Probably THE most iconic hotel on the Vegas strip, the Bellagio is famous for its elegance, luxury and dancing fountains. And I’m sure we’d all love to stay there too, right?

It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to go – the Bellagio that is, not Vegas. If I could just spend one night there, I’d be a happy gal.

So you can imagine how thrilled I was when Lee gifted me the booking confirmation for Christmas!

It did not dissapoint.

The hotel

The hotel itself is huge, with nearly 4,000 rooms, and is the 4th largest hotel on the strip. It’s gaming floor has over 2,400 slot machines, and 15 different table games to choose from. Bobby’s Room is home to some of the best poker players in the world, where game buy-in starts at $20,000.

The fountains out front put on water displays every half an hour throughout the day and every 15 minutes after 8pm where tourists can watch and enjoy for free.

The hotel is home to around 25 different restuarants and cafes, providing everything from quick-stop coffee to luxurious 5-star dining. It even has it’s own botanical gardens and conservtaory that are decorated all year round with themed displays.

It’s hard to convey the sheer scale and opulence of such a place. You could easily wander through the hotel for hours, never getting bored. I mean, there’s shopping, a fine art gallery, a Cirque du Solei show, an art studio, a spa, outdoor pools, bars, and evening entertainment, all of which is under one roof.

The facilities

Because check-in wasn’t until 3pm, we decided to make the most of the facilities at the hotel. After briefly speaking to someone at the front desk, we were given a temporary pass that would allow access to the pool while we waited for check-in.

It was like stepping into a Greek paradise. We found ourselves some lounges towards the back of the courtyard where we could get a little bit of shade and took some time to relax before dipping our toes in the water.

The whole outdoor space was pretty busy but it wasn’t crowded. I think we’d done well with visiting in June; almost everywhere we went was somewhat busy but not overwhelmingly so.

After sunning and soaking ourselves for most of the afternoon, we decided to brave the ridiculously long check-in line and head up to our room.

The service

Everywhere we went, the staff were amazing. My only criticism would be how long we had to wait to check in. When serving 4,000 rooms, you’re bound to hit a few snags in serving everyone at once, but this was definitely an issue.

I think it took us nearly half an hour to get to the front desk. The number of people queuing in front of us was crazy and I couldn’t believe they hadn’t found a better way to expedite the process. Sure they had some electronic check-in machines, but when we tried them, they didn’t work all that well which meant we had no choice but to join the queue.

By the time we did get to the front, the staff were super helpful and really friendly.

The hotel room

The room itself was incredible – I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere like it. Not even our amazing resort in Jamaica could beat this.

We had a huge double bed, a walk-in shower (with built-in bench – who’d have thought?), and a bath – yep a bath and a shower – a sideboard with a huge flatscreen TV and mini-fridge, a desk, a table, a few armchairs and one heck of a view. We’d paid a little extra to have a view of the strip, which was totally worth it.

Everything in the room screamed luxury and it really felt like money well spent. Although I definitely couldn’t afford more than a few nights, you could see how much they were justifyig the cost.

This was a hotel experience I don’t think I’ll ever forget.