1st trip for hubby; 2nd for me! Bellagio 2/18-2/21/2010

Just a quickie report! Thanks for the help in planning to all that answered my questions prior to the trip.

Day 1

My husband had a business trip out west, so we decided to meet in Vegas for a nice weekend away from work and kids! We met at the airport - it was like a flashback to our dating days (20 years ago) when we dated long-distance! Although my husband landed over an hour before me and I had told him to meet me at the hotel, he decided to wait for me - isn't that sweet?!

I had signed up for emails for hotel offers for MGM hotels, Wynn, Ventian/Palazzo and am already a Harrah's member. The best rate I could get for a hi-end hotel was 139/night at Bellagio. I decided to upgrade our room to a partial lake view at 160. This was his first trip to Vegas and my second. I had gone with my 2 sisters last year for a big birthday celebration. I didn't think I would like it, but we all had a blast. So I was hoping hubby would like it too! He's not a big gambler and hates to lose money, but will play BJ for a few hours at a time.

Anyway, Bellagio was a zoo when we arrived on a Thursday around noon. We had a nice young lady at check-in, who upgraded us to a deluxe full lakeview room! Yippee! Didn't realize until we got to the room that it would be a full lake view! The room was very nice and spacious. I don't know what people are complaining about with it starting to show it's age. The view was great - we were on the 11th floor.

We headed down to lunch - we were starving - and decided to go to Olives, hoping for an outside table, but they were full for the afternoon with the wait list. We still enjoyed a great lunch and had a great waiter. We had salads (one was a special greek red lettuce salad that was really good), the eggplant ravioli (yum!) and lobster roll, which hubby enjoyed. The bread and flatbreads were also good and came with olive spreads. I also had 2 drinks (made with campari) to start off my vaca right! I had actually made a dinner reservation there for our first night, which I cancelled since we were stuffed from lunch and would try somewhere else for a snack later. She did tell us if we wanted patio seating for a 7:30 reservation to come by at around 6 pm to get on the list - for those of you wanting to try Olives!

It was a gorgeous day - high 60's - so we wanted to walk outside. We've been bombarded with snow on the east coast, so this was a nice treat! We wandered down the strip for a walk towards the Wynn, stopping at Bill's to watch Big Elvis for a while - that was fun. Played those outside slots, I think at Casino Royale and hubby got free slot play, which we lost quickly. I told hubby if he wanted to learn craps, this was a good place to learn, but he wasn't in the mood. Later wandered over to Onda at Mirage, for wine and snacks (thanks to recommendations here). We enjoyed the atmosphere there.

Walked back to Bellagio and played some table games/slots before hitting the sack. No wins - boo-hoo!

Day 2

Started at Mon Ami Gabi at Paris for a nice outside breakfast. They had the heat lamps on, so it was very pleasant. Hubby had the special salmon eggs benedict which he loved and I had a mushroom/brie omelette, which was fine. We stayed at Paris for a few hours gambling, losing a few 100 bucks, oh, well, hubby had a really nice table for BJ -a bunch of good guys.

We then took a cab to Cowtown Boots, to look for, yep, boots! Didn't have much luck. Some are made in China and India. Hubby finally found a pair he liked, but they ended up having a noticeable mark on the leather. It was a pain to get a cab back, so not really worth the trip.

Hubby chilled in the room for a while, while I lost money in the casino again. Will I win anything in Vegas on this trip?????

We walked over to MGM Grand for a dinner at Nobhill Tavern, which I had reserved online. We scored a booth, which was awesome. The service and food were both great. The sommelier helped hubby pick out a nice wine for $65. We both had great salads, then braised short ribs for me and chicken and dumplings for hubby. All was very tasty!

Ka was next on our list (9:30 show - should have gone earlier). Got great seats in Sect 202, Row EE (with help from this board). I have to say I think we were both too tired to really appreciate the whole show. The stage set was amazing - never seen anything like it. Some parts were unbelievable; others could have been shortened a bit. But we still enjoyed it very much. On the walk back, we stopped to watch the fountains outside by the street before heading in.

Day 3

We decided to breakfast again at Mon Ami Gabi since we enjoyed it so much the day before. I was up for trying somewhere new, but he wanted to go (gotta keep him happy so he wants to come back!) It was another beautiful day out. This time, hubby had blueberry french toast and I had skinny lemon pancakes - both really good - but the french toast was AWESOME! A few bellinis started us off too!

Walked down to the Venetian/Palazzo to check it out. Hubby liked the Peter Lik gallery - gorgeous photos! We had fun shopping - hubby bought some stuff at Canali - so he was very happy! (gotta keep him happy so he wants to go back!). Stopped at the Palazzo casino - I played Monopoly Big Event - community gaming. Love that game! There were 2 machines open. Of course, the one I didn't pick, a nice lady sat down, put a $5 in and ended up winning over $100 bucks in about 10 minutes before catching her plane. She had never played before, so it was fun telling her about it. Of course, I lost - does Vegas want ME to be happy so I come back???

Being the good Catholics that we are, we went to an afternoon mass at the Guardian Angel Cathedral just past the Encore. The female singer had a beautiful voice. Then we walked over to the Wynn to check it out. Started with drinks on the balcony outside the registration desk. They served $14 wine in a plastic cup! What?????

It was windy, so we decided to wander around inside. Sat down at a Let it Ride table. I have never really played, except to try it online free. Hubby didn't know how to play. We were the only ones at the table, but the pit boss and dealer were both really nice. We played for an hour or 2 and hubby got a full house for a $530 win!!!!! Yippee - keep him happy!!!! I wandered around playing a few slots, and then we headed back to Bellagio.

For dinner, we went to Julian Serrano at Aria. We were tired of walking and it was chilly out, so we tried the tram from Bellagio and got off at City Center. You still had to walk through and outside a little to get into Aria, but it was fine and I wanted to look around anyway. I had called a little earlier for a reservation at Serrano. They wanted to put us at this really bad table, but I said no, and then they gave us a decent one. We ordered chicken croquettes, green peppers (not the stuffed ones), and the tenderloin on toast with brie. The tenderloin was tasty, but not much for $17! The peppers were too spicy for me, but hubby liked them. Croquettes were good. We ordered the paella cause hubby wanted it (keep him happy!); I would have preferred trying a bunch of tapas instead. It was just ok. I had the red sangria, which was also ok. Service was good.

We then walked through Aria casino. I thought the whole area was interesting from an architectural viewpoint. It all had a hip, modern vibe to it, but just doesn't appeal to my tastes.

Back on the tram to Bellagio for some more gambling before calling it a night. Had an early flight out - hubby had a first class, I had a coach, but a really good seat. I let him fly first class home - keep him happy!

Final thoughts
We had a great trip. We liked Bellagio - thought it was beautiful; had a great room with a view of the fountains and strip. We didn't use the spa, pool or gym and only ate there once. I didn't like that you had to bet $25 a hand for them to even note your player's card. Didn't have much luck on their slots and they didn't seem to have as many fun penny slots. It was a great location for walking everywhere. It was always very busy, though, tables were crowded. I had really wanted to go to the Fontana Bar, but it was closed for private events every single night of our trip - that stunk!

We both agreed we'd love to stay at the Wynn next time - loved the atmosphere and the casino area. I would also try the Venetian and Palazzo because they seem to have great room offers, none of which worked for our travel days. l liked the casino area there as well.

I had typed out a list of restaurants by casino, so when we were hungry I would know where to go. That was helpful, even though we didn't use it much. We never got to the dueling piano bars or saw any live music - which we had wanted to do. Just didn't seem to be in the right place at the right time. I didn't want to schedule our trip either - wanted to wing it more - except for the night we saw Ka.

So hubby had fun, and will go back at some point. Really, the only thing he didn't like was the annoying clicker guys on the streets. Other than that, he said it was much better than he thought it would be. We didn't have a bad meal, either. I am headed out again in April with 4 girlfriends! Let's hope the gambling will be better!

Thanks to all for an informative message board!

 

Wow! Nice report...glad you enjoyed the trip! BTW, did you hit the Venetian Casino in the morning? what were the minimums on the craps and BJ tables there?

 

Nice report. I like your idea of making a list of restaurants for each casino. I am going to do that.

Yes you are right....Keep him happy... when you make the hubby think it's all about him and his happiness... it makes like much easier for the wife..LOL

Enjoy your trip in April!

 

Thanks! If there's a way to post a document I could post my restaurant list, but it only includes those that appealed to me when I looked at menus and were recommended. I put hours and phone numbers on it too. I also listed bars that appealed to us.

Just played slots at Palazzo. The Let it Ride at The Wynn was $10 around 4 pm on a Saturday. They had table minimums all over the place, even up to $500 on BJ! I liked it because it wasn't crazy busy or overly crowded. Bellagio had $10 craps and BJ on Saturday night - pretty busy, though. When we were at Paris on Friday morning, I was surprised they only had $10 craps and my hubby's BJ table got raised from $10 to $15. My sisters and I had played $5 craps and BJ there on a Saturday late morning last April.

 

Fantastic TR , glad hubby was kept happy

I took mine for his first visit last November, after being there 5 times previously with the galpals, He enjoyed it also, and was happy I knew where to take him and where I was going lol He'd probably still be trying to find the airport if I left him on his own!

Sounds like great places you ate at, I've only tried the Mon Ami Gabi for lunch

Looking forward to your TR with the girls

 

For some reason, I think the girls' trip will be more relaxing!!!! I so wanted hubby to have fun! Not that it was stressful, but I know with my girlfriends, we'd be happy eating cereal every meal, as long as drinks were included! And as long as no one is hearing "Mom!" a zillion times a day, we will all be happy!

 

LOL I know what you mean! Baileys and coffee makes a fine way to start the day hehe

actually 2 of my galpals were there at the same time, we had some meals together and did the Jersey Boys ...... only thing different with hubby , that I didn't do with the galpals, is shop .....

It's all good tho, he wants to go back

 

LOL-you are so right. And yes it is great to go with your husband but a girls trip once in a while is just fantastic and you can giggle and laugh at any silly thing you want and there will be no male asking what is so funny .
And hopefully next time the machines will try to keep you happy.
Great trip report--thanks

Carol

 

Wow, Carol, 70 trips to Vegas and you're reading a newbie trip report???!!!! I am honored!!!!! Can't wait for the girlie trip!!!!! I'm sure there will be lots of giggling and silliness!

 

Well it is always interesting to hear other view points and your report was great.
I would suggest trying to stay at the Venitian--I just stayed there and fell in love with the place---great rooms--machines that let me play for awhile--even some good payouts--and just loved Sex and the City-it is a fantastic game.
Have a great time the next trip and hit a big one

 

I'm going to keep checking availability for some of the offers at Venetian/Palazzo for the April trip. Maybe they'll release more rooms closer to the date. Would be nice to have a free room!

 

Really fun trip report, I ended up googling pictures of blueberry french toast halfway thru! I need to find some of that ASAP!

I think after you stay in Encore or Palazzo you'll see what people mean by Bellagio getting a little tired. It's just slightly more beat up in a few spots and much smokier and always more crowded than the north end luxury properties.

I stay at Bellagio when I want action, Encore when i want relaxation. Palazzo when I want something in between. All three are fantastic.

Hope you have better gambling luck in April!

 

They have been a little late releasing the offers recently. We are going April 15-18 and only just got the Palazzo offer and booked last week or so. They never put up a general "March" offer for me this year.

I would keep checking, I did almost daily until it popped up and then I jumped on it.

 

Sounds like you had a killer time and congrats on scoring the Bellagio lake view room!

It was a lot of fun reading your report.

 

Nice TR, but the word "Hubby" makes me cringe.

 

Loved the report!
Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for all the nice comments, everyone! I debated about writing a TR, thinking it would be a boring read, but I figured what the heck!

 

Great TR!! What's the verdict......does hubby want to go back? I've had my April Venetian/Palazzo offers for over a month now and just got offers until the end of May, so keep checking. We're staying at Palazzo late April (double booked at PHo). I think you'll really like Venetian/Palazzo; it's my personal favourite. Enjoy your girls' trip and I hope the gambling Gods smile on you!

 

Yep, he'll go back, but it won't be an annual event. He enjoyed all the restaurants and just walking around. Plus the weather was awesome. I think I would enjoy staying at Venetian/Palazzo more just because I like the casino there better and more restaurant choices. So if someone wants to stay up late gambling, it won't be a big issue. Plus the offers seem good there. I could easily go once or twice a year!!! Hope I win in April! Good luck to you too!

 

Well, I had to laugh, because dear husband is talking about doing another trip in the fall!!! Yippee!!! Guess he liked Vegas more than I thought!