Hotel Review: Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas

Background:

I have wanted to stay at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas for the longest time. After stumbling on a good rate on Cyber Monday, I finally booked a stay here! It is considered to be one of the best hotels in Las Vegas. I was very excited for my stay but you know when you get too excited and it ends up not living up to expectations? Well sadly that happened. Long story short, my experience at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas left much to be desired and I feel this hotel is highly overrated.

Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas Short Review With Scores (Out of 5, 5 Being The Best)

MY OVERALL SCORE: 3

5: Excellent, Highly Recommend
4: Very Good, Solid Choice to Consider
3: Ok, Check Other Options Before Booking
2: Below Par, Try to Avoid
1: Terrible, Run Far Away

Rooms: 4/5
Amenities: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Location: 5/5
Cleanliness: 4/5
Sleep Quality: 2.5/5

QUICK SUMMARY: The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas presents a nice boutique option, a seemingly tranquil oasis from the hustle and bustle on the strip. Yet it doesn’t live up to the Mandarin Oriental name with flawed and tired rooms while succumbing to the typical Vegas 5 star mega-resort with ordinary service.

Arrival:

The lobby at the Mandarin Oriental is on the 23rd floor. The guest rooms are located between floors 4-22 while the condos/residences are on 24-47. It’s located in the City Center complex, with easy access to the shopping mall Crystals and Aria.

There’s a lower lobby on the ground floor with seating and elevators that can take you to the 23rd floor Sky Lobby or the 3rd Floor where the MOzen Bistro/Meeting Rooms are located. These elevators do not go to guest room floors.

The 23rd Floor Sky Lobby features nice floor to ceiling windows that looks over the Las Vegas Strip. The lobby is quite small, and there’s really no seating at all. I understand it’s a boutique hotel but 392 rooms is still a decent amount. There’s a tea lounge located to the right of check-in, and the French restaurant Twist by Pierre Gagnaire is also located on this floor.

Check In:

I got to check-in around 7 PM, and the 2 front desk agents were busy assisting other guests. The front desk and concierge share the same desk, and the concierge wasn’t helping anyone but she couldn’t check anyone in. A bit of a interesting setup. Another front desk agent seemed to come out of the back room and came to the front desk but quickly left. I ended up waiting 10 minutes to check-in despite being the first person in line.

Eventually, I was checked in and the front desk agent was very nice. She helped explain how the elevators worked. So, instead of coming to the floor 23 Sky Lobby to exchange elevators every time you want to go to your room, you can exchange elevators on the 3rd floor to the guest elevators. The 3rd floor access ends at midnight as a security feature, which I thought was good.

The Room:

I booked a Cityscape room and had a really nice view of the Strip on the 12th floor (not sure if it was an upgrade). Online the Cityscape room is one level higher than the Standard Room and it says you get a nice city view, but I see that often people get views of the less desirable side of the Strip towards Monte Carlo, New York New York and a parking structure.

Upon entering the room, there was a large walk-in closet. There’s a valet closet section which is a nice touch where it can be opened from the outside. This is where my newspaper was delivered, and if you want shoes shined you can just put them in the valet closet so the staff can grab them without knocking on your door. A nice touch.

A iron is provided, as well as a robe and yoga mat!

Bathroom:

The bathroom is nice, with a beautiful tub, separate shower and double vanity. The bathroom door is a slider, and privacy is a bit lacking so I wouldn’t recommend sharing this hotel with friends. As you can see in the picture, the door to the WC is pretty transparent as well. It’s pretty much geared towards couples.

Bedroom:

The room is approximately 500 square feet which is standard for Vegas. It feels a bit smaller as the walk in closet takes up a lot of space. The room was furnished with 2 Double Beds, which felt pretty small and are definitely designed for 1 adult per bed.

There’s a tablet in the center nightstand between the two beds which can control everything in the room. Pretty cool, but it was very faulty and the touch response was horrid. It controls the lights, the drapes, TV, practically everything in the room.

One surprising touch was the tea kettle! Most of the hotels on the Strip do not provide a tea kettle in the room. I love my tea, so I was happy to have this feature. 🙂 Turndown service provided two full bottles of water which was nice as well.

The Issues:

• Well lets start with the minor one:

Everything seemed to be showing its age. The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas just celebrated its 8th anniversary and it looks like they haven’t refreshed the rooms since the inception. The cabinets are all scruffed and chipped. Additionally, the flat hair iron provided was very old and seemed not clean as well as the hairdryer. A minor refresh is definitely needed.

• The beds:

The beds have definitely seen their better days. Both double beds were a bit lumpy, and they were nowhere near to what I would expect at a 5 star hotel. Westin Heavenly Beds are even more comfortable. Additionally, the sheet is literally one sheet (and a thin one at that)? I would expect nicer bedding at a Mandarin Oriental.

Honestly, I could overlook the minor issues but then we have:

• Horrible insulation

I expected some street noise from the room as I had a nice view of the Strip and was only 12 floors up. No biggie to hear cars, ambulances, honking. I was a bit in awe that every 2 minutes the Aria Express Monorail would pass and I would hear a wooshing sound in the room. The monorail isn’t even that close to the room? I mean I can see it from the window but it’s not running under the hotel…? You would have to turn on the AC fan to high to drown that noise out if you’re a light sleeper. I got used to this sound, but not the next ones…

While attempting to sleep the first night, I heard a loud gushing of water from next door. It was them filling their bathtub. It was super loud, and I was in awe that the insulation was so bad. During the next two nights, I was able to determine from my bed whether the room next door was filling their bathtub, taking a shower, or using the sink. Ridiculous.

Additionally, I was woken up at 5 am to the connecting room’s guest talking about their plans for the day. They weren’t even screaming or talking loudly. They were just watching TV in their room and getting ready and I could hear EVERY word. Yikes.

Amenities:

The Spa and Gym are located on the 8th floor. The gym is pretty nice, with treadmills that overlook the city. The pool is also located on the 8th floor as well.

There is a resort fee of $39 which is standard for Vegas (Yikes!). This fee includes WIFI for up to 6 devices, Fitness & Wellness Center Access (2 passes daily), and morning coffee or tea (6-10am).

The tea + coffee was a nice touch.

Parking:

Parking is an additional $30 a night and it is valet only. You could opt to self park at Aria for $15, but it requires a bit of walking.

Service:

Service was ok, with the exception of housekeeping. One of the housekeepers wasn’t really friendly and didn’t want to say hi to me as I walked past….and to add to that my room wasn’t cleaned until 4PM. I then got a knock on my door at 5PM from a manager asking if I received my housekeeping? I presume someone complained on my floor so the manager decided to check. The spa and fitness enter employees were all very nice and helpful!

The Verdict:

I understand it’s hard for the Mandarin Oriental to live up to its name in the city of Las Vegas as competition is fierce with 5 star mega-resorts offering low rates. And without a casino this hotel lacks gaming revenue to subsidize its room operations. Consider it a Mandarin Oriental “Lite”.

While I liked the boutique aspect of the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas, there were just too many problems present. From the poor insulation between the rooms to the tired room, I probably won’t be back unless there’s a really good rate. There are far too many better 5 star options in Las Vegas, many of which that charge a lower rate than the Mandarin.

Happy travels,

theresorttraveler