A City Within A City, Part 1: Aria Resort & Casino

I found a nice article that includes reviews for three of City Center's newest hotels in this past Sunday's San Antonio Express-News. Instead of posting the whole article, I decided I'd post the author's reviews for each of the three hotels separately.



I doubt I'll ever stay there (okay, maybe I'll stay at Aria someday, but that's simply because it's the only one I can even begin to afford AND it's the only one that has a casino), but someone might like the info.



From "A City Within the City", by Greg Morago
Sunday, January 24, 2010

Aria Resort and Casino



The largest hotel within City Center with 4,004 rooms ($149 - $7,500), Aria is a series of rippling arcs designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli. The focal point of City Center, it is the prettiest of the complex's buildings, packed with dramatic uses of stone, glass, wood and plants.

Guest rooms, featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, are stocked with every technological convenience, all operated from a bedside remote control. Accidentally hit the wrong button and you could plunge your room into darkness (TV shutting off and curtains zipping shut, as well), as I did several times.



The standard room is well-designed with ample closet space and a pleasant brown and blue color scheme. Two good bedside lamps plus headboard reading lamps offer good light. The comfortable bed is outfitted with crisp linens and six pillows. A fair-size work desk has every conceivable plug to please the most wired business traveler. The leisure guest, however, will appreciate the snuggly robes and dual sink bathroom with amazing lighting, vanity mirror and amenities (including a wonderful soap) and even an electronic scale. The shower and bathtub reside right next to each other in the same stall, which means that if you're taking a shower you're wetting all the tub fixtures - an odd attempt at savings pace that I'm sure the housekeepers would have objected to if they had seen the plans in advance.



One complaint: my room smelled odd. A room I had checked into before settling on this one with a better view also had the same sour/woodsy smell. Only when looking for bedside electrical outlet (which, frustratingly, was not to be had) did I find the source of this unpleasant smell. Pulling the bed back from the wall I saw small hills of sawdust on the floor - construction debris not cleaned before the room was let out. Who knows within the thousands of rooms in Aria lurk little piles of sawdust?



But Aria's pleasures are many: a gorgeous spa (the most comfortable spa robes I've ever worn), a sexy casino and a collection of fine dining that will dazzle foodies. As someone who visits Vegas frequently, I'm already planning my return to Aria. The place sings to me.

Website: www.arialasvegas.com