Bellagio 7/29-8/2

Well I am back and I must say, I had a blast! I really didn’t expect to like Vegas since I don’t gamble and rarely drink. But I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! It is a beautiful city with so much to offer. Oh and the weather! I loved it! Yes, it was 108 every day, but with only 18% humidity and a gentle breeze, it was wonderful (better than 90 degrees and 88% humidity like home). For those of you who don’t know, I went to Las Vegas to meet up with 4 friends I met over the internet. We met on an Ivillage message board in January 1999. We all have kids born in June 1998. We split off from the message board and have group emailed nearly every day since January 1999. Well after 5 yrs we have become quite close and decided to meet. I have been fortunate to have met everyone prior to the trip, but there were ladies who had never met in the group.
We come from all over the country….two in California, one in Colorado, one in New Jersey and me in Virginia. It was really weird though when we were all together because there was none of the new person awkwardness. We all felt right at home with one another right away. It was amazing.

So Thursday morning I get up early to catch a ride to the airport with my neighbors. I kissed my three sleeping boys (15 months, 4yrs and 6 yrs), smooched a bit with my wonderful hubby and then I head to Dulles to catch a non-stop TED flight to Vegas. No delays and we land 10 minutes early. Two of my friends greeted me at baggage claim…their flights had also been early. The final two friends arrive right on time as well…imagine that! So at 11am we go meet “Lucky†our limo driver from Bellagio. What a hoot he was! Big name dropper, but he was fun. He had lots of great celebrity stories to share. He told us Matt and Ben were at the Bellagio that weekend, but we never saw them (sniff, sniff). He pointed out the only celebrity we saw all weekend….David Brenner….woohooo (not). So he takes us to the limo and piles in our ton of luggage. We asked if he would stop somewhere for us to get snacks and sodas (we brought alcohol with us). He kept saying “well, I don’t know if I can think of a place…blah blah blah†so I handed him a $10 to help his memory. He suddenly remembered “the perfect spot†and stopped at a place a crossed from Hard Rock for us. We got everything we needed and then proceeded to Bellagio. He entertained us all the way there. We pulled in and were escorted to VIP check in where a buffet of goodies awaited us. The chocolate covered strawberries were to die for! We were offered a beverage of our choice while I checked us in. We were escorted to our suite…a 2 bedroom penthouse suite on the 33rd floor. It was huge (2100 sq feet, 2 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms) and had a gorgeous strip view (don’t know my directions at all but Rio was off to my far left, I could see Caesars, TI and Venetian. Our room overlooked Caesar’s pool). One bedroom with a king and the other with two queens. We also had a twin roll away. Each bedroom had his and hers baths. The men’s bathrooms had steam showers where the women’s had a huge Jacuzzi tubs and a vanity area. Everything was marble and gold…just gorgeous. The bathrooms were the size of my 4 yr old’s bedroom! The draperies are wall controlled. The lighting is beautiful. The hotel sent me roses to the room as a thankyou for staying there. I don't know what regular rooms are like, but the penthouse suite was just beyond belief! So anyway, we sat and rested a spell, drinks in hand. After a little rest and lots of chit chat we headed out for a walk. We checked out Big Elvis at Barbary Coast. Great voice but not too exciting. I wanted my picture taken with him, but we didn’t stay that long. We walked and walked. Great slushy drinks at the Spanish Steps Bar at Caesars. Later we went to the Pink Taco for dinner. It was good food in a casual atmosphere. I had steak tacos and they were good and more food than I could eat. Their salsa is different than any place I have ever been. Hard to describe really. It was good, but not eat so much you make yourself sick good. I forget what everyone else had. We all enjoyed our food very much. But I would have to say for me, if I return to Vegas, I would not rush back to eat there. Hard Rock casino was dead quiet….the whole strip was pretty quiet actually. I played $3 in 2 cent slots and won $24….for a non-gambler that was pretty fun. The east coast girls were tired so we went to bed early. The beds at Bellagio are the best beds I have ever slept on ever...including my one at home!

Friday was our spa day. What a great day Friday was! We started our day like we did every day….in the VIP lounge eating biscotti and muffins while drinking some of the best coffee I have ever had. We walked from Bellagio to Luxor where we had spa reservations. We took our time and since I was the only one of the group to have never been to Vegas, I just walked with my mouth open gawking at all the sites. At one point they asked me if I was ok because I was so quiet. But it was just because I was soaking it all in. I live in rural Virginia and have all of 4 stop signs in my town. So Vegas was just mesmerizing to me. We had plenty of time so we checked out New York New York where we had dinner reservations at Il Forniao that evening. We got to Luxor around 10. My spa treatments were to begin at 11:30 and everyone else’s at 12. So we hung out in the hot tub and just talked and such. Luxor’s Oasis spa is very nice. Each shower has a different scent, so that was fun. They provide everything of coarse. I had the Aromatherapy package for $230. The massage was nice but not the best massage I had ever had. The therapist I had for my massage had only been doing them for a year and it was obvious in her techniques. She was good but lacked that special touch. Well, then, after that it was time for the rest of my treatments. Oh my golly, I thought I had died! I had a massage therapist named Pooh for the remainder of my services. She was a bit crusty, but very good at her job. First came the salt scrub. She rubbed so hard but just as it was about to hurt, she knew to stop. My skin just tingled when she was done. I showered and then came time to slather me with hot lotion. She slathered me all over then wrapped me in an aromatic herbal wrap for 45 minutes. While I was in that, I had a scalp treatment. Well the scalp treatment is more like a head, neck, shoulder and upper back massage. It was heaven. She was very thorough and rubbed as far down my front and back as she could…of course, never inappropriately. But I was laying there in such a state that she could have touched me any way she wanted and I would have let her! It all just felt so goooooood! We all had a fabulous experience at the spa. We left around 3p feeling fresh and rejuvenated. We headed back to Bellagio on the other side of the street. We went into MGM to see the lions. We hit M&M World so I could get the big boys their favorite colors of M&Ms. Back to Bellagio to change for dinner. We hit Il Forniao for dinner at NYNY. It was very yummy and I highly recommend it. We were seated in a back room with a waiter named Alberto. He was beautiful. He is from Milan and has been here for 3 years. We laughed until we cried. We flirted with Alberto like we were 18. He laughed right along with us and flirted right back…he knew we would tip him well. It really was a great dinner. Very good food and impeccable service. After dinner we hit the piano bar…$10 cover and worth twice that at least! We stayed until 2:30am screaming, dancing and singing like we did back in college (way too many years ago!). It was so fun! These 2 guys were fabulous. At one point the line to get in wrapped around the bar. I felt so hip!

Saturday we spent the day at the Bellagio pool. My friend from Henderson came over and lounged with us. It was a good relaxing day. Saturday night we had an early dinner at Battista’s Hole in the Wall. Good food, great old Vegas atmosphere. Good prices…the 5 of us split 3 entrees. The chicken rio was the best. The eggplant parmigean was good as was the pomodoro. After dinner we went to see “Oâ€. It was weird but amazing. I really enjoyed it.

Sunday we played tourist again and walked the other way to the Venetian hitting Flamingo on the way. We did the indoor gondola at Venetian. It was a nice tourist thing to do. We had Gui as our gondolier. He was 19 and gorgeous and flirtatious as well. We all felt like dirty old women flirting with someone nearly half our age (we are all 35-36). But he was cute and entertaining and of course, we tipped him well. We hit lunch at Postrio. We shared 2 pizzas and a sausage appetizer. The food was amazing…some of the best we had I thought. The service sucked though. We hit Mirage on the way back to Bellagio. I could have spent all day in the Secret Gardens with those dolphins. The baby of the group was playing ball and having a great time. Well worth the $12 admission. I didn’t realize it was a research facility. I just sat there watching them play and interact…I just loved it. For dinner we went to Paris and sat on the patio at Mon Ami Gabi and watched the Bellagio fountains. The food was excellent and way more than I could eat. The lobster bisque was amazing (it was the special). I also had the salmon royale (also the special). It was a great way to watch the fountains and I would never have known to do it if I had not read it here. As we were waiting for our table I played $5 in the 1 cent slots and hit for $47….cashed out and went to eat my dinner! After dinner we went to see the Volcano…..no big deal at all, really quite a let down…should have seen it the first night I suppose. We were headed to TI to watch the show when there was a sudden down pour. We ended back at Bellagio looking like drowned rats.

Monday morning came too fast. I ended my stay in the VIP lounge eating chocolate biscotti and drinking coffee. We had a bad limo driver back…didn’t even hold the door open for us. Might as well have been a cab. But that is ok, we were done and headed home. Did curb side check in with TED and was at my gate about 15 minutes later. What an amazing trip it was. I want to go back and take my husband the next time. It has been 11 years since he last visited Vegas and I know a bunch has changed since then.

So anyway, thanks so much for reading all this. It got kind of long once I got to writing. There is so much more I could write. It was just an amazing few days. Thanks to all of you who answered my endless questions.

[ August 03, 2004, 05:24 PM: Message edited by: Suzibell ]

 

Suzibell,

That was a great trip report, one of the best I've read in a long time. Sounds like you girls did Vegas right, and the food, WOW, I usually grab a buffet or McDonalds or something. I gotta get to some more fancier places when I go to Vegas next time. It was probably a nice break for you, that must have been fun. It is a wonderful and mesmerizing place isn't it.

PS - I gotta also stay at a more fancy place than the past trips too. I end up in a three star hotel not a five star like the Bellagio

Better learn to live a little Ross....Good Report

RossW

 

Suzi

Great trip report.

I'm glad to hear you had a great time. I should have warned you on Postrio. I've heard that the service is kind of hit and miss, but as you mentioned it has great food. My friend also thought the Lobster Bisque was amazing at Mon Ami Gabi.

Did you have a chance to check out the Monet exhibit?

Thanks for sharing - as goofy as it sounds, it's nice to get some feedback on answered questions.

 

We did not have time to see the Monet exhibit. I would have liked to and I could have done it an none of my group would have minded. But golly, there is just so much going on I just didn't do it.

As far as the feedback...I agree. I always check out posts from familiar names. It is fun to see what peole ended up doing. Oh...forgot to say, the ATM worked out great. I only needed a bt more cash, so I got out $200 at Paris. Only a $3 fee and none from my bank, so that was great for me. It was so funny. On the plane I was sitting next to this very nice young couple from Boston. We were chatting a bit and the topic of this board came up. He reads here but doesn't post. Well, he had read my post asking about ATMs. So we got a good laugh meeting on the plane out of the blue like that.

Ross...Bellagio was so pretty. I felt like a queen. Next time I may try NYNY or Paris. But I don't know, Bellagio was wonderful!

[ August 04, 2004, 05:27 AM: Message edited by: Suzibell ]

 

I don't think you can go back, suzibell, your vegas expectations are way to high. Should've let us talk you into, say, an Imperial Palace room, then you'd have something to aspire to.

Seriously, sounds like it was an awesome trip!

 

I'm shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, that people went to Vegas and enjoyed it without drunken buffoonery, gambling ridiculous amounts of money away, or getting involved in spontaneous nudity.

Who let her in here???

But honestly, Suzi, thanks for the excellent trip report! It sounds like you ladies did Vegas right. Now of course you'll be wanting a spa day every trip.

Mikey

 

what a wonderful trip and report. You ladies enjoyed vegas they way most people only dream of. Thank you for that report.

 

Suzi....what a great trip! We're from VA too and go to Las Vegas at least twice a year....I never get tired of that city, the energy is contagious. Always wanted to try Bellagio but the price has been a little too steep for comfort. I'll never understand how the comp system works....we get comp'd rooms at the Mirage and they won't even offer a casino rate at the "B", a sister property?? Not to sound like a girly man (lol) but the massage sounds awesome. I've had a few good ones that leave you feeling like you don't have a care in the world...isn't that what vacation is all about? Hope you and hubby get back....there's so much to see and do. And remember....."what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" so, it's ok to enjoy yourself and let the therapist "touch you anyway she wanted to".... ~ Dino

 

Suzi,
Great report. Sounds like you guys had so much fun. Thanks for all the details. My parents are leaving to Vegas on thursday 8/12 and also staying @ the Bellagio,they can't wait to stay there. It will be their first time & I bet they are going to love it as much as you did! Thanks again for all the details! I can't wait to get back!

[ August 05, 2004, 08:30 AM: Message edited by: landa4071 ]

 

wow - you did vegas in total style! it sounds like you had an incredible time. i sat here reading it in a rickety old chair wishing i was getting a scalp massage.

your trip sounds so wonderful. thanks for sharing your report with us!

 

Suzi- where was the VIP lounge and who had access to it? Is it similar to concierge lounges? Just wondering as we have a couple days booked at Bellagio in Sept.
Thanks!

 

I really don't know who has access to the VIP lounge and priveleges. We did because we were in a 2 bedroom penthouse suite. I assume all suites do and probably high rollers (who probably stay in suites).

The VIP lounge is past teh regular check in area over to the right just as you are going to the conservatory.

Our VIP services included check in at 11:30 am in the VIP lounge with no wait. Escorted to our room. Snacks and beverages all day (including a full range of alcohol). Anything we wanted or needed was a simple phone call away. We had limo service to and from the airport (2 limos each way). I forget what else. They never checked who we were or anything, so I imagine if you went in and acted like you belonged there, you could utilize the free food and beverage without being questioned.