Hotel Overview

Palazzo sits right next to the famous Venetian, with internal access connecting the two properties. The design and decor are very consistent with Venetian’s, and you can think of Palazzo as the slightly newer sister tower. In 2010, both hotels joined the InterContinental alliance, and for this stay, I used a free night certificate from my Chase IHG credit card.

Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas is located a bit farther south on the Strip. It is one of the few hotels on the Strip without a casino, which makes it a quieter option despite the central location, and a good fit for families or business travelers. The property used to be the Mandarin Oriental, so you can still see plenty of Eastern design elements throughout. In 2018, it was rebranded as Waldorf Astoria, Hilton’s luxury brand.

Booking Details

Because of the pandemic, I had not traveled for at least a year and a half, and I had accumulated a pile of free hotel night certificates from various credit cards. So this trip was partly about burning some of those certificates.

As mentioned above, I used a free night certificate from my Chase IHG credit card for Palazzo. Back in June, award availability was generally open from Monday through Thursday, but I still had to pay the $51.02 resort fee after tax.

For WA Las Vegas, I used a weekend night certificate from AMEX Hilton, and the resort fee was waived as well, which was very generous. On top of that, because of elite status benefits (Gold and Diamond received the same treatment), each guest got a $25 daily credit that could be used at the restaurants and spa, though not for room service.

IHG Palazzo Stay Experience

Like Venetian, Palazzo is an all-suite hotel. The entry-level room we booked, the Luxury King Suite, is already 720 square feet, which feels very spacious and definitely lives up to the “Luxury” name.

Suite

Bathroom

Views

Here are two daytime shots. Huge thanks to the front desk agent for putting us on the 45th floor. Because of the angle, the nighttime view was not especially impressive, but during the day the view felt very open and expansive.

Pool and Gym

Looking down from the room, you can see quite a few pools of different sizes spread out below.

The well-known climbing wall is on the Venetian side.

There are regular gym facilities on both the Palazzo and Venetian sides, which should be more than enough for most needs.

Parking

Parking at Palazzo and Venetian is free, which is a big plus.

Waldorf Astoria Stay Experience

Room

At WA Las Vegas, I also redeemed for the base room. The front desk recognized Diamond status and automatically upgraded us one category to a Strip View room, though the room layout itself was the same as the standard room.

  • Right by the entrance was a cabinet area, with pretty visible signs of wear.
  • I actually liked their valet closet design quite a bit. If you needed extra toiletries or other items, room service staff could open the exterior door and place them inside the closet, and then you could retrieve them from the interior side. It avoids direct contact and also keeps things from being left outside the room and potentially going missing.
  • The bathroom is in the middle and the bedroom is at the end. The bathroom uses a partial divider, which makes the space feel a bit more open. (Did you notice the edge of the carpet? Honestly, the whole room felt somewhat dated.)

Views

The view from the window was pretty good.

Pool and Gym

The neighbor to the north

The neighbor to the south

Everything you would expect was there.

Dining

Because we had a complimentary $100 credit ($25*2*2=$100 for two people over two nights), and because the Aspire $250 resort credit could also be used here, we tried breakfast at Zen Kitchen as well as cocktails and light bites at Skybar. Overall, the food quality was excellent. Two breakfasts plus one late-night meal came to $200.53 total, and it absolutely felt worth it.

This green power smoothie at breakfast tasted very fresh and refreshing, and I ended up ordering it both days.

The two cocktails at Skybar were fairly average, but the burger was extremely juicy and surprisingly impressive.

We actually were not able to sit in the real Skybar because we did not have a reservation. The area where we sat was outside Skybar, a multi-purpose space that normally serves as a check-in/check-out lounge and becomes an afternoon tea area on weekends. If you are planning to go, make sure to book ahead and specifically ask for a window seat. (I took a peek inside, and the angle is definitely better, with nicer views and more atmosphere.)

We could not get seats in the actual Skybar because we did not have a reservation. I took a quick look inside, and the view really is better from that angle. If you are interested, definitely reserve ahead and ask for a window seat.

Parking

WA offers valet parking at $35 per night. Here is a small tip: because my matched Mlife Gold status had not expired yet, we chose to park next door at Aria, where both self parking and valet parking were free. It was about a 5-minute walk, so still very convenient.

COVID-19 Notes

This trip took place in June of this year. At the time, Nevada’s COVID numbers were looking fairly good, and with pressure from casino owners, Clark County fully reopened starting June 1. People who were two weeks past full vaccination were only required to wear masks on public transportation (planes, buses, trains, etc.) and in medical facilities. Capacity limits at casino restaurants, large gathering restrictions, and dance floor restrictions were all lifted. Although these rules technically applied only to fully vaccinated people, in practice nobody checked vaccination cards or even asked. Along the entire Strip, including inside the casinos, it was not shoulder-to-shoulder everywhere, but it was still quite crowded, and you would only occasionally spot one or two people wearing masks. Well… you can see why case counts later rebounded. That said, hotel and restaurant staff were still all masked.

Bottom Line

Overall, I was quite happy with both stays. Palazzo has better hard product, and the property itself is great to explore, with casinos, shops, bars, restaurants, entertainment, and views all in one place. By comparison, WA’s hardware is a bit weaker, and it does not seem like much money was spent on renovations after the Mandarin Oriental rebrand (even the label on the phone still said Mardarin Oriental), but the elite benefits are solid, the location is fairly central, and the non-casino setting makes it feel pleasantly removed from the chaos.