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Great hotel, not-so-great stay: Here’s what didn’t work at The Bellagio

The Points Guy Articles

The Bellagio is a legendary hotel in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip, but I recently had a somewhat disappointing stay there.

After posting a room tour I did while at the hotel — the only post of mine to ever go “viral” on Instagram — a lot of Bellagio fans were not happy with my mild disappointment, so I wanted to explain the experience here in a bit more detail.

Here’s what we look for at The Points Guy when it comes to a great hotel stay — and why The Bellagio Resort and Casino didn’t quite fit the bill this time.

About the hotel

The Bellagio is a world-famous hotel in the center of the Vegas action. It’s probably best known for its incredible fountains located right on the Strip. The lobby features a spectacular ceiling sculpture by the artist Dale Chihuly.

The lobby is also where you’ll find an iconic 14,000-square-foot botanical garden and conservatory.

And that’s not all the hotel has going for it — it was also renovated a few years ago (TPG’s own Summer Hull loved the updated room she stayed in, in 2021.)

Booking through Home Away From Home

During my recent visit, I stayed in a renovated room on a high-up floor, and indeed, my room itself was fine.

The problems, though, mostly stemmed from my expectations, since I booked through Bilt’s new Home Away From Home portfolio, which comes with several important perks (or it’s supposed to).

Bilt Home Away from Home perks at Bellagio. BILT

These perks include:

Early check-in
Late checkout
Daily breakfast for two (up to $30 breakfast per person at Sadelle’s, The Buffet, Bellagio Patisserie, Pool Cafe, Patio or Cafe Bellagio)
$100 food-and-beverage property credit
Space-available upgrade

Here’s what didn’t work and what could’ve gone better

No upgrade

Bilt Home Away From Home states that upgrades are subject to availability; unfortunately, I didn’t get one.

I booked a “1 Premier, King, View, 1 bed,” which I would have assumed would have a great view, but it left much to be desired. Room 28033 looked out over the back of the hotel. While I did have a view of some of the swimming pools, I did not have a view of the Strip or the Bellagio Fountain. Instead, I looked out on Interstate 15.

Between this disappointing view and no available upgrades, this was a bummer.

Ignored concierge requests

The hotel says that guests are able to text the concierge service number for assistance 24/7. However, I made multiple attempts to get a response to a request for help getting tickets to a show. There was no reply until they reminded me I needed to checkout by 11 a.m.

Unstable WiFi

There’s no excuse for bad WiFi these days in any hotel. Sadly, the WiFi at Bellagio was not great. I had trouble getting anything to stream, and Zoom calls weren’t great either.

Refused late checkout

One of the benefits that I was counting on using was late checkout. It is supposed to come with my booking via Bilt, but no dice. I called the front desk to confirm this benefit, and the receptionist said they didn’t do late checkout after noon, which was confusing. It was especially annoying because I was moving hotels, and I couldn’t check into my next hotel until 3 p.m.

The stay was expensive

My biggest gripe is that staying at The Bellagio was very expensive. I paid $769.86 for two nights, after a $100 credit for using Bilt Cash to book through the Bilt portal. It would have been $870 for two nights, including the $50-per-night resort fee. Thankfully, I also got a good statement credit from Bilt.

The Bilt Palladium Card(see rates and fees) gives you a $400 Bilt Travel portal statement credit each year for hotel bookings made through the portal. You get $200 to use every six months.

If I had paid the full, nearly $900 out of pocket for two nights at the Bellagio, I would have been even more disappointed.

I will say that there were several large conventions in town during my visit, so maybe I was just unlucky on some of the issues.

What I loved

Of course, the best things about the Bellagio are the location and the stunning fountains in front. Even if you’re not staying there, you can enjoy the display. There’s a show every thirty minutes in the afternoons and then every 15 minutes at night.
There are plentiful food and beverage options at the hotel, which is convenient. For example, my Home Away From Home booking via Bilt included a $100 F&B credit at the resort. I also got a daily $30 credit for breakfast. I counted more than 15 dining options. And best of all, there were no issues using those credits on my bill at the end of my stay.
The hotel has an incredible casino, as you’d expect, and there is a great shopping mall attached to the hotel. You are also in the center of the action. It sits between Caesars Palace and Aria, and many of the biggest attractions in Vegas are within walking distance (go see Drag Race Live at the Flamingo).
The renovated rooms are pretty nice, if you can score one with a decent view.

Bottom line

No shade to The Bellagio, but the poor Wi-Fi, a lack of promised benefits, unreliable customer service and high prices made for a less-than-stellar combination.

Despite my disappointment, I would stay again if the price was right. I appreciated being able to use some of my Bilt credits for the stay, and I like the renovated rooms.

I think the key is to set some realistic expectations about what you get if you book via a third-party like Bilt Home Away from Home or American Express Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts.

And maybe don’t go during a major conference in Las Vegas.

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Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.