Diane Taylor

A Walk Through the Bellagio at the Holidays

Holiday crowd
The Bellagio winter display features a combination of old and new for holiday visitors.
Photo by Diane Taylor

Nope, I can’t stay away. Visiting the Italian-themed Bellagio Las Vegas at the holidays is one of the “musts” for Las Vegas locals and visitors. This time, however, I didn’t just visit the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, I walked the circumference of the establishment — looking at shops, restaurants, etc. My walk is documented on the attached video.

One observation: Steve Wynn, who built the Bellagio 19 years ago, knows how to market, and current owner, MGM Resorts International, has followed his lead. Wynn builds an attraction so spectacular that every visitor is compelled to take photos. In the digital age, we see not just one camera per family, but often one camera per person. Everywhere I turned in the Bellagio’s lobby area and beyond, I saw folks with cameras, phones, iPads, etc. pointed at something. And for videos, is anything better than the city’s number one tourist attraction, the Bellagio fountains?

All those visitor photos and videos then go on emails and Facebook pages and scrapbooks around the world. I notice the same thing at the Wynn Las Vegas where the all-flower merry-go-round, which made its debut last year at the holidays, is busy year-round with photographers. Yes, the special attractions at the Bellagio and the Wynn are expensive…but the return in terms of marketing, surely, more than pays the bills.

One thing I missed on my visit, but discovered in a Bellagio press release seen after my visit, is that adjacent to the conservatory is the Jean Phillippe Patisserie which features a five-foot tall chocolate Santa Claus, hand-carved from 230 pounds of dark chocolate and 50 pounds of fondant. Wow! That means, of course, a return visit.

Below is the video taken during my walk through the Bellagio, and below that are some of the still photos. AND, I refer you to Gerri Faher’s blog on this site which has still more details about the Bellagio’s holiday display.

The Video

The Photos

Bear
A bear built with 5000 carnations can’t help but make visitors to Bellagio’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens smile.
Photo by Diane Taylor
horse
The lobby at the Bellagio Las Vegas at the holidays features this one-of-a-kind horse.
Photo by Diane Taylor
Cameras
Cameras do the marketing job for the Bellagio Las Vegas. According to a Bellagio press release, the winter display features four 18-ft. tall LED white holiday trees, some 28,000 poinsettias and a 42-ft. tall holiday tree with 2500 ornaments.Photo by Diane Taylor
Globe
This is the scene inside one of the 12′ by 8′ snow globes featured in the 2014 Bellagio “winter wonderland”.
Photo by Diane Taylor
Blizzard
The Bellagio holiday display also includes a walk-through snow globe (or walk-through blizzard).
Photo by Diane Taylor
A beautiful stairway leads to two of Bellagio's restaurants. Photo by Diane Taylor
A beautiful stairway leads to two of Bellagio’s restaurants.
Photo by Diane Taylor

Comments

8 responses on “A Walk Through the Bellagio at the Holidays”

  1. I’ll be in town in just a couple of weeks to spend the Holidays. Have a Very Merry Christmas Diane.

  3. I so appreciate your video tours. It’s like walking along with a friend just looking at it all.

  6. I have been watching your ” Living Las Vegas ” videos for years . This is without doubt the best technical production ” of all time ” . The scene to scene stuff was smooth . Is your husband helping you with post production ? LOL

  7. Love your videos and photos! Not to mention insightful dialogue and relevant observations on “all you survey”. It’s almost an interactive experience for those of us who can’t be there in person. Thanks for sharing!

  8. I loved the pictures, and the video was wonderful. It was fun listening to your comments. I haven’t been to the Bellagio for a while, so I really enjoyed watching the video. Thank you, Diane and Happy New Year!

Comments are closed.