The Venetian Resort Las Vegas
The Venetian Las Vegas is a luxury hotel and casino resort on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, owned by Vici Properties and operated by Apollo Global Management. Opened in May 1999 by developer Sheldon Adelson, the resort was built on the former site of the legendary Sands Hotel and Casino and designed to evoke the architecture and streetscape of Venice, Italy, complete with a half-scale replica of the Campanile, reproductions of the Doge’s Palace and Ca’ d’Oro facades, indoor canals with gondoliers, and a recreation of St. Mark’s Square. The Venetian pioneered the all-suite hotel format on the Strip, offering rooms significantly larger than Las Vegas norms.
At a glance
- Type
- Luxury all-suite casino hotel resort
- Period
- Opened May 3, 1999
- Style
- Venetian Renaissance theme; designed by HKS Architects
- Location
- Las Vegas Strip, Paradise, Nevada, United States
- Coordinates
- 36.1215° N, 115.1694° W
- Owner / Operator
- Vici Properties / Apollo Global Management
- Casino floor
- 160,000 sq ft (14,864 m²)
- Rooms
- 7,092 all-suite rooms across The Venetian and The Palazzo towers
Overview
The Venetian occupies the site of the former Sands Hotel, which closed in 1996 and was demolished the same year. Sheldon Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corporation invested approximately $1.5 billion to construct the resort, which opened as one of the most expensive hotels ever built at that time. The interior Grand Canal Shoppes feature a 1,200-foot indoor canal where gondoliers ferry guests beneath a hand-painted sky ceiling, while the corridor architecture reproduces Venetian street facades in considerable detail. An expansion tower — The Palazzo — added 3,068 suites in 2007, making the combined complex one of the largest hotels in the world.
History
The Sands Hotel occupied this site from 1952 until its 1996 closure, serving as the backdrop for Rat Pack performances and mid-century Las Vegas glamour. Adelson acquired the property and announced his Venetian project in 1997, a $1.5 billion undertaking that broke ground the same year. The resort opened on May 3, 1999, attracting immediate attention for its scale and architectural ambition. Las Vegas Sands later expanded internationally under the Venetian brand to Macau and Singapore. Following the 2021 sale of Nevada properties, Vici Properties acquired the real-estate assets and Apollo Global Management became the operating partner.
What you see
The exterior facade on Las Vegas Boulevard reproduces key Venetian landmarks — the Doge’s Palace colonnade, the Ca’ d’Oro window tracery, and a campanile tower — at approximately half their original scale. Inside, the Grand Canal Shoppes occupy what functions as a recreation of the Mercerie shopping district and Piazza San Marco, with arched ceilings painted to simulate an open Venetian sky. Guest corridors in the hotel tower are accessed from the casino level, maintaining the sense of being within a continuous urban environment. The all-suite format means the smallest room exceeds 650 square feet, an unusual luxury for a Las Vegas property.
Cultural significance
The Venetian established the all-suite format as a commercially dominant model for the Las Vegas luxury segment, influencing subsequent properties to follow a similar approach. Its use of painstakingly reproduced historical European architecture at scale set a new benchmark for themed hospitality environments and sparked debate about simulacra and authenticity in postmodern leisure culture. The resort’s site on the former Sands also symbolises the ongoing cycle of erasure and reinvention that defines the Las Vegas Strip as a physical environment.
Practical information
- Address
- 3355 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109, United States
- Hours
- Open 24 hours; Grand Canal Shoppes hours vary
- Website
- Check official website for current suite rates and Grand Canal gondola bookings
Getting there
The Venetian is on the northern section of the Las Vegas Strip, directly across from the Mirage and adjacent to The Palazzo. The Las Vegas Monorail stops at the Harrah’s/The LINQ station, a short walk south. The Deuce RTC bus serves the Strip stop outside. Harry Reid International Airport is approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south, with taxi and rideshare services readily available.