Hole in the Wall Keeps Lobby Toilets at the Venetian from Reaching Perfection

The Venetian Resort-Hotel-Casino
3355 Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV USA
www.venetian.com

Where is it?

Get to the main lobby first, which will require a bit of travel time depending on where you enter this mammoth hotel (rumored to be the second largest in the world). Following the signs to the lobby will help you get to this destination, however it will be hard for you to stay on track, considering the many elegant design distractions you'll come across along the way.

Once in the lobby, face the reception desk and make a complete about face, turning 180 degrees. When you do, you'll see a arched hallway there with the words "Restrooms - VIP Lounge" etched into the plaster (or is it marble?). Head down that hallway and you'll find the toilets.

What's it like?

The interior to this hotel has always been one of my favorites in Vegas -- right up there with the Wynn (which is the most ornate -- and has the best bathrooms in the world) and Caesar's Palace (review coming soon). I've always been wowed by the ornate ceilings of the main hall, which look like cleaned up versions of the Sistine Chapel, and the shopping mall here (which mimics the look and feel of St. Marks Square, only cleaner and filled with gondola drivers who speak perfect English) -- and those are just a few of the main attractions here (which also include great dining options and terrific rooms).

These bathrooms, at least on the surface, are top-notch. The floor is covered in an elegant marble pattern of black, maroon, white and beige tiles. The walls are covered with more beige tile that look like ancient building blocks found in ruins (something like what you'd see on the floor at the Luxor or the Lost Continent toilets at Islands of Adventure, believe it or not). The room is small for a lobby bathroom but is well spaced and always feels roomy.

The overall feel is elegant and modern with some ancient touches -- a lot like what you'd find at McCormick and Schmick's Orlando or Philadelphia's Davio's, just with a more cave-like and expensive feel to it.

There are four urinals (white porcelain) along the left wall, with the far one being the kiddie urinal. Opposite that are three spacious stalls with white porcelain toilets, with the one closest to the back wall being the handicap stall. Heavy, dark wood dividers separate the commode stalls and urinals, and while the dividers don't go to the floor (as they do at the Wynn), the material they are made of is thick enough to intimate a greater sense of privacy than what's actually achieved.

The vanity, at the front of the bathroom, features a sprawling green and white mix marble counter with gold-plated chrome automatic faucets and automatic soap dispensers and gold-plated chrome towel holders (they kind of look like elegant napkin holders, really) set in between the individual white porcelain sinks (three of them). A huge stretch mirror with gold frame is mounted behind the vanity.

As expected, it's immaculately cleaned and smelling of flowery perfume, making for an elegant visit indeed. The minimalistic framed paintings of various greenery mounted above the urinals and other spots on the walls add to that impression.

The only flaw I found was in one of the mount brackets for the urinal dividers. It looked like the bracket -- or the divider -- had fallen down at one point in the past, but instead of fixing the tile and mounting properly and setting the divider back up cleanly, the repair person seems to have taken a shortcut and just stuffed the screw back into the original hole and fortified it that way. As a result, anyone stepping to that side of the barrier will find himself facing a noticeable hole in the marble -- which certainly takes away from the high-end look and feel of the location. The whole thing reminds me of the falling wallpaper in the Caesar's Palace toilets I visited -- which also achieve a similar ill effect.

Marks out of 10:

8. Almost a 9, or even a 10, save for that shoddy repair job, which essentially drops it down to the quality of McCormick and Schmick's Orlando or Philadelphia's Davio's -- not that those are bad bathrooms to be compared to, mind you. Just expected more from the Venetian, considering how over-the-top the rest of the place is.

Comments to the Management:

Patch that hole up correctly please and perhaps we'll put you on par with some of the other great Vegas bathrooms after that.

Watch Out for Toilet-Kicking Madmen Inside Peter and Paul Fortress Bathroom

Peter and Paul Fortress
St. Petersburg, Russia

Where is it?

Head into the ticket office on the side of the complex facing Suvoroskara Pl. bridge. Once inside the ticket office, you'll see the signs for the bathrooms immediately on your left.

What's it like?

Built in 1704, this military complex is the oldest building in St. Petersburg. Ironically, it never saw battle but instead became one of Russia’s most notorious political prisons. Some of its former tenants include legendary authors like Dostoyevsky, Chernyshevsky and Gorky, as well as Vladimir Lenin’s brother, who attempted to kill Tsar Alexander III and was executed here soon after he was incarcerated.

The centerpiece of the fortress is the Peter and Paul Cathedral, a modestly sized (at least compared to the city’s other offerings) yet ornate church that happens to be the city’s first religious meeting place. In addition to its glorious Baroque architecture and stunning frescos found here, it also holds the sarcophagi of all of the Russian Tsars, from Peter the Great through Nicholas II -- a feature that also adds an air of creepiness to your visit.

Also on hand in the Fortress are a dozen or so small museums dedicated to topics like Russia’s military past, Russian space exploration and the national mint. Particularly charming is the 28-room exhibit devoted to the evolution of the city of St. Petersburg, which tracks its history from its Norse roots through its communist heyday and its current role as Russia’s cultural capital.

The bathrooms in the ticket office are a strange creation indeed. They feature two toilet stalls, which are separated by the standard floor to ceiling dividers that are common in Europe (I have to say, I like this feature -- American stalls on the whole just don't offer you enough privacy), along with two urinals (without dividers) that are hooked to a very primitive automatic flush mechanism (the mechanism, essentially, is that they flush continuously, no just when you're done).

Given that set up, you expect the toilets here to be devoid of the stench of urine. Sadly, that's not the case. They are a bit smelly, though nothing as sharp as what I encountered at Catherine Palace or the Russian Museum.

There are two pedestal sinks here, with flash mirrors and soap dispensers positioned over them. They were somewhat clean but could have used a bit more of a scrubbing. The walls here are covered with classy rust-colored marble tiles, the floors with off-white square tiles. The divider walls separating the two stalls are a deeper rust color than the walls and are made of fiberboard and covered with a patter that makes them look like they are made of fine-grade wood. Kind of strange, I thought, to design a place that has some great tile work but then undermines that quality by putting up tacky stall dividers and other add-ons.

Also unique here is the floor mat placed outside the entrance to the bathroom. It was more like a burlap rag than a mat, and it had been so overused and was in so desperate need of replacement that when you stepped on it to sop up some of the slush your feet picked up from outside (I visited in the winter), it did little more than stick to your feet and threaten to tear apart like a soaked, poor-quality paper towel. Pretty gross.

Finally, and most upsetting, I found a person inside the back stall here kicking the toilet repeatedly. And I mean kicking! He was yelling at it and kicking it, and every now and then you heard the bonk of his shoe as it made contact with the basin. Why he was doing this, I had no idea -- perhaps the idiosyncrasies of the design had finally taken him beyond the breaking point?

Needless to say, after witnessing that bit of bathroom violence, I took my pictures and got the hell out of there. Ironically, I almost tripped on the ratty rag on my way out.

Marks out of 10:

5. Nice tile work, and somewhat clean, but why are there all those strange additions that negate your positive points. That made me wonder what was going on here, really. Is this bathroom some sort of postmodern expressionistic art? Or something far more frightening?

Comments to the Management:

Get a new mat for your feet. Scrub the sinks and toilets a little more. Add some air freshener. And post a guard out front to make sure no more toilet-kicking crazies get in to satisfy their fetishes.

Grand Central Station Toilets Offer Visitors Truly Hectic New York Experience

Grand Central Terminal
Food Court Toilets
87 E 42nd Street
New York, NY USA
grandcentralterminal.com

Where is it?

Head to the station's food court (which is a trip in itself, though if you follow the signs and try not to get swept up in the waves of people floating about, you'll make it without much trouble). Once there, look for the Zocalo food stand. The entrance to the bathrooms is down the hallway to the left of that stand.

What's it like?

As most people know, Grand Central Station is one of the largest and busiest train terminals in the U.S. It's a sprawling building filled with ornate architecture, towering arches and countless shops, eateries and stores tailored to the passing-through traveler.

The food court bathrooms, as you can imagine, are large, noisy and hectic -- some of the busiest I've experienced. And I imagine they're always like this, not just at select times (such as the dreadful toilets experienced on the Florida Turnpike at Ft. Drum and Port St. Lucie, which were busy during one visit and not so busy the next).

Of course, this being New York and Grand Central Station, a hub for public transportation (which normally doesn't offer much luxury in terms of bathrooms), you don't expect this place to be very friendly, clean or accommodating. That wasn't the case with the men's room. While it was certainly very busy, I found the place cleaner than I thought it would be and everything in working order.

This is a "P"-shaped facility (no pun intended), with the stem being the entrance corridor. When you walk in, you first see a row of urinals (about 4 of them) on the left wall. That's the base of the "P." The opposite wall has another set of urinals there.

In the center (around the loop of the letter, if you will) are two rows of sinks and mirrors, one facing the back wall and one facing the front wall, with a marble wall separating them. Across from each row of sinks are stretches of toilets. Marble dividers separate everything cleanly, and marble covers the floor as well.

The place is well lit. The sinks are made of stainless steel and in many ways look like a string of stock pots placed beside one another. The mirrors over them, one to each station, are oval in shape and well lit. Stainless steel doors serve as the toilet stall door, with the same marble dividers walling off each toilet area to ensure each visitor has some semblance of privacy.

As said, this place was pretty clean on this visit, a surprise considering how busy it was. (I had to fight through some crowds to get to the sink to wash my hands, and then I had to do the same when I wanted to leave.) Sure, I saw some mis-thrown trash, some spilled water and whatnot, but I really expected it to be a lot worse -- like what I experienced on the Florida Turnpike at Ft. Drum and Port St. Lucie.

Marks out of 10:

7. Busy and hectic, yes, but also surprisingly clean, bright and well-maintained.

Comments to the Management:

Outside of the hectic nature of the place, which I doubt can be fixed, given this is NYC and Grand Central, I'm not sure there is much I can offer in terms of help, since my experience was a good one here. Still, my companion (who used the ladies room) said it was horrendous in there, one of the most disgusting bathrooms ever visited and said she was literally jarred by the experience. (She refused to write about it, though.) However, without specifics I have little to recommend.

Toilets at Small Virgin River Casino in Mesquite Almost on Par with Vegas Brethren

The Virgin River Hotel, Casino & Bingo
100 Pioneer Blvd.
Mesquite, NV USA
www.virginriver.com

Where is it?

From the main casino entrance, head into the building and towards the buffet, following the signs to get there as the layout is a big confusing and you may get lost otherwise.

Once you reach the buffet entrance, turn around, keeping the buffet entrance to your back, and look across and slightly to the left of the slot machine area in front of you. At about the 10 or 11 o'clock position, you'll see a sign hanging from the ceiling, reading "Restrooms."

What's it like?

This casino and hotel is located in the ever-growing Mesquite, NV, which was just a two casino town when I first passed through it some years ago and is now a decently sized small community with a feel that's both homey, new and Vegas-like.

This casino is definitely smaller than what you'd find on the famous Strip, and it's not quite as flashy or filled with attention getting signs and sights, but in all honesty it's not that far from those places either. There are high-end shows here -- Kenny Rogers was coming soon, I believe -- and both a decent buffet and a few other eateries inside, and the casino itself has that same odd-patterned carpet on the floor, the same confusing floor plan, the same decorative molding on the walls and the same array of loud noises from slots and people playing table games. Only difference is that it's more affordable and smaller in scale, which for many -- myself included -- isn't a bad thing.

The bathrooms follow that concept and in many ways they are on par -- at least design-wise -- with what we saw at the Venetian lobby. I was actually expecting much worse from here and was pleasantly surprised by what I was.

This is a wide room that packs in lots of features. The back wall houses about five or six toilet stalls. The front wall feature a five-station vanity and, to the right of that, along a diagonal far wall are four or five urinals. That doesn't leave much room for maneuvering in a full house but it could be worse. The urinals and toilets are both white porcelain models, but because the rest of the room is made up of dark colors, they form a pleasant contrast to the eye (similar to what's done at Sensi, for example, only not as extreme and zen-like). Off-white marble tile covers the floors, a wavy blue-and-grey-patterned marble tile covers the walls.

Most impressive here are the stall doors and urinal dividers, which are made of heavy-grain dark wood which is stained elegantly and features simply yet noble carving designs on them.

Just as impressive is the vanity, which is made up of a marble counter with in-laid porcelain sinks. Standard chrome faucets and soap dispensers are fixed atop the sinks themselves. A dark-wood-framed multi-panel mirror stretches over the back of the vanity.

On the whole, it's much more than what you'd expect from a place this far removed from the Strip. For that, and for the extra steps taken to make the place seem elegant, regal and comfortable, I give it pretty high marks.

Unfortunately, there was a strong odor of urine here and some of the dividers and stalls needed a touch of repair around the hinges, which were starting to look loose instead of strong. Of course, as with the Venetian toilets, these weren't outright noticeable issues; they were only discernible upon closer inspection. Otherwise, the place was pretty clean and looked well-kept.

Marks out of 10:

8. Almost a 9, were it not for the smell and the bits of disrepair.

Comments to the Management:

It's no Wynn, but other than that, it's pretty close, if not on par with a Strip-based casino bathroom. For that you should be commended. Just eliminate the smell and tidy up the loose ends and you'll have a true contender here.

Toilet at New Orlando Whole Foods: Is this a Super Market or an HGTV Case Study?

Whole Foods Market
8003 Turkey Lake Rd
Orlando, FL USA
www.wholefoodsmarket.com

Where is it?

From the front entrance, head to the store's cafe seating area (which doesn't serve food but offers a sitting area for people who've bought food from the store's hot bar or grill and want to sit and eat it then and there instead of waiting to get home).

Once there, you'll see a sink area surrounded by two gray brick columns. The toilets are to either side of those columns: Men's room behind the left column (when facing the sink area between the columns) and the women's room is behind the right column.

What's it like?

This mammoth high-end grocery chain has been offering gourmet food fans a place to buy top produce and other high-quality and hard-to-find items for two decades now. This one merely ups the ante on the business model, offering an extensive meat counter and prepared food area, including a pizza baking area, hot bars featuring everything from middle eastern stews to BBQ and mammoth fresh meats section where you can tell the guy behind the counter how you want your burger cooked.

The food on the whole isn't bad but it is also not as great as it sounds or even smells, particularly the ethnic concoctions, which often taste bland or overly Americanized. The vindaloo pork they had on one visit looked luscious and creamy but lacked the character or vinegary bite you would expect. Similarly, the arroz con pollo they had on the line was serviceable but lacking the the home-cooking character you'd get from one of the city's better Latino restaurants.

On the plus side, all food is priced by the pound, so if you want to try just a spoon of the chickpea stew or the roasted eggplant rollitini, for example, it's a fine place to pick just a bit of it up, clump it together buffet style in a container and pay about $10 for the whole thing. Which isn't bad these days for lunch or even dinner.

A better option is the grill area. For about $6 (a good deal, burger-wise), you can have a freshly ground patty grilled to order. The patty is huge (usually 8 - 10 oz) and grilled decently enough (though my medium came out surprisingly rarer than I would have liked). Not the best burger I've had in town (that honor at the moment is split between the Fillin' Station and Fuddruckers, though my most recent visit to the former was disappointing) but not far off, especially considering the quality and variety (you can get buffalo, cowboy burgers, etc.).

The store itself is stylish and multi-zoned, with the cheese, bakery and wine areas lit a little more dimly to (so I'm guessing) increase their sense of classiness and produce and food aisles are well lit to accentuate the freshness of the items on their shelves. Shrewd design but effective.

Bottom line: It's a fun place to shop, especially if you like food and know what to do with all the unique ingredients (organic millet seed, for example?). Though it's a hard place if you're hungry, because the place is filled with temptations (and a decent gelato bar).

As for the bathrooms: It's also very stylish, so much so that when I stepped in I felt like I was watching one of those HGTV shows on how to stylishly rebuild your bathroom. It's attractive, slick, hip, functional -- everything that channel seems to support, idealistically.

In addition to the gray brick columns outside, which also make up the walls here, you'll find lots of shiny stainless steel (the lone toilet stall's dividers are made of it, as is the urinal dividers, the fold-down baby changing counter and the toilet paper and towel fixtures) and a beige tile floor.

Generally speaking, the design itself looks a lot like the restaurant design at Sensi in Vegas, except that that place had more flowing water over its brick facades. (The bathroom here has no similarities with Sensi's bathroom, however, it should be noted.)

The high point here is the vanity, which contains a counter made of polished wood and is set before a stretch mirror. It has two sink stations, each made of single pieces of granite and shaped as shallow, rectangular fountains with free-flowing drains. Chrome faucets (automatic) and automatic soap dispensers stick out from the gray brick behind them and hang over the sinks, creating an elegant modernist fountain effect that truly is one of the classiest sink experiences I've had since visiting the bathrooms at Wynn Las Vegas. Not quite as overwhelmingly elegant as that, but not far off.

One hitch with the sinks, however, is that they are long and you have to stretch a little bit more than you'd like to reach the water flow. So those who are height challenged may have a bit of trouble with them. (Thankfully, the lone stall doubles as a handicap stall and has a more manageable sink -- standard white porcelain -- there. But then you'll have to wait to use it if someone's in there.)

The toilet is white porcelain, as is the urinal, though the urinals (it should be mentioned) are those new environmentally safe no flush models, like what we found in Nona Sushi.

It's a clean environment for the most part, though they're also busy (making it a touch place to enjoy some peace and quiet) and sometimes they're not well policed.

My first visit here revealed a place filled with water and the stench of urine, as well as a toilet stall that was covered in paper and pee and was borderline unusable. My second visit revealed the place as clean and perfect and hip as should be, spotless, friendly and stylish. Of all the gourmet market bathrooms I've visited (which includes Laurenzo's in North Miami Beach, Harris Teeter Raleigh and Fresh Market Orlando, this is by far the best of the lot.

The store itself has only been open a couple of months and is still very obviously working out some operational kinks (on both my visits, I found outdated dairy still on the shelves, for example), so I'm actually willing to forgo the memory of that first visit for the second, for now. Will keep you updated on the progress in the future -- if it continues to slip, it will be noted, believe me.

Marks out of 10:

8. Clean, stylish and fun to visit.

Comments to the Management:

Assuming you'll get the cleaning schedule under control, I would say the next step is to make it it a touch more personable. A few decorations or posting showing upcoming store events would be a good start.

Dimly Lit Toilets at Margaritaville Take Away from Place's Tropical Feel

Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville at City Walk
6000 Universal Blvd # 704
Orlando, FL USA
www.margaritaville.com

Where is it?

The entrance to this eatery is just off the main drag at City Walk and as a result is a lot lower-key than the entrances to some of the other places here.

Also, you don't really enter the restaurant once you go inside. After stepping through the dining room entrance door, you'll find yourself in a small enclave. The gift shop, to your right, is the most prominent sight, then the hostess stand, then a set of stairs, and then another hallway to the left.

Down the stairs is the restaurant's main dining room. The hallway to the left leads to the bar area as well as the bathrooms.

As your heading towards the bar, look for a hallway to open up to your right just before the entrance to the bar appears (if you reach the bar, you've gone too far). Go down the hallway and you'll see the toilets.

What's it like?

This tropical-themed chain restaurant location comes filled with decor that aims to replicate its Key West inspirations. Walls and floors are covered in sandy colors or faux planks, to mimic the look and feel of a deck or pier, and Buffet-based music (Island-rhythms, etc.) plays constantly on the PA system.

The menu here is what I would call Americanized Bahamian. There's a lot of seafood, tropical fruits, salsa and such, but none of it is too spicy or too indigenously Caribbean to scare people away (no Oxtail curry or pepper pot soup, for example). Expect to find some good conch fritters and grilled fish tacos, alongside decent American standards, like the wonderful "Cheeseburger in Paradise," an enormous patty that comes on a beautifully doughy roll.

And, as you can imagine from the place's name, there's a strong emphasis on drink. For example, the dining room has a large volcano in it that erupts every hour with margarita mixer and has that mixer flow into a giant blender.

Though it's very theme-park-based, it's still a fun place to dine and the food is decent on the whole -- and really it's one of the better places in City Walk for a decently priced quality meal (for example, nearby Emeril's can set you back a few hundred dollars for dinner).

The toilets extend the Key West vibe of the place. Though if anything they could be a bit brighter and well-lit. When I think of Key West, I think of sunshine and beaches, not dim lighting. As a result, the vibe gets somewhat lost here.

If it weren't for the lighting, I'd say the Island feel is successfully evoked here. The walls are covered with seaside murals and painted on fencing boards -- all of which gives an enjoyable, if not slightly tacky, tropical vibe. The sink here is a trough with three hook faucets instead of a classic sink station -- not sure why, since that makes me feel like I'm in a butcher shop or barn, but I liked the change. The water pressure is quite rabid coming out of it though, so turn on the faucet slowly and find the right pressure for you before putting your hands under, otherwise you'll get soaked from the splashing.

Toilets and urinals are separated from one another with black dividers and the urinals are set in deep divider corridors, allowing for maximum privacy. Except that the black dividers here make it even more dark -- not so much that you can't see where you're going (this isn't Shari Sushi dark, mind you) but still a little darker than you'd like it to be.

On the plus side, it's very clean here and about on par with what I found at the better toilets I visited in Islands of Adventure or Universal -- save for the wonderful Lost Continent facilities, which bested these completely. There was some left-behind strips of toilet paper beneath one of the toilets, but outside of that it was pretty clean here.

Marks out of 10:

7. Very nice theme restaurant bathroom. Would have rated higher if the place were lit a little better.

Comments to the Management:

Increase the lighting some -- people come to the restaurant to experience an extension of Buffet's Key West mojo, and the dim lighting takes away from the feeling. Otherwise, good job with everything else.

Dulles Toilets Display Solid Use of Reflection

Dulles International Airport
1 Aviation Circle
Washington, DC USA
www.metwashairports.com/dulles

Where is it?

By Gate B28. The toilets are just beyond it, heading towards the higher-numbered gates.

What's it like?

Airport bathrooms can be hit or miss, especially at larger facilities like this one. I went in thinking it might be similar to some rest areas I'd visited recently -- smelly, a bit grimy, but functional overall. Thankfully, this Dulles spot topped all expectations. Clean, virtually no smell and perfectly serviceable.

This is a slim area, with a design that knows how to make its space very functional -- you'll see very little wasted space here. Along the left wall, you'll find a string of urinals, separated by shiny metallic dividers, and then a collection of four or five commode stalls, also separated by metallic walls. (Notice a theme here?) Across from the urinals, set into the wall some so as to amplify the space allotted for walking around, is a vanity area with four sink stations, each with automatic water faucets and automatic soap dispensers. The hand driers and towels hang on the wall to each side of the vanity.

Atmosphere-wise: It's a bit dim here in terms of lighting, but because of the many bits of shiny metal somehow the place seems brighter than it is -- an effect that seems due entirely to the reflection of light off those metallic dividers. Of course, that doesn't mean it's blindingly bright here, but still it's bright enough to keep the place from seeming murky. The only exception to this is the back stall, which is considerably darker compared to the rest of the place.

Also, there is no door to the bathroom here. Rather, people enter via a small hallway and head left or right, depending on their sex. As a result, visitors can hear a good deal of the walking traffic noise from outside. (Clearly, the designers here haven't perfected the Wynn's technique on this.) Still, once you've locked yourself in one of those dimly lit stalls to do your business, you don't feel very rushed at all. So they've got to be doing something right here, right?

Note: Sorry for the slightly blurry images here -- ever since the security measures at U.S. airports got more serious, I get nervous taking pictures there. So nearly all the shots here were taken with one eye on the camera and one eye on the door. (I don't want to be covering toilet conditions inside a jail.)

Marks out of 10:

8. A decent airport toilet that surprises you here and there with its simple design flourishes.

Comments to the Management:

An actual entrance door would be nice, but I could see how it might go against the overall design of the place. Airport toilets are for quick ins and outs, not long visits, and I understand this, but still one can hope...... Otherwise, consider adding (or better yet, reflecting) some more light on those stalls, just so the people using them can see a little better.

Beautiful Bathroom at Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare in Wynn Las Vegas

Bartolotta Ristorante di Mare
3131 S. Las Vegas Blvd.
Wynn Las Vegas
Las Vegas, NV USA
www.wynnlasvegas.com/#dining/bartolotta/

Where is it?

Located in the Wynn Las Vegas shopping mall (which in itself has some outstanding public restrooms of their own), this beautiful restaurant flows over two distinct dining levels. To get to the bathroom, head down the main staircase to the lower-level dining room.

Once at the bottom, resist the urge to go left (towards the waiter stations there) and spin rightward around the staircase and head towards the right side (with your back to the end of the stairs), heading all the time towards the hallway tucked into the corner there. (The set up is very similar to the Daniel Boulud Brasserie, located in the same hotel.)

Go down that hallway, which like Daniel Boulud Brasserie is a bit on the dark side, and you'll come to an enclave containing the entrances to the bathrooms.

What's it like?

This is one of the best fish restaurants I've ever eaten at -- unbelievably good. And the whole experience made for one of the most memorable meals of my life.

The place itself is a decorative wonder. The top level, where you enter, is like an upscale tavern filled with dark woods and a sprawling mahogany bar on the far left. A circular staircase fills the center of the establishment. Taking it downstairs, you find yourself in a roomy, semi-circular main dining room filled with modernist seafaring decor: Shells on monotone painted walls. Elegant chandeliers. Large windows overlooking a man-made pond set in the center of the Wynn Las Vegas, which in itself has outdoor dining cabanas and circular orbs sitting in the water.

In a way, it's all a little overwhelming on the senses, and most people who have never been here before will feel a little disjointed when they sit down at the table. The service style is that of "in the know," as in those who have been here before know how it works and those new to the place must get their feet wet before proceeding. The menu isn't as self-explanatory as one would expect: There is an abundance of service options, from price fixe menus to fish ala carte to traditional pasta and meat dishes to specialty meals created specifically for you by the head waiter and chef. And each of those items can be broken down into sub-segments as well, if needed.

Really, like Las Vegas itself, the idea here is that the customer is in control -- but that the customer doesn't realize it at first. The sooner you come to that conclusion, the sooner your meal can begin.

So naturally, having never been here before, it took nearly 45 minutes for myself and my companion to sort through our options, get advice from our waiter, chef and sommelier, and begin our dining experience. We are glad we took the time, because next time we come here we know how to get things started quicker.

We opted for a price fixe menu consisting partly of menu-suggested items and partly of items created specifically for us. The menu consisted of a first course that was an assortment of grilled shellfish, including scallops, head-on prawns and octopus. The second course was a plate of pillow soft ricotta ravioli covered in seasonal white truffles from Alba. The third was a spaghetti in red sauce with spiny lobster. The fourth was a seafood risotto. The fifth was a whole roasted sea bream covered in a spicy red tomato and garlic sauce. The sixth was a dessert assortment consisting of various house-made chocolates, tarts, ice creams and more. We were very full when we left -- four hours later.

Now, I should say that I'm a major seafood fan and I know that freshness is key to great seafood. The seafood here, according to what we were told, all comes flown in directly from Italy itself, because the executive chef (Paul Bartolotta) insists that great seafood dishes cannot be made from fish from American waters. Not sure if that is true, but given the quality of the dishes served to us and pride in which they were prepared and served, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The grilled first course was filled with briny goodness, as well as a solid grill flavor, with hints of lemon and garlic to accentuate those flavors. The spiny lobster was soft and succulent -- yet meaty enough to be distinct within the strong tomato base. The risotto was the type I'd heard about all my life but never experienced firsthand -- a risotto where the fish flavor was blended so well into the rice that it captured the essence of its ingredients without the need to show them off; no large chunks of fish and shellfish here because ultimately that would have been cloying. The bream was delicate, soft, supple -- the best fish I've ever tasted.

And the raviolis, filled with a semi-sweet sheep's milk ricotta made in house and covered with an abundance of truffles, was other-worldly. A dish so rich and refined that it left we speechless. After eating it, I could absorb nothing more than the flavors it left lingering on my tongue -- the sort of dish that tells you, "All right, you can stop eating now, there's no reason to try anything else because nothing else will get better than that."

The desserts were outstanding too, I should add, but by the time they arrived I was so full (and drunk from the wonderful wines the sommelier selected to accompany our meal) that I could barely shovel them down. Note to self: Pace yourself better next time.

Given that, you can imagine how wonderful the bathrooms are. And like the meal itself they are tops -- one of the best I've been to.

Once going down that semi-dark hallway leading to them, I thought (as said earlier) that I might be stepping into an environment similar to Daniel Boulud Brasserie. But then once I got in I was reminded of where I was -- in the glorious Wynn Las Vegas, home to some of the best bathroom's I've visited -- and realized that these toilets were more than up to par with the rest of this establishment's fine toilets. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the bathrooms are more the creation of Wynn Las Vegas than Bartolotta.

Like the dining room, these toilets work in a modern tropical feel, one that is both decorative but understated. The room itself is not large but never feels small. After entering, you'll see a two-sink vanity in the far right corner. Opposite them, to the left of the door, are two white porcelain urinals, and opposite them, against the back left wall, are two toilet stalls, both with floor to ceiling full-wall dividers (like what was seen recently at J. Alexander's in Orlando) and full wooden stall doors (a modernist spin on what was seen at Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino).

The floor is covered with tiles of that look like a mix of marble pattern and pool patio surfaces -- and with thin grout lines in between to give the allusion that the entire floor is one surface. The walls have a sheer marble tile on the lower parts and brown-maroon paint on the upper parts. Combined, it gives the place a stately yet homey feel -- like a pool bath if it were in a museum, so to speak.

The urinals are standard but have elegant marble dividers between them and framed mosaics of butterflies overhead (further proof of the Wynn's influence, I think, since the hotel is filled with butterflies). The urinals themselves have a thick mesh within them, that absorbs pee and ensures there's no splatter.

The stalls are reminiscent to the look and feel of the stalls at Wynn Las Vegas and the aforementioned Paris Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, in that they are completely isolating and provide much privacy and good lighting.

The vanity is something special. The sinks are square shaped and short (similar to what was seen at Whole Foods South Orlando) and have automatic spigot-shaped faucets. There are two intricately framed mirrors (with frames made of medium-stained wood and colorful mosaics) hanging over each sink, with some modern metallic box-shaped lanterns in between. Paper towels and soap dispensers sit between the two.

The tile work merits special mention, as it forms both the dividing trim around the perimeter of the bathroom as well as in between the sink stations. It's festive, intricate -- almost like a modern spin on Tiffany glass, if you will. Because much of the tile work around the bathroom is stately and monotonous, the highlights here extend much personality to the place. Classy yet playful -- capturing the spirit of the restaurant outside -- yet because it forms the boundaries of the bathroom it's also functional.

As you can imagine, the place was spotless and odor free. Lighting was soft but also bright -- thanks to the chandelier overhead and those box lights. If I had to quibble about anything, it would be that the trash hole in the vanity was too full -- but I came by later for a second stop before leaving for the evening and that problem was fixed. What a place!

Marks out of 10:

11. Clearly better than perfect.

Comments to the Management:

This is heavenly -- what more can I say than that?