I had such a great experience. My trip was Monday-Thursday so it was definitely less crowded than on the weekends. After reading so many bad reviews I was really worried about coming here...but I'm glad I did anyways.
Driving up and valet parking was SO easy! Check in was less than five minutes and they moved me to higher floor for no extra charge. I was also given a $75.00 resort credit which was applied to my bill with NO problem at all. All the staff at the Aria were really friendly and it was such a nice change from all the other casinos where no one would want to help you out.
The basic rooms are really nice. Everything is controlled electronically which is cool but was sometimes annoying. I was watching TV and I hit something on the remote control and all of the sudden the curtains closed and all the electricity went out and I had to go stumbling in the dark to try and turn the lights on. The soaking tubs in the bathrooms are nice but they are not very long. I'm only 5'4 and I had to fold my legs like a pretzel to get in!
The Aria is floor to ceiling windows which gives an excellent view of the strip from where ever you are. The only problem with all these windows is that after it rains the raindrops leave behind their residue and dirt. And it had rained the week before and the windows had not been cleaned and it really took away from the view. There was even a window in the hallway that has caked on bird poop and it was not cleaned in the four days that we were there. I think they need to come up with a way to keep those windows clean especially after a rain storm.
All the places we ate were great (Skybox, Lemongrass, Buffet, Sweet Chill, and the Roasted Bean). The restaurants are really expensive and the best value by far was the buffet. There was never a wait at ANY of the restaurants at any time.
We also saw the Viva Elvis show which I loved. I'm a huge Elvis fan and anyone that is should see this show. The Viva Elvis gift shop was really cute with all sorts of souvenirs that you just can't live without :o)
My guilty pleasure in life is slot machines :o) However, the slot machines in the Aria are mostly electronic. Which means that they don't even have the old fashioned reels in them. How easy is that to set up for a NO win situation? I steered clear of those machines and due to that fact I didn't gamble very much here.
Checking out took two minutes however you have to go down in person to do it. They give you the option of checking out on the TV screen and even to have your receipt e-mailed to you. So I input my e-mail address and then I had to wait for a few minutes only to be told that the system could not process this request. So why give me the option if the system isn't set up yet? The only "bad" part of the experience was actually getting our car out of the valet which we hadn't used in three days. It took closer to 30 minutes to get the car. And everyone in the waiting room had also been there for a long time. A lot of people were complaining! They really have to get the valet system organized!
I had a great time and my only regret is that my trip wasn't longer. I will be back here again and I'm happy to see a new concept like this come alive in Vegas!