Bellagio

The lake, the fountains and the glass-flower ceiling are famous for good reason. Behind them is a calm, well-run hotel with one of the Strip’s classiest gaming floors.

What the floor tells us

Bellagio opened on the Strip in 1998, modelled loosely on the lakeside village of the same name on Lake Como. More than a quarter of a century later it still sets the tone for what a Las Vegas luxury hotel should feel like: polished rather than flashy, busy but rarely chaotic.

The eight-acre lake out front is the stage for the Fountains of Bellagio, which dance to music through the afternoon and evening. Rooms facing the lake are worth the extra spend if this is your first visit, because the show looks very different from twenty floors up.

Inside, the lobby is crowned by a ceiling of hand-blown glass flowers, and the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens next door change their displays with the seasons. Both are free to walk through, so expect crowds in the middle of the day.

The casino floor is wide and well lit, with a respected poker room and quieter high-limit salons away from the main walkways. The hotel also hosts the long-running water show O and Spa Bellagio, which makes the property a sensible choice if you want more than gaming from your stay.