Bellagio: Is It Worth All the Fuss? Read and Find Out!
Written: Jun 18 '08
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful public areas, tons of dining and entertainment options.
Cons: Some service issues, Lack of late-night eateries
The Bottom Line: I'd stay again, but not for full price.
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| chelledun's Full Review: Bellagio Hotel |
Las Vegas offers innumerable hotels, but only one Bellagio. After seeing this hotel and its fountains in many movies and television shows, I hoped to stay there some day but concluded it was out of my current price range. As luck had it, though, Mr_chelledun and I found a two night Wednesday through Friday stay at the relatively reasonable rate of approximately $200 per night. I should note that we had to move on to the Luxor on the third night of our on-strip stay, when rates for the same room shot up to $900(!) per night. While not quite a five star hotel in all areas, Bellagio does, for the most part, live up to its premium reputation.
Know Before You Go
The Bellagio offers a fabulous location mid-strip, but you may still want a car if you intend to venture downtown or outside the Vegas city limits. Valet parking costs only a tip, as is the case with most major casino hotels. Be sure to carry plenty of cash in various denominations for such occasions.
This hotel is within moderate walking distance to Caesar’s, Bally’s, Paris, Hard Rock Hotel, and the Flamingo. Keep in mind, though, that no two points are as close as they look in Vegas – the hotel is set so far back from the street it will take a ten minute walk/moving sidewalk ride to even get off-property even from the front entrance. The Bellagio is reasonably close to a monorail stop for those heading north, although we found the monorail to be more trouble than it was worth. A $7-10 cab ride will get you just about anywhere on the strip from the Bellagio.
First Impressions
The Bellagio is a stunner both inside and out. Guests are greeted by the hotel’s famed fountains on the outside and a beautiful, glass-flowered ceiling on the inside. I expected the decor to be boring but it’s not – there’s plenty of tastefully used color here. The registration desk lines the long wall to the left of the atrium, with bright hot air balloons floating in the background. The right side of the room opens up to the massive, canopied casino.
Check-in is officially at 3:00 p.m., but we attempted courtesy check-in at around noon. We waited about ten minutes to learn that no rooms were available, which was fine. In the meantime, the hotel staff gave us a hard time about accessing the pool facilities without a room key, which was not fine. Eventually we were able to catch some sun after being escorted from the lobby by my parents, who had already checked in. I understand and appreciate the need to restrict pool use to guests, but it seems some type of temporary pass is in order for those who don’t get a room until after 3:00. After all, it’s kind of the luck of the draw what time one receives a key, and those who don’t yet have a room need to go somewhere.
We returned well after 3:00 to claim our room and found a bit of a madhouse in the lobby. Tons of guests were waiting to check in, and the situation was made worse by the general chaos surrounding us. Several employees are on standby to guide guests to the shortest lines, but by moving folks back and forth from one line to another they actually managed to make things worse made things worse. Although only two sets of patrons were in front of us, the wait to get to the desk the second time was about twenty-five minutes. Once we received a substantial free upgrade, however, at least some of the prior issues were forgiven.
The Room
Our upgrade was from the cheapest available room to a full lake view room – incidentally, the very same category of room which my parents had paid about $70 more for per night. Score! We did in fact have a fabulous view of the fountain show, which we watched probably a dozen times during our stay, typically with the corresponding soundtrack playing on the television.
Other than the view, the room was nice but unremarkable. We had a comfy king bed with a plush gold comforter, and the rest of the room was decked out in gold tones to match. The king bed allowed for plenty of floorspace, but my family’s identical room with two queen beds seemed a little cramped. We had an armchair, desk with wired internet (at $12.00 per night) and remotely-controlled draperies. Overall, a nice room, but not nearly as plush or contemporary as the one we’d enjoyed several nights earlier at the Golden Nugget.
The bathroom contained marble flooring, a large tub and separate shower, and upscale toiletries. The shower was really great, with plenty of pressure and a variety of settings. We enjoyed the plush towels and robes as well. Both bedroom and bathroom were spotlessly clean, perhaps due to the fact that the housekeepers are a smidge overzealous. My parents’ wouldn’t take no for an answer as to turndown service, and we were woken up multiple times from both naps and a good night’s sleep. I also expected a little more subtlety in service from a hotel of this caliber.
Recreation
The Bellagio has several minor and major attractions within its walls. It is famous for its indoor botanical garden, which…is not as impressive as I expected. This seasonal area was being transitioned to something new during most of our time in Vegas, which appeared to involve…gnomes. There did not appear to be all that many flowers, and the area is really quite small. The Bellagio is also home to a Gallery of Fine Art. We did not make it there, sadly, but American Modernism was the theme during our trip. Apparently the collection changes every several months or so. What we did see was the popular Cirque de Soleil show “O”, and I can’t even explain how unique and fascinating it is. Tickets are expensive, but GO!
The Bellagio’s truly fabulous pool area deserves a paragraph to itself. This maze of pools and fountains is one of the most beautiful, relaxing swimming complexes I’ve ever seen. Most of the pools are heated, although on the 102 degree days of our stay we found ourselves gravitating toward the two chilly ones. The space is large enough that we never had trouble finding a chair. Guests are given as many plush towels as desired upon entering, and cocktail waitresses circulate at regular intervals to ensure one can enjoy a drink with a minimum of effort. Overall, the Bellagio gets an A for its pool area. In fact, all it’s missing is a slide.
Of course, while all the other recreation options are great, some folks are here to gamble and only to gamble. The Bellagio meets this need in its casino, which happens to be one of the most attractive gambling spaces on the strip. You won’t find many $5.00 craps tables here, though, and the “High Roller” slots go up to at least $100. We joined the player’s club here and learned that it is owned and operated by MGM Grand. This means the cards can be used at nearly a dozen casinos in Vegas and elsewhere, including the Mirage, New York New York, Treasure Island, Monte Carlo, Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand, and Mandalay Bay resorts. We didn’t win much with our $10.00 free slot play, but did enjoy carrying just one card for the duration of the week.
Dining and Drinking
Upscale dining is no problem at the Bellagio. We ate the most memorable meal of our time in Vegas at Sensi, the hotel’s newest Asian-Italian-America-Seafood restaurant. Yum! The place is a little noisy but I highly recommend the short ribs or pretty much anything on the side item menu. Bellagio also boasts an Asian noodle shop, a martini bar, a gelato cafe, and an AAA Five Diamond French bistro. Don’t worry, there’s a buffet too – and a darn good one. Breakfast is a particularly good value at around $13.00 per person.
What Bellagio lacks, however, are 24-hour amenities, considering this is allegedly the city that never sleeps. After our group finagled our way into the Bellagio’s exclusive nightclub, The Bank, we emerged at 3:00 a.m. ready for some late night chow. Hotel staff recommended the “casual” Bellagio cafe, which serves…steak and things. Not exactly what one wants post-midnight. The helpful bouncer at The Bank let me know that it was going to require a twenty-minute walk to get to more traditional late night fare, but that I could order whatever I wanted from room service even if it wasn’t on the menu. So, that’s how I came to eat a hot dog, fries, and a piece of apple pie from a white linen tablecloth while seated on our king-sized bed. As tasty as the food was, I wish the Bellagio had more than one 24-hour venue within walking distance. There’s no doubt that the casino snack shop would do a bang-up business with the post-club crowd if it were open past 10:00 p.m.
Overall
Is it a nice hotel? Yes, definitely. Is it as good as they say? Probably not quite. While the Bellagio is certainly beautiful and the fountain show amazing, we encountered some service issues that surprised us and weren’t blown over by the hotel’s rooms. I would stay at the Bellagio on a future stay if I got a good deal, but otherwise I’d just as soon give one of the other upscale strip hotels a try or return to the less expensive, friendlier, Golden Nugget downtown.
Recommended:
Yes
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