I recently stayed here in early August. I have stayed at most of the major (and not so major) hotels in Las Vegas. The biggest draw for this property is the pool facilities. I was not disappointed. The wave pool was great. Getting a lounge chair in a nearby area can be very difficult, especially if you need more than one (no one removed their soiled towels when they were done with the chairs), but this is common at all Vegas hotels; no worse here. The standard room was a major surprise. I'd say about 1/4-1/3 of the square footage was for the bathroom. At first I thought this was ridiculous. But then it grew on me. It was all marble (look-alike?), 2 spacious sinks, a large tub (I'm 6'4" and I fit!) and a separate glass walled shower....Oh and a separate very small room with door for the toilet. Its a man's dream!

Complaints- My room had a obvious stain on the carpet that looked like a footprint and it didn't look new. More significantly, the elevators are not adequate for the volume of people using them. I was here midweek, and still the wait for an elevator (there are 8 for the guest rooms) was frequent and lengthy. In addition when I would finally get one to go down to the lobby, it would land up stopping on EVERY floor on the way down.

We were somewhat disappointed by our weekend experience at the Mandalay Bay. Pool/Beach area: We took our girls with us (14 year old and a 14 month old) to experience the lavish beach and water amenities we had read about. Once we arrived, we tried to reserve a cabana (for the baby), but were told they usually book out a week in advance (which we did not read or were told about during reservations), so it made "hanging out" poolside difficult for us. In order to get a chair pool/beach side, it seemed you had to get there at 8:30 in the morning and we had to "take turns" staying with our chairs in order to keep them from being taken by other guests. The water facilities are beautiful and popular making them extremely crowded. They have a "lazy river" with a waterfall which was great for us to float around in (recommend bringing your own tube - rental is $20.00 a day), and a great wave pool/beach area as long as you are at least 48 inches in height. One lifeguard asked me not to stand in the wave pool holding the 14 month old (for safety reasons with the waves) and pointed us in the direction of the "kiddy pool" and then told me that I might want to avoid that area due to the mass amounts of young adults sitting in it. We walked over, and sure enough it was a "party zone" of grown people sitting in a foot or two of water. I felt like asking why they were permitted to be sitting/drinking in the "kiddy area." The "lazy river" was the best water option for us, and it was a great way to cool off. Rooms: Our room was nice, we did expect a little fancier decor for the rate we were paying (compared to other resorts we have experienced in Vegas) but we loved the bathroom! The closets were spacious, and you don't need to pack an iron, blow-dryer etc... Its all provided for you. We asked for a "non-smoking" room, and there were no ashtrays in the room, but our only complaint was that it did have a "smoke smell" to it... could have been from another room maybe, but it was present our entire visit. We had an awesome view of the strip which was beautiful at night! Dining: I will start with the positive. We loved the Bay Side Buffet, highly recommend it for breakfast lunch and dinner! Definitely make reservations for where you want to eat, far in advance. We went in to one of the popular restaurants to make reservations for the next evening. We were told they were booked that night and could get us in at 9:00 PM the next evening, however as the host answered the phone in front of us we heard him saying that he had a 7:00 and 8:00 opening that very evening but that "he better be a really high roller if they wanted him to get them in." It made us feel "unimportant" as paying guests that a "high roller" who probably had their entire stay comped would be permitted to dine there when we were told there were no openings. The Rumjungle was great for drinks and dancing, we did not care for our food. The reviews claim the food to be "Brazilian," but having worked in Brazil I could not taste the resemblance. Parking: This was a huge problem for us! During the summer months they host several concerts on the beach at night. We had gone out to dinner, in our car (because of needing the car seat for baby) and when we returned we were rudely told (by city police, not hotel employees) that the garage was full of concert attendees and we had to park in a different lot. The lot was a 10 to 15 minute walk away from the doors, in the open next to the strip, and a sign said cars left there past midnight would be towed! So, you either had to park there and move your car once the concert goers had vacated, or you could valet it which we chose to do. The next morning, it took us 45 minutes of standing outside waiting for our car to be brought up from valet! Overall: The resort is beautiful, no doubt about it. It was clean and we loved how you did not have to walk through the "playing areas" to access rooms, shopping or restaurants. The gambling facilities were awesome. The cost was expensive compared to other resorts of the same caliber during the summer, and I would not pay the rate we paid again for the same experience, not even half the rate after experiencing some of the other top casinos on the strip. If you are a "high roller" or couple going to enjoy some gambling and sun without children, it would be perfect for you. For those of you planning to take children to experience the beach/water, I would research other options... San Diego even before deciding!

What a wonderful vacation we had! Our room was spotless and very comfortable, excellent mattresses for anyone with bad backs like me!! The pools got a little crowded during prime time but still plenty of room for enjoyment - the Lazy River is soooo relaxing!!! Food at the restaurants were all very good, everyone very friendly! One big plus, the ventilation system in the Casino was excellent! I'm very allergic to cigerette smoke but was never bothered at their casino whereas at others I was forced to leave "the clouds" of smoke.

Stayed 6/19-6/26 Check in took a while(this is a big hotel) Service excellent. I got a better rate by joining the hotel's paradise club.
See there web site. Pool crowded,wave pool lot's of fun. If u have a car try the Tillerman for excellent seafood. Restaurants at hotel no big deal. Slots never saw anyone win even a small jackpot. A waitress told me u had a better chance playing at K Mart I believe her. Again if u have a car side trip to Red Rock Canyon is fantastic.