Social media was set ablaze when someone posted a picture of a $26 bottle of water from the minibar at the Aria in Las Vegas. The prices continue to escalate, which has caused visitors to wonder if it’s still worth a trip to the desert.
High-Priced H2O
Social media allows people to blurt out what they normally would keep to themselves in polite company. But an exasperated visitor to the Aria in Las Vegas decided enough was enough and wrote, “Told me the price after I had already (out of thirst, in the desert) consumed (fortunately only one) bottle of water,” said the visitor who wrote in. “Fortunately, the Starbucks downstairs sold water for “only $7.45.”
That was regarding the infamous $26 bottle of water from the Aria, run by MGM Resorts International, which had no comment on the allegation. It may not be a wise decision to ignore a topic that has grown increasingly popular, as Las Vegas vacations, once considered a value junket for working families, have been catering to a more chi-chi crowd.
A Facebook poster that goes by the moniker of “Lasvegasbloggerandi,” posted a picture of Aria’s minibar menu. A Fiji water bottle was listed at $24.75, and a “Coca-Cola Deluxe” (which they said is just a regular can of Coca-Cola) was $13.75. “Do you think it’s fair to pay for the convenience, or is this price gouging?” asked the post.
An X user posted, “I just buy a 24 pack of bottled water from the supermarket and bring it to the hotel,” said user @BigT8429. “I know I’m not the only one who does that: but it actually helps me save a lot of money.”
Is Vegas Too Pricey?
According to a Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority report, Las Vegas had declining visitors for four consecutive months from January through April 2025. The biggest issue people have is that there is a cost associated with everything, and people are tired of being “nickel and dimed.”
Vegas was shut down during part of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the hotels seem to be bent on clawing back every dollar from the shutdown. Perhaps 63-year-old Dee Ellis said it best when she stated, “I love paying for an experience, but if you are going to nickel and dime me, in my mind, what you’re doing is saying, ‘I will prey on your ignorance. If you’re going to raise your rates, then do it. But, I think, consumers as a whole, we are getting tired of being nickel and dimed.”
Some of the coffee machines have been removed from the rooms, forcing patrons to buy coffee at the shops below. Couple that with expensive cocktails, pricey cabanas, 6:5 blackjack, triple-zero roulette, $25 table game minimums, along with parking fees and resort fees tacked on to the final bill, and people are grumbling that the Strip and Glitter Gulch are more money than they can afford.
Skylar Dice, senior vice president and general manager of The Strat, was one of the few executives willing to speak publicly on the topic and said, “As tourism and travel prices rise, we expect that the industry’s hospitality standards and guest service levels should advance too. We believe it’s of the utmost importance to still offer guests a great value for their spend at any price.”
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