I actually booked for Mandalay Bay, and after arriving late, was checked in for THEHotel instead

It was my first stay at THEHotel, and "swanky" was all I kept hearing in my head when I was walking through THEHotel's lobby, lounge, and other common areas.

We stayed in the basic 1-bedroom suite, which has a lot of upgrades: TVs in the living room, bedroom, and bathroom A guest half bath and a wet bar was also in the living area. I was amused by seeing variations of THEHotel brand on all of the things within the room: "THEtp" sticker on the toilet paper, "THEpad" on the notepad, "THEdoodles" on the large desk blotter.

The only negatives were that the room needed a little maintenance. A lamp was out, one of the sinks had a stopper that wouldn't release, the shower temperature was difficult to set. Also, it's a very LONG walk from THEHotel to the Mandalay Beach pool area.

The room decor was also a little dark and heavy for my taste. It was more masculine, i suppose. I wasn't sure if the duvet had a duvet cover that was washed after ever guest left, which made me a little leery of it.

After having stayed in some of the best rooms at Caesar's and at the Wynn and Venetian, I suppose I expected more from THEHotel. I wonder if the fact that the living area and bedroom was separated by a wall and door, in addition to the dark decor made the living area especially feel a little small and a bit claustrophobic.

But on the upside, the bathtub filled up fast, and the beds were very comfortable. The a/c was responsive. And there was a lot of closet space. And I liked the one-touch indicator at the door for housekeeping or do not disturb notification.

Overall, a nice stay, but it wasn't quite a 5 because of the few flaws.

We stayed 2 days at the beginning of a hike/bike trip through Zion, Bryce and G. Canyon. At the end of the trip we stayed at the Venetian. More on that later.

I agree with most of the reviews of this hotel.
It is apparently all suites. They are quite large, quite dark, with big baths, but no closets. The closet is a small armoire. Your clothes aare crammed in with an iron and an ironing board.

But, there are many flat screen TV's!

Our biggest disappointment with this hotel is the check-in process.
It began with the huge, convention ready, main Mandalay Bay desk. This desk apparently handles Mandalay Bay, the Four Seasons (at Mandalay Bay) and THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay.
Our taxi took us to this main entrance for check in. There is apparently an obscure, separate, THE Hotel entrance, but taxi drivers don't know about it.

Our rooms weren't ready when we checked in (at 4:30pm) so they gave us someone else's. Then they gave it to him about 20 minutes later. We had two suites and were told to call down to find out if the second was ready and so were told that we were in the wrong room and the guests were on the way up.
We packed our stuff up again, smoothed out the bedspread, and treked down to the front desk to get two new rooms. On the way out of the room we met the other couple. They were slightly freaked out, too.
Ultimately, we got two suites. They were fine.
Look at all the candid photos tosee if you like the decor. They are accurate. It is definitely dark.
Oh- they stick THE stickers on everything...THE TP, THE soap. You get the idea.

The whole hotel decor scheme is very film noir - windowless and stark. Existential and caffeinated.

Then there is the pool area. Yes, there is a wave pool. Yes, it is unattractive. It is shared with all the other hotels. They have rock concerts there, so there is a large concrete stage hanging over it.
It is also crowded.

So, the point of my review is: You can do better! We liked the Venetian much better. (Let's qualify that: For a Las Vegas Hotel.)
The pools are attractive, the public areas are "Disney meets Venice", but not too bad, with decent restaurants and stores.
The room decor is inviting and although there is no separation between the bedroom and the living room area, there is a real closet!!! The bath is more attractive. Las Vegas-Venetian over- the-top but not Existential Angst, like the pretentious THE Hotel.
Also, we thought that the staff was well trained. Something that the Mandalay Bay needs to work on.

Finally, look at all the candid travellers photos of all of the hotel rooms. I found them to be very accurate.
We thought that if we ever come back we would try the Bellagio. It was booked for this trip. But after seeing the pictures and reading reviews, we'll probably try the Venetian again, instead.

By the way, Bryce, Zion and the Grand Canyon biking and hiking was fabulous.

Stayed at THEHotel Aug 8-15/07. Had booked back in March based on much Internet surfing and with research and recommendation from several travel books (e.g. Frommer's). Had never been to Vegas before, and wanted the first trip to be special as my wife and I had never been away on holiday before without kids in 14 years of marriage (never had a honeymoon). Read all reviews prior to leaving on trip and frankly was getting a bit nervous before departure based on several bad reviews that seemed to have a couple of common themes (room thefts, poor service, smell, cost, etc.).

Perhaps because of these negative reviews, we arrived at the THEHotel expecting to be disappointed. I can honestly say that we were NOT disappointed! Our room was fabulous! All of the suites at the THEHotel are essentially the same, so no need to discuss the excellent amenities such as the 2 bathrooms, double sinks in the ensuite bath, granite counter tops, large flat-screen TV's, 14" flat screen in ensuite bath, etc. The furniture and carpet were in very good condition (unlike several reviews I recently read stating otherwise).

I had booked a king bed suite, but tried the "20 dollar trick" at check in to guarantee not only a king bed but also a strip view on a high floor. We had a late check-in (near midnight), so I only half-expected the $20 dollar trick to work, thinking the hotel was probably close to full already. When the desk clerk asked for my ID at check-in, I pulled out my ID and credit card, clearly showing her the $20 bill. As I handed over the ID, I asked if there was any way she could GUARANTEE a king bed and a room that was high-up with a strip view. After checking, she said they were pretty much full for the night and could not, but she COULD certainly set it up in the computer for a room change the next day. She informed me all I had to do was call by 2pm the next day and they would provide our new room number. Given her cooperativeness, I offered her my credit card and the $20 tip "for her extra trouble". She accepted very appreciatively.

Our room was high up (31st floor) and had a king bed, but it was only a partial strip view (it faced east towards the airport - the strip could partially be seen looking "sideways" to the north).

Called at noon the next day to get our upgrade. Imagine my surprise when they claimed there was no room change documented in the system! They claimed that they do not guarantee views, only upgrades such as 2 queens to a king or smoking to non-smoking, hence the reason it was not in the system! I told them I was very disappointed because I was led to believe the change was all set up the previous night. I was put on hold for a minute and was then told they had a strip view for me on the 15th floor (really too low to see the strip around the Luxor). I again expressed how disappointed I was and felt I was led astray based on what I was previously told. Again I was asked to hold, after which they somehow "managed" to find me a strip view on the 33rd floor! We happily checked in to our fabulous strip view!

I have to say that the 20 dollar trick itself was not successful, but my persistence and repeated expression of disappointment seemed to work in the end!

With regards to the some of the negative reviews on THE Hotel I offer the following: 1)Service overall was pleasant and they seemed eager to help, although still not sure what happened with my original check-in. At check out, clerk was not overly friendly, but who cares? I was leaving anyway. Housekeeping was excellent! Never had an interruption and every day we returned to a perfectly made up room with all amenities replenished (left a nice tip in appreciation). 2) The "smell" that some have complained about is an incense-like aroma that they circulate through the air system. You may not like that particular scent, but all the strip hotels do the same with a variety of smells. Having said that, on our second last day in the room, we did catch a very faint "sewer smell", but it seemed to disappear in about an hour. 3) We used the in-room safe for all our "valuables" when we were not there, so obviously theft was no issue. Just common sense in my opinion... 4) The shower in our second room did have some problems maintaining constant water temperature (read other reviews complaining about the same thing). More of a nuisance rather than a complaint. 5) Location: If you are not renting a car, you may want to stay closer to center of strip to avoid walking or taking trams/other transportation. Walking down strip normally would be fine (outside of summer), but a bit tough in 110F heat dressed up for a show! We had a rental car and did not find the drive down the strip too bad except one night where there were 2 separate fender benders - took 1 hour from Mandalay Bay to Mirage. Also did several day trips (Grand Canyon, Hoover Dam, Primm, NEV Outlet Mall) and it was MORE convenient at THEHotel to get out of town. 6) Price/expensive: Found THEHotel a bargain for the room you get. Paid about 50% more (room averaged about $220US per night inc. tax) than I pay for a Super 8 or equivalent standard room in Canada in summer season, and THEHotel suites are far from "standard"! Food/restaurants on par with any other major hotel on the strip. If you want a bargain, go to Freemont Street downtown...you won't find many ANYWHERE on the strip itself! 7) Casino overall seemed to be less crowded than most big hotels on the center of the strip (especially week nights). If you want high-energy and action in a casino, Mandalay Bay is probably not the place for you. If you like a quiter, less crowded atmosphere, gamble here. 8) Nightlife: Did not really partake in the club scene, but the "rumjungle" club seemed to be the place to be. It was as popular or perhaps more so than any other club I saw on the strip - weekday or weekend. 9) THEHotel Entrance: Not "grand" like the other hotels on the strip, including Mandalay Bay itself. In fact, it's a downright shabby entrance via the parking garage. However, I would rather pay for the room I am staying in instead of the marble and architecture at the revolving door!

Overall, loved THEHotel. If not for a couple of minor issues, would have ranked it a 5/5. Would definitley stay here again, but probably won't next time in order to try out something else on the strip for comparison purposes.

This was our first trip to Las Vegas and we didn't know what to expect since we had our young children with us. This hotel was fabulous. It was clean, sleek and contemporary and the staff was beyond nice and courteous.

We checked out a lot of the other hotels on the strip and decided that we liked THEhotel at Mandalay Bay the best. It is much more family oriented. When you walk into the lobby, it's peaceful, serene and smells wonderful! There's no smoke and loud clanking noise of the casino nearby (although there is one).

The wave pool and lazy river were a huge hit with the kids and the adults. There were also other standard type pools if you want quiet and distance from the crowds.

It was hard getting the kids out of the lazy river -- it was a lot of fun! You should definitely buy a donut float locally and take it with you. I bought one at a toy store on sale for $2.50. I needed another one when we got there and couldn't find one anywhere at the stores near the hotel. The hotel sells a basic one for $16.00 or you can rent a nice one for $20/day.

The downside was that the pools were a good walk from the hotel and they don't allow you to bring in a cooler. It got really hot and was hard to keep the kids hydrated on lukewarm bottled water. But, this was a small inconvenience compared to the wonderful time everyone had.

All the rooms are suites and very clean and spacious. The extra 1/2 bath was really nice to have and very convenient. The main bathroom was large and comfortable. The couch does not fold out to a bed so you need to take that into consideration when getting a king bed room or a double queen bed room (which are not always available). They do have roll-away beds and mini refridgerator that you can rent (although they comp'd both for us since they didn't have a double queen room available, which we appreciated very much).

We plan on going back to Las Vegas with the kids and the only place that we would consider staying at is THEhotel at Mandalay Bay!