I just had a two night stay at Bellagio and this time, my son Jason dropped in to share the room for one night and he also gave me his impressions of Bellagio vs Caesars.

Jason found the robes in the room at Bellagio. On my first visit there, I neglected to look inside a closet door that was built into the furniture. Yes, Bellagio has two robes in each room -- and Caesars has eliminated its robes.

Jason confirmed that the Bellagio rooms are smaller -- much smaller he said -- than what we are used to in the Augustus Tower at Caesars.

He also didn't like the set up in the bathroom with only one sink. And he's a guy. Imagine how your significant other will feel about sharing one sink in the bathroom?

I had an unusual experience checking out at 3am. That's when I usually leave Vegas so I can drive back to LA and avoid traffic. A month ago when I checked out at 3am I had no problems, but this time I did.

I wanted to use my accrued comps to pick up some meals. A month ago there was no problem -- the front desk clerk I spoke to did it right over the phone quickly and easily. But this time, "Tiffany" said I couldn't use my comps unless I came to the front desk in person and showed my picture ID. Really? Yes, she said -- she insisted I come to the front desk. And that's what I did and discovered that Tiffany is the overnight manager at Bellagio.

Never before at any casino hotel including Caesars, NYNY, MGM or even Bellagio on my previous trip, did I have to show up at the front desk and present my photo ID to use my "comps." WTF? Has this happened to anyone else?

Tiffany. The overnight manager. Tiffany.

One pleasant surprise. Because I had to make the trek to the hotel front desk to check out, I also passed by the MLife desk on the way out of the hotel to the North Valet (I did not use the valet near the front desk.) While the MLife desk was closed, there was an MLife "host" who was there helping another player with a question about "free play." I had a similar question about free play.

What I discovered is that Bellagio gives you free play rebates based on your daily play. I didn't know this, but I had accumulated $260 of free play. The MLife host showed me how to access it using my card.

So... on the way to the North Valet I sat down at a $1 single line 7/5 machine (no 8/5 available that I saw) and turned the $260 of free play into $195 cash. No quads, no full houses, no flushes... just one three of a kind and some two pairs. So it didn't matter that I was playing 7/5 instead of 8/5.

One note on in room dining. Much faster than Caesars. The stand out meal was the gnocchi which was absolutely delicious and the French onion soup which was excellent and a huge portion and could have been a meal by itself. It appears that in room dining at Bellagio has lower prices than Caesars.