Food & Hotel Review: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas

The Hotelion
a hotel room with a bed and a chair

My standard hotel reviews include a breakdown by the following topics. Feel free to skip to whichever section you find most interesting.

  • Highlights
  • Lobby & Check-in
  • Room
  • Hotel Space / Ambiance
  • Food & Drink
  • Fitness
  • Miscellaneous

 

HIGHLIGHTS: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas

This was my first stay at the Mandalay ever, and it was a very interesting experience. Highlights include their nice (and free) tram system, connecting the Mandalay Bay with Excalibur and Luxor. Other than that, there wasn’t anything that stood out in a positive or especially negative way.

 

LOBBY & CHECK-IN

Note that the casino and hotel has separate entrances – with the hotel being further down when you enter. Security is tight after the homegrown terrorism incident last year, requiring all guests to flash their keycard before entering. Not sure how preventative this is, since anyone who has a card, whether it be from a current or previous stay, or just picked up off the ground, can access the elevators.

 

ROOM

This was a basic double Queen bed room, 550 sq ft. Decently spacious, with a very expansive and nice bathroom. My lady loves the his and hers sinks, and I have to say they’re quite useful. Tub included for a nice bath – although we did not partake.

 

HOTEL SPACE / AMBIANCE

It was dead. Only professionals around, few gamblers, during a random week. It was quite gloomy, so I tried to explore other more exciting areas.

 

FOOD & DRINK

Using MyVegas again, I ate at the Buffet and the SeaBreeze Café at Mandalay Bay. Both were overpriced (even though I only ended up paying for one entrée at the café) and of middling or poor quality. I did not enjoy either experience and found them lacking.

 

I did spend many a meal outside the hotel, particularly in Buca di Beppo in Excalibur, as well as the Ketchup Premium Burger Bar in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile Shops. This was only because I had a Groupon for Ketchup, and several Buca coupons for free meals.

 

FITNESS

Their fitness center is named “Cardio”, and has many treadmills, bikes, and ellipticals, and a weight rack. Perhaps their weight machines are located elsewhere. Find it on the basement level (what they call the Beach level).

 

MISCELLANEOUS

I did enjoy their convenient stops for the Deuce busses going up and down the Las Vegas Strip. $6 for 2 hours and $8 for 24 hours is obscene, however, but I got to explore a new area (Town Square Mall) where I enjoyed my experience at Gameworks. I would not stay at the Mandalay Bay again without a very good reason – there are other resorts with better location, quality or excitement.

 

 

Featured Image is of the room from the hotel website.  Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links which, should you click through and/or make a purchase, grant me a commission. Also, I only post in the best interest of my readers. Lastly, thank you for supporting my blog and my travels. 

What do you think of my writing? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments, or reach me directly at TheHotelion@gmail.com! Like my posts? See more here, on TravelUpdate! Follow me on Facebook (The Hotelion) or on Twitter and Instagram@TheHotelion

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PatMcPSU

Yup, I think you nailed it: “decent but dead”. It’s a shame because the hotel itself is above-average by Vegas standards, and is actually a pretty good value. The three things that hurt its success are: 1) The Location – All the way at the end of The Strip, with no good properties nearby. Results in zero foot traffic from tourists wandering around (people won’t aimlessly jump on a tram). 2) The Timing – Opened a few months before Bellagio, which immediately made it an afterthought. 3) The Pool – Designed for families more than affluent party-animals. You could also… Read more »

The Hotelion

How very accurate!

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