My husband and I spent a weekend (12/9-12/12/05) at the Bellagio. We knew that Las Vegas would be a place that we wouldn't want to go back to (simply not our scene) but we wanted to at least experience it once in our lifetime. We were right. It was fun but we had enough by the time we had to go home. Also, as parents of a toddler (he stayed back home with his grandparents), we very much wanted to take advantage of our "parent-less" stage to eat at upscale restaurants.
BELLAGIO: This hotel is HUGE. Be prepared for a lot of people milling around the lobby, the casino and the areas where the stores are located. The hotel is OPULENT but still ELEGANT with absolutely nothing tacky about it. The fountain show is as spectacular as expected. Watch it at least once during the day and once at night. There's a botanical conservatory with pretty flower designs right next to the lobby. There are also plenty of high-end stores at the Bellagio to satisfy your shopping needs: Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, Chanel, Rolex, Tiffany, etc...
OUR ROOM: It was a standard one located on the 27th floor with a view of Caesars Palace. The size of the room and the bathroom were bigger than expected. We had a non-smoking room, a King bed, a big armoire with closets on each side and drawers under the TV. There was a desk and a chair, and a sitting area (2 chairs and a table). A neat feature in the room was the keypad on the wall next to bed with which you could open/close the curtains.
The bathroom had a large tub, a big vanity with one sink and a glass-enclosed shower.
We had a minor issue regarding the safe in our room. It was locked. We called the front desk to unlock it so we could use it. They want you to be in your room when they come and they give you a time frame of 20 minutes before someone gets there. An hour and a half went by and no one came. We called back and it took another 30 minutes before they came. That was a bit annoying.
Overall, we were satisfied with our room.
FYI: A nice security feature is the guard at the lobby elevators checking for room keys.
CASINO: It's located on the main floor to the right of the lobby. You have to go through it to get to your room, restaurants, etc... We're not gamblers (we only play $20 at the slot machines) so all we can say is that it's really big and every kind of gambling seems to be offered. And as the day turns to night, the casino gets crowded and the cigarette smoke becomes heavy.
POOLS: They are located in a BEAUTIFUL courtyard-type setting. There are 2 big pools. 1 was closed for renovations, the other was open and heated. There were 2 smaller pools with fountains in the middle and 1 hot tub.
FYI: There's a security guard at the entrance checking for room keys.
RESTAURANTS:
LE CIRQUE: On our first night, we ate at this fairly small French restaurant located in the Bellagio (reservations are recommended). It is a bit on the "chichi-foufou" side. The decor has a circus theme (hence the name Le Cirque). But to me, "chichi-foufou" and circus decor do not compute. Just odd. Anyway, the walls are painted with circus scenes. The ceiling looks like a circus tent and the chairs are lined with red and white striped material. Even the plates have monkey designs. There was a "faux" monkey sitting on a Christmas wreath on the wall right next to our table. The monkey kept staring at us. Yikes! And my non-p.c. husband said to me "all that's missing here are the dwarfs serving us!" One wall of the restaurant has narrow windows with a view of the lake and the fountain show. I'm surprised that particular wall isn't all windows just to take full advantage of the view.
The menu includes choices of 5 hot appetizers, 5 cold appetizers, 5 fish dishes, 5 meat dishes and desserts.
For the entrees, we both had the poulet roti (the chicken) served with a mix of vegetables and mashed potatoes. It was VERY GOOD.
We had passed on the appetizers because none of the ones listed appealed to us. But the waiter brought us appetizers anyway (on the house) so we wouldn't be twirling our thumbs waiting for our entrees. That was really nice. The appetizer was a lobster salad (mixture of lobster, green peas, avocado and green salad). This was very unique and, I think, something that not everyone would like. I liked it, my husband did not.
For dessert, I had creme brulee, my husband had chocolate ice cream. It was all yummy.
The wine list is extensive (some 1,000 wines offered).
The presentation of the food and the service were impeccable.
For the 2 entrees, 2 desserts, 1 glass of wine and 1 coke, the total cost of dinner came to $190 (including a 20% tip).
Conclusion: We both agreed that the food was very good, but not worth the cost. You wouldn't go wrong eating there, but by no means is it a must-do restaurant in Las Vegas.
BUFFET: We did the Bellagio's Breakfast Buffet on the morning of our departure. What a disappointment. Both of our omelets were blah and although the fruits looked fresh, they didn't taste great. We should have listened to our families who raved about the Breakfast Buffet at Paris and gone there!
There are lots of other restaurants at the Bellagio but we didn't try them.
The restaurants that we think are MUST-DOs in Las Vegas are:
1. The Eiffel Tower Restaurant in Paris. The food is EXCELLENT, the view of the Bellagio fountains is fabulous and the service is impeccable.
2. Commander's Palace in Desert Passage at Aladdin. It serves AMAZING cajun/creole food. Go for the Jazz Brunch on a weekend morning. There'll be 2 lovely gentlemen playing dixie-style jazz.
CONCLUSION: We think the Bellagio is a beautiful hotel and would absolutely recommend it. Would we go back? Yes, if we were into Vegas. But since we're not, we'll leave it for others to enjoy. Hope you do!
