One of the Top 2 Hotels on the Strip.
Written: Jan 18 '06 (Updated Jan 19 '06)
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Pros: Superb Quality, Food, and entertainment from one of the Best on the strip.
Cons: Reservations dept should have a price for Strip Side view room.
The Bottom Line: Loved most everything about this place. In my opinion it's one of the 2 best Hotels in Las Vegas.
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| thetaxiguy's Full Review: MANDALAY BAY RESORT AND CASINO |
I have been to Las Vegas a number of times. 14 to be exact. I have stayed in the Aladdin (old and new), Paris, Tropicana, The Luxor, The Excalibur, Stratosphere, The Monte Carlo, and now the Mandalay Bay. The best way I can describe it, is to compare it to driving economy or mid-sized cars your whole life and then stepping up to a luxury car.
No one thing really makes up, why this Hotel is so great. I think it is a mix of all it has to offer, that makes it stand out.
First and foremost, the thing I loved most about this hotel is the pool area. This is the single most spectacular hotel pool ever conceived by man. Its not just a HUGE wave pool capped off by a man made beach, it is several other elements as well. It would be more accurate to call it a water park. There are traditional pools that are placed throughout the whole area as well and one of those lazy river things where you can just relax and let the water carry you around. There is even an "adults only" area where you can belly up to the bar and enjoy the "view" of the european style of sun bathing, if you know what I mean.
I think the Second greatest thing I liked about the Hotel was the whole lay out of the place. The Main casino is huge. It is primarily a huge square of table games and slots with a high limit area in the middle. The huge square of gaming is surrounded by the House of Blues on one end, A Spectacular Poker Room and Sports book on another wall and some various shops and places to eat on the other walls. Most of the nicer places to eat are set off down another section off of the corner of the casino. This section also leads to the Main Events Center, the convention space, and the Shark Reef Exibit.
Third is the prestige and reputation of the Hotel. The Main Events center at Mandalay Bay has been the home to several of the recent Heavy Weight title fights that used to be hosted at the MGM Grand or Caesars Palace. Mandalay Bay has really stepped up as the "place to be" on the south end of the Strip. Around town, when you meet people and they ask you "So where you are staying?". When you tell them "Mandalay Bay" 90% of the time you get "oooohh wow thats a nice place" Its just a well respected Hotel that carries with it a certain level of prestige when you know you are staying there. It just feels good to say you are staying there.
Another thing I love about this hotel is its location and access to the other parts of the Strip. From the early 90's up to today, the Middle to the South end of the Strip has become the happening spot. Most of the High Dollar Mega Resorts with all of the cool things to see are located From Treasure Island on down to the Mandalay Bay. Mandalay Bay is owned by the same corporation as most of its West Strip neighbors. This makes for nice relations and easy transition from hotel to hotel. You can walk indoors, via walk ways, from Mandalay Bay to Exaclibur. Crossing through Luxor and Excalibur is great as well. These are two of the neatest themed casinos on the Strip. They are lower budget then Mandalay bay but they are still very cool structures to see. One is a Huge Pyramid and the other is a castle. What more could you ask for?
If you choose to get right to business and skip these two casinos Mandalay bay has a free Monorail tram that will drop you right at the corner of Tropicanna and Las Vegas Blvd (aka. the strip).
Most every casino has a buffet. However, the Bay Side Buffet at Mandalay Bay is second to none. Crab legs done to perfection, and they are all precut, so all you have to do is crack them on the precut spot and pull, the meat all comes out in its entirity. Perfect. No messy digging with those crab utensils you usually get. There are also tons of other foods like prime rib, shrimp, beef stir fry, and all of the other traditional buffet favorites like mashed potatoes and gravy.
I have not tried the fine dining but for wine drinkers I can think of no better place then Areoul. There is a Huge multi story wine rack that women (called Angles) have to be lifted up by a crane mechanisim to retrive certain bottles of wine. It is a must see and you can see it with out eating there. Just walk up and take a look.
The only down fall I can mention about my whole experience was the reservation staff/system. This hotel is located in a great spot to get a nice view of the entire strip. I paid extra for a "view room" and was told that I would get a strip side room or a pool side room I just had to specify when I checked in. Upon my arrival I was informed that "view room" only meant that you would be on the upper floors and that they could not get me on the strip side. While I was a little dissapointed I did have a nice view of the water park down below. However, I wish there were a way that you could be assured of the view you wanted. I would even pay more to have it assured but they had no way of granting me the strip side room.
The Room:
The room was nice. It was on the top floor (before you get to the really nice stuff). It had a great view of the pool area and the airport. The bathroom was large and there was a safe built in to the wall of the closet. Slippers and Robes were provided. The room was nice but it was really no bigger then any other hotel room I have stayed in.
The Shops:
About a year and a half ago there was a major construction effort to build what I can only describe as a Shopping Mall between the Luxor and the Mandalay bay. This Mall is the walkway between the two hotels. There are many high end shops, a few places to eat and a HUGE wine store. This place is an enomous wine fridge that you can walk in and shop for wine. (I would not set foot in it if you dont know wine)
The Entertainment:
The big show at Mandalay Bay is the Broadway Hit Play Mama Mia. I wanted to see it but looking at the screens that give you a preview, there is a lot of audience participation (with clapping and dancing) and that is just not my style.
The dining and night life:
There is a huge list of places to eat. Mandalaybay.com has them all listed and described in detail. Some of my favorite attractions in this category were the Huge Wine rack of Areoul that I mentioned earlier. The Night Life at the Rum Jungle (they have those bar tenders that juggle bottles and stuff.... Very cool). Another of my favorites is the Bar at Red Square. This is a Vodka bar where the bar top its self is actually made of Ice to keep your drink cold. Very Unique.
Over all the hotel is Fantastic. I would rate it at one of the two most Elite Hotels on the Strip. Later this year I will have a chance to stay at the Bellagio (the other of the two) and I will have a chance to see first hand who the king of the Strip really is.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
thetaxiguy
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Reviews written: 33
Trusted by: 2 members
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