While visiting the old city of Macao is by far the best thing the city has to offer in my opinion, visiting the casinos on the new island of Macao is also an interesting experience. Casinos aren't my most favorite places in the world and yet, the Venetian managed to change my opinion on the matter. First and foremost, it is entirely possible to spend days around this place without actually seeing a single activity related to gambling. Thanks to the casino strict rules regarding casino floor access, it is absolutely impossible to randomly access a gambling circle without willingly showing your passport. Among the activities offered by the complex, you can visit the reproduction of Venice in which the fake sky and the gondola are quite convincing. Note that gondola rides are paying (158/120MOP per adult/child) and you also have the possibility of renting a private ride for 598MOP. Beware, you may have to wait up to 1h to get access to a boat even if you book a private ride ahead of time! The complex includes plenty of luxury shops, regular stores (such as Uniqlo, Nike, Muji, Watsons), pharmacies, restaurants and activities such as the teamLab SuperNature exhibition or concerts. In case you get bored of staying in Venice, you can easily roam around and end up in the Londoner or the Parisian without having to set a foot outside since everything is connected! While the experience remains basically the same (shop) the surrounding gives you plenty of picture worthy space.

Speaking of the Venetian as a Hotel to sleep in, the room are extremely spacious and clean, the bed are absolutely confortable and the bathroom is great. The staff speaks English for the most part and they're extremely helpful. I would have given this hotel 5 stars if it weren't for one thing that can't be ignored and should ALWAYS be mentioned. The rooms smell of cigarette and there is nothing that can be done about it. Out of my stay in the hotel, I went to 3 different rooms in different floors (ended in the Suite Rialto de Luxe thanks to a generous upgrade from the staff) and no matter the room, the smell of cigarette was around us. While this isn't really an issue for most, having asthma in the middle of the night, waking up with a stuffy nose and caring for a coughing baby wasn't really an enjoyable experience. If this happens to you, note that the store part of the complex doesn't smell of cigarette and it is an enjoyable walk to "breath" at night once the crowd is gone.

I will always be grateful to the staff of this hotel who tried their best to improve my stay because I know it's not their fault if most people smoke even when they aren't supposed to. I would definitely recommend staying in this hotel if the smell of smoke isn't an issue for you, but if you're suffering from any breathing issues (asthma, allergies, etc.) I'd recommend you to call another smoke free hotel next door and come visit the Venetian instead, it's worth the trip.