My boyfriend and I stayed at Aria this past weekend, arriving last Christmas night. I haven't been to Vegas since construction started on the City Center. As we drove up to it in the taxi, I was amazed at the sight of it. There is a little fountain outside with lights and a waterfall that many people were taking pictures of. Traffic control outside Aria seemed to be quite efficient, and is very reminiscent of an airport terminal as Rob P. said. \n\nCheck-in took a ridiculously long time; I think it was just our luck. No matter what line we would have waited in, I'm sure we'd have picked the wrong one. I felt that the check-in process reflected the new-ness of the hotel and service staff. The lobby is beautifully decorated, very modern in taste, though the seating areas don't look very comfortable at all. If you look above the check-in table along the window, you'll see a sculpture that is supposed to be a model of the Colorado river (or so I'm told). After getting the keys to our room, we headed through the casino to the guest elevators. The casino area is very dark, no matter what time of day it is. \n\nOur room was on the 9th floor, and it seemed like forever to get to it. There is only 1 set of elevators; I would have welcomed elevators on both sides of the hotel itself to cut down the long journey back to our room after a full day of walking. \n\nAnyway, we had a Deluxe non-smoking room. We were in awe as we entered the room and looked around. First off, you can just hold the key up to the panel on the door to unlock it. No swiping needed. There is also a control panel inside that can be set to \""Privacy\"" or \""Service\"" instead of little signs hung outside your door. The bathroom is spacious. There is a private area for the toilet (though you can still sort of see through the smoked glass) and the shower also contains a tub area for soaking (I made use of this every night!). the room was also very spacious, the bed very comfortable. The lights and curtains in the room (including the bathroom) can be controlled by a touchscreen panel at the side of the bed. This made for a very comical moments when boyfriend was in the bathroom and suddenly the lights would go out :)  I enjoyed the room very much. You get huge closets, with two hotel robes, luscious towels, a hair dryer. The only thing I missed was slippers! I would have really loved to have slippers too. Bath salts or bubbles would have been a nice touch too, although they are for sale in the gift shop.\n\nThe service at the hotel I would say is average. The people who serviced our room were wonderful. I appreciate the little details such as putting down little foam doilies (i dont know what else you'd call them) under our toilettries so that none of the countertops would get scuffed. Downstairs in the Casino, the hostesses were a little too attentive, sometimes getting in your way while you're at the tables. They also have no idea where anything is in the hotel yet either. Boyfriend asked for directions to Barmasa and was pointed in the complete wrong direction. Still some kinks to work out overall, but Aria as a whole is very promising. \n\nAnother thing that bothered me was the fact that I can't cross the street in front of City Center. Crosswalks are equidistant from the entrance, so you lose either way. Unless you decide to play frogger in the middle of traffic. \n\nOne bit of advice if you decide to stay at Aria, there IS a back entrance!! Our last cabbie was nice enough to tell us this, and it was SO much more convenient and less of a hassle getting back to Aria from Rio this way. \n\nAria is probably one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed at. I loved how modern it was, how clean and new everything is. I don't think there is a gimmick to this hotel like the others on the Vegas strip, except that it's new and shiny, and definitely attracts a crowd. I'd say it's worth checking out, and if you have the opportunity to stay here, you should give it a try :)