It has been a few years since I last stayed here. It will likely be a long time before I would ever come back. Next time, I read the Vegas threads first.
All American Steak House Bar & Grill: Ponderosa-type steak house, with pricing just below the level of a Morton's. As evidenced by the "Bar & Grill" in the name, this is a steak and beer kind of place. No wine list was offered, and after seeing the generic wine bottle on the table, none was requested. Sam Adams and a dry, slighltly overcooked filet. Quality: middle/low. Price: high. QPR: D.
The Wine Cellar: I have discovered where all the California 98s and Oregon 97s come to die! How about a flight of two ounce pours of 98 Opus One, 99 Caymus SS, and a Spanish wine I cannot remember for $89? A five ounce pour of 99 Insignia for $62? (I paid about $68 for my bottles). Five ounce Ferari Carano 99 Merlot for $11? I chose the 2002 Cloudy Bay five ounce pour for $11. Almost everything else available was a 98. Oh, there was a 95 Leoville Barton for $48 for the standard five ounce pour.
The service was good though. I was offered a small taste of the 99 Cinq Cepages to determine if I wanted a larger pour. As I used tweezers to pick the splinters out of my mouth, I politely declined.
Quality: nothing much interesting, all at restaurant-level pricing. QPR: D. I was told their "new menu" will be out next week.
Dinner at Rosemary's: The food here was very good, and service acceptable, if a bit rushed. The wine list, while decent, was priced atrociously high. Most wines were priced at 4-5 times retail. Sir, would you care for a 97 Archery Summit pinot at $50 - for a half bottle? How about a 1991 Opus One at $240 per half bottle? 99 Ferari Carano merlot for $17 per glass? 98 St. Supery for $17per glass? At last, my eyes wandered to the 99 Chateau de la Gardine half bottle for $44, and I pulled the trigger. The sommelier's assistant whisked away my chardonnay glass, only to replace it with a pinot glass! When the sommelier returned, he promptly replaced it with a cab glass at my request. I can only hope things get better at Chateau Chang tonight.
Food:good to very good. Wine: decent breadth, pricing atrocious. QPR: F. Waste your money at the tables, or on the buffets. Or go elsewhere.
Mike

MIke,

do yourself a favor and go over to Prime at the bellagio or hit legasse's place at the venetian, its called delmonico. i had the same experience at the allstar steak joint. was very unhappy. i hope the menu at the cellar gets better than that, it is one thing i am looking forward to in vegas.

I was just there myself. It was my second trip to Vegas in a month. The only reason I stayed at Rio was because I was attending a conference there. The conference room rate was no deal, having stayed for much cheaper, at a much better hotel, Mandalay Bay last month. Also my parents joined me there and their rooms were comped because of their trips to Showboat in AC. So I figured I would just stay there.

The hotel is "okay". But if Bellagio, Venetian and Mandalay are an A, the Rio is a B to B-. I was not impressed by Rosemary's. It again was, okay. The restaurant's wine list was limited and extremely overpriced. I went with the 2000 Melville Estate. The Wine Cellar was a complete rip-off for tasting and purchasing. The collection is impressive, but you'd have to be out of your stinking mind to buy anything there, even if you hit a jackpot. I did get that tasting trio that you described but they gladly replaced the 2000 Opus with the 1999 Insignia and the Spanish wine with the 1998 Forman. I chose to keep the 2000 Caymus SS. I think the cost was $70 if I remember. The only reason I got the tasting was so that my mother could try the wines.

Dinner at my usual jaunts, Delmonicos's and Aureole were once again outstanding. At Delmonico's I had the 2001 JJ Prum WS Spatlesse and the 2001 Forefathers Shiraz (both bottles less than $100 total). I took my mother to Aureole for her birthday and ordered a 1998 d'Arenberg Coppermine and a 1998 L'ecole Cab. We then took my mom to see the show Mama Mia (not my choice) at Mandalay. 30 seconds ino the second song, one of the lead actresses, faints, falls of a ledge onto the stage thus ending the show. Mama Mia I have been to Vegas 9 times without seeing a show, so officially, my streak is still intact. This happens after defibrillating and performing CPR in the airplane aisle leaving LV my last trip. What's going on here????

On a positive note my wife hit a quarter slot for $1000 just prior to leaving to go home. That was my first and last stay at Rio. Enjoy the rest of your trip

The Rio; where the girls are. Best poolside view in Vegas!

davidn:

Did I forget to mention that? That was the one redeeming quality of the place. Still not enough to make me go back though.

Mike