Las Vegas might have once lured travelers with its gambling halls and affordable $9.99 steak and lobster dinners. However, the Las Vegas Strip of today is a thoroughfare dominated by sprawling luxury resorts — and accompanying hotel bills that almost require a jackpot at a slot machine to offset the financial blow.
MGM Resorts’ Aria Resort & Casino stands out among this wave of newer Las Vegas resorts for being among the first to rely less on a theme (no circus gimmicks, Italian-inspired water features or faux Parisian architecture here, thank you very much). Instead, this glitzy, glassy complex is more about luring in guests with a bevy of bars and restaurants, pools, a spa and, of course, an extensive casino floor.
Aria was one of my favorite places to stay in Las Vegas prior to the pandemic, so I checked in earlier this month to see what’s changed in the last few years. Here’s what it was like to stay there.
What is the Aria Resort & Casino?
Moving to a stay at Aria following three nights at a conference at Caesars Palace just up the Strip was like experiencing Vegas resort whiplash. That’s no knock against Caesars, but that resort leans heavily into its Roman theme — which certainly keeps the place packed with tourists.
Aria, however, makes a point of not leaning into the various themes its competitors or sister properties embrace, like the Bellagio (Italy’s Lake Como), Paris Las Vegas (France), Luxor (Egypt) or Excalibur (medieval times). Instead, this MGM Resorts-affiliated property is the namesake of Aria Campus — a high-end hotel and casino complex featuring the Aria Resort & Casino, as well as the Aria Sky Suites and Vdara Hotel & Spa. The Shops at Crystals, a luxe shopping mall featuring retailers like Dior and Gucci, connect to the hotel.
While the Aria is on the Las Vegas Strip, it’s set back farther than some of its siblings and competitors. However, the Aria Express Tram connects visitors from Aria and the Shops at Crystals to the Bellagio and Park MGM (both part of MGM Resorts along with Aria).
If Aria did lean into any theme when it first opened in late 2009, it was its high-tech features — something I noticed during my stay amid posters all over the property encouraging guests to text a digital concierge or use a tablet in their room to communicate with staff and make reservations. More on that later.
Related: 17 best hotels in Vegas with suites that are worth it
How to book the Aria Resort & Casino
Because of the reciprocity between MGM Resorts and Hyatt, there are a variety of ways to book a stay at Aria and earn loyalty points and on-property elite benefits. As a World of Hyatt Explorist member, I booked my Friday and Saturday night stay directly through Hyatt for a Deluxe Strip View King guest room that averaged $435.44 per night, including taxes and fees.
Room rates are higher on the weekends, but the silver lining is that, because I’m an Explorist, I also have MGM Resorts Gold status when I book directly.
That comes with waived resort fees and an enhanced room upgrade (the staffer at check-in moved me up to the 33rd floor compared to a room on the 21st floor that was initially available), which saved me $90 over the span of my two-night stay. There is also a dedicated check-in counter in the lobby for MGM Gold members and above, which saved me some time upon arrival.
Luxury on the Strip
The first time I visited Aria years ago, my taxi driver referred to it as “glassy and classy” when she dropped me off at the resort. That moniker still holds as the hotel’s curved glass towers leave an imposing, modern presence among the wide variety of architectural styles that characterize the Las Vegas skyline.
I wouldn’t lump Aria in with the ultra-luxury vibes of the adjacent Waldorf Astoria Las Vegas or the Wynn and Encore resorts farther north on the Strip. However, Aria still has an elevated, less-chaotic vibe than some of the other Las Vegas properties.
New York’s famed Carbone restaurant and celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten have venues on the property, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find an affordable meal here save for the food hall and outposts of on-the-go chains like Starbucks and Pressed Juicery. The prices might make your wallet cry, but it certainly adds to an aura of exclusivity lingering around certain parts of the resort.
That said, this is still a Las Vegas resort: There’s plenty of boisterous fun taking place on the casino floor and on Aria’s sprawling pool decks during the daytime.
Spacious room with a view
I was eager to return to Aria because my last time here was prior to my time as a hotel reviewer. I remember being blown away by the size of the rooms, and that part still rings true.
My panoramic room had ample space for stowing luggage — two closets plus a dedicated, built-in shelf for storage — and a marble bathroom that was great for couples or friends traveling thanks to the double vanity.
My room featured an incredible, panoramic view of the southern swath of the Las Vegas Strip: The Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood, MGM Grand, Vdara, the Waldorf Astoria, Park MGM Las Vegas, Tropicana, Mandalay Bay and Delano were all visible from the room. Also, I work at TPG and am obviously an aviation geek, so I spent quite a while with my flight radar app on my phone and taking in the sights of planes landing and taking off from nearby Harry Reid International Airport (LAS).
The sprawling layout for a non-suite guest room plus the impeccable views put Aria in the higher category of resorts that I’ve stayed at in Vegas. However, the room also showed signs of needing a refresh.
The room featured a comfy king-size bed and blackout shades that were controlled by a wall-mounted switch (curiously, they could be closed from a nightstand switch but only opened from one out-of-bedside reach in the guest room foyer).
There was a tablet intended for making restaurant reservations and accessing hotel information, but I found it to be terribly glitchy (breakfast options one morning took several minutes to actually appear on the tablet). Google was my friend during this stay more than Aria’s supposedly stellar digital concierge infrastructure.
One of the reading lamp lights wasn’t working, which I thought would have been checked during turnover before my arrival. Additionally, many of the light switches seemed as glitchy as the tablet or didn’t work at all. The hotel room’s TV offered device connectivity, but I stuck to just reading from my phone or laptop.
There were two large chairs, a workstation and the hotel minibar. However, I could have used a fainting couch after checking out some of the minibar prices. It was nearly $25 for a bag of cashews or almonds. Want a liter of Fiji water? That’ll run you $24.75. I highly recommend grabbing snacks and beverages at the CVS nearby on the other side of the Waldorf Astoria on the Las Vegas Strip.
There was a large soaking tub and shower (Aria uses KiNU products) behind a glass door. I always find these layouts a little pointless because you end up getting the tub wet for no reason when you take a shower. A grip pad on the shower floor would also have been nice, as I was always extra cautious trying not to slip while rinsing off. There’s a separate water closet behind a frosted glass door.
One of my sink drains was clogged, but I didn’t bother calling maintenance during my stay since the other sink worked perfectly fine — again, something you’d think would have been noted during turnover.
The bathroom lights were a little glitchy in that you’d press a button several times to get the light on in the shower — another slight stand-alone problem that can swell to an overall annoyance at a hotel touting its tech prowess on many advertisements throughout the property.
Overall, I think the hotel is going to need an interior design overhaul in a few years. The furniture and dark wooden cabinetry all felt like they were teetering on the intersection of dated and wear-and-tear, and the linens all seemed dull and in need of replacing (or at least an iron). I know wear and tear are going to inevitably happen at a highly visited hotel in Las Vegas, but a hotel leaning into its luxurious reputation like Aria needs to start thinking about this sooner before long-time guests start looking elsewhere for a stay.
Pricey eats and drinks
As the minibar might suggest, mealtime at Aria can be stressful if you’re trying to dine on a budget.
My “affordable” dinner at Din Tai Fung, a famous Taiwanese dumpling and noodle restaurant that opened a Las Vegas outpost at Aria in 2020, came to $92.50 for a yuzu margarita, pork xiao long bao (soup dumplings), steamed shrimp and pork dumplings and spicy noodles. The food, recommended by the very friendly waitress, was delicious, but I felt a little rushed (I was in and out in under 40 minutes). It was fun, however, to watch the chefs make the dumplings in the display kitchen near the host stand at the restaurant.
I purposefully didn’t make a reservation at any restaurant ahead of my arrival, as I wanted to see how well the “Fine Dining Priority Reservations” benefit of MGM Gold status worked on a last-minute booking. It didn’t exactly pull miracles for me, as I didn’t find any availability at Carbone or at Salt & Ivy, a clearly popular breakfast spot based on the Saturday brunch wait that rivaled any TSA security line during the holidays. (I recommend just sitting at the bar at Catch just off the lobby for a full breakfast if you’re looking for something heartier than Starbucks.)
The check-in agent during my arrival recommended Jean Georges Steakhouse. At the time, I figured he was trying to send me to the most expensive spot at the hotel for dinner (The restaurant is known for being one of the few in the U.S. to serve actual Kobe beef). Alas, it had availability, so I took myself to dinner solo on a Saturday night.
Let’s say I went the “bargain” route at the luxe restaurant by ordering a $23 wedge salad, a $74 8-ounce filet mignon and a $21 side of crunchy potatoes served with chili yogurt and herbs. By no means was this cheap, but I was surprised to see a gin martini here going for “only” $20 when a glass of 2021 George Pinot Noir Ceremonial went for $25. A scoop of ice cream ($8) and a double espresso ($7) rounded off the meal.
Was it worth it? There were certainly some amazing points: The staff was wonderfully attentive without being suffocating, and I loved the variety of four sauces to come with the steak: a habanero sauce, soy miso, barbecue and bearnaise.
That said, I ordered my steak medium and found it to be teetering into the well-done territory — a grilling mishap I’d imagine a patron paying $67 per ounce for the A5 Certified Kobe Beef on the menu wouldn’t be too thrilled by.
Fast casual options that (mostly) won’t break the bank
Since my last visit to Aria, the buffet was replaced by Proper Eats Food Hall. This features a mix of fast-casual options for all taste buds, like Laughing Buddha Ramen, Egghead, Lola’s Burgers, Proper Bar and even a speakeasy: Easy’s Cocktail Lounge.
The hotel has signs everywhere noting how easy it is to order via your phone or from a self-service kiosk to cut down on wait times. However, I noticed during peak hours, these features were turned off, and you still had to wait in a long line at Egghead. Again with the tech failures!
I grabbed a burger, fries and soft drink one day at Lola’s for $33.81, including tax and tip. That’s pretty hefty for what’s essentially fast food with no sit-down service, and I knew Aria was getting to me when a voice inside my head said, “Well, that’s not bad, relatively speaking, compared to everything else here.”
To ensure I wasn’t letting the luxury prices go to my head, I ducked into an In-N-Out farther down the Strip before I flew home. A burger, fries and a soft drink there came to only $9.75.
For those in a bit of a rush in the morning, the mobile ordering at Aria’s second-floor Starbucks consistently worked. Also, the Pressed Juicery across the hall is a healthy alternative (though a costly one considering a wellness shot of ginger and lemon juice plus an acai bowl came to $16.50).
Fitness and poolside fun
I didn’t book a treatment at the Aria Spa & Salon but passed through every day of my stay en route to the gym. Both spaces are very modern and sleek, and there’s an inviting seating area with a fireplace just outside the gym.
The hotel fitness center overlooking the pool area was spacious and had all the cardio and weightlifting equipment one needs for a variety of workouts. There’s even a rock-climbing wall and bowls filled with chilled towels to cool off post-workout.
I came out of the gym each morning just before the pool’s 9 a.m. opening time to an extraordinarily long line of folks jockeying to stake the claim to a lounger outside. This deterred me from checking out the pool daily until mid-afternoon when things calmed down. Aria features three pools; though one is a private pool for Sky Suites guests only.
I didn’t feel like I was missing out by hanging out at just the “regular” pools both afternoons I ventured down. While you hear a lot about Sin City’s infamous pool parties, Aria’s pool scene was a relaxing spot to read a book, sip on a (tiny) margarita ($21.82) and listen to early 2000s Gwen Stefani music belt out over the speakers.
Related: The best hotel pools in Las Vegas
Checking out
Aria Resort & Casino arrived at the height of the Great Recession at perhaps a misplaced time. Late 2009 likely wasn’t the best time to launch a luxury casino resort in Las Vegas, but it found success and a following by courting high-end travelers with its glamorous accommodations and restaurants.
The resort is still riding high on luxury, but there are signs a refresh needs to happen sooner than later. After all, nobody wants to stay at the hotel relying on stories of the glory days.
If MGM gets ahead of this now, there will still be plenty of reasons to keep returning to Aria for years to come.
Convinced that Aria is the right property for your next trip to Vegas? You can book here.
Related reading:
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- The best hotel rewards programs in the world
- The best premium credit cards: A side-by-side comparison
from The Points Guy https://thepointsguy.com/guide/aria-las-vegas-review/
Frank Chiaro 
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