Mandalay Bay Resort Las Vegas

Mandalay Bay :

PROS:
+ the swimming pool
+ the restaurants

NEGS:
- the location
- nightlife
- attractions

ok some of you might think that i'm exagerating. but it's my opinion...

the location sucks...it's one of the first hotels on the strip...
so you always have to walk long distances to visit other casinos.
ok you can take the tram but it only goes to the excalibur or NY NY..then you gotta get out, and take another tram, or walk again..
it took us like 20 minutes walking to get from the mandalay to the ny ny casino... and this was like 1/3 of the strip...

the nightlife was pretty boring... everyone told me that the mandalay would be a blast... we were there on a weekend... friday, saturday, sunday... we have a better nightlife in our local area in our country than the mandalay bay hotel...

attractions? every casino has a nice attraction...
mgm got the animals, the caesar's has the statue show, ny ny has the rollercoaster, ... mandalay has an aquarium where you have to pay like 15$ just to get in... that's pretty lame...

the only good thing about mandalay was the pool...however we only visited twice, always 1-2 hours... if you're only 3 days in vegas..
you probably wanna do other things than staying all day in the pool...
we usually slept til 10 or 11 .a.m. had breakfast... went out for shopping... wannted to visit other casinos, i went to the MR. O expo at the convention center... so I could only relax for 1 afternoon at the pool... too bad i couldn't enjoy it any longer...

we really didn't met any people at the hotel... the first night we were dressed a little bit more classy, ... but the following days we didn't give a shit about it...and put on our shorts and flipflops again...
if you wanna get in touch with the pretty girls... i'm still convinced that you have to own a big wallet. with lots of cash... or both sides gotta be wasted...

the mexican restaurant at the restaurant was pretty OK... we had some breakfasts at the local "diner"...which was pretty ok too... nothing to complain about...

the starlight tattoo was a good idea... it's a tattoo studio which is located on the main floor..they were having customers all day long..

the bathroom was luxorious but not as good as the one we had at the caesar's... we had a kind of whirlpool at the caesars, which was better than the regular bathtub at the mandalay. the rooms were a little bigger at the caesar's too....

i won't turn back to the mandalay again.... there are better one on the strip for sure. actually i shouldn't complain 50$ a night is almost like a present... but if you're in vegas..you want the best of the best:)

Part of the Mandalay Bay, Four Seasons and 'The Hotel' complex. Great F & B options and tropical pool... or should I say beach.

I spent nearly a grand for a long weekend in a Spa Suite at Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. It was worth every penny. I've been to Vegas many times and always wanted to have one trip where I was a guest at this very casino. Everything was so well taken care of, and so easily done. From booking my room through their website to checking in and checking out... things were handled quickly and without any hassles. The bed was so soft and luxurious I almost never wanted to get out of bed each day.
The only two problems the entire trip was the Tram to Luxor was out, but you can still walk through the shops to the next casino, but the Tram to Excalibur was working so you were still able to move around without always paying for a taxi or walking long distances. There is also a problem with each casino and the elevators! Prepare to always give yourself about fifteen mintues to get an elevator. At sometimes its faster going up, to get an elevator going down to the main casino floor. And trying to get any space around check out time each morning (1100) is nearly impossible!

Mandalay Bay has been one of my favorite hotels in Las Vegas, back when it was being built and I was lucky enough to stay when it first opened.

As Brett and I were coming back to Las Vegas for my friend's wedding, we found that rooms were reasonably priced being Memorial weekend (except for Saturday night of course). We ended up finding a spa package deal through Mandalay Bay's website that put it cheaper than we were going to pay outright and it included $100 in Cabana credit and 2 breakfast buffet coupons.

The suite was only about $40 more than the regular room so we popped for the 700 square foot suite. LOVED IT!

As expected, it was elegantly appointed, complete with a flat screen TV in the bathroom. We had got in late that night (after a 15 hour drive) so we were not looking forward to going to eat anywhere so we just ordered room service which was excellent but not cheap. I was actually rather surprised at the portion sizes of our sandwiches..they were HUGE. We should've just ordered one sandwich and split it! LOL.

As with all the casino hotels in Las Vegas, there is a myriad of onsite dining options and lots of shopping, gambling, etc. The one downside to Mandalay for some people is it is at one end of the strip and some people prefer to be more centrally located. Being it was Memorial weekend and we had no intention of actually going on the crazy strip, I was more than happy to be close to the freeway and the edge of town.

We had heard rumblings of how strict it was to get in to the pool now and no joke - every single person entering has to present a VALID room key and it is scanned before the attendant will let you in. We tried to hit the pools around 11am on Friday, thinking some people wouldn't be in town yet. WRONG. The pools were all packed and although there are signs about not holding seats, people were reserving chairs all over. After walking the entire compound, Brett spotted a couple leaving so we pounced. They have reserve seating options but those were not available for the weekend anyways. We did not use our cabana credit as Saturday was fully booked and they started around $300 so it would not be worth it for just the two of us.

And note, WiFi is not cheap. It is $14.95 per day for the slow connection and $19.95 for the high speed access. Yeah, no thanks!

The only other issue we experienced was trying to get late check out Saturday morning even though our room was not booked, they were not accomodating there. We explained we were in a wedding and just needed one extra hour but no go. And the other problem was trying to get baggage assistance. Plan for 30 minutes or more on a busy weekend. The poor baggage guy who helped us was swamped. And same with valet - between baggage and the car, it was another hour before we got out of the hotel.

Overall, Mandalay is still one of my favorite hotels. Brett was not as impressed with the pools as he had heard nothing but great things about the wave pool and lazy river. Personally I love them but I think the best element is the summer concerts - how awesome is it to watch a concert with your feet in the pool? The Beach Boys were playing over Memorial weekend and I had seen the Go Go's several years prior which was fun.

I stayed at Mandalay Bay during my birthday celebrations. Wendy had booked it and asked if anyone wanted to share to split costs and I took her up on the offer and I'm glad I did.

The only thing that ever put me off staying here before was because it was located so far south on the Strip. I've now changed my mind. As soon as I walked into the lobby I was impressed by all the marble and chandeliers. Check in was very quick and the lady let me know that Wendy had already checked in.

As far as I remember, the room was on the 21st floor and we could see part of the strip. Had a great view of the airport.

The room was a lot bigger than I expected. The TV was a 42" plasma screen and it had an ipod radio alarm thing by the beds. The bed was the most comfy one I think I've ever slept in. I almost needed a step to get on it as it was so high from all the mattress toppers it's got.

The bathroom was also quite big with an oversized tub and a separate shower cubicle. There's another little flat screen TV in there so you won't miss anything while you're having a bath/doing your hair.

A great stay even with the southern Strip location. Would stay there again.

We got a suite here this past month for our annual trip to Vegas and absolutely loved it! We had a 1500 square foot suite with 3 queen beds, two bathrooms, wet bar, and amazing views of the pool. Technically we said we had four people but we really put ten in it because they don't notice. We brought two air mattresses so everyone had a place to sleep for $70 total (2 nights). We had surround sound speakers, and more space than we knew what to do with.

The beds were sooooo comfortable and there was a jacuzzi tub. The maid was amazing and instead of ratting us out on the air mattresses, she put linens on it and made it like a bed too. I tipped her well for this.

The pool...everyone says is the best in Vegas...I beg to differ. We like the pool at the Flamingo better and I heard the Mirage has a great one too. The ones at Mandalay are much smaller and a lot of cement. Flamingo offers a lagoon style with waterfalls and a water slide and is one giant open pool with lots of foliage around. The waitresses never came by and the bartenders weren't nearly as friendly as other places. Flamingo, we had a bartender who hooked us up every time we went and actually made the $11 drinks worth it. They also have a lazy river which isn't so lazy...it's actually very fast moving and filled with kids whose parents wouldn't buy them the overly expensive inner tubes so they're just floating around and you're constantly running them over. The wave pool was also on "low" because of the kids so there weren't really any waves either...

The hotel itself though, amazing. Couldn't ask for more there and we felt like we had the royal treatment without the royal price. We'll definitely keep it in mind, especially if we go in the winter where the pool isn't really an option.

This was my review from April 2007:
My friends and I recently stayed at THE hotel at mandalay bay for the first and second rounds of March Madness. All the rooms are suites with a separate bedroom area. There is also a half bath in the hallway. The rooms are very clean and nice and there is a wetbar, in case you decide to buy your own booze. There is also a dvd player in case you want to bring your own movies. There are 3 tv's in the room -- a flat screen in the living area, a regular tv in the bedroom, and a smaller flat screen in the bathroom.

The Hotel has other great attributes in addition to the rooms. The gym is excellent and well kept -- they have treadmills, elliptical machines, a rowing machine, free weights, circuit machines, etc. The spa is nice and peaceful. The sportsbook could get crowded (although it does not get as crazy as the ones at the other hotels) when the games are on. You can also access the Beach (pool area) at Mandalay Bay. The Beach is actually quite cool because the main pool has some kind of equipment that simulates waves. They do have other regular pools. The Beach does get crowded when the weather is nice so beware.

***Update as of March 2007
The rooms now have ipod docking stations.

The Beach has been remodeled and now includes a nice casino and bar next to the pool. There are also 3 levels of cabanas that you can rent. Overall, still a great place to chill.

One other thing that i LOVE about THE hotel is that it is separate from Mandalay Bay so it is a lot quieter. Also, smoking is not allowed in the hallways. And, THE hotel has a great bar (aptly named THE bar) across from a cafe (called THE cafe). All come with nice comfy leather seats.

I went here for my 21st birthday, it was a great place to stay because the hotel was just the right amount of luxury that I needed. I had dinner at the Fleur de Lis and it was UH-Maaaazing food. Probably one of the best meals I've ever had. Just walking around the hotel/casino was fun...but then I went and saw Mamma Mia (being replaced by The Lion King I hear!) and it was surprisingly really really good. SO much fun! It was reallly hot (I went in June) but the pool area with the sand and the wave pool was really cool. I had my first real pina colada on a lawn chair out there. Pretty sweet! I recommend this hotel for anyone who wants to have a high end vacay at a reasonable price :)