Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada! On our latest trip to sin city, we stayed at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. I thoroughly enjoyed my 5-night stay and will share a complete review of the resort & casino if you’re considering staying here.
About the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino:
Hotel Details: Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino was opened in March or 1999 and covers more than 9.3 million square feet! There are over 3200 rooms and more than 400 suites – so they can accommodate a lot of guests! Within Mandalay Bay the Four Seasons hotel has an additional 400+ rooms that can be accessed through the main lobby of Mandalay Bay. Only Four Seasons guests can access this area of the hotel through a private elevator. There is a large conference and events center, a spa, fitness center and plenty of shopping throughout the resort and the Shoppes at Mandalay Bay. I would say that all of the shopping is over priced – especially the hotel convenience store. One bonus was an environmentally friendly and complimentary water refill station in the lobby – I used this multiple times a day!
Location: This resort is located at the south end of the Las Vegas strip, and is also home to the Delano and Four Seasons. It is about a 10 minute drive to the airport (without traffic) and about a 15 minute drive to the Stratosphere at the other end of the strip. That being said, it’s still a far walk from most of the attractions because it is the last resort at the end of the strip. I personally enjoyed walking as much as possible and took a ride share if I wanted to get somewhere quickly.
Parking: There is a large parking garage that accommodates self-parking at the back of the hotel. You can access this from Frank Sinatra Drive, or off of a side street from Mandalay Bay Road. Avis Car Rental has a return in the self-park garage and a desk at the front of the hotel. We rented our car at the McCarran Rent-A-Car Center and dropped it off at Mandalay Bay which was very convenient!
Check-in:
Check-in begins at 4:00 pm, however we were able to get checked-in around 3:30. There is a large line area in the lobby and numerous concierge staff available to help with check-in or answer any questions. We had a friendly staff member check us in and give a quick run-down of the hotel before sending us on our way. We never had any problems with our room or stay so didn’t have to come back to this area except to check-out. Which was also a smooth experience. So, needless to say we had a great experience with the front desk staff.
Rooms:
Our room was a Resort King with approximately 550 square feet of space. The bed was a very comfortable king bed with nice linens and fluffy pillows. We liked that there was a small up-right safe in the closet and plenty of hanging space in both closets. For a more detailed look at the room, take a look at my Mandalay Bay Resort King Room tour!
Service:
The few interactions we did have with hotel staff (front desk and room attendant) were very pleasant. Our house-keeping attendant was very friendly and ensured we had everything we needed stocked up each day. I saw her in the hallway and she asked if there was anything else she could get for us which was really nice. The hotel staff would always smile and say hello in the hallways and throughout the resort.
Pools:
If you’re looking to spend time at a pool, then this hotel is the place to be. There are numerous pools on site to choose from including a lazy river and a wave pool. There is a real sand “beach” in front of the wave pool and plenty of chairs and umbrellas for guests at all of the pools. If you want to pay more for a cabana you can do that too, though I’m not sure it would be worth it unless you plan to spend the entire day there. Overall, I wish I had more time to spend in these pools.
Mandalay Bay Resort Casino:
Would it shock you to know that I was in Vegas for almost a week and didn’t gamble? Well, it’s the truth. I didn’t even spend $1 at any of the casinos I was in (and I was pretty much in all of them on the strip and Fremont Street). The casino at Mandalay Bay had a funny smell. I’m not sure if it was from the cigarette smoke, an air freshener or something else, but it had a stale smell to it. It was also quite loud, so I didn’t spend very much time here except to pass through. People seemed to be enjoying the casino, but I have no idea how the casino ranks in the grand scheme of Vegas. If anyone does know, tell me more in the comments below!
Restaurants:
There is definitely no shortage of food options at this resort. There are more than 25 different restaurants and fast food service within the resort and the Shoppes at Mandalay Bay. I personally dined at Libertine Social, Ri Ra Irish Pub and The Noodle Shop for dinner. For breakfast I mostly ate at Starbucks but also had a lovely brunch at the Seabreeze Cafe. No matter your food preference or price range, you can easily find something to eat at this hotel.
I’d recommend the shrimp and grits at Libertine Social, the BLT sandwich at Seabreeze Cafe and pretty much anything at the Ri Ra Irish Pub!
Activities & Entertainment:
There is plenty of entertainment on site if you’re looking for it. You can pay to see the Michael Jackson show “ONE” by Cirque du Soleil. There are two shows each night at 7:00 pm and at 9:30 pm and it was a fantastic experience. I wasn’t every a huge fan of MJ’s music, but the acrobatics were amazing and the music quite catchy. You can also catch a show at the House of Blues, or head to the Shark Reef Aquarium. The Irish Pub in the Shoppes at Mandalay Bay has live music, and you can check directly with the hotel for special events.
Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino Overall:
I had a fantastic time in Las Vegas and thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. It’s a little far from the centre of the strip (in my opinion). But the distance helped me get lots of walking in to combat all the delicious food I was eating. I’d definitely consider staying here again for future Vegas vacations. Want more Vegas tips? Check out my list of things to do in Las Vegas instead of gambling.
10 comments
I’ve been to Las Vegas several times, but I only know this hotel from the outside. Thanks for the pictures.
Happy to share!
Ah Vegas! It is easy to lose oneself in the casinos and I am happy to hear you did not! It always amazes me how much water is used in Vegas in the middle of the desert. I say this because you highlight the nice pools. Mandalay sounds great , in it that it seems to be self-contained with shows, eating places all under one roof.
My husband and I had the same thought about the water – all of the resorts and tourists have to be a drain on this resource. We also heard and saw numerous ads asking residents to get rid of grass for alternatives to save water. Makes me appreciate living in Canada along the great lakes.
What a fabulous resort. The pools look amazing and the entertainment options are great. I’m not a huge fan of casinos either, but I will keep the Mandalay in mind when I plan a trip to LA.
It was a fantastic trip – I really enjoy visiting Vegas.
I remember visiting Mandalay Bay only for their pools, I had read somewhere about the lazy river and artificial beach. The hotel is well located despite being at one end of the Strip, because the Strip itself, just like you mention too, is not really that long. We stayed at Stratosphere which was at the other end of the Strip.
I walked from Mandalay to the Stratosphere. I really liked the viewing deck at the top of the tower!
I think that there’s a huge point in terms of proximity to the strip – but each to their own. As you said, it helps with exercise. Love the environmentally friendly fountain though!
I’m not sure your meaning here. I really enjoyed being on the strip, though I’m sure you could have an enjoyable time staying near the strip, further out or more central on the strip if that’s your preference.