Quick Review: Trump Hotel (Vegas)

Disclaimer: I'm not a Vegas guy. Not a big gambler, not a seen-and-be-seen kind of person. View my review through that lens.

Great room. I completely prefer rooms with a kitchenette or at least a fridge. And since I was here for 4 nights, the set up at the trump was key. Fridge, sink, stove top if you want it and microwave. Beyond that the room is also a nice space, with a comfortable bed and good work area. As mentioned by at least one other reviewer, the shower door situation is a little funky. That probably could have been designed better.

Great fitness center. There are a number of treadmills facing the pool area and a decent assortment of machines, too.

Super convenient to be across from that mall. Walk through Nordstrom and you've got yourself a Chipotle no more than 300 yards from front door of the hotel.

Short walk to El Segundo Sol and StripBurger.

Short taxi lines. I was here 4 nights and in and out multiple times per day. Never had to wait more than 2 minutes for a taxi. During CES.

Only issue I had was upon check in. I made my reservation through http://Booking.com and had adjusted the original reservation by adding a day. Even though I'd done this at least four or five days before my arrival it wasn't picked up in 'their system'. So I had to stand there while the desk guy called and faxed (yes, faxed) someone a copy of my http://booking.com confirmation. Kind of a drag after flying across the country, but in the end it all got sorted.

Review: The Venetian (Las Vegas)

Note:this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Like Joe Pantoliano's character at the end of Risky Business who couldn't "go $40 on the artsy fartsy thing", I just can't go 4 stars on the Venetian. 3.5 stars, tops. (Actually, that comparison might not make any sense whatsoever, but I'm leaving it because I love that line for some reason.)

Three main take-aways from my three-night stay at the Venetian:

1. The place is massive.
Public spaces are crawling with people, including the usual assortment of cliche Vegas characters: twits, schmucks, hustlers and greaseballs of all backgrounds (but the jackass factor here was noticeably lower than it was over at the Palms, for whatever that's worth. I'm not a Vegas aficionado, so my grasp of the relative knob factor from property to property is limited at best).

2. The rooms are big and spacious, but weirdly unstylish.
The bed area is fine, but the living room furniture reminded me of my Grandmother's place in Jersey circa 1980. I was looking around for the box of Thin Mints and glass of 7-Up that she always hooked me up with. Had to settle for a Heineken and some Kit Kats out of the mini-bar.



3. The gym is excellent.
It is also expensive @ $80 for a 3-day pass, but excellent. And underused. Only a handful of people there each time I used it. All the equipment options you could want and little competition for using it.



Other assorted notes:

- Bring something to entertain yourself in the check-in line. Maybe a Nintendo DS, your blackberry a yo-yo, whatever. Felt more like an airport security line than checking into a hotel. Yikes.



- Bathrooms are huge and have a nice lil' TV for your viewing pleasure (plus, with their channel lineup you can watch random Asian game shows while you shave. Beat that.)



- Service might need a little prompting if you're not a 'whale'. The key I was given upon check-in didn't work. I learned this after it took 20 minutes to pick up some food to-go at the San Gennaro stop in their food court (took crazy long time for them to serve the 5 people ahead of me) and I had trekked the additional 8 minutes through the casino, over to the elevator and then all the way to the end of the hall to my room (suite 14329). Called the front desk on my cell and they said it could take 30 - 45 minutes for security to come get me into the room. I calmly suggested that wasn't optimal for me. After a brief hold I was then told they'd try to put a rush on it. Wound up waiting only about 5 minutes. But it still kind of stank to be sitting there feeling my dinner getting cold in the bag waiting for security to correct what should be just about the most basic hotel / guest interaction possible.

Would I stay there again?
Sure. Why not? Great gym. Seemed convenient enough to everything I needed to get to. The Grand Canal Shoppes and restaurants in the Piazza San Marco were nice enough. But I really don't have a lot of Vegas experiences to compare it to.

Did it seem like a good value?
Hard to say, as I was here during CES, which is the busiest week of the year for them and probably also when prices are the steepest. Think my (work expensed) room averaged $400/night for the three nights. Not cheap. But the room was bigger than many 1-bedroom city apartments.

Mini-Review: Nove @ the Palms (Las Vegas)

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Just a mini-review as I was here under the non-traditional circumstances of a group drinks/dinner (20+ folks) in their upstairs section, and it wasn't their best night.

Nove is an interesting space with some really great views, but the food I had was only okay. Cheese pizza app was mediocre, my salmon was okay, and, just judging by how much pink meat was left on a couple of my colleague's plates, either their dishes weren't that good or the kitchen rushed too much trying to make up for some lost time, giving some folks rarer steaks than they would have liked.

Would need to check this out as part of a smaller group to really give it a fair shake, though.

Review: Enoteca San Marco (Las Vegas)

View from my table @ Enoteca San Marco

Note: this also appears with my reviews over on Yelp.

Overall Impression:
Thought this was a nice place to relax and people watch in the artificial twilight of the Venetian's "St. Mark's Square". Had some good, simple food and experienced sharp, friendly service. Also, just based on a quick scan of the offerings in this square / upscale food court, it seemed to have the best range of vegetarian options.

Highlights / Lowlights:

What was great -

- Food. The somewhat inventive take on caprese salad (see photo) was both visually interesting and tasty. Then the simple pasta dish I had with black pepper and pecorino cheese was understated excellence.



- Service. I experienced team table service, which when done poorly can be chaotic. But everyone here was on their game - a nice balance of friendly and professional.

- Wine. They offer a nice sampling of regional Italian wines, including a nice example of one of my sentimental favorites - Morellino di Scansanso.

What wasn't so great -

- No complaints, really. Maybe it was just the fact that I sorely needed some relative quiet and escape after a day at CES, but I enjoyed a nice simple solo dinner here.

Would I eat here again?
With everything there is to try in Vegas I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to get here, but if I'm at the Venetian again, yes, I'd definitely eat here.

Did it seem like a good value?
One app, one entree, some Pellegrino and a glass of wine for $56 before tip. Not a bargain, but what is in Vegas?