Bellagio Spa Tower Room and Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts Stay Review

A couple of friends recently visited Las Vegas and invited me to meet them for dinner. So I took the opportunity to stay a night at Bellagio — and use The Platinum Card® from American Express‘ new $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts credit!

Bellagio: Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts

There were several reasons I chose Bellagio and used Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts program (FHR) to book the stay.

• My friends had reservations at Bellagio.
• Bellagio participates in both Fine Hotels & Resorts and Chase’s Luxury Hotels & Resorts. But FHR offered a lower price than Chase’s Luxury Hotels & Resorts.
• The Platinum Card® from American Express offers an annual $200 statement credit for pre-paid FHR bookings.

Plus, I’ve stayed at Bellagio a couple of times and really like the property. The staff is generally good and the resort very nice. The food is good. The location is great, too — the resort is pretty much in the center of the Strip.

The room rate and tax came to $225.63. But the $200 statement credit knocked that down to just $25.63. Not bad for a night at Bellagio!

Although I still had to pay the resort fee. And if you haven’t yet read it, check out my post about how Amex clawed back my $200 credit. (Don’t worry. There’s a happy ending.)

I have gold status with MGM Resorts, thanks to its status matching program with World of Hyatt. (I got this way back in the day when Hyatt was still Gold Passport. 🙂 ) So, I used the “Invited Guest” check-in line.

Quite a few people were checking in — especially for 1:40 PM on a Monday. Through no fault of her own, it was a little difficult to hear the front desk rep. There was a classic Vegas “symphony” taking place around us: other guests checking in, hundreds of people wandering through the lobby, slot machines beeping, clinking, and ringing, and music blaring.

Here’s the FHR welcome letter she presented me.

I asked if the front desk rep if complimentary breakfast was available on the arrival day. She said it’s a one-time benefit and that I should use it the next day.

Like my stay at Delano Las Vegas this past May, the number of eligible restaurants and vendors for the $100 food and beverage credit was fairly limited (at least, as opposed to pre-COVID). For example, drinks from the Bellagio pool bar are not covered — which is fairly lame.

There were two room upgrades available (as per the FHR benefits.):

• A refurbished room in the Main Tower (the classic Bellagio building you’ve seen a zillion times) that offered a limited view of the lake.
• A room in the Spa Tower with a better view of the lake and fountain show.

I chose the latter because I love Bellagio’s fountain show — and I always get a kick from watching it in my room. 🙂 (I guess I’ll have to return so I can review the refurbished room. Oh, well!)

Let’s head over to the Spa Tower and up to the room!

Bellagio Spa Tower King Room

First of all, I think the elevators are gorgeous. Maybe I’m a simpleton or have stayed in too many Holiday Inns. But, c’mon, isn’t this a nice elevator?!

A nice entryway greeted me.

The rest of the room was welcoming, classy, and clean. (Well, except for one part. We’ll get to that in a minute.)

The bed was comfortable — and I’ve always enjoyed the pillows at MGM Resorts properties.

The air conditioning didn’t seem as cold as it should’ve been. I had it set to 65 degrees and still felt warm all night. My friends had the same problem in their suite.

Elsewhere in the room: I feel like there were more hangers in this closet than in other hotel closets.

The bathroom was nice — and I really like the glassed-in shower.

The bathtub sported some dirt and hair, though.

I think I watched all of about nine seconds of a fountain show. I wasn’t in the room during enough waking hours to enjoy them. 🙂

Food and Beverage at Bellagio

As I mentioned earlier, drinks at the pool aren’t covered by the FHR food and beverage credit. So my single pour of Maker’s Mark on the rocks was $16 of pocket. Before tip. That was disappointing. But, oh well. (#FirstWorldProblems.)

That said, there are plenty of other lounges where you can use the credit. And the perk isn’t limited to just Bellagio. You can spend it at about 120 different MGM Resorts restaurants and, lounges, and bars in Vegas. Here’s a list of those participating outlets

Also, gratuities aren’t covered in the $100 food and beverage credit. So keep that in mind when calculating what amount you’ve spent and have left to enjoy.

I treated one of my friends to breakfast at Sadelle’s Bellagio’s (upscale) coffee shop.

My buddy opted for Eggs Benedict, which he found delicious.

I opted for steak and eggs. I ordered my steak medium rare — and it was cooked to perfection!

Our final bill — before gratuity — was about $95. (There may have been a couple of Kahlúa and coffees ordered, too…) So the $60 breakfast credit was fully used. The outstanding $35-ish was automatically deducted from my $100 food and beverage credit.

I bought a $10 bottle of Fiji Water at a coffee shop. That credited to my food and beverage allowance. But I ended up with a bunch of unused credit. I planned on buying breakfast for three people but our other friend elected to sleep late and then find a spot at the pool.

I didn’t want to buy drinks or food that I wouldn’t consume — just to use the credit frivolously. Perhaps if that happens again, I’ll wander into a bar and buy a round for some people.

Bellagio features several pricey restaurants. So the $100 credit can go a decent way toward paying for a fun experience at a snazzy restaurant like Lago or PRIME. (Though it certainly won’t cover the $360 six-ounce Wagyu filet mignon at PRIME.) But It’ll buy you a decent steak and glass of wine.

Earning Points with World of Hyatt

My MGM Resorts and World of Hyatt accounts are linked. So I earned Hyatt points for the stay.

That $153.22 represents the resort fee, gratuities, my pool bar drink, and, uh, sunscreen at a gift shop. (I paid dearly for forgetting my sunscreen at home.)

919 points won’t be exactly enough to score me a night (or anything) at the Park Hyatt Maldives. But every point counts!

Final Approach

I enjoyed my stay at Bellagio! The food was good and I love the property. (Thankfully, I didn’t feel like taking a bath!)

But the $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts credit made this stay happen. I appreciate the benefit and will consider this come card membership renewal time next year.

To see rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link. Terms apply.