I booked this hotel way back in March and specifically requested a room on a high floor that had a view of the Bellagio water fountains. I called several times before my arrival to make sure that my requests would be honored, which was for a North Tower room with a view of the Bellagio water fountains.

When I arrived at this hotel at 10:30 AM (wearing my tripadvisor hat), check-in line was a breeze. I was told then that I check in is at 3 PM but they would accommodate me to give me a room at 10:30 AM. I told them that I really wanted a view of Bellagio and they said "yes we see your request." I got my key and went to the room. The check in agent never once mentioned that I wasn't going to get the view I wanted.

When I got to the room, the first thing I went towards was the windows which I opened them and lo and behold, the view I had was towards the mountains, casino parking lot and some trailer parking lot (which is a bit boring) and disappointed me already. I felt that the hotel should have offered right away that they want to accommodate our requests and offer to watch our bags with the bellhop so we could get the room we wanted later while we would do whatever we wanted in Vegas from 10:30 am to 3 pm. I even wore my trip advisor hat in hopes that I might get upgraded to something nicer. That never happened. Instead they didn't say anything about the room I was going to get, and put me in a room looking back towards the mountains instead. I wasn't happy with that.

Considering that Bally's was a hotel and its interiors were clean, the outside windows were really dirty (soot build up or dried mud from dust/rain). I wondered when was the last time Bally's washed their exterior windows? How often do they clean their exterior windows?

The room:

The room I was in, 2272, I was told then that I check in is at 3 PM and was given a room in the North tower. When I walked into the room, the first thing I noticed right away was that it had a big red stain on the rug in front of the bed about the size of a small pancake. I called the hotel several times before I arrived, was assured that the room I was booked in had a view of the Bellagio water fountains. I wondered all week where that red stain came from, as it did look like it was a wine stain however it was really red. Ugh already......

The room itself wasn't as big as I expected it to be, inside there was a marble desk attached to the wall, that had a telephone and internet access which is $11.99 per day billable to the room or credit card. The television remote control took some learning when switching between closed captioning and television mode, however there were no “premium” channels but had the standard channels with USA/TNT, etc. Television reception was clear. The air conditioner worked great, I liked having my room really cold as the heat outside during July is a little unbearable as I felt like I was being baked and not sweating because of how dry outside is. There was no refrigerator inside the room. The hotel provided an ironing board and iron which came in handy when I needed it. I did not use the safe, as previous posters reported the safe has a daily fee of usage. The curtains were great for keeping the lights out if you wanted to sleep late, it did keep the room dark when it wasn't open, then again in the back of the hotel is a shade.

The bathroom:

The shower water pressure was not that great and you had to use high pressure (which wasn't really high pressure) to take a shower. Towels provided by the hotel were nice, large and soft. When requested extra towels, they were available. A single sink. The hotel provided soap, shampoo, conditioners and lotion. The soap left my skin feeling a bit dry after the shower, but the shampoo & conditioner worked well. The room itself was provided with a coffee maker & hair dryer. I never got around to drinking the coffee as the brand was something not familiar with so never got around to making a cup of coffee.

I was disappointed already that my accommodation requests were not made, right away my roommate did not want to pack everything again to move and wanted to go out and not stay in so we never got around to changing the room. I really wanted a strip view, and instead got a view of the mountains. As I don't always see mountains I didn't mind this, but the fact that Bally's did not honor my specific request going back from March left a negative feeling.

Bally's is in two sections, North Tower and South Tower. When I was in the North Tower, I felt like that was all Bally's had to offer by the ambience of it. I recommend that you take the time to explore the subterranean section connecting the two hotels and going to see what is inside the South Tower, as I still wonder. There is a pool that I never got to use, but from the view in my room, it didn't appear to be small as some people say, and it did look like there were always available chairs.

The casino:

On the casino floor there was a bar behind the poker room with video poker, and they had Rapid roulette which I played and thought it was fun as it is quicker than regular roulette, the standard blackjack, Texas hold em, pai gow, Bet the Set, etc, and a variety of table games, however the tables itself was limited to about 12-15 tables which made the casino look small to me. I did not realize until the last day of my stay when we wanted a quick bite to eat that there is a sub-terranean section of the hotel connecting North and South tower. I felt that there should have been signs posted pointing to "South Tower" or the subterranean section but did not see any. So, I never got around to seeing the South Tower so I have no idea what's inside the main area.

There's this casino that might be considered small by Las Vegas standards. The poker room had about 10 tables, and there was always a game going on. The poker room staff were very nice and quickly came with our chips whenever we wanted more. Drink service was good, as I didn't have to wait very long for the chips. There was an abundance of a variety of slot machines and did have a high roller area for slot machines but did not see that many people use it. I played poker most of the time and lost a few hundred on the slot machines there. Poker games offered was 1-2 no limit and 2-4 limit. Other games could be available and Bally's had poker tournaments as well.

Underground there is a few places to eat, Sabarros, a New York deli, Chinese and several stores. There were tournament slot machines in the middle and it made me wonder what was in the South tower and never got around to it. The point I'm making here is that while staying at the North Tower, it felt like that was all Bally's building had to offer itself. I never ate inside Bally’s except for the deli on the last day.

I usually had my breakfasts and lunches at Paris at Le Buffet which was good but nothing to rave about except the large selection of foods. I did however enjoy the breakfast across from Le Buffet which made excellent croissant egg and ham sandwiches, a bit steep though $9.99, I'd recommend the restaurant across from Le Buffet if you don't want to wait on line (the lines were usually so long that it was outside the door, it took some time to get a table every morning. I played a couple slot machines in Paris, and I felt claustrophobic with its low curved ceilings that are painted to resemble a sky. I did like the interior of Paris as it did feel like I was in Paris.

The lobby of North tower:

The lobby was really pretty and easy on the eyes, however from the check in to the elevators was a bit of a walk as you had to walk through the slot machine area in order to get to the elevators. Even the bathrooms were far back in the casino near the elevators. I did not think the casino was that smoky as reported in the past, and I am a smoker. I felt like I never had to wait for an elevator from the first floor and it did not take that long to get an elevator from the 22nd floor either.

Outside of Bally’s:

I always felt like it was a bit of a long walk from the people mover at "Station Entrance" to the checkout desk to access the outside of the hotel. Due to the heat in July, it made getting to the hotel feel far and long. There is a side entrance in the North Tower which gives you close access to "Bills Gambling Hall", which I used most of the time to exit. However I ended up getting into the hotel via the Station Entrance.

I don't think I'll be returning to Bally's again in the future unless was offered comp rooms with the views I wanted. I would not depend on them in the future to honor my requests. Most likely if I was spending money for hotel, I would stay someplace else.