LIQUID Magazine | Travel. Style. Entertainment. Health. Sports

I’m a big believer that 3 days in Vegas should be the legal limit. More than that and most people will overdose on something.  Best advice...get in, hit it hard and get out of there before you OD!

With out fail, my recent visit to the Palazzo reinforced that point. The abundance of food, drink and late night happenings could easily push a mortal man over the edge. My three day itinerary featured a sampling of fast cars, fine dining, golf, gaming and plenty of eye-candy.

The Palazzo, the sexy sister property to the Venetian, offers a more intimate experience than it’s older sibling.  On this trip I got an upgrade to the concierge level the upgraded level gets you a private check in area and a 12,000 sq ft. lounge and most importantly food and snacks available throughout the day. You can stop by the lounge in the morning for a little continental breakfast or grab a snack and a couple of bottles of water in the afternoon and score a few drinks at the open bar later that evening.

The Concierge level offers a level of service that makes it the perfect way to go for occasions when you need a little help with planning.
And, honestly who wants to get stuck planning stuff when there’s so much to get into in Vegas.

Aside from the private check in and complimentary food and beverages, the concierge also offers an hour a day of internet access, free copy services and personal assistance with travel, show and dinner reservations. If you’re rolling in on business the concierge has all the resources to be your executive office during your stay. If you’re rolling Bonnie & Clyde style for that romantic get away, the concierge will also provide those little in-room surprises that go a long way to earning big credits on your “honey do” list.

Lagasse's Sports Book

Once I checked out the rest of the amenities on the concierge level I settled in and headed over to Lagasse’s Sports Book. Lagasse’s is like a sports bar on steroids. Play Wii and pool in a Luxury Box as you watch the games on one of the 115 flat screen TVs, then place a bet using the newest Casino “Killer App” The Pocket casino in-running gaming device. After sampling a few choice selections from the menu. I was invited to demo the new device. The premise and the promise of this hi-tech system seems to be that once you set up your account you’ll be able to wager on any number/dozens of variables throughout any number of featured games while running amuck around the entire casino.

I opened an account and was able to bet on a couple of first round games of the NCAA Tournament. Once I got the hang of it I was betting on everything from the total score at the half to whether not an individual player would make a free throw. I was told you could even bet on the number of 3 pointers that would be made during a basketball game or weather a kicker will make or miss a field goal during a football game. Obviously if sports wagering is your thing Lagasses’ got your fix.

Golf Training
I’m not much of a golfer but I was a sucker for an invitation to learn how Kinesis and Pilates could play a role in improving my golf technique, so after a long night. I answered the 6:00 am wake up call and headed down to the Canyon ranch spa club. Our instructor took us through the paces and after working through a few stretching routines we headed over the  Kinesis wall, a sleek new set of exercise equipment that integrates into a wall. The Kinesis wall has four separate stations and uses cables for resistance.  The cables can be configured in a variety of ways and help to work on multiple muscle groups, core strength and flexibility. I went through a series of exercises that were designed to work those “golf muscles”.  I would later find out, what I expected all along, training your golf muscles is of little use if you don’t have a golf game to begin with.

The Royal Links Golf Course
After the warm up the crew and I headed over to the Royal Links golf course. Located approximately 20 minutes from the Palazzo the Royal links showcases [some  of the most memorable holes from the PGA tour]. We arrived, got a few quick tips from resident pro and top Ranked golf instructor, Mike Davis and hit the greens for 9 holes.  Although my golf Pilates did nothing to help me hit the ball straight. I enjoyed a memorable time on the course with my group and our very sexy caddy, who coincidentally used to be a dancer at Tao.

After golf it was back to Canyon Ranch for a massage. Canyon Ranch Spa is known for world class spa services and my spa session didn’t disappoint.  One of the more unique offerings at Canyon Ranch is their 40 foot, rock climbing wall, which, after some good natured trash talking my colleagues, was all of a sudden on my list of things to do. Although I’ve never tried it before I was down to give it a shot. The rock wall has 3 or 4 different faces that you can climb, each one increasing in difficulty. The last one looks like a mini replica of the cliff  in that Stallone movie Cliff Hanger. After harnessing up and a little coaching from my spotter, I was able to conquer one of the intermediate climbs without much difficulty. A little more trash talking and  some additional encouragement from my spotter and somehow I was talked into climbing the “cliffhanger” which unfortunately didn’t go as well as my first trip up the wall. But thanks to a good harness and a strong spotter I’m here to tell you about it.