Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Trip Report Great visit to Las Vegas/Bellagio

We were gifted with a 4 night stay at The Bellagio. The 25th floor rooms offered a distant view of the surrounding mountains and of the pools and gardens. Check-in was fast and the lobby is one of the most attractive of the Strip hotels, the Murano glass flowers and the garden flowers along with the hot air balloons make the Bellagio a Disney-esque space that's very pretty.

The Bellagio is a beautiful hotel and the room was nicely appointed, with a modern and upscale atmosphere. The shower could have used another shelf to place lotions and potions, but the huge soaking tub made up for the utilitarian shower. Lighting was good, the bed was extremely comfortable, and the staff was incredibly accomodating. We were upgraded upon arrival, nice touch. The shops at The Bellagio are also very nice providing a varied mix of the out of reach expensive shops and quite affordable souvenir shops. The Bellagio art gallery is beautifully lit and the art is impressive. The carpeting in the casino is being replaced now, but the old carpeting hardly looked worn at all. It's a great hotel.

We had a great meal at the Cafe' Bellagio and another at The Fix . Our Olives meal was a disappointment although service was great and we were able to enjoy the fountain show from our table. We made a trip to the Fremont Street area and had dinner at Hugos Cellar. That was an experience! Old school and the steak was very good. We expected Frank, Sammy and Dean to walk in at any moment. One of the group did the $25.00 zipline experience on Fremont, a less frightening option than the Stratosphere death drop! The area develops a funky atmosphere as the night goes on; we left when 2 people were spotted strolling the streets wearing a Batman and Joker costume....

The Bellagio pools are beautiful, drink service is prompt and efficient and, as expected, the drinks are expensive. It's possible to rent a poolside cabana for $300.00 a day and there is a 'private' pool that offers a bit more pampering for $50.00 a day pp. Both are nice options if this splurge is in the budget. The pool grill served some beautiful sushi and lamb gyros. Everyone enjoyed everything.

We walked through some of the other hotels on the Strip one morning including the Venetian (yes, of course we took the gondola ride and tipped the gondolier after she sang "O solo mio" for us!), Paris (great, knowledgeable guide at the top of the Eiffel Tower who was spouting off fun facts about Las Vegas history. He was impressive and we tipped him.), MGM (enjoyed KA there), and Caesars Palace (Celine puts on a classy show, a little corny at times, but she's a workhorse who doesn't disappoint. That hotel is a huge, busy zoo. Not a place I would enjoy staying.). We ate at a burger place in New York, best burger I've ever had, and hit the fantastic buffet at the new and very beautiful, Cosmopolitan Hotel. We did a little shopping and picked up a few Jimmy Choos (it was a birthday celebration!), and generally enjoyed the feminine aspects of Las Vegas.

I would look forward to returning to The Bellagio and to Las Vegas but I'd have to consider if it would be worth the trip to have to deal with the smoke. Although it's obvious the hotels have made every attempt to eliminate the smell of smoke there are people smoking everywhere (although less than I expected) and the casinos become unpleasant with the smell as the night goes on.

Service in Las Vegas was among the best I've ever experienced. It's a great resort destination.