Vegas-I'm so TORN! - Bellagio or Venetian (or both)?
 

Good Lord I hate how I overthink everything.

So now I'm sitting here with reservations at Bellagio (Spa Tower room, partial fountain view) as well as reservations at Venetian (Venezia Bella Suite).

Yesterday, I'd decided it was the Bellagio, and today I'm back to Venetian. (This is our first Vegas trip obviously).

I love the fact that we could listen to and watch the fountain show, from our room at the B, and I like the location of Bellagio....with Paris right across the street and all. BUT, I also like the location of the Venetian, and the cheesy looking gondola atmosphere.

What to do, what to do... tempted to stay at both, but then I don't want to have to go through check-in/out twice...and if Vegas is all 'that', we could always stay at one or the other another time....

I need some persuasive reasons to choose one over the other. Does anybody have some persuasive reasons?

How about - you keep BOTH of them, and I'll watch over one of them while you are in the other?

No? Dang! Sorry, can't halp otherwise, but what a great decision to have to make! Enjoy Vegas!

Stay in Bellagio, walk across to the Venetian to enjoy the canal restaurants and shops? If you have a view of the fountains, that's better than some (many) views from the Venetian. Plus, the Bellagio casino is IMO lousy, compared to the atmosphere at Paris and Venetian and others. enjoy.

Tough choice. (We should all have such problems!) Bellagio gets my vote for location. But remember that the Venetian room is more like a suite (though not really separate rooms). I think that would give it the edge for me. I also think their bathrooms are also more luxurious than the Bellagio's, since they have a separate make-up vanity w/mirror, and also have body jets in the shower. And with the opening of the Wynn, the "center" of the strip is starting to move a little further north.

I am also in the same position trying to decide between the two for a January trip. My concern is also which has the better spa since they both seem to offer similar services at similar cost. I can't help but think that the Canyon Ranch spa at Venetian should be better due to its reputation but I may be wrong.
Does anyone have experience with the concierge rooms at Venetian as far as the quantity/quality of continental breakfast and afternoon snacks. I have stayed at some hotels where the concierge room offerings actually can almost be full meals and help defray cost of pricey breakfasts.
hunterblu, did you consider the concierge rooms at the Venetian? If the cost is not outrageously more for your dates be aware that these suites do include continental breakfast, afternoon cocktails and snacks. Might help with your decision.

We always got a room with a view of the Strip & Fountains at the Bellagio and I really don't think anything the Venetian has it quite as nice. I spent hours at the Venetian shopping and eating but we were quite happy to go back to the other end to Bellagio..What is it about the location at the Venetian that appeals to you more? They are both a walk from each other, TI and Mirage are across the street from Venetian, Ceasars is next door and Ballys/Paris is across from Bellagio.
Believe me, the cheesy Gondola thing is no reason to base a stay at the hotel on..
The shops, restaurants and pools at the Bellagio are wonderful and as close as a casino/hotel can come to classy, IMO..
It is hard to decide when you have never been there, but I think you should listen to me LOL...go to the Bellagio. Next trip you can see if you want to try out the Venetian..(but then you might find the V compares badly and you will be sorry lol)
Either way- good luck & have fun!*as soon as you check in at the Bellagio, go to the Club Desk and get a card. Everytime you gamble, use a slot machine, you get points..)

Thanks for your replies.

I guess the appeal I see in the Venetian is that it seems (by web accounts) to have a real atmosphere. It seems like a place where you could stay there all day and have things to do besides gamble. I just don't see that so much with the Bellagio. I like the Canyon Ranch spa setup with the rock climbing wall and things to do there. I doubt we'll do massage services, maybe a facial or something like that. And the price of the Venetian for our 5 night stay is about $400 less than Bellagio. But this is our first vacation in 2 years so thats not really a big issue.

lemidi,- I did consider the concierge at venetian, but we got a 5 night rate of $1325 with a promotion code, and the concierge suite for the same type of room would be $2295 for our dates.

What I like about the Bellagio besides the fountains and music is the fact that I've read countless reviews about how comfy the beds are. DH could sleep standing up, but I'm a very very very light sleeper and that is swaying me to Bellagio. In addition, when I reserved the Bellagio, the reservations clerk was really helpful and nice and offered information without my even asking. She even voluntarily requested a high floor so we'd have a better fountain view. And when I mentioned we were flying Northwest and was concerned about the possibility that our flight could be striked she said she was sure they would refund our room cost if we arrived late due to strike circumstances. Venetian made no such claims. (I was surprised Bellagio did.) And I like the spa service at the Bellagio for the "Bellagio Hand, Foot and Scalp Royal Ritual". That sounds right up my alley.


Things like swimming pools are not a deciding factor for us. We're too pudgy to be pool people. :">

We're going to see O at Bellagio and we're going to see Phantom at venetian.

I like rooms that have a lot of light. Which of the two has the rooms with the most light?((I))

........and now I see that Wynn has a promo for our dates and we could get a panoramic view room for $66 less than the Venetian and $283 less than Bellagio. Wynn was a consideration early on but it was too pricey.

I don't get the idea of staying at the Venetian even if you LOVE the tacky gondola atmosphere. It has nothing to do with your hotel which is removed from it. If you want to see the gondolas and the big mall, then you can certainly to it from the Bellagio, just as you can go to it from the Venetian.

Frankly I like the location of Bellagio quite a bit more than the Venetian.

To add confusion though, we just had two of the best meals ever in Las Vegas for reasonable prices -- one was at Bouchon in the Venetian and the other was at Olives at Bellagio. I swear food doesn't get any better than what we had for a super lunch at Olives -- regardless if you pay three times that at some of the other places.

We usually stay at the Bellagio, and love it. The location is great, and the whole place is beautiful, and it has a wonderful atmosphere. The Venetian doesn't appeal to me.

We stayed at the Wynn a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. It is beautiful, too. My husband still prefers the Bellagio.

Flip a coin.

Ditch them both and stay at the far better property, The Wynn.

I agree with Gekko..
Ditch both of them and head to the Wynn!
If not, Bellagio is a good second..it is a lovely hotel..not a big fan of the V..
Have fun hunterblu..
We will be there this Monday for a couple of days..

Yes, you are lucky to be torn between those two. I was torn between the Orleans and Gold Coast. The Orleans won, LOL.

I've noticed that most people on this board prefer Bellagio over the Venetian. It's a little more evenly split on other travel/Vegas boards.

Of the two, we've only stayed at the Venetian (last month). We were in a Venezia Bella Suite and loved it. Beautiful, quiet room complete with turndown service.

The pool area was a pleasant surprise--it's gorgeous with several large pools and hot tubs. My favorite was the shallow pool filled with lounge chairs. We spent our mornings poolside--I recommend the mimosas. :-)

I was surprised at how much time our family (yes, we're bad bad people and took our teens to Vegas...) spent in the hotel area itself. The food court was a good place to pick up snacks and the shopping area was fun to spend an hour or two. We ate at the Grand Luxe cafe twice and enjoyed it (remember, we were doing the family thing this trip).

Location-wise, it's really a tossup, in my opinion. Bellegio is closer to center strip but Venetian is closer to the Fashion Show Mall and Wynn. Really, it's a moot point with taxis being plentiful and pretty inexpensive.

I've enjoyed walking through Bellagio on past trips but it seems a little stuffy to me in terms of atmosphere. Venetian was anything but and every employee I encountered was pleasant and seemed happy that we were there.

Honestly, I don't think that you could go wrong at either place! And, oh yes, next trip we're going to give Wynn a try. What a beautiful, beautiful place.

I just adore the pools at Bellagio if the season is right....not too hot, not too crowded..... that's just me.

Bellagio. I love the fountain-view rooms, the location, and the great restaurants.

Or Wynn. Haven't stayed there yet, but we visited last week. I thought it was awesome.

hunterblu,

I often switch hotels midstream in Manhattan because I want to experience more. So maybe both is a good idea too. Start with Venetian and hang at that end, then head to Bel for another section of the strip. Good Luck.

Check-in in some of these places can take a while, you will lose time changing hotels..Best way to decide is read each Hotels site and just go with what appeals to you the most. They are both nice hotels..

thanks for the replies, we decided to go with bellagio this trip

Both of the hotels are very beautiful, though I have never stayed at either....the buffet at bellagio is wonderful!

Depending on how long you are staying, I would say to go for both! Have fun and experience both of them!

Or maybe, perhaps, opt for the Mandalay Bay?

While I'm very little help helping you decide between the two (because I've only stayed at the Venetian), I have to say - our room at the Venetian was absolutely wonderful! We stayed there for 5 nights and I would return in a heartbeat. I loved the casino at the Venetian. By comparison, we had stayed at the Hilton (thumbs down), Monte Carlo (just okay), MGM (too much walking), and the Venetian (my fav). In any case, I hope you have a fantastic trip.

We stayed at the Bellagio in Feb. As far as I was concerned the major downside to the Bellagio is the low-end food. You know, the kind that you want for breakfast or a quick lunch. They really need to work on that area. The buffet is awful IMHO. All about quanity rather than quality. The Venetian has the Grand Luxe Cafe, a much better option for breakfast or lunch.
The Bellagio was lovely and our room was fabulous. I was not a big fan of the Wynn based on the lobby only. DH was taken to dinner in their teppanaki Japanese restaurant and they were not impressed. Very pricey and not much better than Benihana!

That's an interesting comment, Compumom, as we felt just the opposite when we stayed at Bellagio. I thought the quality of their 24 hour coffee shop was way above all others I've been to in other hotels, yet priced about the same. And when we arrived, someone sent us to a little Asian noodle restaurant (called "Noodles", maybe?) that was simply wonderful and cheap at the same time. That's been a couple of years now. Have those places changed? By the way, last week I noticed they had moved their little coffee and pastry place called Palio from an obscure location in the back of the hotel to right up front by the main street entrance. We loved that for simple breakfast in the morning.

I just have to raise my hand on the comments made about the Bellagio's buffet....

Ok, it has been a couple of years since I have eaten there, but their breakfast buffet was the best I have ever been to.

Wonderful eggs with smoked salmon, great jook and other Asian inspired breakfast dishes, wonderful croissants and made to order waffles....the buffet was so heavenly!!!

Of course, it could have changed a lot since then, but my memories of the buffet were heavenly.... :)

I hear many comments about the rooms being a little underwhelming at the Bellagio. Maybe the new spa tower rooms are nicer, though?
I know I absolutely loved our Venezia tower room 2 years ago. I thought the Venetian was the most "fun" of the Vegas hotels, too. My teen kids were impressed with it, too, and picked over Bellagio and Mandalay...
I know some say the Venetian is "cheesier" than the Bellagio, but isn't that what it's all about in Vegas :)!?!

Geezz...I wish I had your dilemma....heheheh

hunterblu: I've not stayed at either Bellagio or the Venetian, so I cannot compare rooms or pools. I've spent a great deal of time in Vegas and Bellagio and some at the Venetian. Bellagio has the better location for wandering around between Casinos without walking your legs off, seeing great free shows (the Bellagio fountains, the Bellagio conservatory, the Caesars Palace statutes, Paris). The Venetian is spectacular to walk around for half a day, but I tire of the reproduction architecture. I've never been a fan of the Mirage or Treasure Island or their free shows. We have seen Mystere at TI three times, however. If you plan to see "O" at Bellagio, stay there. They reserve the best seats for hotel guests. For shops, I give the edge to the Bellagio - Caesars' Palace corner, but the Venetian's are nice. Wynn's has the best quality buffet in Vegas, we've eaten there four times & loved it. Rachel Ray agrees that its the best in Vegas. Bellagio's is almost as good, but more expensive and very noisy. Bellagio has the best high quality and expensive restaurants (we love the Prime Steakhouse and Picassos). I'd avoid the Caesars Palace buffet - expensive, crowded, mediocre, and hard to get to the food. Have never eaten at any of the Venetian restaurants and almost never gamble there - too many times that we've walked through the Venetian casino they've been having leaks from the grand canal with attendant mold problems and the air was saturated with air freshener / disinfectant. Bellagio's casino is classy, and they play great background music, but in the last 2 years the slots have gotten very tight and the minimums on the table games have gone up (I'm a cheap gambler). Wynn's casino is also nice, and they have good video poker machines - which is all we've ever played there. Don't remember what their table game minimums are. Hope this is some help.

Braunsky, you might appreciate this...we stay at the Bellagio, one night we were bored with the slots and casino so we took at cab to the Golden Nugget..I walked up to a 50 cent slot machine and on the first pull, won $500- LOL
Now I will always go to the Golden Nugget sometime during my stay :D
Also, Mirage slots are good .. or at least they have been known to be good later in the evening ~

Good choice! hunterblu!!

You're obviously not getting comped & a Vegas Virgin. You'll rarely even see the room, or remember what it looks like. Save the $$ to spend elsewhere (& yes, it will get spent).

Scarlett - QED! You have proved my point about Bellagio. Glad to hear you have found a lucky casino. The Nugget seems a friendly place. For my spouse, it's the Flamino.

Braunsky

Oh Braunsky, my luckiest casino is the Rio where I won $ 1,100 on a dollar slot. But we still stay at the Bellagio :)
I want to go to Vegas .... lol

Scarlett - I know what you mean. We still spend time at Bellagio, just because we love the atmosphere. We start planning our next trip to Vegas almost as soon as we get home! LOL or CIMB. So what did you decide hunterblu?

We decided on the Bellagio.

hunterblu - You will love it. Have a great time & remember not to take anything seriously except the dictate to relax and have fun.

You'll love it, its a fantastic place. Be sure to go to the Buffet, at least one other of their high-end restaurants,and, if you can swing tickets to O, you will never forget it. Have a great time.

I have never been to the buffet but the little cafe for ice cream or cappucino is very nice and the Bellagio Cafe is great for lunches or probably light dinners..
We book our dinners at the same time we book our room lol..so Circo , Prime and Olives are the places I would recommend ( if you want to go spendy)..In the Venetian, Pinot Brasserie is lovely.
I liked O but loved Mystere :)
Have a great time and Good Luck!!

In Bellagio, stop at Shintaro restaurant and have aji sashimi.

Scarlett, I have to catch Mystere next time, and you're absolutely right to mention the ice cream/gelato place, yum.