Purchase Tickets

The Palace Awaits

By Ron Donoho
The Palace Awaits

THE 50-STORY PALAZZO is the newest tower to join the Las Vegas Strip skyline. By itself, the 3,066-room Palazzo (Italian for “palace”) just misses cracking the top-10 list of the world’s largest hotels (by number of rooms). But Palazzo shares infrastructure——like the immense Can - yon Ranch SpaClub——with its sister all-suites resort, the Venetian. Together, they boast 7,093 suites——975 more rooms than Malaysia’s Casino de Genting. (Nine of the planet’s 10 biggest hotels are located in Vegas.)

Palazzo suites, with spacious bedrooms and sunken living rooms, are similar to the Venetian’s——albeit decorated with darker woods and a few more amenities, like high-definition televisions in roomy bathrooms.

The new casino is airy and open. The Shoppes at the Palazzo features 60 boutiques, including an immense Barneys New York, Chloe and Van Cleef & Ar - pels. Jersey Boys has found a home in Palazzo’s new theater, and a Lamborghini dealership is under construction. There are also 14 new restaurants run by a chef list that includes Wolfgang Puck, Emeril Lagasse and Mario Batali.

One sour note: the 40/40 Club. Rapper Jay-Z’s signature nightclub has cushy stadium seating and poppin’ VIP areas. But the food and service are mad weak.

The quick skinny on three other Palazzo eateries:

Morels: This French steakhouse and bistro, run by up-and-coming chef Eric Bauer, houses an attractive seafood bar. The meatloaf will make Mom jealous. A charcuterie offers more than 60 cheeses. Dessert can be a tasty three-ring circus of macaroons, served on a tableside cart with a trio of homemade preserves.

Jade Noodles: A dim sum restaurant, it mixes exotic dishes with comfortable fare. The seafood-andspinach soup is a striking success. It’s sea-green (because of the spinach), but the veggie taste doesn’t overwhelm. The palate will recognize egg-drop soup but with a plentiful mix of shrimp, scallops and lobster.

Dos Caminos: A vibrant nightclub fronts the large, luminous, candlelit dining area. Start with the homemade guacamole, which you can order as spicy as you can handle. Good things come in threes——like the three-cheese fondue and the ceviche trio, serving tuna, shrimp and lobster in side-by-side dishes. A hearty appetite might also call for ordering the slow-roasted suckling pig. Because when you’re in the palace, you should eat like a king.