It’s hard to believe that the Bellagio opened in 1998 and it was only recently that I had the opportunity to stay there when I decided last minute to fly to Las Vegas to see a concert at The Sphere. I’d visited the hotel many times over the years to see the gorgeous Chihuly glass in the lobby, the spectacular garden displays and of course to gamble (and lose as I do) but hadn’t experienced the hotel as a guest until now. The Bellagio is owned by MGM and is a five-star luxury hotel in their Vegas portfolio with over 3,000 rooms! In people terms I was likely one out of 6,000-10,000+ people staying in the hotel over the weekend. It’s a massive operation no question. For a quick weekend, I was looking forward to all things luxury hotel which to me is the personal service, feeling like I never want to leave and a relaxing indulgent escape. I guess the real question was is five star Las Vegas equivalent to five star anywhere else? Let’s see.
Booking Bellagio Las Vegas Last Minute
As this was a last-minute trip (two days before arrival), I frantically searched all websites to find the lowest price for the holiday weekend. With multiple windows open on my laptop and my phone (prices can vary between the two), I found an “enhanced room” on the MGM rewards site. You can join MGM Rewards loyalty program for free to access discounted room pricing. The Premier Two Queen room (King room were sold out) for a three-night stay would cost $1,165.09 ($995.02 for the room & tax and then the dreaded daily resort fee of $50 plus tax which added $170.07). Don’t be fooled by the initial pricing you see on all websites because the resort fee will pop up as you go through the booking process (surprise!). Resort fees are generally $50 or more per night added to the hotel room cost.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Location of the Las Vegas Strip
The Bellagio Las Vegas has one the best locations in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel is set back from the street and has a massive fountain in front which entertains people day and night. Caesars Hotel is located on one side and the Aria/Cosmopolitan on the other side with The Paris Hotel and Planet Hollywood across the street. That said it does take time to walk from the Strip, around the fountains which can get crowded to the front door.
Arrival & check in at the Bellagio
In my opinion, a five-star experience should start from the time you step on the property with someone opening the taxi door (didn’t happen), offering to take your bags (the bellman didn’t ask) and opening the front door (didn’t happen). As I was arriving at 10pm on a Friday night, well pass the 3pm standard check-in time, I had hoped for a short line and a seamless check in experience.
I’m old school when it comes to checking in – I prefer to go to the front desk and get a keycard. Fumbling for my phone, unlocking it and making sure the Wi-Fi is working takes more time for me versus a keycard tap. The MGM app does offer online check-in (you’ll need to verify identity and scan your license into the app) and a digital key. The hotel has multiple check-in kiosks in the lobby set up on two tables for those who are keen to use technology and not talk to anyone.
As for that hope…. I saw three people in line and four staff at the front desk which was more promising than a normal afternoon check in line (see photo below). I figured it would be a short wait but I would be wrong as I watched the interactions and gestures from the folks at the desk, it seemed that everyone had an issue of some sort to work through. The folks ahead of me and behind me were getting impatient with the wait as they wondered what was causing the backlog. I saw staff on the phone and waving the supervisor over multiple times to help. I’m not sure what the issues were but after a long flight after work on a Friday plus the time zone change, I was hangry and ready to crash on the lobby floor.
Twenty minutes later, I finally made my way to the desk with my license and credit card at the ready hoping to facilitate a speedy check in but got stuck in the “sorry I need to use the phone to check with housekeeping what rooms are available” loop. I questioned why the computer didn’t show available rooms and if check in was at 3pm shouldn’t the rooms be ready and available without having to go in search of? I didn’t get a valid answer other than “we are sold out tonight”. After a bunch more taps into the computer, I was given a small bottle of water, a resort map, keycards and sent on my way. I walked through the busy casino and make a left to the guest elevators. I stopped for a bottle of water and a bag of chips ($14.08 – Welcome to Vegas casino pricing!). A security person was manning the entrance to the elevators and made guests show and tap keycards against the wall to get the green light (note: as it got more crowded folks showed keys and didn’t tap)
Arriving on the guest room floor, the hallway split out into a Y shape with three directions to choose from. No surprise my room would be at the end of a very long hallway on the left. The hallway had a nice design with greys and blues with clear light fixtures and the color palette carried into the room which was recently renovated.
Enhanced Double Queen Room at Bellagio
Booking last minute, the cheapest option was the “enhanced” double queen room. “Enhanced” only meant higher floor with no view of the famous fountains which costs more. Upon entry, the room looked just like the online photos, so no surprises really other than it feeling small for a room that sleeps four.
The view looked out to the distance behind the Strip to the mountains, highways and Rio Hotel.
The room is low key with buttons and switches and to order room service or contact the front desk, you need to use the phone next to the bed. There are multiple outlets for plugs and USB on the table between the beds. While the USB wasn’t intrusive, if you choose to use the plug it invades your pillow space a bit while laying in the bed.
The entertainment center contained the television and minibar (Coca Cola products, beer wine and liquor in addition to candy). The refrigerator is triggered by removing an item so be aware if you don’t put back within x seconds you will be charged. The nice feature of the refrigerator is a small “personal” shelf to store your personal items (food, medicines, etc.)
The closet contained just one robe in a room that sleeps four and was booked for two so that felt like a housekeeping miss. No slippers were provided in this room type so I found housekeeping in the hallway the next morning and requested a pair. When I returned after breakfast, two pair of slippers were put inside the room. I thanked the housekeeper and tipped her $5.
I put the “do not disturb” sign on the door and declined housekeeping for the rest of the weekend as the bathroom provided enough towels for one person during my stay. Despite declining service, I left a $10 tip when I left on Monday.
Bellagio Double Queen Room Bathroom
The bathroom was renovated but the phone next to the toilet remains as a throwback to an older version of the hotel. There are two sinks along with two outlets and a large walk-in shower. The water pressure was good and I liked the ability to turn on the water at a distance with an easy-to-use handle.
Snacks 24/7 Café at Bellagio
The hotel has a range of restaurants to choose from but honestly, I wasn’t feeling like an expensive dinner during my stay or walking elsewhere so I found myself eating at Snacks, the 24/7 food outlet on the casino floor. It has a selection of salads, burgers, chicken, pizza slices and fries along with drinks and popular desserts (chocolate chip cookies and brownies). Let’s just say it was a “cheat weekend”. The line appeared short but the wait was long each time I visited at different times of day (mid-day 3pm and late night 10pm) averaging 25-30 minutes in line before placing my order. I was given a beeper and the average wait after placing my order was 10-15 minutes. I chose takeaway to go back to my room with my box of food rather than eat at the counter space or wait for a table in the small dining area.
Pricing was in line with other areas of the hotel –
- Chicken fingers, sweet potato fries, lemonade and a cookie were $44.27
- Grilled chicken sandwich, salt/pepper fries and a lemonade were $38.91
Snacks could definitely benefit from tablet ordering or MGM in app ordering to provide a better customer experience. They were making food to order which added to the wait times along.
Tip: Don’t go hungry, be prepared to wait (pack some patience) and don’t think about the cost, it’s about the convenience. If you are keen to walk to save money, then Chick Fil A and In N Out Burger are nearby on the Strip for much less. Walgreens and CVS are also across the road and each has prepared sandwiches and other food options. They are also the go to for bottled water rather than pay $6-8+ per bottle in the casino.
Solo Breakfast at Sadelle’s in the Bellagio
Breakfast at a casino hotel is almost always a chore in my experience. Hungry, hungover or ready to check-out guests are keen to eat breakfast quickly and its never quick. Sadelle’s had multiple lines – a regular line (waits over an hour), a priority line (Gold and above) and a line for those who made reservations. As the restaurant is just beyond the lobby in the garden atrium expect crowds all day due to the popularity of the gardens on display.
I made a 9:45 am reservation when I woke up at 8:30 am. I arrived a few minutes early at 9:40am and directed to the empty reservations line where I would stand for 15 minutes before a table was available. As I followed the hostess past a full dining room before arriving at a four top (table for four) half booth facing the dining room and bar. The table wasn’t ready for me as it wasn’t set up with a placemat, silverware or glasses. Once I sat down and saw the teenager with noise canceling headsets, I thought he had the right idea as the room was very loud.
Eventually, staff arrived to set up the table and provide a glass of water. I tried to order breakfast but was told my server would arrive soon. Ten minutes later the harried server arrived surprised to see me. I kept my order simple – two eggs with bacon and toast for $25 and a glass of pineapple juice $7.50. I was hungry upon arrival and even more so with the twenty-five-minute wait (table + server) so I was further dismayed that my food took another thirty-five minutes to arrive. The server did visit halfway to apologize for the delay.
The food arrived lukewarm and with the wrong toast. The server was nowhere to be found to return the food so it could be made fresh (meaning hot and correct). Having worked in restaurants for more than ten years, I will give some grace to the servers, kitchen and staff but that morning, I gave up. I ate the food because I was hungry with a plummeting blood sugar level after an hour past my reservation time. The server stopped by when I was done eating to give me the check. They knew I wasn’t happy and didn’t want to deal with me and frankly I wasn’t in the mood to tell the manager what he already knew – it was a cluster today. Breakfast cost $35.72 pre-tip.
This was such a disappointing breakfast that I don’t recommend dining at Sadelle’s for breakfast. I went to other restaurants/casinos for breakfast the following days and had a much better experience – wait times, attentive servers and a lower price.
Gym Classes at the Bellagio
When researching where to stay, I was intrigued that the Bellagio gym offered Pilates Reformer and Yin Yoga classes (additional cost). After my disappointing breakfast I walked across the atrium to the spa entrance and took the elevator to the second floor to book the classes. I was told that the personal trainer was going on vacation and all classes were canceled for the next week with no one filling in for her. It was my second disappointment of the day at Bellagio. I was still in search of the five-star hotel experience and wondering if Las Vegas five stars required me to lower my expectations.
MGM Loyalty Program
As a member of MGM Rewards, you have access to room discount benefits which I used to book my stay. On this trip, I was able to do a status match of Celebrity Cruise elite status into MGM Gold. Gold provides priority lines at the front desk, restaurants and elsewhere which is nice but the tipping point for me was the “waived resort fees”. On this stay, the resort fees totaled $170.07 and that felt like winning the lottery given that my gambling luck was nowhere to be found this trip. MGM is now partnered with Marriott Bonvoy to earn and redeem Marriott points in Las Vegas.
Cirque du Soleil “O” at Bellagio
I was stalking Adele tickets up to two hours ahead of her Saturday concert and they were still in the double mortgage payment range which was not an option so I pivoted to book a ticket to see Cirque du Soleil O at the Bellagio last minute for the 7pm show (there’s also a 9:30pm show). This well known and loved production which incorporates water into the performance was still on my list after years of visiting Las Vegas so I went to my MGM app to book. The app redirects you to Ticketmaster to buy your ticket so I found a seat in the first level next to last row on the aisle (section 202, row W, aisle seat) and it was perfect view. The cost with fees totaled $160.38 (this same seat is now selling for over $200+ so they must have had a price increase lately) and was worth every penny. I was in awe the whole time.
For ninety minutes (no intermission) you’ll be entranced by the unbelievable feats that the artists deliver. Each act is more daring and creative and scary and takes the audience on a journey. I’ll admit for this show I lost the plot of the guy, the girl and the red scarf but didn’t care to be honest. It was pure entertainment start to finish. The two clowns were outstanding and guarantee laughs whenever they appear.
Using Taxis in Las Vegas
I used taxis rather than ride sharing on this trip. At the Bellagio, ride sharing pick up and drop off is in a different location so it was often quicker to get the next taxi that was available outside the lobby. Of note, using a credit card adds $3 on top of the taxi fare so I brought cash for taxis which is cheaper and the drivers appreciate. Rule of thumb for taxis for me is that going to another hotel on the strip is $12-$15 with tip and going downtown to the Mob Museum, Neon Museum or Freemont Street Experience is $33-40 depending on time of day.
The taxi line was rarely crowded except on Sunday night when I wanted to go to the Venetian on the way to the U2 concert at The Sphere. I ended up walking there as the line was too long to wait so on weekend during prime time allow yourself enough time to wait in line. If going to the Sphere, I’d suggest booking dinner at the Venetian or The Wynn and going early to avoid the taxi madness at concert time.
Red Eye Flight – Late checkout and day room pricing
With a red eye flight booked home to Philly after midnight, I had few options to spend the day in Las Vegas. I knew I couldn’t wander all day (11am – 10:30pm) so I looked for the cheapest way to have a room so I could have a place to nap, eat and shower before the flight home.
- Late check-out ($68.03) which was 2 p.m. at the Bellagio
- At breakfast, I booked a one night stay at Nomad Las Vegas ($50 plus taxes) to use as a day room
Solo Weekend in Las Vegas at the Bellagio
This was my first stay at the Bellagio, a hotel I’ve long admired as a luxury experience. I’m not sure if I can quite call it 5 stars to be honest based on this stay with the disappointments I encountered. Maybe my expectations were too high over the years thinking this was the pinnacle hotel stay on the Las Vegas Strip. The stars of my stay were the housekeeping ladies that greeted me every time I passed them in the hallway. The Bellagio Las Vegas has a great location with comfortable rooms but the finer details were missed on my stay. It’s likely that location, location, location wins the argument for staying at the Bellagio in the future.
