Las Vegas: 5 Places to Stay

The most painstakingly detailed of the themed casino resorts, the Venetian is a condensed version of its namesake city and features some of the largest rooms on the Strip, averaging 700 sq. ft. with sunken living rooms and marble baths. Like Wynn and Caesars nearby, the Venetian is in full expansion mode, with a new 50-floor, 3,068-room sister property that opened in January 2008. Rooms in the all-suite 3,014-room main tower (which opened in 1999) have traded their gilded, faux-Venetian décor for a more modern style (backlit onyx walls, clean-lined, natural-hued couches and chairs, remote-controlled Roman shades), and each now has three LCD or plasma televisions (including one TV in the bath), wireless Internet, and a sectional sofa for guests. And just outside, of course, is a Piazza San Marco entrance (just like the real thing, minus the pigeons), in- and outdoor canals plied by gondoliers, and reproductions of famous frescoes on the soaring ceilings within.

Insider Tip: Have breakfast at Thomas Keller's Bouchon (boudin blanc and eggs, flaky croissants). If you want a taste without the production of a sit-down breakfast, pick up masterful pastries and sticky buns at Bouchon Bakery, near the Phantom of the Opera theater lobby.

Room to Book: Bypass rooms in the newer — but darker — Venezia tower, which opened in 2003, for the renovated suites in the main tower.

• 1. The Venetian
  3355 Las Vegas Blvd. South, Las Vegas, NV 89109; 702-414-1000 36.120994-115.169699 venetian.com