Bellagio Review (Service Emphasis)

Bellagio opened in October 1998. It was built by none other than Steve Wynn. (via his company Mirage Resorts, Inc.) Wynn purchased and demolished the Dunes hotel and casino in 1993 in order to construct the $88 million Bellagio. Bellagio brought a new sense of class to Las Vegas and has kept that reputation ever since. In recent years, competition has arisen with the likes of the Venetian, theHotel at Mandalay Bay, and Wynn's latest project, Wynn. Bellagio remodeled the casino floor in 2006 to keep pace and it remains one of the nicest casinos in this ever-evolving town.
While no one can argue with Bellagio's styling and overall beauty, it really didn't live up to its reputation while we were there. To be fair, the bar is set very high in my mind considering its reputation as well as in comparison to my stay there last July.

Overall, I was really disappointed with the service. For instance, we spent much of Friday afternoon poolside in a cozy cabana. The cabana's are nice as they seclude you as well as provide you with such amenities as a personal waiter or waitress, tv, bottled water, and snacks. The cabana's are not cheap at all, but they are great for overcoming a hangover.

We spent a few hours there and ordered a handsome number of drinks, which is where the complaints begin. I'm used to receiving a garnish or a straw in my beverages, but I didn't anticipate an apology with each one. Nearly every cocktail took up to 10 minutes to receive, which I find rediculous, especially considering the pool wasn't busy at all. Last July, I had better response times ordering drinks while in the pool which was 10 times more crowded than it was this past weekend. This was without a personal server too.

Our waiter kept namoring on about some new system the bar was trying out, which obviously wasn't working. This only compounded my concerns. How many systems to bartending can there be? I've been to a few establishments in my day and have seen how it works behind the scenes. It may be more complicated than it appears, but it in no way is it rocket science. Maybe it's time the Bellagio get booze tubes like the Venetian has. The "faulty system" excuse just got old and really affected my overall impression of the Bellagio.

Additionally, we had a surprisingly negative experience using the Bellagio concierge. We requested a reservation via the concierge for a table at Mix at theHotel and when we got there, there was no knowledge of such reservation. It wasn't that big of a deal at the time, but it just isn't something I'd expect from the Bellagio. Following up the next day, we discovered that the woman who booked our reservation no longer worked in that department. Apparently, she wasn't doing her job, but that rubs off on the reputation of the employer.

On the other hand, I had a $10 blackjack dealer named John from Idaho who was super friendly. He teased me by nearly doubling my stack almost immediately and then bringing me back to reality nearly as quickly. He cleared the table out with his face cards which were consistently unbeatable. I finally decided to leave the table vacant having surrendered all of my winnings and a bit of what I sat down with. John though, was as friendly as ever and offered to wave me back when the table got hot. I laughed this off as a nice gesture, which of course was a lie but it really made me think about how the Bellagio handles service. The $35 I lost at John's table in no way compared to the dent we made at the cabana yet, I felt so much more appreciated.

In terms of service, Bellagio's reputation sets itself up to fail and as a result, this time it came in under the expected level. I certainly wouldn't sway anyone from staying there, but I'm going to check out the Wynn and Venetian next to see how they compare.

3 cheques (out of 5)