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Frank Mar 3rd, 2003 11:40 AM

Las Vegas - Trip Report
 
Spent 5 days at the Bellagio last week. Got a great deal at $119 per night for a lake view room. I’m happy to report that IMO the standards at the Bellagio are intact. Having stayed there 2 years ago, we enjoyed it even more the second time around. Although the room rates are more reasonable than they were in the past, they seem to have taken a page from the cruise industry and raised all of the food, drink, gift and entertainment charges. One of the big benefits of the Bellagio is that the rooms are perfectly silent, no sounds penetrate the walls, floor, ceiling or front door.<BR><BR>The weather was about 60 degrees during the day, but we did get rain on and off for a couple of days. Las Vegas Blvd is not prepared for rain, it was nearly totally flooded out for several hours, poor drainage I guess.<BR><BR>We ate dinner at a different hotel each night, at reasonably priced restaurants (that left the Bellagio out) generally in the $25-$40 per person price range as follows:<BR><BR>Riccardo’s at the MGM – A fun Mexican cantina with strolling mariachi’s and great Margarita’s, the food was good but nothing special.<BR><BR>Gilley’s at the Frontier – Great western bar, complete with sawdust on the floor, attractive waitresses with cowboy boots and cowboy hat and skimpy cutoffs, the mechanical bull, country music and rodeo videos. The best slab of ribs in Vegas. They have live entertainment and line dancing on weekends.<BR><BR>Market City Caf&eacute; at the Monte Carlo – Good Southern Italian food in a casual setting. Large portions of tasty food. Pleasant service but they have to quit calling the pasta, “noodles”.<BR><BR>Kahuanville at Treasure Island – Hawaiian themed restaurant with two distinct rooms, very casual and loud bar area with waiters and bartenders providing entertainment. The back room is a little more formal and has a fountain display that repeats itself every 15 minutes. The food is something like Trader Vic’s with tropical drinks and we enjoyed the satay’s, crabcakes, and coconut shrimp all attractively prepared.<BR><BR>Provencal in the Paris – Good country style French / Italian with singing waiters. Don’t miss the desert crepes made fresh at the restaurant. One crepe will easily serve two. Try the fresh berry and cream, can’t be beat.<BR><BR>We went to two shows, Mystere at T.I. and Gladys Knight at the Flamingo. Both were disappointments. We didn’t think we would care for Mystere, but based on all of the good reviews, we thought we would give it a try. Our opinion was that although we respected the production values and the talent of the performers, we found it to be repetitive. We much prefer a show with a story line. Had it been half the length and half the price we would have enjoyed it far better. The Gladys Knight show on the other hand was too short at 80 minutes. Also Gladys is trying to preserve her voice and doesn’t do nearly enough singing. Much of the show revolves around the antics of her brother Bubba, a former Pip. At $75 a pop it’s overpriced in a shabby room. The best entertainment of the week was at the Fontana Bar, with a great view of the fountains, in the Bellagio. The Johnny Hopper band did an hour set, twice a night, 5 musicians and a singer, no cover and no minimum. There were 2 other bars at Bellagio that offered entertainment, one with a Jazz combo and the other with piano music.<BR><BR>All in all a great week.<BR><BR>

Scarlett Mar 3rd, 2003 12:33 PM

<BR>Frank, you reminded me of one of the reasons we love the Bellagio too, the silence! After staying in a large hotel in Vegas a few years ago, where we could hear everyone talking in the halls and being sick next door (gag) we loved the silence of our room at the Bellagio. And that bed! what a comfortable bed:)<BR>If you thought Mystere was repetitive, good thing you didn't see O! although I liked them both, they do sort of go on and on:)<BR>Next time we go there, I have to try Kahunaville!

jaydreb5 Mar 3rd, 2003 01:18 PM

Wow, total silence IS something that's worth every penny. I've stayed at Mirage and Venetian and had noise problems both times. At the Venetian the problem was the ongoing construction, but to their credit when I wrote a complaint letter they offered to comp me. But knowing that Bellagio has silent rooms might make it worth the extra $$.

Judyrem Mar 3rd, 2003 02:50 PM

Frank, nice trip report, I wish more people would post about their trips. Provencal and Market City sound very decent. Scarlett, where did you stay? Can't get into Bellagio, but will stay at PARIS in Sept. I always bring my traveling &quot;noisey&quot; with me anyhow.

Scarlett Mar 3rd, 2003 03:34 PM

<BR>We stayed at the Rio. It was a lovely hotel, clean and service was excellent but the first night there, we could not sleep for all the racket!<BR>They moved us to another tower the next day and it was better but you could still hear people in the halls.<BR>The Bellagio is totally silent:) As if you are all alone in the building. <BR>Sigh, I want to go back:)

Frank Mar 4th, 2003 11:20 AM

Scarlett: Did you know that the mattress and boxspring and bedframe and pictures and mirrors and amenities and bathrobes are all for sale at the Bellagio?<BR><BR>Forgot to mention we ate twice at the Bellagio breakfast buffet, it runs about $15 per person and believe me you won't want lunch when your finished. The selection and ambiance are top notch.

Darvy_Kuntz Mar 4th, 2003 11:36 AM

Good to know about the quiet factor. Always important at a Las Vegas hotel.<BR><BR>How did you get the $119 rate? Directly from the hotel web site? From another web site? From calling the hotel itself?

Scarlett Mar 4th, 2003 12:54 PM

I think we get great rate offers because we have stayed at the Bellagio before and gambled. The first time we stayed there, it was my birthday. I happen to be one of those people who make sure to tell everyone that it is my birthday! So every year, in March, I get a Birthday Greeting from the Bellagio, with better room rates and $20-FreePlay:)<BR>We joined the Players Club the first time we were there also.

flopmeister Mar 4th, 2003 02:21 PM

My delated TR --<BR><BR>Stayed at Bellagio around Christmas time. way too crowded -- the gaming areas were okay but the common walkways were so crowded it made us feel claustrophobic. cant say enough about the buffet, though (but again, people three deep behind you waiting in line). the rooms i thought were just average. maybe the lake view rooms are better, we had a mountain view room. it was quiet but not as nicely appointed as we thought it would be. mandalay for the $$ is a better value, in my view. i play poker and LOVE the bellagio's poker room because it is non smoking. i understand now that mirage is, too.

Frank Mar 4th, 2003 04:37 PM

Darvy: You'll only get that rate during quiet times of the year, Nov thru Feb. with the exception of the holidays and President's week. Scarlett is right, join the Players Club it helps to get the offers. You don't need to be a big time gambler, it just gets you in their database.<BR><BR>Flopmeister: February is a slow time of year, no crowds and low room rates. Mandalay is a nice hotel, but it's location is it's downfall.


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