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| - Food: My review is solely for the afternoon tea. My measuring stick is the Garden Court at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco ($68/pp), which is my standard to compare to. Although I felt the food was delicious and traditionally as expected, the experience as a whole was lacking for two reasons: 1) location - in a bar with a view of the casino, and 2) lack of high end service.
Location: Inside The Bellagio hotel, in the bar right in front of the check-in lobby and next to, with a view of, the casino. Not good.
Ambiance: Since the seating backs up along the casino tables, it is loud with the sounds and smokey smells of the casino. Having afternoon tea is a refined affair, and this environment contradicts and lessens the experience tremendously.
Service: Below expectations for Bellagio. We had to repeatedly flag down the busy waitress for more water to fill our tea pot and more ice water. Since the afternoon tea shares the same area with the caviar bar, I just felt like we were an after-thought and the focus was on those consuming alcohol/caviar in the front area of the bar. She was not knowledgeable about the different teas nor did she explain what was on the plates. I had to ask.
If they could move this experience to another area of the hotel away from the casino floor and give it the attention it deserves, this would be a way better experience. Given this, Tea Bar at the Mandarin Oriental is superior in EVERY WAY and I recommend skipping this and going there. See my review.
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