Hotel: Bellagio Penthouse Suite
We had two criteria for a hotel room. First, it had to be in the Bellagio and, second, it had to be large enough to have a good number of people up there. We decided on a Bellagio Penthouse suite. Here are the pros and cons:
Pros:
1) The size. I was told that our suite was just under 2000 sq ft which means it was just shy of three times the size of my law school apartment. We had 15 people in there just hanging out and it wasn't crowded.
2) Multiple, huge bathrooms. We had two full baths and one "guest" half bath which were invaluable when we were getting ready. The "his" bath had a steam shower that was awesome. I steamed for so long the night before/early morning of the wedding that my fake eyelashes fell off on their own.
3) Free drinks and snacks in the VIP lounge. One caveat: the VIP lounge is a pretty refined, reserved space. You can feel out of place if you roll in there with a group of loud friends who have been drinking.
4) Convenience. I can't imagine staying in a hotel different from where I was getting married. It would have been way too much hassle to constantly run back and forth. Plus, both the wedding department and the catering department sent up bottles of champagne and other snacks/dessert for us which was awesome.
5) Wet bar. They give you your own fridge (apart from the stocked mini bar fridge) which was very handy to store champagne and other drinks
6) Service. We used the concierge a couple of times. They were insanely quick...better than any other hotel I've stayed at. Once, we were about to open a bottle of champagne so I called for extra glasses. They had champagne flutes up to our room within 5 minutes along with a bucket of ice for the bottle and a plate of strawberries.
1) The size. I was told that our suite was just under 2000 sq ft which means it was just shy of three times the size of my law school apartment. We had 15 people in there just hanging out and it wasn't crowded.
2) Multiple, huge bathrooms. We had two full baths and one "guest" half bath which were invaluable when we were getting ready. The "his" bath had a steam shower that was awesome. I steamed for so long the night before/early morning of the wedding that my fake eyelashes fell off on their own.
3) Free drinks and snacks in the VIP lounge. One caveat: the VIP lounge is a pretty refined, reserved space. You can feel out of place if you roll in there with a group of loud friends who have been drinking.
4) Convenience. I can't imagine staying in a hotel different from where I was getting married. It would have been way too much hassle to constantly run back and forth. Plus, both the wedding department and the catering department sent up bottles of champagne and other snacks/dessert for us which was awesome.
5) Wet bar. They give you your own fridge (apart from the stocked mini bar fridge) which was very handy to store champagne and other drinks
6) Service. We used the concierge a couple of times. They were insanely quick...better than any other hotel I've stayed at. Once, we were about to open a bottle of champagne so I called for extra glasses. They had champagne flutes up to our room within 5 minutes along with a bucket of ice for the bottle and a plate of strawberries.
Cons:
1) Cost. But I knew what I was getting in to here - I booked a penthouse suite in the Bellagio for 5 days over Labor Day weekend. I'm not sure if the Bellagio wedding department gives discounts on these suites. I booked through the casino. It wasn't comped, but we had a very good rate. Nonetheless, I wouldn't spend that much money on a hotel room in Vegas unless I was getting married.
2) Access. This was a big one. The penthouse suites are accessible only via a group of special elevators that require a room key to activate. The elevators located off the VIP lounge which is behind unmarked doors in the Bellagio. You can find the doors if you know what to look for - they are the unmarked, blue doors at the edge of the casino near the conservatory. However, most of my friends and many of our vendors had no idea how to get to the room. There is no good way to tell someone to "look for the secret door in Bellagio's special gardens" without sounding like a lunatic. In the end, we got accustomed to going down to the lobby to meet people and bring them up. Some stealthy vendors, like Todd and the delivery guy for Fit for a Bride, found a way to sneak up, however.
1) Cost. But I knew what I was getting in to here - I booked a penthouse suite in the Bellagio for 5 days over Labor Day weekend. I'm not sure if the Bellagio wedding department gives discounts on these suites. I booked through the casino. It wasn't comped, but we had a very good rate. Nonetheless, I wouldn't spend that much money on a hotel room in Vegas unless I was getting married.
2) Access. This was a big one. The penthouse suites are accessible only via a group of special elevators that require a room key to activate. The elevators located off the VIP lounge which is behind unmarked doors in the Bellagio. You can find the doors if you know what to look for - they are the unmarked, blue doors at the edge of the casino near the conservatory. However, most of my friends and many of our vendors had no idea how to get to the room. There is no good way to tell someone to "look for the secret door in Bellagio's special gardens" without sounding like a lunatic. In the end, we got accustomed to going down to the lobby to meet people and bring them up. Some stealthy vendors, like Todd and the delivery guy for Fit for a Bride, found a way to sneak up, however.