THE Hotel is top class in every respect. THE Suites are superb!

We seriously considered the Venetian, The Bellagio and Mandalay Bay, all of which seem equally attractive and are similarly priced but THE Hotel proved to be a truly terrific choice, which easily exceeded our expectations!

We don’t subscribe to the popular theory that a hotel is just somewhere to lay your head. It’s a fundamental factor in any good vacation, especially in Vegas where you’ll need a retreat from the heat (or cold) and the frantic action. THE Suite provided us with a welcome bolthole to escape the hustle and bustle & find some Q/T in LV to enjoy our 20th wedding anniversary!

Check in was instant and effortless. Our suite was enormous and extremely well equipped with a breath taking of THE Strip! Floor to ceiling windows maximise the stunning vista in both the bedroom and living area and there are massive flat screen TV’s in each, with a smaller set in the enormous, exquisite bathroom. We thoroughly enjoyed the wealth of space throughout our five-day stay!

The marble wet bar in the living room was an excellent embellishment as it enabled us to concoct our own cocktails and night caps which radically reduced our bar bill. Drinks are expensive in LV. Prices up-scale establishments can border on outrageous so BYO if you can! THE Store in the lobby sells a wide range of beer, wine and spirits more reasonably priced than the in room mini bar and there’s also a coupla liquor stores opposite the Mandalay Bay but their prices are not that much less so it’s not really worth the trek unless your buying plenty!

The bedroom was spacious and stylish with ample storage that comprises two dressers, an elegant TV bureau incorporating the complimentary in room safe flanked by two wardrobes with interior lights, all of which boast mirror panelled doors which elegantly enhance the room’s ambiance! The bed was divine! Well dressed with plenty of pillows – difficult to get out of!

THE bathroom was the un-disputed star of the show – double marble vanity, deep roman tub, separate glass enclosed shower, snug robes and as previously mentioned, a wall mounted flat screen TV! Entirely enjoyable!

THE Hotel is attached to but very distinct from the Mandalay Bay. It is distinguished by it’s sleek black marble décor, it’s cool chic, yet laid back atmosphere and even it’s very definite vanilla aroma, all of which become immediately apparent the moment you cross it’s threshold via a short walk way from the MB Casino.

The hotels location is not as remote as some suggest because the Strip itself is not as disperse as you might think. The MB, Luxor, Excalibur, NYNY and the Monte Carlo are all adjacent to one another and the MC is pretty much centre strip, opposite the MGM. It’s and easy walk. The tram takes 10 minutes and they run constantly. Taxis to centre strip cost $10. To the north strip costs $20 and they’ll give you the option to take the fast route via the parallel freeway avoiding the terrible traffic.
We gorged at the buffet twice, once for dinner, once for brunch. Both meals were excellent and reasonably priced, $16 and $26 respectively but it’s not worth the extra few bucks for the “Champagne Brunch” as the only addition is a couple of glasses of cava. We also had room service twice, once for breakfast and once for dinner. Service was prompt and attentive. The food was good and the price was nice!

We didn’t try the Spa and the pool was closed for winter so we can’t comment except to say that they looked great. We enjoyed the MB casino which seem quieter than most. The slots were quite loose and we won on the video roulette, which is my personal favourite. We also spent an evening in the House of Blues Foundation Room at the top of MB, which boasts a splendid strip view.

Every staff member we encountered was friendly and efficient. Housekeeping was brilliant and we tipped them handsomely. When we queried a $62 mini bar charge they removed it instantly without asking for any explanation. (We had removed a couple of bottles to chill our own stuff and forgot to replace them until the following evening).

We had a truly terrific time at THE Hotel so we’d highly recommend it and we’d most definitely return, perhaps when the weather is warmer and the out pool/beach complex is open.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

MP1

Having not been to Vegas since I was barely old enough to remember, I decided it was time to return. My girlfriend in tow, who had never been, I wanted to make this truly a great experience all around. I'm one of those people who typically scours sites like TripAdvisor relentlessly, looking for the perfect place.

However, there does come a point where you have to realize there is no hotel out there that has a perfect track record of not getting you robbed, treated poorly, financially betrayed or otherwise. Despite numerous reviews on THEHotel that described those things, I took the plunge and booked on Travelocity. $130 a night for three nights, with a $75 discount on the third night for booking with a mastercard. At the time of booking, I felt pretty good considering that a steal. I was not wrong.

Cab fare to and from THEHotel/the airport was $15 and about ten minutes of travel time. You enter from an underground parking facility that may seem cold, but is a forgettable prelude to the experience of actually walking into the lobby. The main entryway is dynamic, and sets the tone for the rest of the hotel. As previous reviews describe, this is not a casino hotel. This is a seperate experience. Very, very quiet, subdued, modern, and service oriented. There are hotel employees all around waiting to assist you. I checked in at 3:45pm with no wait. I politely asked the desk attendant for a room on a high floor if possible. He said he had something for me. On arrival to the room, I realized he did indeed. On the 31st floor, with floor to celing windows featuring a panoramic view of the southern end of the Las Vegas strip, predominately featuring Luxor with the City Center construction and Excalibur in the distance and MGM Grand to the right. I was admittedly bewildered that I got this good of a view for the travelocity theft-price that I paid.

The rooms are pretty spectacular. The pictures on here give you an excellent indicator of the size, design and quality of the rooms. The only complaints I could come up with were some odd volume control issues with the main TV, and an IPOD clock that would not show the correct time. Also, unfortunately, THEHotel suffers from a very bad case of thin wall syndrome. You will be able to hear, word for word, what's going on in your neighbor's lives, unfortunately. Other that those issues, absolutely no problems. Incredibly comfortable beds, amazing bathrooms (yes, plural), great sofa.

Location wise, previous reviewers are quick to point out that THEhotel is somewhat painfully located on the extreme south end of the strip. The free tram from Mandalay to Excalibur makes arrival at the tropicana intersection quick and painless, but anything north of that is admittedly a bit of a trek (about 15 minutes up to Bellagio). In retrospect, I probably would of paid to get a Monorail pass so I could board at MGM and move up the strip quicker, but it could of been worse.

Mandalay, as a resort property all together, is very nice. I can't comment on the dining, as we admittedly ate at several other casinos and restaurants instead during our trip, but we did splurge on room service for breakfast our first morning. The food was good, and the service prompt and friendly. In regards to in-room internet, I have the standard complaint that if Motel 6 can provide free wi-fi in this day in age, THEHotel at Mandalay Bay can provide free wi-fi. Alas, it's $13.99 a day.

On checkout, I noticed I had two problems with my bill. A minibar charge without merit, and an internet access charge for one day that went on a seperate credit card when I bought it, and shouldn't of been billed to the room. When I brought both of these issues up at checkout, both charges were immediately removed without any question or hesitation whatsoever.

The baggage staff efficiently and safely stored our bags for a few hours as our plane wasn't leaving until later that evening. As we left, we were genuinely welcomed to return soon by the baggage staff.

I'm typically a traveler of variety, and rarely like to stay at the same property more than once. Las Vegas is certainly a destination that offers some of the most variety available anywhere in the world in terms of accomodations.

That being said, i'll be returning to THEHotel later this year for a longer stay. My highest reccomendations.

I am very late to write this review but better late than never! Background, we are a couple in our mid to late 20's and have enjoyed traveling extensively mostly for pleasure. We prefer exclusive hotels mainly because they are more efficient to accommodate to ADA regulations as my fiancée is in a manual wheelchair.

My fiancée and I stayed at "the hotel" for a friends wedding the last week of March 2008. Our stay totaled 5 days and we were very satisfied with "the hotel". Check in was relatively efficient and although I can't recall our room number (sorry) but my fiancée is in a chair and we were please to hear that they have plenty of handicap accessible rooms. Unfortunately, they first gave us a room with only a plastic bathtub (it looked like the bath fitters ugly plastic tubs) so we went downstairs to ask for a room with a roll in shower and a bathtub..seems they have either or for the ADA rooms!? Yeah I know, and this is supposed to be a top-notch place..well we opted for the room with only the shower and wow what a world of difference. The roll in shower was great with a pull down chair, large and marble tiles throughout the entire bathroom. A wheelchair bound individual would have no problem getting around the room as it is spacious and well laid out. The decor in our room was terrific, very modern and bed was comfortable (and we are self proclaimed bed snobs). The room a king sized bed, two generously sized closets, full ADA bathroom and a separate living area with a view. Nice touch with 3 flat screens in the room, one in the bathroom by the sink area (very cool, we don't even have that in our house!), one hidden in the closet area and the other in the living area. Good thing the living area could be separated from the bedroom as my fiancée could watch TV to his hearts delight without waking me from my slumber. Unfortunately our room was a "mountain view”. Which meant we had a glimpse of the mountains and an ugly view of the rooftop of part of the hotel and lovely Vegas traffic..but the room was very nicely furnished and we were not in the room long enough for it to be a real problem.

Food:
We ate breakfast at the restaurant in "the hotel" and it was very good, try the mango juice..fiancee swears by it! Other than that we ate within Mandalay Bay and around the strip. Please try the mojito's and BBQ Pizza at Rum Jungle..best I have ever had. We also went to the gourmet burger place inside the Mandalay Bay Mall and it was good, not amazing..The prices were very high but expected and there was also a very long wait (over an hour and a half). We saw some people get seated before us even when we saw them come up to the hostess stand and ask for a table, this situation was not handled appropriately as the hostess seemed at most like college students and very amateur at correct costumer service policies. Can't win them all!

Pools:

I was expected to be wowed by the amazing pools, the beach was ok but cluttered with college kids during what I assume is their spring break, and the rest of the pools were crowded. If in a chair and staying at "the hotel" expect a journey to get to the pool area you have to go thru the valet parking at "the hotel" to get to the "Mandalay Bay" casino to later take an elevator down to the pool area. We used the lazy river once, was fun but chose to go the the area away from the beach near the private cabanas, it had less children and college kids and was overall just more relaxing feel. If you really want to get away from the crowds, you can opt for the adult’s only pool on the rooftop but it was $40 a person and I didn't feel like seeing body parts so we stayed in a quiet area instead.

Side Note:

We went down the strip and asked to look at every room in the 5 star hotels because we for future reference we need to see what works for my fiancée. We were not at all impressed with the Junior Suite at the Bellagio as it was dated (had a step down living area) but we agreed that the only room worth the price were the rooms at the Wynn..wow!


Overall "the hotel" was great, no major complaints. Food is expensive but expected since you are in Vegas, but you get what you pay for. You will get tired of the slogan "the hotel"..like "the restaurant at the hotel"..or "the bar at the hotel"..or the "lounge at the hotel".. "the store at the hotel".."the bathroom at the hotel"..well you get the idea..it does get annoying after a while but nice hotel. We will try the Wynn next time we are in town.

We have stayed at The Hotel twice over the past 4 years, most recently over the Christmas break. I love this hotel for the location because it is more peaceful to me at the end or beginning of each day not to have to walk through the casino maze. The decor is peaceful and I love the fresh white flowers in the black vases throuhout. If you want the casino it is one hall away at Mandalay Bay. The rooms are fantastic and we love the suite set up with TVs in both rooms. Our son hangs out in the LR and we hang out in the BR. (Not that much course - it's Las Vegas after all.) I love the decor of the hotel and the valets are really super there. We never ate at the hotel itself, but did enjoy two restaurants at Mandalay Bay.