Which of the 5 star hotels in Vegas would you recommend , and why? We are going mid december.

Bellagio and Venetian.

The Venetian is 5 star??
We stay at the Bellagio.

1)Four Seasons - an oasis in the middle of madness
2)Belaggio - beautiful property, great art work
3)Venetian - all suites, still one of the best, make sure you get the new wing as some of the suites in the original building have been reported not being in top shape anymore.

1.Bellagio
2.Four Seasons
3.Mandalay Bay

csb -- Venetian is 5*, all suites, prime location, and works with Priceline.

The Venetian is neither a AAA 5 Diamond property nor a Mobil 5 Star lodging.

AAA lists only Bellagio and Four Seasons in its top category for 2004, and none of the Las Vegas hotels made the Mobil 5 Star list.

Very few actual "5 star" quality hotels work with Priceline (which is not considered good for a high end hotel's image).

travleis is absolutely correct, I don't know why so many like to pin the "5 star" tag on properties which don't meet the criteria. I thought that the 4S did get a 5 star rating about 3-4 years ago but I know they are no longer.

If you HAVE stayed in a REAL 5 star, then I think Four Seasons will give you the closest experience to what you expect. While I really like Bellagio, it is very clear that it is not a 5 star hotel, though it meets AAA's 5 diamond criteria.

The Venetian may not be rated 5 stars, but my room in the Venezia towers was by far the nicest 4star room I've ever stayed in, and I'll bet nicer than some 5 star properties!

Frankie,

Very true, but the room is only a small factor in a 5 star rating, the service is the difficult part and the reason why it's next to impossible to have a 5 star hotel in Vegas. Another piece of criteria is check-in time and this is where Vegas lags also. Having stayed at Mandalay Bay and enjoyed it, I was surprised to see that they only earned a 3 star rating. But when I thought about it and compared the service to what I've received elsewhere, it became apparent. I once stayed at a hotel in France which was by no means 5 star, the accomodations where very average, BUT,on day 2, everyone at the front desk were calling me by name, asking how work was that day, and the breakfast crew knew my name, room #, and how I liked my coffee. It's the little things that separate 4/5 star hotels, but a lot of little things.

I was actually very impressed with the service at Caesars Palace on a recent stay, you just have to be careful what room you end up in because the quality varies greatly. Reserve something in the Palace Tower and you shouldn't be disappointed.

I find Las Vegas to be a stimulus overload experience and was comforted by the 'feel' of Mandalay Bay (you do not feel you are in Vegas.) We have not stayed there, but it is on my list.

Is it Bellagio or Venetian that has their perfume blowing through the vents? The usual smokiness of casinos is objectionable, but the perfume gave me a quasi-migraine reaction.

For the money, I would be at the Four Seasons. Serene and service.

Loki,
I agree w/ you re. the service. Although when I stayed at the Venetian, I found the service very good for such a huge place. For me, the room is about 70% of my perception of a hotel. I'm just a sucker for a luxuious room! The other 30% is service and location...
Re. the perfume -- I didn't smell any room freshener this summer at the Venetian...

I think Bellagio has perfume or something through the vents which covers the smokey smell. Staying there last summer I wasn't bothered at all by smoke (despite spending three full days in meeting rooms). But after half a day in a meeting room at Caesars I had a horrible headache.

Haven't stayed at the Venetian, but over the others mentioned I'd highly recommend Bellagio. Beautiful rooms and view, location is ideal if you need/want to be on the strip, service is fantastic.

Bellagio is really nice and the rooms are large and wonderful. It is a bit pricier, so look around for rates.

Venetian has a lot going for it. I have stayed at both hotels and would go back to either.

Important points from Loki and Frankie.
The rating systems demand that hotels do much more than simply provide a nice room.
Mobil seems to be the strictest.
Here are a FEW of the requirements for a 5 Star rating:
- Staff is extremely well spoken, polite and clear, avoids slang and phrase-fragments.
- Overall service is FLAWLESS from initial reservation call to departure service.
- Choice of at least TWO complimentary newspapers is distributed.

- If pool service is available, guests are proactively greeted and ESCORTED to their chairs, and set-up assistance is provided or offered.
- If pool service is available, during a 90 minute period and in warm conditions, some sort of COMPLIMENTARY refreshment is offered (for example, mineral water, fresh fruit, water spritz).

- Public washrooms feature well-maintained cloth towels, FRESH PLANTS or flowers.

- Each guest room has three phones, including one in the bathroom.
- FRESH FLOWERS are present in guest rooms.
- Separate shower and tub are present in bathroom.

The room is by far the most important thing to me, and I could care less if there are fresh flowers present, and I don't really want to be escorted to my pool chair, thank you.
I'd rather the hotel focus on room quality, cleanliness, good food on site and such.
So the rooms in some 3 and 4 star hotels may be as nice or nicer than some 5 star hotels, but the 5 star hotels have to jump through a lot of hoops to get that lofty rating.

the Bellagio had three phones in our room, fresh flowers, a complimentary newspaper every morning, seperate shower and tub ( more like a swimming pool) Turn down service twice a night, once to clean up after we left with towels etc, then later to leave the chocolates by the bed and turn down the lights.
I love it that when we got Room service each morning, the person at the door would say "Good morning, May I come in?"

I never smelled the perfume!

Las Vegas hotels will probably never be able to achieve Mobil 5 star status because they simply can't fulfill some of the service requirements.
With up to 6000 guests, how will Bellagio pool attendants be able to escort every pool guest to a chair?
And check-in and check-out times will never be short enough to satisfy the Mobil requirements.
Just two of several reasons.