Aria First Timer...Any tips?

We are headed to Aria in a couple of months. It will be our first stay here. We usually go to MGM when budget minded, Cosmo when we want to splurge.
Any tips or advice about Aria?

 

Best restaurants are probably Sage, Julian Serrano & American Fish - I'd avoid Jean-Georges, there's far to many better steakhouses in town.

It's probably worth it to splurge for something in the Sky Suites section.

 

Eat at Sage.

Enjoy the great BJ rules.

Use the tram to Bellagio for jaunts to the north. Take the walkway to MC when heading south.

 

Definately eat at Sage.

 

Enjoy Julian Serrano. Make sure and at least walk thru Chrystals. Play with the in-room technology

 

Yes, definitely play with the in-room technology for a few minutes when you first get there.. Don't be like me on my first trip and try to learn them late at night after a few drinks, lol.

 

The American Fish happy hour is a favorite of mine. The craft cocktails and small bites are excellent.

If you're looking for cheaper gambling and/or eats walk through "the street of dreams" (that's what it's actually called) to Monte Carlo.

The poker room is really tough.

Don't eat at Todd English's pub.

From Aria the tram is completely useless.

If you want walk to The Bellagio, there's an easy to find shortcut through Vdara.

My wife and I have consistently received great service from the bar near the check-in lobby. I think it's called View Bar.

Next door The Mandarin Oriental's bar has one of the most scenic views of the strip. The drinks aren't cheap, but now that they've gotten rid of the bands it's a great oasis from the madness.

 

Ditto to both of these.

 

We stay at Aria every 2 months. Great advice above.

American Fish, Sage-yes. We also like LemonGrass
BJ rules best on tables on right side as facing Players Club, Most fun on left side
Todd's Pub has horrible overpriced food
Poker is tough and Quiet (no talking)
Skip the Tram, Shortcut through MC is great, Stop at Crystals-Giant Kite display is up, water tornadoes are cool
We like the Skybox To Go for some really good food to take to the slot machines/VP
Ask for an upgrade to a corner suite on weekdays-huge upgrade. Ask for Panoramic suite.
Play Ultimate Sevens between 5pm-8pm. Right next to Players Club. Play the 3 that everyone waiting in line can see. Trust me
Skip the cafe Vettro-it's terrible in all areas-Service, Food, and Price
Find a Mlife Platinum card in a machine and flash it at Taxi/Valet and you get 1st up.
Skip Elvis (oh, it's gone. Yeah!) Go see Zarkana-1/2 price at Tix4Tonight across the street. check the day before to determine likelihood of success.
Under 30-Go to Haze nightclub for 30 minutes. Over 30, Stand outside Haze for 10 minutes.

 

Just returned another stay at Aria Sky Suites for 5 nights.
I agree with most of the earlier posters on most things.
Sage and American Fish are great.Julian Serrano is one of my favorites. Service at Cafe Vettro was as slow as usual.
We had lunch at Skybox a couple times and service and food were fine.

For the first time we tried lunch at Todd English Pub and we were pleasantly surprised. Both food and service were very good.
Another surprise was Jean Georges.This was my fifth stay at Aria and had not tried this restaurant yet.
All 4 of us really enjoyed our steaks and I would not hesitate to go back.

Don't bother with the monorail,it's easier to walk taking the shortcuts north or south.
If you can upgrade to a corner suite definitely do it.

 

Thank you for all of the advice! we are going Wednesday-Saturday the first week of January. Lots of time to plan, thanks again for the input!

 

I love Café Vettro. With the sun pouring through the airport windows really makes it a great place to start the day.

The food is good, but a little expensive.

Service wait times aren't too bad. If there is any lengthy wait, I don't notice it. I usually am reading the newspaper or chatting up my girlfriend anyway.

 

I agree about the ambiance at Cafe Vettro, but the food is mediocre at best. Cafe Bellagio is much better

 

Didn't think much of the food at Cafe Vettro. Service was good and the space in attractive. I ordered a Philly Cheese steak and it was at best, insipid. Who makes a Philly with American cheese? IMHO, if you're going for lower end, fast food, try the Skybox bar. Much better food.

One tip. If you get a room offer with resort credit, the hours of the resort credit do not match the check in-check out hours. I made the mistake of thinking breakfast at 9 a.m. would be on the previous night's resort credit, but it was the next night's credit, so I only got one beer from the mini bar on my first night's credit. Burn the first night's resort credit before you go to bed, then use the next resort credit the next day as you see fit.

...and don't hit the "good night" button on the room remote if you want to go to sleep with the TV on. It shuts off everything including the TV.

 

Agreed about Skybox. For quick food at Aria, its the best option. They have a restuarant next to the sportsbook and a carry out window srunched between the sportsbook bar and the poker room

 

hahaha Im totally gonna check the machines while playing next time.

 

--Skip the buffet. It very closely resembles a high school cafeteria and the food isn't very good at all.

--Upgrade to a corner suite. Even if you don't get a free upgrade, the extra money you pay is absolutely worth it, but only if you get a high floor.

--The front desk staff is fairly snobby, the rest of the staff is exceptionally nice

-- for the males, the straight razor shave they do in the spa is fantastic

 

Skip the long lines at Jean Phillipe for coffee in the morning and Hit the Roasted Bean in the back of the Casino near the tram. Lines are much shorter when you need a coffee fix.

 

Dulce de leche brioche from JPP = awesomeness.

Nightly 7pm poker tournament = fun night, and awesome drink service

Sports book is a nice place to watch a game. They have drink service, get food from the skybox takeout counter.

Spend a day (or 2 or 3) at the pool.

 

just returned from a 5 nights stay at Aria
Caffe Vettro is always great food and service.