My stay a couple weeks ago at Bellagio was disappointing:
1. No upgrade. The check in clerk checked the inventory when I asked about one. She wrote down at least 5 different room numbers, so it was clear there were open rooms in the next category up. She said she needed to speak to a supervisor. She came back and said there were no rooms available for upgrade. I know they aren't guaranteed, but it's hard not to conclude that they stiffed me when she wrote down so many room numbers when checking the inventory. Nonetheless, I thanked her for trying and let it go.
2. I had booked a fountain view room -- full not partial. They sent me to the spa tower in a room so low that I couldn't see most of the pond or fountains over the parking lot and trees. If it wasn't a mere partial fountain view room, I don't know what could be. I called and explained that while I understand that an upgrade isn't guaranteed, I don't understand why this is the worst fountain room I've ever had in many stays at the property. The clerk said she couldn't move me to the main tower, but she moved me to a higher floor in the spa tower. It was only three floors higher, but it made a significant difference. It was still a mediocre room because the spa tower is so far back from the fountains and, even from the higher vantage point, the parking lot is more prominent than fountains.
3. The clerk said my old keys would work on the new room -- no need to come back down to reception. Unfortunately, when I moved to the better room, the keys didn't work as the clerk said they would. Thus, I had to spend 20 minutes dragging my bags back down to reception and waiting in line to get new keys.
4. The wifi didn't work during my one night stay. I had to go to my seminar at another hotel at 5:00 a.m. the next day so I could work before the sessions started because I was unable to work in the room without an internet connection. And, because I had to leave at 5:00 to get to the other property to work, I didn't have time to eat breakfast at Bellagio because I didn't want to get up at 4:00 a.m. Although I got a continental breakfast at the seminar, I would have much preferred hot food at Bellagio. It just seems unfair that Bellagio's internet problem, and the inconvenience it caused me, resulted in them avoiding having to comp my breakfast.
5. What's worse, I spent 45 minutes on the phone with IT restarting my computer, having him add my IP address to the approved list, etc., etc., before the tech decided to check the main feed to the resort. Once he did so, he announced that the internet was down for the entire spa tower, which means everything else we tried was a waste of time.
6. I politely complained about the internet and wasted time on the phone with IT at check out and the clerk waived the resort fee. I would have gladly paid the fee in exchange for the chance to work in the room and to avoid the frustrating process of dealing with IT for so long when he should have checked from the beginning to see that the entire internet was out.
5. On the bright side, after hanging up with IT, I went to Fix and used my $100 resort credit. The sea bass over risotto was delicious and I had a couple nice glasses of wine. Everything but the tip was removed from my room bill at checkout.
I'm not sure where I'll stay on my next trip. I much prefer the resort credit properties because I'm not a spa person. However, Delano is farther from the center of the strip than I prefer. Although Bellagio has been nice in the past, my most recent experience has me seriously questioning whether I'm willing to stay there again, especially because a work colleague had a similarly bad experience there a few months before my stay.