We went to Vegas to celebrate my hubby's 60th birthday, so decided to splurge and stay at the "famous" Bellagio for a treat. What a disappointment it was. It is, I understand from other TripAdvisor reviews, a shadow of its former self but we thought we'd give it a try because it has such a reputation.
When we checked in we were told that they were nearly sold out -- translated, "you're lucky to have a room", even though we booked 6 weeks ahead of time. Our room was dark (we found out the last morning that a whole bank of lights was burned out, which was very obvious and should have been fixed before the next guest checked in), and was so unclean that we had to call housekeeping to clean it. We've stayed in hotels of all descriptions from India, South Africa and South America, so we're not overly picky on the cleanliness scale. It takes alot to make us call the housekeepers. It almost felt like the room had been half-cleaned and things were missing in it -- like having just one bathrobe, for example. The sunset through the smudged and fingerprinted window was not very romantic.
Naturally, we couldn't get the lake view room because of how full they were, another disappointment.
The furnishings were okay, but sparsh and dated, even though I understand that it was recently redone. When it stopped being a Steve Wynn property apparently a lot has changed. The photos on the website didn't match at all what the room actually looks like. And for a hotel that's supposed to be a five star, the Holiday Inn-like foam, standard size pillows on the bed are, in our book, unacceptable.
And you can forget about getting anyone at the front reception or the concierge desk; the line is almost always busy and they put you on hold.
What disturbed us even more was the fact that staying here gets you no additional privileges or special treatment at the hotel, which is astonishing considering the prices they charge. As soon as you step out of your room you join the hordes of people trapsing around the hotel and you might as well be staying across the street. No special access is granted to hotel guests for parking, shows, seats at the restaurants or the lounges. We were even accosted by a parking attendent barking at us that we were in the "wrong lane" when we pulled up to the valet and had to queue up with the masses to wait our turn. Only the pool area attendent asks for a key. I kept thinking, what's the point in staying here? I assumed that we'd get special treatment or preference being hotel guests, as is the case in many hotels now of its "class", but that's not the case with Bellagio.
My advice is: Stay in another property that has nicer amenities, rooms, and service. Go to Bellagio to enjoy it like the rest of the masses. Mandalay Bay is a top choice for us, with much nicer rooms, views, and service.
And see Mamma Mia if you can, and dine at Rosemary's off-strip on West Sahara; it's divine!
