TAO
Information
At a Glance
What is it?
One of the most aggressively trendy of the hot spots with a dark and moody vibe, pounding dance floor, long lines, and frequent celebrity sightings.
Where is it?
At The Venetian on the Center Strip.
What kind of crowd does it draw?
Almost all tourists and usually young, pretty, party types.
What are the prices like?
Expensive. Figure anywhere from $20-50 just to get in the door and drinks that will run you $20 a pop with tip.
When is the best time to go?
Get there early so you can try to avoid the very long lines that form at peak hours.
Why should I go here?
Because you are a young, pretty, party type.
What else do I need to know?
There is a full restaurant and an outdoor dayclub with a pool included in this package.
What’s the bottom line?
You have to be committed to the nightlife scene to enjoy this one.
Full Review
This place at The Venetian opened in 2005 and almost immediately become one of THE hottest of hotspots. I know there is only supposed to be one THE hotspot but this is Vegas and the normal rules don’t apply. Tao is the kind of joint where you may be able to do some celebrity spotting if you can get close enough to the private booths and VIP areas where they congregate.
I’m calling the theme post-apocalyptic Communist China and I swear my memory of the place was like a scene from those movies where the hero gets slipped a “micky” and is trying to get out of the Bangkok nightclub before the bad guys find him, so he stumbles through the club and everywhere he looks emotionless women with severe black bobs look at him as if through a fish-eye lens and take long drags on cigarettes in holders while a strobe light flashes and techno music with angry men growling lyrics in German raves in the background.
The multi-level facility features a restaurant and lounge on the first floor and the main club upstairs with several bars, some seating areas, lots of VIP booth areas, a big dance floor, and outdoor patio with a pool, and absolutely not one single inch of personal space.
So of course it’s insanely popular, always packed, and the kind of place people are dying to get into (the VIP guest list line on the night I visited was about 50 people long and I couldn’t see the end of the line for the non-VIP folks). I’m not a fan of this particular genre of nightclub to begin with but I am convinced that there are others (like XS, and Marquee) that do it better but it all comes down to a matter of personal taste in the end. If you’re into the see and be seen kind of party all night action this place should definitely be on your to-do list.