Our room at the Beau Rivage
Room: We’ve stayed at the Beau Rivage a few times now, and our room on this stay was exactly like the others. The room overall was average size, and comfortable. Internet cost about $12/day. The bathroom was a bit larger than average, and includes a separate tub. Av had to leave for a while that evening for some business, so my plans were to take a nice long bath, then get ready for a late supper. I started to fill the tub when I realized that the built-in stopper wasn’t making a seal, so water was leaking out of the tub as I was filling it. Then, I noticed that there was this white film all in the water, including specks of white powder-like clumps. I guess that the maid service cleaned the tub but didn’t rinse it properly. Needless to say, I didn’t get that bath. The shower was better, but did have some mildew around the bottom of the glass enclosure. Maybe local management has changed (it’s part of the MGM group) and things aren’t being looked after as closely as I remember from our stays here before. We weren’t originally looking to stay at the Beau Rivage, but they were having an internet special on their room rate, and it was comparable to most of the other hotels ‘on the strip’.
Lobby: The lobby is nice, although there isn’t much seating. Various shops line the lobby (see the pic at the bottom for a table I really liked), most with upscale items.
Service: Check-in had a long wait, but other than that we really didn’t have any other experiences with the service at the hotel.
Food: Av and I had a late supper at the hotel’s nicest restaurant, the Port House. It used to be themed as more of a seafood restaurant, which explains the four giant aquariums, it’s furnished with white booths, which have a certain 90’s flare. I started with the salad of curly endive (which was just okay), and Av had the lobster bisque (which was fabulous). Av had the NY Strip, and I had the small filet. Both were just above average. We shared a side of the lobster mashed potatoes but (and I know this is going to sound to Japanese Iron Chef, but….) the lobster was totally overpowered by the potatoes, so it was pretty much a waste. I had a cocktail and Av had a glass of wine, both of which were excellent. We didn’t order dessert. We thought the prices were much too high for what they were actually offering of the menu overall.
Also – this bothers me but Av says other places do it now – when we first sat down, the waiter asked if we would like bottled or still water. I requested still water (tap water), because I didn’t plan on drinking much of it, and I don’t believe in paying for bottled water at a restaurant. So the waiter comes back and pours us both water out of this blue glass bottle – and I’m thinking to myself (please don’t think I’m terribly cheap, there are just some things I don’t believe in paying extra for) ‘I know he just got that bottle out of the dishwasher, just like all the other blue bottles in this restaurant, and put it under the tap to fill it’. But when the bill came, guess what? There was a $7 charge for water. $7 for ‘still’ water. Blah! This bothered me but not Av, so okay….
BTW, Av and I dressed nicely for supper, but we also saw people there in tshirts and shorts. I am all about being comfortable at supper, but anyway….. We *won’t* be going back.
Spa: Av had a Swedish massage in the hotel’s spa; he said it was pretty average.
Extra: The on-site casino is **so smoky** – you can tell it right when you walk in.
Our experience is this: I think this is maybe our last stay at the Beau Rivage.
