It's actually surprisingly rough, the individual scales almost stand up. You can definitely tell its snake! I'm not a big fan of snakes but it doesn't bother me. I am a bit concerned though about fragility! I worry about ripping one of the scales off.
I have snake skin shoes (not LV) ....they are from '95. The thing about snake skin is that it will dry out, scales stick out and yellow (at least mine did after a few years as they were the same color as your handle-I didn't treat them with anything). Perhaps you can ask LV (if you haven't already) the best way to keep the snake skin maintained.