FRIDAY-Touched down about 9:45PM; got luggage and rented a car at National (which seemed like a very long way from the airport but in retrospect it wasn’t that far); got to Bellagio Hotel about 11PM. No line at check-in. Reserved a “Partial Fountain View” room in the Spa Tower, and that’s what we got. Room 23-636. The room was very nice, about 550 square feet, and the “partial fountain view” was more than expected (see photos). The bathroom was equipped with a blow dryer, magnification mirror, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, sewing kit, vanity kit (Q-tips and cotton balls), mouthwash and soap. They leave little chocolates for you each night also. Also had robes in room.


SATURDAY-Up at 6am Vegas time with a very stuffy head; there is construction going on next to the Spa Tower and the click, click, clank of the cranes starts at 6AM. Ate breakfast at Jean Philippe Patisserie located just off the Spa Tower elevators. I had “Forest Crepes” and café mocha,-- very yummy.

Drove to Red Rock Canyon National Park…. Beautiful day, clear, sunny, not too hot. Stopped at visitors center where they recommended the Calico Tanks hike (described as a “moderate hike” on a scale from easy to strenuous), a 2 hour hike (round-trip). Drove to the starting point and hiked about an hour and a half getting lost 3 times. Never could find the Calico Tanks so we turned around and started back. Kept running into big boulders and it looked like the trail stopped. Found out later you have to climb over the boulders and then the trail continues. Drove around park for a while then back to the hotel.

Went back to the patisserie and had “Exotic Crepes” (very good fruit topped crepes served with Coconut ice cream) for lunch,- about 1:30PM. Then went to the casino and played Video Poker for about an hour.

Walked outside around the front of the hotel for a while then back inside to get ready for dinner. Had 5:30 reservations at Michael Mina. I had the “Surf n Turf” which was marginal. The filet was good, the lobster was rubbery. Husband had the seasonal tasting menu with wine pairing which he liked a lot (note that in our 20+ years of marriage I don’t recall any kind of food he has not liked). Cost of total dinner with tip: $341. Learning we will never spend that much money on dinner again: Priceless.

Went to see Cirque de Soleil’s “O” at 7:30, then back up to the room to change clothes. Sat down in front of the window to look at the fountains and got very very queasy, so went to bed instead. Woke up a little after midnight and barfed up my whole $100 dinner. Clearly food poisoning of some sort. The last time I threw up was years and years and years ago. I’d forgotten how awful it makes you feel.

SUNDAY-Up at 5am Vegas time without much sleep and a very stuffy head again. This was our day to go to Bryce Canyon. Left the hotel about 6am and stopped at Guest Services on the way out to inform them I thought I had food poisoning of some sort from my dinner at Michael Mina. They said they were sorry.

Drove to Bryce Canyon and stopped for breakfast in St George at Cracker Barrel. Arrived at Bryce around 10:45am. $20 entrance fee. Stopped at visitors center and watched a short film about the Canyon and bought souvenir T-shirts. Then drove to most of the “points” and took pictures and hiked a little where we could. Bryce is absolutely breathtaking. Left the park around 2:00 and drove to Zion National Park where we arrived about 3:30.

Had planned on taking the shuttle into the scenic route but I was feeling puny from the Michael Mina Mishap so we just drove through the park on the access road ($20 entrance fee) and then in Springdale stopped at the Spotted Dog Café for an early dinner.

Spotted Dog was excellent. I had the local trout which was encrusted in crushed pumpkin seeds and grilled, served with a spinach salad and the yummiest bread with butter and roasted garlic to top it with. Husband had a pasta dish with pumpkin seeds also. Total bill with tip: less than $50.

Drove back to Bellagio and arrived there about 7:30pm. It was a long day but seeing Bryce was well worth the drive. Took a bath in the Bellagio tub which was lovely, then we rented a movie (You, Me & Dupree). Cute movie. I really like Owen Wilson. His face makes me laugh.

MONDAY- Woke up about 5AM with a very stuffy head again. I really liked the Bellagio room, but I think the stuffiness was caused by something in the room. Husband thought perhaps the air filter needed cleaning. He was stuffy headed too. Also, every time I walked into the bathroom my mind went back to the Saturday night Michael Mina Vomit and I was really just wanting to get out of that room. So, I called down to The Venetian to see what they had available, and was able to book a Concierge level Palazzo Suite in the Venezia Tower for the next 2 nights for the same rate we were paying for the Bellagio room. I was eager to be able to compare the two, but such a comparison was not in the cards for us on this trip (details to follow).

Had a headache and muscle aches which I think were prompted by the Michael Mina food poisoning episode, so I called the Spa at Bellagio and booked a 9am appointment for a 50 minute Therapeutic Fusion Massage.

The Spa is absolutely wonderful. The purchase of the massage gave me access to all facilities until 8PM that night. Met with my masseuse, Christa. 50 minutes later my headache was gone. That was absolutely the best massage I ever had in my life. I have really tight areas in my neck and shoulders that most masseuse’s tend to gloss over like they’re not there, but Christa really attacked that area. $155 plus tip but it was well worth it to get rid of my headache. My only complaint is that Michael Mina should have picked up the tab since it was their rank food that caused the stress to begin with.

Checked out about 10:45 and drove down to the Venetian. Observation: Valet parking at the Bellagio is way, way better than valet parking at the Venetian. At the Bellagio you can call down and ask them to pull your car around and when you get down there you’re ready to go. They can’t do this at the Venetian, but they will put you on a “priority list” if you call down ahead of time. It took about 6 minutes to get our car at Venetian.

Got lost between the valet parking drop-off (we went straight to the garage instead of driving to the front of the hotel) and 2 security guards later finally found the Venezia check-in desk. This was about 11:40am. Nobody was in line at all. We first started to approach the first person but then noticed it said Concierge behind her so started to walk over a few steps but she said “come on over here I’ll check you in” so we did. Her name was Pushpa and she was very nice. After a few minutes she said it was our lucky day and gave us the keys to our room. Well we were in upgrade heaven when we got to our suite on the 35th floor of the Venetian Tower (not Venezia). There are 36 floors in the tower.

This suite was about 2000-2500 square feet (see photos). The standard room rate posted on the notice inside the closet said it was a $3800/night suite. We have no idea what prompted such an upgrade. Maybe they upgrade these rooms on a lottery basis or something, I don’t know. The entry way alone was huge, with a guest bathroom and a walk-in coat closet. This leads to the living room and dining room, which has a wet bar also. The suite had 3 bathrooms (one with a bidet), a Jacuzzi tub, a shower with dual shower heads, an exercise room with a treadmill and a Life Cycle stationery bike, and a sauna. The sauna turned out to be very, very useful. Christa (the Bellagio masseuse) had recommended I use their sauna facilities after the massage to sweat out the toxins but we were checking out so I was drinking a lot of water instead. The sauna was kismet, karma, whatever you want to call it. There was a fax machine and 4 telephones. The dining table was Monte Carlo (light emparador) marble. We had a view of the Wynn Golf Course from the bedroom and of the mountains from the living and dining areas. Three TV’s,- one in the living room, one in the bedroom and one in the exercise room. It also had a walk in closet and a dressing area with a vanity and magnification mirror. Toiletries provided included: blow dryer, shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving kit (Colgate shaving cream and a disposable razor), toothbrush and toothpaste, lotion, sewing kit, Q-tips and cotton balls, shower cap, mouthwash, bath nets (like a loofah but netted material), and it seems like there was something else but I don’t remember what. I don’t know if all this comes with a regular room or if it was just because we were in this huge suite. Also had robes and slippers. And hair spray.

Observation: The shampoo and conditioner at Venetian was much better than that at Bellagio. It smelled nicer, and the Bellagio products made my hair frizz a bit.

After getting over the shock of our good fortune, we went down to the Canal Shoppes to stroll around and came across a place called the Taqueria Canonita where we ate lunch. We asked for and got a table right next to the canal so we could watch the gondoliers. I had the “Tres Tacos” and husband had the Chile Rellenos. Both were very, very good. They serve each with cilantro rice and black beans. We also got the guacamole and chips which was very good as well. After lunch we walked around the canal shoppes for a while. I’ve read where people think the Venetian looks “dark” inside. It’s not really dark, the canal shoppes are designed to look like it’s the edge of twilight. When you look up you see edge of twilight blue sky with clouds. It’s really very comfortable feeling. The Bellagio was more “light” which I liked as well, but this was a nice change.

I liked the shoppes at Venetian more than Bellagio, simply because the Venetian shoppes are more affordable to the average person.

Then we went across the street to the MGM to see the white tiger exhibition. It turned out to be one white tiger who was behind the rocks asleep, but from what we could see of him he was a real cutie-pie.

Went back to the Venetian and got players cards and I played Video Poker while husband played slots for a while. We left a little ahead of the game, but we’re not big gamblers to begin with so “ahead of the game” means we made back enough to pay for our meals that day and that’s about it.

We’d planned on going to more places on the strip, but decided instead to go visit our lovely suite again. I tried out the sauna which was wonderful. Now I want my own sauna. Then we ordered in-room dining. I got the egg rolls appetizer for $13.75 (which turned out to be 6 delicious egg rolls of which I could only eat two) and the $7.25 old fashioned chicken noodle soup. Husband had the brioche appetizer and a cobb salad with shrimp. When you order room service, they automatically tack on 16% gratuity and $2 per person delivery charge. Total cost was $63. A gentlemen came up and put a tablecloth on the marble dining table and set up the dinner, complete with a vase with flowers. When we were done we called down and they came back up and cleared the table. I could get used to that really really fast.

TUESDAY – Had a great nights sleep and awoke with no stuffy head! I used the life cycle bike and husband used the treadmill then I also used the sauna again, showered and we went down to Bouchon for breakfast. Bouchon was excellent, superb, wonderful. Yummy. Highly recommend this place for breakfast. We sat outside on the terrace overlooking the Venezia pools, and a little girl about 4 years old and her mother were sitting next to us. The little girl graced us with an endless rendition of itsy-bitsy spider to the point where we were contemplating giving her a gondolier’s tip when we left.

After breakfast we walked down the north end of the strip as far as the Stardust hotel and then went back thru Treasure Island and then back to the Venetian. We went to the Casino and played VP and slots for about an hour and then strolled around the shops again and had gelato while watching a living statue and then watched a short Venetian performers show. This was all at the gelato area. I think it’s called the palazzo.

I really liked the Venetian atmosphere more then the Bellagio because there was more to do at the Venetian. The fountain show at the Bellagio was great, but it gets old after a while.

Had lunch at Noodles which is right off the casino floor at the Venetian. Very good Won Ton Soup (huge bowl).

We had tickets for Phantom of the Opera at 7PM so we went back to our luxurious suite and hung out for while then got ready for the show and went down to play VP and slots for about 30 minutes then went to see Phantom. We had good seats, the $150 kind. Lesson learned: if we see it again we’ll get cheaper seats. The theatre is built in such a way that there really are no bad seats. Now, I’ve never seen the stage production of Phantom (only the movie), so I can’t compare it to others. The production itself (theatre, theatrics, costumes, etc) and the orchestra were awesome. The guy who played Raoul was also awesome. IMHO, the vocal ability of the Christine and Phantom roles were not nearly as good as in the movie version. At times they were just as good if not better, but they seemed to go in and out of it a lot. All in all it was a good show and I would see it again, but not at $150pp. Dinner reservations at Delmonico, but a rowdy party was going on there so went back to Noodles for dinner. Very good.

WEDNESDAY- checked out at 10:45 and headed to the airport for a 12:30 departure. I thought we would have loads of time, but by the time we filled up the rental car and got through check-in and security it was 11:30. I put $5 in a slot machine at the gate and after about 5 spins got $40 back, so we left Vegas on a good note.

All in all it was a good trip. If it hadn’t been for the Michael Mina incident, it would have been great. Next time, we’d like to try a regular suite at Venetian.

Photos: http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n93/hunterblu/

Wonderful trip report! I would love to visit Red Rock! It looks sooo amazingly beautiful.

Great trip report! You certainly scored getting the suite at the Venetian! Too bad about the food poisoning though.

I liked your pictures too! Thanks for sharing.

Nice bathroom at the Venetian--if you had to get ill, at least you ended up in a nicer suite. Sounds like your trip was good overall; thanks for the report.

hunterblu~ wow.. deja vu, then I'm thinking, oh no, another person was sick at Michael Mina and another person had a bad air filter.. then I realized you were one and the same..

Okay, I'll forgive you..I almost broke down and made a wine run, but it is Monday

wow!! A suite with an exercise room and sauna, how cool is that???

Thanks for sharing...I wish I knew how to get an upgrade like that, lol! Did they know you were also staying at the Bellagio, hmmm?

frankie,- yes, they knew I was at Bellagio. When I called Venetian that Monday morning I told them I was at Bellagio with a noon checkout time and only wanted to change hotels if I could get early check-in at Venetian (so we wouldn't be without a hotel for any length of time).