If you've ever stayed in Las Vegas and been at one of the larger hotels on The Strip, you'll know what to expect when you get to MGM Grand at Foxwoods. This casino, hotel and resort has something for everyone in an atmosphere that just reminds me completely of the nicer hotels and casinos in Las Vegas.

In fact, it's become my new favorite place to stay here in the Northeast when I'm looking to gamble and relax. The rooms are great, the service is nice, the casino is fun and the amenities that MGM Grand offers can keep you quite busy.

Where is it?

MGM Grand at Foxwoods is located on the Foxwoods property adjacent to the original Foxwoods Casino & Resort. The two have a connection that allows for walking between the two resorts. They also share the same rewards program. However the two resorts are pretty much run as individual properties and you won't need to travel between them if you don't want to.

MGM Grand is located in the southeastern corner of Connecticut off of Interstate 95. It is about 2 hours from Boston, 3 hours from New York City and probably about an hour or so from Hartford. Getting there is fairly easy, MGM Grand is about 8 miles off of Interstate 95 and the exit and the route are signed well.

As with any casino, there's plenty of free parking. MGM Grand has its own entrance, parking garage and valet parking aside from Foxwoods' entrances and parking areas.

What's it like?

From the design and layout of the hotel and casino to the types of amenities it has, MGM Grand is like a little piece of Las Vegas in eastern Connecticut. There's the modern architecture with an Asian influence, an overall 'upscale' feeling to the property, a nightclub, several finer restaurants and plenty of other things to keep you busy.

What's there to do?

Gamble! But honestly that's not all there is to do.

There are several different places to eat, there's a nightclub, a couple of shops to browse in and if you're staying at the hotel, there's the pool area along with a spa and a gym where you can relax or work out.

The restaurants include three fine dining spots, Alta Strada, Craftsteak, and Shrine. There's also Junior's which I would consider your all around restaurant (burgers, sandwiches, entrees and breakfast). For something even faster, the Gelato Cafe offers sandwiches, salads and Gelato and the Food Market is something of a food court that has several different kinds of food to choose from including seafood, pizza, sandwiches, burgers and Chinese food. All told everywhere that we ate was good, though since you are in a casino, everything is pricey, even the less expensive options. While we didn't dine at any of the three fine dining restaurants, they did look good and the menus weren't as outrageous as I expected. I would suggest reservations though, as they usually seemed to be crowded and I would expect that they would be full, especially on weekends. Junior's also takes reservations, though when we were there a few times during our stay, it didn't seem that we would have needed them.

On certain nights, Shrine, the restaurant also is a nightclub. We were there on a Tuesday night and a Wednesday night. The club was open on both nights. There was quite a line to get in and it looked to be a neat club. However, neither of us were really up for going. If you do want to go, expect to have to wait in line to get in.

Outside of the casino itself, the hotel also has the pool area and the spa floor. We spent a lot of time at the pool, which is a fairly good size. It's fan shaped so that it can hold quite a few people without feeling too crowded. There's seating all around the pool along with seating outside the immediate pool area on the grassed area. There are also private cabana's that can be rented on the outer edge of the pool area should you want them.

We had lounge chairs right in the shallow part of the pool and had great sun all day. What's nice about the pool area is that it's adjacent to Junior's restaurant so you can eat there or, if you don't even feel like getting up, there's waitress service around the pool with a limited menu from Junior's and a full drink menu available. So that was nice to lay there and have cold drinks while we enjoyed the sun and occasionally went swimming.

We never made it to the spa level of the hotel, which is home to the spa and a workout facility. The workout facility is part of the spa, but $25 will get you a pass to the workout area (we checked with the concierge) and that's good for your stay. If we had been staying longer, I would have splurged since it sounded like a really nice gym.

The Casino

MGM Grand's casino is not all that large, but it is spread out enough so that you never feel all that cramped when playing. There's a large selection of slot machines in all denominations along with plenty of tables for those who prefer the table games to the slots. There's also a bar on the gaming floor and free beverage service is offered to those who are playing on the casino floor by waitresses.

I like the high ceilings since that allows the smoke to rise up and not suffocate you. In addition, the air handling is pretty good. Sure there's some smoke, but overall you're not walking around in a haze of smoke. Plus MGM Foxwoods and Foxwoods have recently increased the size of the no-smoking areas, so many areas are now pleasantly smoke free, especially most of the areas where kids would be (pretty much anywhere off the gaming floor).

The Hotel

If you're staying at the hotel, the easiest way to get there is to pull into the hotel valet parking. They'll help you with your bags and then take care of your car. You walk right into the hotel lobby and the check-in desk is to your right.

Our check-in took about 5 minutes at most. We put a credit card down so we could charge to the room, even though the room itself was comp'd for the two nights thanks to my earlier playing at the casino. There's also a self check-in station if you want to avoid waiting for a clerk. We didn't see anyone using it though since there was almost never a line at the desk. The lobby also has a Bell Desk where you can check your bags and have them hold them until you're ready to check in or leave.

We stayed on the 23rd floor in a standard deluxe room with a single, king sized bed. Our room was located on the curved portion of the building and the entire outer wall of the room was floor to ceiling windows with an incredible view looking across to the Foxwoods resort and the surrounding forest lands. I thought that alone made it a great room.

The room was quite large too. You came into a small hallway when you entered with the bathroom to your right and the rest of the room straight ahead and to the left. The room had a king sized bed, a table, a lounge chair, a dresser and a work area. At the foot of the bed was a cabinet where the TV was held. It rose up out of the cabinet and you could lay in bed and watch it (it was a flat screen TV). The TV also swiveled so you could watch it elsewhere in the room.

The bathroom was really nice, though it didn't have a tub, which was one thing I was actually looking forward to. Instead it just had a large tiled shower with glass doors. A really nice shower, but I had wanted to soak a bit. Besides the shower, there's a large sink area and the toilet. The windows are a bit smaller here, but there were still the tremendous views.

The bed was really comfortable. It was soft, there were plenty of pillows and we both slept really comfortably for the two nights that we were there.

There's room service available that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and catering platters. Pretty much anything you could want.

Besides a tub, the only problem we had with the room was after our first night. Housekeeping somehow forgot to clean our room. We had a do-not-disturb sign up early, but when we left, we took it down, however they never came back to the room. So that evening we checked in with the concierge and they had someone go and clean the room while we were in the casino.

Rooms

There are the standard deluxe rooms with either two queen beds or a single king sized bed. There are also several different types of suite rooms available.

Room Costs

MGM Grand isn't cheap, though if you are a regular player, you'll likely get discounted and complimentary rooms. I consider myself a fairly casual gambler, but I get offers for free rooms each month. That was the case with this stay - we had two complimentary nights.

If you did have to pay, the rooms do get fairly pricey - upwards of $200 a night. I'm not sure if I was on my own I'd pay that, but if you were going with a couple of people, it might be worth it.

The DreamCard

For people interested in playing in the casinos at either MGM Grand or Foxwoods, there's a players club called the DreamCard that gives you the opportunity to earn points based on the amount of play that you have. The points you earn can be used throughout MGM Grand and Foxwoods just like money. When you sign up for the card, you also become eligible for special offers and contests. Almost every month they have a different promotion where you swipe your card each time you are there and you stand a chance to win. There's also a monthly mailing, which depending on your average monthly play, offers free play and bonuses for your next visit, which can include free show tickets and complimentary rooms.

Foxwoods

If you do wander across the pedestrian connection (completely indoors), you'll make your way to the Grand Pequot portion of Foxwoods. From there, you can get to the rest of Foxwoods just by walking around. To learn more about Foxwoods, check out my review...

Overall Impression

Besides the lack of a tub and that we had to have our room cleaned when we went out for the evening, I didn't have any problem with MGM Grand at Foxwoods. For that matter, I loved it. I found it to be a convenient place to go and escape to for a few days. We live about 2 hours away and it was the perfect place to go and just relax. We didn't have to drive far, we had tons of things to do, lots of places to eat and a really comfortable room to relax in. I also really liked that it reminded me so much of a resort in Las Vegas, since that's one of my favorite places to vacation. It was like finding a little piece of Las Vegas here in the Northeast.

Final Thoughts

I know I'll go back and stay MGM Grand at Foxwoods. I loved the two nights and days that we spent there. I was able to lay in the sun at the pool, dine in a number of different restaurants, and relax in a really comfortable room. It was a great place to stay.


More MGM Grand at Foxwoods related reviews
Gelato Cafe
Junior's Restaurant at MGM Grand at Foxwoods
Alta Strada
Craftsteak

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Recommended: Yes