Review of Bellagio, Las Vegas: A classy Las Vegas hotel and our pros and cons

 

Bellagio, Las Vegas

Steve Wynn:  “Las Vegas is sort of like how God would do it if he had money.”

My very first trip to the city of Las Vegas was in November 2001 for COMDEX (Computer Dealers Exhibition), an expo trade show held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.  The company I was working for at the time had rented a booth at the show, and they requested that I go to the trade show to represent the company.

I had reserved a 5 night stay at Bally’s Hotel on the Las Vegas Strip and I remember eating a hearty lunch at one of the hotel’s restaurants the first day.  I had a turkey burger for lunch, then checked in afterwards to see that my room had a gorgeous view of the Las Vegas Strip.

Looking at the Strip with all those glittering neon lights, glitzy hotels, and the amped up Las Vegas Boulevard (aka the Strip), I was totally blown away.  It reminded me so much of New York City, the “city that never sleeps”, where I grew up.

The city’s energy, vigor, and upscale hotels really sold me on the idea of Las Vegas as the “entertainment capital of the world”.  There were hotels that were so gigantic like the MGM Grand, that it would take a long time just to walk through the entire hotel.  Casinos were 24/7 and nonstop, with the “one armed bandit” taking every nickel/dime/quarter from hopeful gamblers, looking to hit the elusive jackpot.

I had a great time sightseeing, eating awesome foods, and enjoyed watching the fountains of Bellagio, especially during the night time, when the fountains would be lit up like Christmas trees.  I always wondered when I might stay at the iconic Bellagio. 

Bellagio fountains at night

Bellagio Hotel was the brainchild of Steve Wynn, who initially wanted to build a French-themed hotel, the Beau Rivage.  He scrapped the plan and instead themed it after the village of Bellagio, near Lake Como in Italy.  It opened in 1998 at a cost of $1.6 billion, at the time, the most expensive resort in the world. 

Bellagio is memorable thanks to its role in the hit movies “Ocean’s Eleven”, as well as “Ocean’s Thirteen”.  I always got a kick out of standing in front of the fountains like the characters did during the closing scene from “Ocean’s Eleven”.  

When the opportunity came to stay at the classy and iconic Bellagio, my wife and I absolutely jumped at the chance!  A little bit of background information first though:  In November 2022, I was able to upgrade to MGM Rewards Gold status, which means those horrendous (and often hated) resort fees between $20 - $45 are waived at all MGM resorts.  

Upgrading to the Gold status also meant we got free stays and free food/beverage credit at the Bellagio!  During the middle of December while we were visiting our nephew in Houston, we had reserved a 4 night comped stays at the Bellagio.  

It was absolutely fun planning out what room to reserve, viewing different photos of our potential room.  Arguably, the planning phase of a vacation is sometimes more fun than actually being on vacation!  We finally decided on the Resort Tower King, as it was bigger than other rooms we could get for free. 

Bottom line for the booking was as follows for January 9-13, 2023:  4 nights comped stay, $150 food/beverage credit, waived resort fee, free parking, and free upgrade to a room on a higher floor and/or with a nicer view.  

On the morning of January 9th, we left the town of Springdale (UT) near Zion National Park, for Las Vegas.  We knew the drive would only take about 2 1/2 hours, so we decided to fuel up (both car & us) and get a much needed car wash at the town of St. George, Utah.  

Our car had been a mud/slush/salt/sand/dirt covered beast after driving on unpaved roads at various national parks.  It was long overdue for a car wash before we headed for Las Vegas.  We wanted to be presentable, us and our car.

After washing our car nice & clean using a self service car wash (for a cost of around $9), our car was definitely ready for Vegas!  Afterwards, we decided to try a local Chinese restaurant, Panda Garden in the same town of St. George.  

The restaurant was only about 10 minutes away from the car wash.  We found the nicely sized parking lot, found a spot, then headed inside the restaurant.

Panda Garden, St. George, UT

We ordered two dishes, a Szechuan shrimp (my wife) and Yu Shang shrimp (me) from the lunch special menu.  We found the food tasty but very sweet.  The Yu Shang shrimp was literally shrimp & vegetables in lots of sugary/spicy sauce. 

After taking a bite of it, I switched the dish with my wife’s Szechuan shrimp, which was not as sweet.  I’ve been noticing most Chinese restaurants are serving much sweeter sauces than years past.  I’m wondering if it’s the customers dictating to restaurants that they want ever sweeter sauces, or is it the other way around?

Years past, garlic sauce and Szechuan sauce were my usual go-to sauces at Chinese restaurants and they were not sweet.  These days, I’m just hoping and praying the restaurant doesn’t make them overtly sweet.  Oh well.  My quest continues for good tasty foods that use no/little sugar…

After finishing our meals, we headed for Sin City!  We took I-15 southbound and arrived at the Bellagio at around 1:30 p.m.  We noticed the parking lot required the MGM Rewards card for entry, but I had the card in my luggage.  Oops…***Note:  the parking fee is paid upon leaving the lot, so I ended up ignoring the parking stub, and used my MGM Rewards card to exit for free!

Upon parking, we walked inside to the always stunning hotel lobby.  It felt great being back at Las Vegas, and especially at the Bellagio!  Here was a hotel I had secretly longed to stay at, and I was finally here!  

We walked inside to the faint smell of light perfume with a hint of vanilla(?).  Thanks to my new MGM Rewards Gold Status, the front desk staff member upgraded us to a corner room.  We took our keys then walked all the way to the end of the corridor and opened the door to our room.  

Resort Tower King, Bellagio

Huge bathroom, Resort Tower King, Bellagio

Shower, Resort Tower King, Bellagio

View of I-15 from Resort Tower King, Bellagio

The room was fantastic!  It had newly renovated furnishings with two huge floor-to-ceiling windows on each side of the room.  Even the bathroom had a huge window!  The views out of those windows made our stay that much more enjoyable.  We got to see the rising sun from one window, then saw the setting sun on the other window.  

The views inside the bathroom while getting ready in the morning was priceless!  We were hugely impressed and absolutely loved our free room!!!  We spent the next four days enjoying the hotel, the casino, the restaurants, and the excellent Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.

Without further ado, here are our pros & cons of the Bellagio, Las Vegas:

Pros

• One of the most recognizable and iconic hotels in Las Vegas

Even without its movie roles in major Hollywood movies, the Bellagio would still be very recognizable and iconic thanks to the beautiful hotel & resort design.  It is a classy, and very upscale look that stands the test of time. 

The word ‘classy’ easily comes to mind when thinking of the Bellagio.  It is neither modern with striking angles, nor use contrasting modern colors like black and white.  What Bellagio is, is a beautifully designed hotel that uses warm tones that evoke the classy and timeless European architecture. 

When you see it for the first time, you’ll immediately agree that the hotel looks and feels upscale.  Being that the Bellagio has maintained its 5 star rating since its inception, it’s no wonder the place was, is, and will always be upscale, recognizable, and iconic, even years from now.

The hotel is a destination all unto itself.  I personally don’t think I could’ve afforded this hotel were it not for the free/comped room, but I always thought about reserving it at least for one night, just to say I stayed at the iconic Bellagio.

• Fountains of Bellagio

This is quite possibly the reason why Bellagio is so famous and iconic!  Being featured in any movie that uses Las Vegas as its location certainly helps, but you can’t help but be mesmerized by the dancing, moving, and beautifully choreographed fountain shows, especially at night.

The fountain display show is on every 30 minutes from 3 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Mondays - Fridays, and is on every 15 minutes from 7 p.m. to midnight.  On weekends, the show starts earlier at noon.  *Check the latest show schedule from Bellagio’s website.

We must’ve watched the mesmerizing show at least 6-8 times during our trips to the city.  We highly recommend it as it’s one of the best cool & free things to do in Las Vegas!

• The Conservatory & Botanical Gardens 

Taking up over 14,000 square feet near the hotel lobby, the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens is another one of those things that makes Bellagio great.  The changing seasons bring new displays of wonder and awe.

The place is always packed with visitors gawking at the displays every single day.  It is a great respite from the 24/7 casino action mere hundred steps away.  

During our January visit, we got to see the beautiful Lunar New Year display, complete with the “Year of the Rabbit” theme as well as seasonal flowers.  There’s something for everyone no matter which season you happen to visit.

The Conservatory & Botanical Gardens, Bellagio, Las Vegas 

• Bellagio Pools

There are 5 different pools at the Bellagio, befitting its 5 Diamond hotel rating.  The pool area feels like an Italian village, albeit a very upscale one at that.  

Although we didn’t use the pool in January, we did see several diehard swimmers at the pool!  Wow.  Like a typical Las Vegas hotel pool, it fills up fast during peak season (anytime but winter), so plan on getting there early.

View of the pool from our hotel room, Bellagio

• Central location on the Strip

Bellagio’s location right on Flamingo Rd and Las Vegas Boulevard (aka the Strip) is one of the best things about the hotel.  There is the Caesar’s Palace next door, with Paris directly across the street.  There is simply no substitute for Bellagio when it comes to its centralized location!

We walked everywhere once we parked our car at the Bellagio, or took the free tram from Bellagio to Park MGM.  We went to eat Italian food at the excellent Eately at the Park MGM, and ate a buffet at the Excalibur.  

Even though my MGM Rewards card provides free parking at all the MGM resorts in Las Vegas, it was so much easier to walk or take the tram.  After being on the road for the previous month and a half (since November 28th), we were glad we didn’t have to drive on the Strip.

Centrally located!  View of Paris Hotel from Bellagio

• Resort Tower King!

Our free room was simply amazing.  Just walking down the hotel corridor to the end, where our room was located, was a very pleasant and anticipatory experience!  The corridor smelled nice, and when we opened the hotel room door, we were so happy…

The room was magnificent and very spacious!  The room had been recently renovated and it showed.  All the furnishings looked new, while the bed/mattress was phenomenal.  We got some of the best sleep anywhere, with its corner room helping to quell extraneous noise.   

Everything worked as it should, and the cleaning staff did a marvelous job of preparing the room.  It was exactly what a 5 Diamond rated hotel should be.  Being that we didn’t have to pay for the room (hotel room plus the hated resort fee), it was even sweeter to stay at the excellent Resort Tower King.

When checking into the hotel, and you’ve booked a Resort Tower King room, ask for a corner room.  We got one of the best rooms we stayed anywhere, and it was quiet!  

Cons

• High prices for food

Even though my MGM Rewards Gold status gave us $150 resort credit to use for food/beverage, we found food prices at the Bellagio incredibly high.  We only ate at the casual dining establishments like the Buffet and Snacks, but even there, prices were exorbitant.

For example, we paid close to $50 per person(!) for lunch at the buffet!!!  I know we’re living in a high inflationary environment, but $50 for brunch???  Had we not had that resort credit, we wouldn’t have eaten at the buffet.  And to be honest, we didn’t care for the taste or the quality of the buffet.  

Years ago, the buffet featured more variety of foods like multiple seafood dishes, Mexican and Asian dishes.  There was only the salmon dish, and no Mexican or Asian dishes.  It was such a letdown…After eating at the Bellagio Buffet, we longed for the better tasting Borgata buffet in Atlantic City.

Even at Snacks, a casual restaurant, the situation wasn’t any better.  For example, a chicken sandwich cost over $20, and a relatively light lunch for the two of us, cost about $50 (2 sandwiches, 2 sodas).  Wow…

I’m fairly certain Bellagio is trying to cater to high end clientele who probably spends lavishly on vacations, but we are certainly not that.  We’re trying to watch our monthly budget as we’re early retirees who need to live on fixed income.  We were also into our second month of travel (what would be a 2 1/2 month cross country road trip) on the road, and we really needed to watch what we spent on…

• Stingy slot machines

I think I speak for most slot machine aficionados when I say the payouts have gotten way worse!  Were it not for the $425 in free play from Bellagio, I wouldn’t have enjoyed playing the machines at all.  

It seemed no matter which machine I played, nothing paid out.  I like to enjoy myself playing the slots, but it was hard to do that when nothing paid out.  Usually, machines would give something back, but it was absolutely brutal!  

I don’t think I even won $100 on any single game, which is terrible.  Machines just kept on taking money (free or otherwise) until I’ve had enough of losing.  Luckily, we only played about 2 hours when we did play, which minimized the damage, but it was no fun just feeding the machine our money…

• Felt impersonal 

These days, I’ve given up on good customer service from staff, no matter where we go.  With labor shortages hitting every sector, especially the travel and hospitality industries, it’s no wonder good customer service is hard to come by…

At the Bellagio, we didn’t feel special as a valued customer of MGM Resorts.  We were checked in, without a friendly greeting, and no one stood out at the resort.  No friendly greetings were exchanged with any staff member anywhere, and no one seemed to be having fun.  

Most staff members looked miserable and didn’t want to be there, adding to my dissatisfaction.  I understand hospitality industry is hard work, but if you’re working at the hospitality industry, where the keyword is to be “hospitable”, shouldn’t you try to make guests feel welcomed???

Most travelers staying at these expensive hotels spend gobs of money.  I personally think it’s the hotel’s job to make guests feel welcomed and valued.  Hotels should reward those staff members who go out of their way to make guests feel special.  Is a simple, friendly greeting that difficult?  We greet hikers all the time during our hikes.  Why can’t hotel staff?  Is this too much to ask?

In conclusion:

Staying at the iconic Bellagio was one of the highlights of our cross country road trip.  We loved the hotel room, all the fantastic amenities, and the central location!  Despite some disappointments at the hotel, we still had a fantastic stay.  We understand nothing will ever be perfect, even at a 5 Diamond rated hotel like the Bellagio.  

We hope hospitality industry can retain their workers and provide living wages that make them happy to be there.  Rewarding those who provide good friendly customer service in a hospitality industry makes perfect sense to me.  We need more of these valuable, people-oriented people!  Ok, I’ll stop my rambling about the lack of good customer service these days…

We hope you enjoy your stay at the Bellagio, a classy and an iconic hotel at the heart of Las Vegas.  We thank you for reading and happy trails!  Keep up with us on our continuing journey across the American West.

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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