Las Vegas Stratosphere

It is difficult to add much to the many glowing reviews that appear on tripadvisor.com about the Bellagio Hotel on Las Vegas Boulevard – but I will try anyway!

 

This hotel is, without a shadow of doubt, one of the nicest and most classy of the major Las Vegas “mega-resorts” that have been built there as a trend since the mid to late 1990s. It stands out due to its understated style and design which contrasts with the brashness and neon of so many other resorts and hotels in Vegas.

 

It looks good from the outside, which is no mean feat when there are a few thousand rooms. The look is helped by the huge 8.5 acre man made lake in the front of the hotel with the jaw-dropping fountains that explode very 30 minutes in the day and every 15 minutes in the evenings (until midnight). It is not clad in neon or flashing lights and simple white spot lights light it up a night.

 

The lobby is large and open with many check-in desks and an impressive ceiling of glass flowers (all of which are apparently different) and a feature that anyone with a camera visiting insists on taking pictures of. For me, they are a bit out of place as they seem garish and loud and contrast with the rest of the look and design.

 

I stayed in one of the “lake view rooms” on the 21st floor. It is worth paying the slightly higher rate to get one of these rooms as the view across the strip is just amazing both at day and even more so at night. But, importantly, you also get to see the fountain shows in all their glory as often as you can – along with the music as they have a channel on the TV that plays the music that goes with the show.

 

This was the 2nd time I had stayed in the Bellagio, and this time the rooms seemed larger than I remember them (which they clearly cannot be!) but also the interiors seemed more unique and stylish. The bed is very comfortable and a pleasure to sleep in. There is a desk to work at by the window and a huge bathroom with bath and large glass walk in shower. The bathroom was one of the best in any hotel I have stayed in.

 

There are many good restaurants in the hotel. We ate one night as a treat at “Prime” which was expensive but for a treat worth splashing out. You have to dress up and they prefer you to wear a jacket.

 

The only gripes were small:

They don’t give you a network cable and so you have to buy one at $11 to be able to use the internet – which was about $10 a day to use and no wireless.
They must be one of the few hotels in Las Vegas not to have a “Starbucks” and have an Italian coffee shop in line with the theme – but I did miss my Starbucks hit which I strolled across the road to get (how sad is that!!)
To get to the guest tower or the casinos or shopping/ restaurants everyone has to go along a relatively narrow passageway that gets to be a real bottleneck
The pool area has great loungers and free towels – but not enough umbrellas
The housekeeping of the room was a bit erratic and seemed that in a rush to do the room they just forgot to do some things – but nothing worth complaining about just some inconsistencies (suggesting different people were doing the room each day and not all being as thorough or having the same routine)

 

So these are gripes are not really that major!

 

To see videos of the room and fountain show, visit my myspace blog by clicking on the link