. The room service waiter set the table outside. Although it was windy, we were well protected. At this time of the morning (9:30AM) there is no sun on this patio, but it is warm and pleasant to just sit there and read the paper and relax a bit.
BFF and gang are off to pack-up the u-haul so I head off to the Spa again. I’m not a health nut, but dealing with this knee issue has turned me into a bit of a gym rat. At home I work out 3 to 4 days a week to rehab my leg. For the mere cost of $12.50 (2for1 coupon) a day, I have access to great cardio and weight equipment not to mention the saunas and whirlpool. Considering I can lose $12.50 in about 5 minutes in a VP machine and my $12.50 Spa fee can keep me occupied for 2 to 3 hours I think it’s really money well spent. This time after my workout I hit the saunas and whirlpool. The Spa is much less crowded today. Either everyone was checking out, or they were too hungover to workout. Either way another nice experience. Grabbed a banana and orange from the spa basket and headed back to the room.
Shopping for Shoes
Not many people know this, but Las Vegas has some great shoe stores. I’m not talking about comfortable shoes (although they have them too), I’m talking about really great dress up shoes. You know the kind that can bring new life to a favorite outfit, that make other women stop and ask “where did you find those? There’s a great shoe store in the Fashion Show Mall (I think it’s called Kaplan’s – it’s on the upper level across from Brighton). This store has unique shoes between $100-$200. I was looking for some lower heeled dress shoes (high heels and my knee are not a good match right now)and found two great pairs. I was a happy camper. Just a fyi for shoe people zappos.com has opened a store in Vegas and according to an ad I saw they are offering a free shuttle service to their store from the strip. I’ll check that out next time I’m there.
Before BBF and I met at 6pm I called the Palazzo concierge desk and give them our flight information, they will print the boarding passes. Jerry, Laura and Ricky were on the road home with the U-Haul. We decided to just wander the strip, gambling and checking out the people and sites. When we got to Bally’s we decided to stop at the new burger place in the Paris walkway. Service was good, food was fresh and well prepared. A very serviceable restaurant. I would definitely visit again. We continued wandering up the strip and finished the evening at NYNY. My legs were really tired, so we took a cab back to the Palazzo.
Sunday gambling results. Have you ever had one of those days were everything just clicks? Well I had one of those. I put a $20 into a quarter VP machine and 15 minutes later cashed out $50. This would happen most of the day – no royals but a lot of 4ofk and even a few straight flushes. Need a third 5, the machine would deal it. Need a 6 to finish that straight – up comes a 6. By the end of the day I was up $500.
Pedometer reading – 9.37 miles – folks this is the reason you need to wear comfortable shoes!
Day 4
A morning repeat of coffee and pastries on the patio. I had asked for and received a late checkout (1pm). I got most of my things packed and went off to the spa. I kind of overdid it the day before and made use of the whirlpool. BFF took advantage of the gym equipment and then hit the sauna. This was a Monday and the spa was almost vacant at 10:30. Had a very relaxing morning and grabbed a banana and orange from the spa bowl.
Online checkout was easy, picked up our boarding passes from the concierge and dropped our luggage with the bellman. We didn’t do much besides wander and gamble. My luck from the day before didn’t hold, but BFF got a Royal, so according to our tradition she had to buy lunch. The wind of the last few days settled down, so we had lunch on the patio at Mon Ami Gabi watching the fountains. A fitting end to our little get away. Did a little window shopping at the Forum and it was time to head home. An FYI the taxi and luggage pickup is lower level of the Palazzo entry. A much better arrangement than the Venetian valet/taxi arrival/departure chaos. Flight home was on time and uneventful (thankfully).
Overall a most enjoyable trip. All the staff at the Palazzo were pleasant to deal with – I think their training manual says say “Absolutely” to all guest requests, it was their favorite word.
Pedometer reading – 4.83 miles
TR %26ndash; Palazzo Hits Its Stridehow can a TR be late? They aren%26#39;t required.
Great trip report. Loved the idea of the pedometer readings. Thanks.
Great TR! Wow the pedometer reading was an eye opener!! Congrats on you little wins that added up to $500... Bonus!! Paid for your shoes???
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the report! We will be there next Sunday.......I can%26#39;t wait!!
Lea :)
Traveler, I enjoyed reading your trip report, it%26#39;s great to start hearing about the Palazzo, that patio sounded great, you scored well in my opinion.
Thanks for sharing!
Lots of information in this TR that you don%26#39;t always find. The little asides and FYI%26#39;s were very interesting to me, as well as the pedometer reports.
And of course, kudos to you for the little wins that made a nice pile o%26#39; dough.
Your info on the Palazzo was reallly interesting as well. A Patio!! Who woulda thunk???
sheila
Thanks Traveler for an excellent read.
Great TR, thank you for taking the time to write it.
Great TR. Thanks for sharing. My husband and I will be staying at the Palazzo this summer - can%26#39;t wait!
I was wondering if we could get our boarding passes at the hotel. That is a nice timesaver!
Does anyone know if late checkout requests are usually honored? I remember a previous poster saying that they did not honor his request. We leave for the airport at 2:00 and even a 1:00 late checkout would be awesome!
Be sure to take care of that knee. You certainly gave it a workout!
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