Review of Beau Rivage (Biloxi, MS): See our pros and cons on our first trip there!

 

Beau Rivage, Biloxi, MS

When my wife and I were planning our second cross country road trip that would take us from North Carolina to California, we really had to figure out where to visit, for how long, and what to see once we get there.  Biloxi was a city I had known about ever since watching a movie called “Biloxi Blues”, starring Matthew Broderick and Christopher Walken, years ago when I was just a young lad.

I had always known I should visit the city, but I had no idea when that would actually be.  Luckily, all the stars lined up in late November, when our dreams of doing our second cross country trip became a reality. When I found out that Beau Rivage Resort & Casino was owned by MGM Resorts, I had to make Biloxi our first stop on our trip.

About 2 weeks prior to our trip, I had searched online at Beau Rivage’s website and found out I could get 6 free nights if I paid for a Saturday night, thanks to my Gold Status with MGM Resorts.  This meant for a week long stay at a 4 star rated hotel, I would be paying about $235!  

After packing our car with our belongings for an epic 2 plus month long trip, we headed out from Raleigh (NC) to visit my ex-colleague who retired in Conway (SC).  Conway is kind of on the way over to Biloxi, as it’s at least south of Raleigh.  Besides, we wanted to see them and our other friends in Murrells Inlet as well.

My ex-colleague (and her husband) graciously agreed to host us for two nights, and we arrived at their place greeted by their pack, specifically their dog and their two cats!  We had a great time hanging out for two days, eating pizza and Chinese food, with us treating them for both meals.  *It was least we could do for giving us a place to stay for two nights.  

We had great conversations, and we really enjoyed playing with their dog and their cats.  We also got to visit our other friends in Murrells Inlet, who we affectionately call our foster parents.  It was great catching up with all of them.

After sleeping for two nights, we left on a very early November 30th morning, heading out to Biloxi, Mississippi, the first stop on our trip!  The drive would take us via I-20, passing Atlanta (GA), I-85, I-65, then I-10.  The entire drive would take us close to 12 hours with brief rests along the way to fuel up, rest up, and to eat lunch.  

Admittedly, the drive was long, but at least we were driving on roads we had never driven on before.  Traffic was light, except right near Atlanta area.  Atlanta, as expected, had lots of traffic, with more aggressive driving behaviors noticed near the city.  

Was it worse than New York City?  I wouldn’t quite say that.  NYC takes the prize for worst drivers anywhere in my opinion.  There are simply too many cars for too little city streets…

After passing Atlanta area, we had smooth sailings the rest of the way.  When we hit I-10, we knew our journey was coming to a close.  As the evening came, we arrived at Beau Rivage, watching the beautiful sunset over the Mississippi Sound.  

Feeling both excited and tired from the long drive, we parked our car, then gathered our belongings.  We then made our way to the hotel lobby, which was a decent 5 minute walk.  We passed the beautiful Christmas decorations all along the hallway (and the lobby), then stopped at the hotel lobby to check in.  

I walked up to the Gold Status member line, then was promptly greeted by the hotel clerk.  Thanks to my recently upgraded status with MGM Resorts, I asked for a room upgrade, and was able to score a free upgrade to an oceanfront room!

We were ecstatic when we opened the door to our room and found it very clean, smelling nice, but most of all, had an incredible ocean view!!!  We fell in love immediately.

Views of the Mississippi Sound

We excitedly took several photos, then settled in nicely.  We were both hungry and tired from the long trip, so we decided to grab something to eat from the hotel’s snack bar, appropriately named “Snacks”.

We settled on a cup of seafood gumbo, a grilled chicken sandwich, a pasta salad, and a potato salad.  We charged everything to our room, then brought them upstairs to be eaten at our room.  Everything tasted great, especially the seafood gumbo.  

Incredibly satisfied, we took our time digesting our meal by talking about our day, and of the beautiful hotel.  We looked forward to exploring everything the hotel has to offer during our week long stay.

The next morning, we went to check out the pool area, which was still opened at the end of November.  No one was actually using it that day though.  As we walked out to the pool area, one of the employees at the hotel jokingly asked why we wanted to use the pool on a cold and a windy day.

We walked around the pool and the beautiful lounge area to check out the Mississippi Sound a bit closer.  It really was windy and cold!  We stayed out there not more than 10 minutes.  

View of the Mississippi Sound from the Beau Rivage 

Pool area, Beau Rivage 

After our brief walk around the hotel, we went back inside the hotel to check out the Christmas decorations in the lobby area once more.  We’re just suckers for cute holiday decorations!

We ended up eating early lunch at around 11 a.m. at the excellent Atrium Cafe, located in the lobby area.  We loved the festive decorations inside the cafe, and we couldn’t resist gawking at all the beautiful Christmas trees and their whimsical ornaments.

Atrium Cafe, Beau Rivage 

We loved the delicious fried green tomatoes with crawfish etoufee, crab cakes, and the BR burger.  Everything was super tasty and good.  We highly recommend it!

Over the course of the week, we ate at four different restaurants inside the hotel, played at the arcade, played at the casino, and watched the Christmas on Water boat light show from the comforts of our hotel room.  We had so much fun at the hotel, and it was a great introduction to Biloxi area.  

When the hotel room is nice, most things about the trip usually ends up being nice.  This was that scenario during our stay at the excellent Beau Rivage.  One week went by so fast as we truly had a great time.

Without further ado, please see below for our list of pros and cons about Beau Rivage hotel & resort:

Pros

• Location:  

Located at the intersection of I-110 and Beach Blvd., it is possibly one of the easiest hotel to find in all of Biloxi.  We could see the hotel as we were approaching the Mississippi Sound, all imposing in its size and beauty.  We absolutely loved that the hotel is set right over the Mississippi Sound.

Coming from the easterly or the westerly direction, you can’t miss Beau Rivage.  On our way back from Gulfport at night for example, we saw our hotel acting like a lighthouse on a foggy December evening.  It was really easy to find it.

Because of the hotel’s central location, the fact that every major attraction is located within an easy driving distance, is an icing on the cake.  We really liked that.

• Mississippi Sound:

The name Beau Rivage translates to “beautiful shore”, and it certainly shows.  From Beau Rivage, you can catch a beautiful sunrise and a sunset over the beautiful Mississippi Sound.  You can also walk over to the Biloxi Lighthouse which is within walking distance, to take a tour of the lighthouse or enjoy the white sands of Biloxi Beach.

A driving tour of Beach Blvd., with views of the Mississippi Sound is a must, and is highly recommended.  We also saw the excellent Christmas on the Water light show right from our hotel.  

• Restaurants:

Beau Rivage’s dining choices are truly amazing.  We enjoyed delicious foods at every one of the restaurants we tried.  These are the restaurants we tried (with foods we tried and liked) and are highly recommended:

1. Snacks:  A casual deli-style counter serving light fare like sandwiches, soups, salads, pizzas; we loved the grilled chicken sandwich, seafood gumbo, potato salad, and pasta salad
2. Atrium Cafe:  A casual diner style restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner; we loved the fried green tomatoes with crawfish etoufee, the BR burger, crab cakes, and hot coffee
3. Stalla:  An upscale Italian restaurant; we loved the bruschetta, eggplant parmigiana, and Caesar salad
4. The Daiquiri Shop:  A quick serve bar concept serving frozen drinks as well as excellent tacos; we loved the shrimp and chicken tacos

• Employees:

Almost every employee we encountered were very friendly and awesome.  The front desk clerk was very welcoming and she upgraded us to a beautiful room.  When we got lost looking for the business center to mail Christmas cards, the security guard walked us over to the escalators to the second floor.  

Our server at the Stalla restaurant was just awesome.  She knew to split our salad and our entree in two separate dishes, so we won’t have to ourselves.  We met so many wonderful, friendly, and genuinely welcoming employees at the hotel.

This isn’t something we take lightly these days, as good service and welcoming/helpful employees are so hard to encounter.  Employees at the Beau Rivage were truly outstanding.

• Things to do at the hotel & resort:

Over our week long stay, we never ran out of things to do.  On those days when we stayed at the resort, we tried the awesome arcade, spending $40 playing fun arcade games.  We felt like little kids playing old school arcade games like the “Galaga”, and skee ball.  We won tickets playing these games, which we redeemed for fun souvenirs like erasers, puzzles, etc.  

Besides the arcade for kids and young at heart, there is also the casino for adults.  We played several times during the week, and we did well.  We ended up losing about $200 between the two of us for the entire week, which in my experience is a win!

MGM Rewards desk was really generous in that they offered us $200 in free play after two days.  I recommend checking in with the rewards desk after playing for some time to see if they can give you something for free.  It doesn’t hurt to ask…

• Excellent hotel room:

Beau Rivage is a 4 Diamond rated hotel and it showed.  From the bedding, comfortable beds, and fast wifi, everything worked well.  We took afternoon naps while listening to Pandora, and we lounged while drinking a cold (or warm coffee/tea) beverage while watching the views outside.

Nothing was lacking, and the hotel room really made our stay comfortable and awesome.  We always looked forward to going back to our room after sightseeing or after doing some grocery shopping from a local Walmart store.

It really put smiles on our faces as we opened our hotel room each and every time…

Cons

• Small casino:

This is really nitpicking as Beau Rivage was just about perfect for us.  If there is one thing to complain about, it is the size of the casino.  You can walk around the entire casino area in less than 10 minutes, on a slow walking pace.

Compared to other casino resorts we’ve visited, Beau Rivage’s casino is on the smaller side.  There are around 1800 slot machines compared to say, the Borgata Hotel & Casino, which has about 3400 slot machines.  Simply put, it’s an intimate venue.

If you’re used to playing at smaller casinos, then this really is a non-issue.  Some of you may also prefer a smaller, more intimate venue.  If that’s the case, then Beau Rivage would be an ideal place.

One other note about the casino floor:  drink service is fast and prompt.  We usually got our drinks within minutes of ordering one.  

In conclusion:

Our first trip to Biloxi was a great success.  We know for a fact that the beautiful hotel which we used as a base camp to explore many attractions nearby, had lot to do with it.  

From the incredible oceanfront views, friendly/helpful employees, delicious restaurants, and to many things to do right at the hotel, we fell in love with the hotel.  We highly recommend Beau Rivage if you’re planning a trip to Biloxi area.  It was one of the best stays we had anywhere.

Thank you for reading and happy travels!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig 

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