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Aria Resort & Casino – City Center, Las Vegas

Since ARIA was being built, I’ve always stared at it from the platform outside Planet Hollywood near P.F. Changs just wondering what kind of a resort it would be. A few years later, it was complete, and all I wanted to do then was to experience this resort.

In April 2011, I finally found the perfect excuse to visit the resort — and found a great rate!! I quickly booked it room in January, and never stopped thinking about it. Now that I’ve left, I still haven’t stopped thinking about ARIA.

This resort truly was a dream come true! The smell of floral and green tea as you enter the resort was always refreshing. The layout of the Casino was optimal, and there were a lot of dining options as well. Even the path going to the pool area looked top notch!

Our room, we did receive a complimentary upgrade to a city view in a Deluxe Room City View with a King bed. The one thing that made me nervous was the stocked mini bar in the suite. Apparently, you’d get charged if you picked anything up — or even place anything near it to trigger it’s sensors. It was too advanced, and that frightened me a little.

The description states that there is a laptop sized in-room safe. I still don’t know where that is, but it wasn’t important, as the laptop I brought with me was old and slow… really not something anyone wants! 🙂

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Jean Philippe Patisserie – Las Vegas, Nevada

Walking through ARIA Resort, we were greeted by Jean Philippe Patisserie each time we went to and from the casino to the elevators to get to our suite. Seeing the delicate cakes, chocolates, gelato, mini wedding cakes and much much more, I knew I would have to stop by and enjoy some of his treats.

We tried a Vanilla Flan as well as Tiramisu, with iced coffee and we fell in love with the desserts from Jean Philippe. We couldn’t stop thinking about the desserts we have purchased, and we decided to get more the following evening.

The next round, we had a strawberry tart as well as a carrot cake, with chai tea latte. Again, it was really tasty. The strawberries here at home are far from sweet, red and ripe but the strawberries on the strawberry tart was sweet and tasty! The pastry from the tart was really flaky, and it had a hint of almond and pistachios taste to it. It was really delicate, and flavorful, yet not overwhelmed by sweetness.

The carrot cake was one of my favorites. The carrot cake itself was embedded in cheesecake, which was light, soft, creamy and smooth. The carrot cake was excellent as well. The delicate decorations on top of the cake really topped it off. These were one of the best desserts we have had in awhile! I have nothing but great things to say about it.

The neatest part, all the little fine details on the cakes and pastries itself… they’re actually edible! I thought the bottom of the carrot cake was a wrap or something, but it was a really delicate piece of chocolate!

Sure, upfront, $6.00 for a pastry/cake could seem like a lot, but to taste such impressive french pastries and mini cakes really made it worth while!!

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CafĂ© Vettro – Las Vegas, Nevada

We had breakfast at Café Vettro one wonderful morning while we were in Las Vegas. Café Vettro serves my favorite dishes in a casual and contemporary environment.

I love smoked salmon, on bagel, so it’s no surprise I ate that. I like their modern take on this classic dish.

We also had an order of their Sausage and Biscuits and this was pretty classic. The food here is absolutely amazing!

The view was quite interesting, as we looked out towards the roads leading to the lobby. It’s not ugly, but it was interesting! The environment is really calming with the colours and the waterfalls down the wall. Garden areas and natural elements provide relaxing dining settings while terraced seating and floor-to-ceiling windows allow for stunning views at any hour.

The prices wasn’t too bad at all, we were expecting a lot higher price tag to go with a 5-star resort… the lovely ARIA has put reasonable prices at all their restaurants, bars and lounges. I can’t say that they’re “good” in price, but I will say the food was good to make up for it!