Hotel Review: Bellagio Las Vegas

I made a reservation through Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts for the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas for one night. Per the terms, it came with $100 resort credit, free breakfast and a room upgrade if available. My husband currently holds top tier Noir status with MLife so that meant we’d also get complimentary transportation to and from the airport.

Our driver was waiting with sign in hand right as we came down the escalators into the baggage claim area. He was cheerful, and took command of the bags as he guided us to the waiting limo.

Soon we were out of the heat and gliding towards the Bellagio resort in air-conditioned comfort. There was no alcohol stocked in the vehicle but that was just fine. We arrived at the hotel, thanked him and went inside.

If you have ever checked in to the Bellagio you know that the line to do so is usually long and snakes around those velvet ropes.

Holding Noir status, we ignored the main check-in area altogether and walked right past it towards an unmarked set of french doors that simply said, “Pull”. Once inside, we found ourselves in a quieter, smaller lobby. Fresh flowers were laid out on the tables and comfortable couches were scattered around. The more intimate check-in experience felt special.

An attendant stood near a buffet, and asked if we might like to have some wine or coffee. We declined but I took a plate to enjoy some of the chocolate covered strawberries, which were very good.

Because the hotel was “full” according to the hostess, there wouldn’t be a great upgrade this time. Paying for a Deluxe Fountain view room, she offered a Premium Fountain View room which was one level up. Once my husband mentioned he had Noir status, she offered a corner Salone suite but with a city view.

I chose the Premium Fountain View because I had always wanted to see the fountain water show from inside the hotel, and she quickly made keys. She handed us a welcome letter that mentioned all of the places we could use our $100 credit at (restaurants, spa), and I asked if it could be used for room service since that’s really what I wanted to do with it. She said no, unfortunately it was not good for room service. There were also some restaurants that were excluded, but it hadn’t said anything about exclusions when I had booked via FHR’s website.

Many of the FHR properties in Las Vegas offer a $100 spa credit, but I had chosen the Bellagio specifically because it had said “resort credit”. I had taken that to mean anything charged to the room, and had intended to use it for room service. It turns out that the restaurants included in the approved list were happy to do take-away which worked well, but I would have preferred to have known in advance if there were some stipulations associated with the credit.

She also gave us vouchers which were good for $30 credit per person towards breakfast which was pretty reasonable. After each item was handed out she made us sign a form stating that we acknowledged having received them. It didn’t create an impression of trust, and I wondered what would happen if I was to lose one of the breakfast vouchers and ask for another.

After check-in was done she gave directions on how to get to the elevators, and I listened closely. Casinos are designed for you to wander around in rather than to go straight from point “A” to point “B”. Finding the elevator bank without any trouble it zipped up to floor 21.

The room wasn’t at the end of the hall, but there was no connecting door which was good. The bathroom looked clean but pretty standard, and the amenities were Bellagio’s own which came in small containers shaped perhaps to look like champagne bottles.

The room was warm at first when we entered, but after adjusting the thermostat it cooled down nicely. Rather than a closet, the room had a wardrobe.

There was a minibar with brightly colored snacks.

The room was decorated in a palette of muted greens and purples, which made it a bit calmer than some of the Vegas rooms I’ve seen.

The bed had a padded headboard, and nightstands with lamps on both sides. All four pillows were synthetic which was a disappointment, and the sheets were a little rough rather than being soft and smooth.

The main selling point of the room was the amazing view. While the “Deluxe” fountain view rooms were on floors 4-28 and on the sides of the tower, the “Premium” fountain view rooms were on floors 18-28 and right in the middle. I loved the vantage point that allowed me to look straight out over the middle of the fountain. I could also see up and down the main strip and enjoy the mountains in the background.

According to Bellagio’s website, the water fountain show schedule is as follows:

Monday – Friday
3:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
show every 1/2 hour
8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
show every 15 minutes
Saturdays, Sundays* and Holidays
12:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
show every 1/2 hour
8:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.
show every 15 minutes
*On Sundays Fountain show times begin at 11 a.m. and run every 15 minutes from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the Fountains Brunch at Jasmine.

That meant that I didn’t have to worry about missing the show since it happened every 15 minutes after 8pm.

The fountain show is pretty cool especially if you haven’t seen it before. It is a mix of light, water and music which ranges from opera and Broadway tunes to the new show featuring music by Tiesto.

Click here for a Youtube behind-the-scenes look at Tiesto’s latest.

One part of the room that I didn’t fully appreciate until the next day was the desk. It was placed in the corner right by the window so I had a great view while working.

In the morning we decided to do the breakfast buffet, which is normally $19.99 per person. The buffet is located next to the “O” Theatre and is open from 7am-11am. Although there was a fairly long line, there was a separate lane that we could use because of the Noir status.

There is a new $12.00 add-on drink package offered for those that want unlimited Margaritas, Bloody Marys, beer and sparkling wine, but we passed.

There were lots of places to sit, and I noticed that there were different types of tables. Some were high, for those that may have difficulty standing up from a low position. Other tables had chairs removed so wheelchairs could roll right up to the table. Pretty cool.

When it came to the buffet, there were the standard breakfast foods like eggs, bacon, waffles and pastries, and a full salad bar.

Since it was Vegas, there were also all sorts of other cuisine options such as Italian, Chinese, seafood and desserts.

The Jalapeno cornbread was delicious.

There were actually less breakfast items to choose from than I would have liked, though if enjoying an early lunch it would have been great. After breakfast I went upstairs to work for a while, and enjoy the view.

Checking out took a long time because there was just one person behind the counter and she was involved in a conversation with another guest for what seemed like 15 minutes. Finally when it was my turn, she said she would make an exception again for the transportation back to the airport but in the future I’d need to make hotel reservations directly with the hotel because otherwise we wouldn’t be eligible. I mentioned that my husband had Mlife Noir status, and she said it didn’t matter. I was surprised because previous trips had been booked through Mlife directly and also with FHR but maybe their policy had changed.

There was also a resort fee of $32.48 (tax included) that the hostess said she didn’t waive for anyone. The resort fee covered in-room local and toll-free calls, access to the fitness center, notary service, wireless internet, and boarding pass printing.

This hotel stay wasn’t anything spectacular. I was glad I got to see the water fountain show from a fantastic vantage point, and the driver was fun but the room itself wasn’t great. The furniture was older, sheets were a bit rough, pillows weren’t feather, and there was nothing about the room that said, “luxury” to me. There was also more of a smoky smell both in the room and the hotel than I can recall from my most recent stays in Las Vegas.