I spent some time trying to choose from the many options available in Las Vegas. I narrowed it down to 4, based in large part to the reviews found here:

1) Bellagio
2) JW Resort
3) Green Valley Ranch
4) Venetian

After some angst and analysis of what my goal was for the stay (to wind down from over a weeks worth of travel throughout the southwest and California) my wife and I decided on the Venetian. It seemed centrally located, offered the accommodations we sought and seemed to be pretty classy without being too stuffy.

We arrived mid afternoon and headed straight to the Venzia Check-in. This bypassed a long line in the standard check in area. Already the extra money spent on the Venzia accommodations seemed worth it. Let me interject that these complaints of travel and confusion in getting to the Venzia check-in are baseless. The only time this can be an issue at all is for those traveling from the Casino Elevators which do require a "transfer" across a connection bridge at the 10th floor to the Venzia Tower. There are separate, exclusive elevators for the Venzia tower located in the main lobby which take you directly to the Venzia lobby. Security was exceptional throughout the hotel.

When we reached the check-in there was no wait. We were checked in by a young lady who was obviously new. She was very pleasant but forgot to call up our luggage from the valet. She printed out our Blue Man Group Tickets I had bought online a few weeks earlier which avoided going to the will-call window. I had asked for a garden view king when I made the reservation and responded to the confirmation but arrived to find out that they had placed us in a double queen garden view. My wife and I decided the king was more important and were reassigned to a strip view which was really of the parking garage of the casino next door. When the change was made they didn't take note of my wife's request for non feather pillows and this caused some trouble that night.

After waiting an hour for our bags and getting dangerously close to the show-time we called directly to the Bellman and found out the check-in hadn't made the call notifying them of our room. They quickly got us our bags (within 15 minutes) and we just made the show.

The room itself was wonderful. Large, clean, well decorated with a beautiful bath. The shower was very nice and the tub large (but not jetted).

The next morning we spoke to the maid about the pillows and she had hypoallergenic ones in the room by the time we returned from shopping that afternoon. She also had neatly placed all of our toiletries in the bath and even lined our shoes against the rail in the sleeping area. She was wonderful. Of course turndown service was provided including chocolates. Extra bottles of water we supplied.

Now here's where the Resort really "Toed the Line". We did not have reservations for our second night in Vegas. My wife expressed interest in dining at Emeril's Steakhouse (Delmonicos) that evening but they had no availability until very late which did not work with show tickets we had already purchased. I called the Concierge who already knew about our previous problems. While Delmonicos wouldn't even give them a table they went out of their way to find a table for us at another restaurant which wasn't even at the Venetian! The restaurant we were sent to knew our name (before we even walked in), that it was our anniversary, gave us a premium table and complimentary dishes. It turned out to be the best meal my wife and I have ever had. Thank you Lisa (Concierge at the Venetian).

The concierge also checked us in for our flight, printing out our boarding passes for us. We utilized the new Southwest baggage check-in on site and it was wonderful. No waiting, no bags to lug in and out of the rental car. In fact, next time we visit Vegas, we won't be renting a car because this was just so easy. We were also given a late check-put which allowed us to sleep in after a late night in the casino.

Did the hotel make mistakes? Yes, but they admitted to them and more importantly, made them right on their own. This stay, which was really initially planned to be a lay-over before a flight home ended up being the best part of our vacation.

Thank you Venetian, we will be back very, very soon!