Saturday, July 26, 2008

Mandalay Bay Review

The final 2 nights of the trip were at Mandalay Bay in one of the remodeled Strip view rooms. All 3 of the rooms on this trip were recently redone showing that Vegas never stays with the status quo even at the lower end joints. This room cost more than the previous two combined and at $239 a night, the most I have paid for a room in ages. Since it was a buddy's birthday, he decided where we would stay.

We got there pretty early, around 11:30 but were still able to check-in. We were given a 2 queen room on the 33rd floor with an incredible view all the way down the strip and out to the airport. At 550 Sq.Ft., the room is a nice size. It had a funky table/chair combo thing by the window with a desk, dresser and nice size flat screenTV rounding out the furnishings. The bathroom is great with a large vanity and seperate tub and shower. The bed at first glance appear big and comfortable but I would soon realize, it was the worst bed of the trip. It completely sloped to one side and made for 2 pretty bad nights of sleep. I ended up sleeping on the edge of it for both nights. Also, the safe was useless for anything larger than a wallet. I just can't fathom how a room that was redone in the last year doesn't have a laptop sized safe, especially at a place that is trying to pull down the convention traveler.

We spent a good portion of the our time at the pool of course. Mandalay Bay is all about the pool. It is huge with several regular pools plus a giant wave pool and a lazy river. There is also a poolside casino, nudie pool and a stage to host outdoor concerts. The drink service was good once they realize you are drinking. They keep it flowing at that point, at $11 a piece of course... We had a blast hanging out going from pool to pool and just being idiots. No doubt this is one of the top 2 pools in town.

The casino is typical new, hip casino garbage. Loads of 6/5 Blackjack and nothing in the way of playable video poker. Yet despite that fact, it was packed all weekend. On both Friday and Saturday nights, they had 10 craps tables open and they were lined up 2 deep and there wasn't a BJ table under $25. Needless to say, there wasn't much gambling going on at the "Bay." We did however spend way to much on overpriced drinks in the casino bars.

The only restaurant we tried was the Burger Bar in Mandalay Place. It is most famous for the $60 Fois Groi and Truffle Kobe burger but the standard run of the mill burger was excellent. A nice half pound of beef with just about any topping you could imagine, hence the name "Burger Bar." Highly recommended if you are in the mood for a nice, big juicy burger.

Mandalay Bay is a very nice place they just think WAY too highly of themselves. The room prices are ridiculous in this economic environment and judging by the way it dropped from $289 to $239 in the 2 weeks I watched them before booking, I think they are realizing it. There were no bargains anywhere else in the place from the casino to the gift shop to the bars. Its a nice place to stay every once in a while, especially during pool season but I just could never see staying there on a regular basis. There are just too many other places in town that offer much more for less.


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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the new King Bed rooms at MB there is now a window over the tub into the hallway.

While not a problem for a couple, I'd wondered if it was in the 2 bed rooms as well, might not be so nice there.

VegasCasinoInfo.com said...

There wasn't a window into the bathroom in the 2 queen room, just a picture. They used to have a similar window at Rio which I always thought was funny. I think it has been removed in the remodel.