BILOXI, Mississippi — With gas prices in the area hovering around $4.17 a gallon, it would currently cost nearly $200 to drive round-trip to Orlando, Florida — a popular vacation

destination for many.

With the cost of gas so high, many are looking to stay closer to home when planning getaways. In some cases, people are looking for “holidays” to rest and relax.

To that end, the Mississippi Coast has a lot to offer, starting with the resort properties that dot the shoreline. Most visible – literally – is the Beau Rivage Resort, which is the tallest building in Mississippi at 346 feet.

“The Beau”, as most locals call it, opened in March 1999 and, at the time, was the largest hotel/casino in the United States outside of Nevada. It features 1,740 rooms and suites, 10 restaurants and 85,000 square feet of gaming, including the BetMGM Sports Book Bar & Grill.

There’s also a 1,500-seat theatre, a shopping promenade, a Black Clover lounge with Topgolf Suites, and a few miles down the road is Fallen Oak, the Tom Fazio-designed championship golf course.

That’s the basics, but first-hand experience tells a better story, so we recently visited the Beau for a night to see for ourselves what the resort has to offer. Here are some glimpses of our stay:

Spa & Institute

After a quick and easy check-in process, we headed to the Spa & Institute area, on the same floor with the swimming pool and the fitness center. Beau Spa was ranked #6 on a list of the Top 100 Spas in North America, and we could see why. The spa is outstanding, with separate, luxurious wet areas for men and women that include showers and lockers, hot tubs, saunas, and steam rooms.

A full range of services are available, including massages with aromatherapy and hot Himalayan salt stones. Customer service was exceptional, with the spa attendant Patrick even checking to see if the bottled water we were given was the right temperature for us. The massage therapists Teresa and Rhiannon were equally excellent. Changing rooms include showers and a full range of complementary toiletries.

Although we didn’t use it, the fitness center is large and has state-of-the-art equipment, with a row of treadmills overlooking the pool. We didn’t experience the salon either, but it does offer full service skin, nail and hair care.

Atrium Cafe

From the spa, and after a quick tour of the pool (more on that later), we headed to the Atrium Cafe for lunch – the first of two visits. Located just inside the resort’s main entrance, The Atrium is a 24-hour cafe overlooking the Beau’s always immaculate atrium/lobby.

The menu has a wide selection of southern favorites, including a Cajun fettuccine ($22) and a Biloxi steak sandwich ($17) which we highly recommend. We also tried the Cobb Salad ($14) and the Buffalo Wings ($18), which were very good. The portions are very large. Bring an appetite if you plan to clean your plate.

Guest room

After lunch we were informed that our room was ready and given our keys. We made it to the 11th floor of the resort and found ourselves in a corner room, with wall-sized windows on the west and south walls of the room, offering great views of the Gulf of Mexico. , the Mississippi Coast and MGM Park. . Unfortunately, the Biloxi Shuckers were on the road this weekend.

Beau Bed and Breakfast is undergoing a $55 million remodel, with remodeling of the resort’s 95 suites already complete. Our room was very large, as was the bathroom, which had both a glass shower and a separate garden tub.

We counted no less than 11 bottles of water in the room, including four in the mini fridge. There are Keurig coffee makers in the room and two Beau Rivage bathrobes hanging in the closet, which I understand are made from butter that they managed to convert into fabric.

The king size bed was firm, but not hard, and provided a great night’s sleep.

Swimming pool and pool bar

After a brief siesta, we returned to the pool, discovering a gorgeous area on the west side of the pool where guests can relax while overlooking the gulf and coastline.

The pool bar is clearly designed with function over fashion, primarily serving to accommodate guests using the pool, but it does provide bar seating – shaded and cooled by multiple ceiling fans. We were comfortable, despite the 100 degree temperatures during our visit.

The bar offers 32-ounce specialty drinks for $23 in a souvenir cup or $22 in a souvenir bucket, as well as traditional poolside fare including bugers, salads, spring rolls and nachos .

Black Clover Lounge

We attempted to stop twice for a drink at BetMGM Sports Book, but both times were turned away due to limited seating for non-eating patrons, despite a plethora of empty tables. Seats for those who just want to wet their whistle are only available at the bar or video poker seats.

So we popped into the Black Clover Lounge on the resort promenade. The venue was perhaps the most pleasant surprise of our entire stay, thanks in large part to the staff, including manager LB Wilson – who regaled us with the story of a woman who adopted a little orphan kitten , to learn it later. was a panther.

Our bartender, Kristin, was also wonderful and explained some of the items on the menu to us, including the wings with Indian spice sauce, which she highly recommended. Do you have a group? You can get 36 wings for $24.

Black Clover has a happy hour from 4-6 p.m. Sunday through Thursday with $3 domestic beer, fine drinks, and house wines. There is also live music from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays.

Topgolf Swing Suite

The Topgolf Swing Suites are connected to the Black Clover Lounge, but although the name suggests this is a golfer-only attraction, the computerized suites offer many other games, including throwing soccer balls and balls. baseball, kicking a soccer ball and – a personal favorite – – playing dodgeball against zombies.

Suite rental is $80 per hour ($40 during happy hour) for up to eight people. Bring a group and you’ll have a blast with the cocktail service provided by Black Clover.

Stall

For dinner, we chose Stalla, the sparkling Italian restaurant at Beau’s, located between the BR Prime Steakhouse and the pan-Asian restaurant Jia.

The service was spectacular except for an overzealous cheese grater which resulted in a running joke about our ‘cheese water’. The calamari appetizer ($14) arrived before the waiter could even come back for our bread, while the fettuccine alfredo ($24) with mushrooms, Grand Podano and grilled chicken were some of the best we’ve ever had, as was the chicken parmesan ($26). ), which had the best marinara sauce I have ever tasted. The tiramasu was equally delicious. And, again, the portions were such that we ended up with takeout boxes to take back to the room.

The Stalla’s menu is inspired by the northern Italian countryside and also features premium Italian wines.

EIGHT75 and Breeze Bar

For a drink after dinner, we stopped at EIGHT75, located right at the entrance to the casino. Nearby is the Breeze Bar, located on the casino floor, with plenty of seating and video poker machines. EIGHT75 frequently features live music, as well as classic cocktails and signature martinis.

Other amenities

Le Beau also has other amenities that we didn’t have time to take advantage of on this trip, including the Roasted Bean cafe, the Snacks cafe outside BetMGM, or the buffet, which we visited several times in the past and which we consider to be one of the best. on the coast. For the kids, there’s an arcade on the boardwalk, as well as an ice cream shop.

Insight

We had high expectations of the Beau Rivage, given its status as an MGM resort and an icon of the Mississippi coast. He did not disappoint. The facilities were all first class and the service was what you would expect from a AAA Four Diamond hotel.

One of the biggest takeaways, however, was the food. Without exception, from bread to appetizers to appetizers, the food was magnificent. We can’t say enough about the quality or quantity. It is impossible to leave a Beau restaurant hungry.

To book a stay at the Beau Rivage, go to the resort’s website or call 228-386-7472. Room rates start at $159 and vary based on occupancy.

Oh, by the way, our total gas cost for our trip to Le Beau? $2.67.