Elizabeth's Bellagio Vegas Vacation October 2004

We had a great vacation and a wide variety of experiences.

Bellagio was FABULOUS!!!! The room was wonderful. A friend suggested slipping the person at check in a $20.00 and explaining kindly that I was celebrating a friend's 50th birthday and while I could spring for the Bellagio, lake view was just out of the budget. He gave us a room on the 12th floor at the center of the hotel overlooking the lake and water show. It was super. They have the music on a TV station there so all we had to do was turn that on and watch the show. I think that was truly the highlight.

Their pool area is quite lush . . . as if you're at an Italian Villa. They hand you two beach towels as you enter the pool area and there are little plastic flags attached to the lounge chairs that you raise if you'd like bar service. We spent our afternoons there.

Another highlight was the Fontana Lounge. We ended up there at about 11 one night and there was a live band. The best part about this place is that it has a beautiful decor and it overlooks the lake so at night it's quite intimate and when the water show is going on, you can see it from another angle inside this beautiful lounge. While the band that was playing was a rock band, the water almost looked like it was choreographed to their music.

We didn't try many restaurants because my friends seemed to like the Bellagio buffet so much that's where we went most of the time. The breakfast buffet is absolutely wonderful. Dinner is also fabulous. The variety is so huge . . . steamship round of beef, free range turkey breast, spiced rack of lamb, king crab legs, fruit, cheese, breads, soups, Chinese food. We found we'd have the buffet for breakfast and then not eat until dinner.

We did try Battista's Hole in the Wall. It is a true hole in the wall type restaurant. My friend had noticed it on the DVD you sent highlighting Vegas restaurants. It's old and the walls are covered in photos of all the famous people who have dined there over the 37 years it's been in business. I had chicken parm which was great. Teresa said she had the best fettuccini Alfredo she's ever had and Beth had pasta with sausage cacciatore. All great. The meals included salad with house Italian and garlic bread (so-so) and a cup of cappuccino . . . and a carafe of red or white wine. There's a little old man who walks around playing the accordion at each table. I think the meals ranged from $18.00-$25.00 and there were some other items we would have liked to try too, but didn't get a chance to go back.

Another restaurant we checked out was Il Fornaio (sp?) in New York, New York. It was excellent although the wait staff wasn't particularly warm and fuzzy. They were fine, but the food is what made this. I had a rotisserie chicken dish that was so moist and tasty. Beth tried another chicken dish that was almost like a Cajun style and Teresa had some sort of pasta.

The concierge at Bellagio was top notch. I'd booked Celine Dion before we left, but the other things we discussed with Dela, one of the concierges, our first morning. She's one I'd recommend. She was quite personable and nothing seemed to be too much trouble for her. She got us tickets for La Cage at the Riviera as well as their Comedy Club for the same night. We were trying to get into Danny Gans, but couldn't and frankly, I wasn't disappointed because his show didn't sound like I'd like it that much. We also purchased tickets to Rita Rudner through her.

Rita Rudner was fun. On a scale of 1-10, she's probably a good solid 8. The theater where she performs is quite intimate and even though we were in the next to last row, I could count how many bracelets she was wearing. Humor was pretty clean and quite funny.

Celine Dion was great. We had the cheap seats ($79.00 plus all the extra fees), but they were wonderful. The theater is what really makes this. I like Celine, but she's not my favorite performer, however, she's got heart and by the time you've seen the show, you're a fan. The theater is unbelievable with all it's technology . . . lighting, largest led screen, people floating through the air, fantastic dancers etc. It's like watching a concert and ballet at once. It's directed by the Cirque Du Soleil guy, Dragone, and it shows. It's like poetry in motion.

La Cage was fun . . . when we walked into the theater we wanted our money back, but Frank Marino is very funny and the performers were great. It was a good, classic Vegas experience. Definitely not for little kids. I quote, "My gown is like a cheap hotel . . . no ball room!"

The Comedy Club stank with a capital "S!" I know that's a hit or miss thing and we really missed. One of the guys from Last Comic Standing was a performer, however, there's dirty and there's just plain low class. He fell into the later category. He was really foul and you had to laugh almost because you were embarrassed.

In a word, Bellagio is EXPENSIVE. Pool drinks were $12.00 each . . . a coke was $4.00 . . . a non-alcoholic fruity concoction was $6.00. The breakfast buffet was $17.95, but worth it. The dinner buffet was $25.00, but again, worth it.

In another word, it had the best service by staff in general that I've ever experienced. We were not dolled up. We wore jeans or shorts almost all of the time and I was not snubbed once. I went into the one jewelry store because there's a diamond necklace I want and I thought the sales people would ignore me because I was not dressed as if I could afford anything in the shop. They were gracious, got the piece out and even let me try it on. I went in a second time . . . to be sure it's something I really want . . . and got the same gracious service as the first time (Tesorini's by the way). This was the way the staff was everywhere . . . . Box office, restaurants, concierge, pool staff . . . you name it.

Front desk, concierge, restaurants . . . even the Fontana Lounge where we went in shorts . . . everyone treated as if we were royalty. I was highly impressed. I expect that at Disney where they know you've been at the parks all day, but Vegas is a different story. Bellagio is surely elegant, beautiful and caters to a higher class of people, but there was NO SNOBBERY to be seen. They understand that you just never know who has the money.

The room was very clean, well appointed and comfortable and it was serviced twice a day. Sheets and bedding were better than my own stuff at home! There were two light bulbs burnt out that should have been noticed by housekeeping, but that's what you'd mention if you wanted to knit-pick. I mean, what's that say about the place if that's the worst thing you can say?

I don't think I could go to Vegas and stay anywhere else.

Oh one more thing. The busiest casino was the Golden Nugget on Fremont. EVERYONE ELSE was pretty slow!!!! I don't know what that means, but it was surprising. Binions was almost deserted.

Also America West is a great airline. I'd never flown them, but the plane was clean and the service was great.

Thanks Tim and Anne for hooking us up so well.

 

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