VegasChatter

Room Reaction: Inside the rooms, we loved the Control4 technology which allowed us to open and close the blackout shades, turn off and on the lights and manage the room temperature all from a control panel by our bed. We also dug the odd-looking tub/shower combo, the super soft beds, the dual closets and dresser drawers and our killer view. The HDTV was also sweet as we spent one morning watching the USA-Slovenia World Cup game (and working from our bed, heh.)

Service: Room service was excellent, delivered by very happy and helpful attendants. We also liked the friendly desk agents who checked us in and checked us out. But housekeeping was another story.

We left our room to be serviced and returned only to find they had thrown away our giant Evian water bottle (which cost $6 in Aria's Sundries shop downstairs.) Long story short, we called housekeeping to merely mention this and after telling us they would "track down the water bottle" (like recover it from the trash?) the hotel ultimately gave us a $16 mini-bar credit to use towards the Fiji Water from the mini-bar.

Amenity Madness: The mini-bar has a ton of goodies but all really pricey and wired to sensors. You will get charged for anything that you leave off the sensor for longer than 30 seconds. Then again, considering the Coca-Cola we ordered at Cafe Vettro downstairs was only 50 cents more, the minibar might not be such a bad deal. In the bathroom, there were generic Aria toiletries and WiFi (which we didn't use, not on the hotel's networks anyways) was a $14.95 a day. The desk was also equipped with a technology panel allowing you to plug in your various gadgets.

Casino: We liked the casino here because it's new and modern and is totally un-Vegasy. But after spending practically a day at Caesars Palace's casino, we wished Aria had that Vegas-y feeling, with excitement and possibility--and maybe, luck--wafting through the air. Instead, Aria is a very muted casino that sometimes reminds of us of a dark forest.

Restaurants: We've touched on Aria's culinary funhouse before but if you're looking for more basic things to eat for breakfast and lunch, you will have to go on a hunt. The Jean-Phillipe Patisserie is right next to the guest elevators and while breakfast there is convenient, it is not cheap. Think $4.95 for orange juice, $3.95 for a coffee and the same for a croissant. Fruit bowls are about $8.

Cafe Vettro is the 24-hour restaurant on-site that serves nothing we would actually want to eat. And it's not because they lack vegetarian options. The same can be said for the options on the room service menu. It's as if Aria tried to go a bit more upscale with their offerings but forgot to include the sort of comfort foods that people expect to find (simple cheese pizzas, simple salads, simple sandwiches and would it kill them to add mozzarella sticks?)

Self-Parking: After spending two days here and going in and out of self-park several times each day, we were able to perfect not only the fastest route from our room to our car but we think we have a good handle on where to park in the garage. And that's to head right up to floors 4 and 5. You will be forced to make a turn onto the second floor but don't linger there. Head up the ramp right away. Still, it will take you about 10 minutes to walk from the garage to your room, longer if you have luggage.

Bottom Line: We nabbed our room for $99 and $129 a night respectively with a $75 resort credit. We loved our rooms and if it were up to us, we would have stayed in bed all day. We also did notice that customer service was trying to make our experience the best it could be. So in that sense, Aria at these rates was a steal and we'd return again immediately. But we'd request a room close to the elevator, we'd stop at a grocery store beforehand to buy our own bottled water and we might even bring our own pastries.