Long weekend with hubby 06/28/09-06/30/09. Upgraded to Widesecreen King Spa Room #14201. The spa rooms are not frequently booked, so not exposed to as much traffic as the other widescreen rooms; $70 additional per night to upgrade and well worth the $$. The list is long of resorts we have stayed on the Strip. Our favorite remains THEhotel at Mandalay Bay. However, the room and deal we received on upgrades at Exalibur proved a fantastic choice for us this go-around. The spa jacuzzi in our room was huge and mutually enjoyed by myself and my spouse. The bathroom in this upgraded room is much larger than the basic widescreen rooms, granite countertops, hair dryer, makeup mirror (all normal Vegas 4-5 resort amenities). The shower had been re-tiled and the grout was a brownish color, which at first glance was concerning as it appeared dirty. It wasn't. The room was immaculately cleaned, and I am a germophobe, so to say that is a great compliment to the housekeeping and maintenance staff, who were tipped accordingly. Our king bed was very comfortable and sheets were changed, although we were only there 2 nights.
We reserved a cabana at the adult-only pool. This was the key factor in choosing Excalibur rather than THEhotel this visit, as the cabanas at Mandalay Bay are very pricey. We were charged only $80 for a cabana at Excalibur, and were allowed use of a $20 coupon provided to us at check-in, so the end cost was a mere $60 from 9am to 6pm for the cabana. Julio from Spain was our cabana boy and he did a fabulous job hosting. He checked in on us numerous times through the day and was a joy to have around. We generously tipped Julio, as well as our server, who made sure we had everything we needed at all times. We consumed many cocktails at the pool and recommend the Bahama Mama! We ordered lunch from Drenched through our server and they promptly delivered our order to our cabana. Drench provided fresh and delicious food, and total cost for lunch was under $20 for the 2 of us! We purchased some bath salts at the poolside spa to use in our room spa jacuzzi, and again prices were much lower than expected in the spa for products and services alike.
The adult pool at Excalibur's pool complex of 4 separate pool areas, which were all open and used, was a great atmosphere. Good music, very attentive servers, a laid back and relaxed vibe, and not at all over crowded. The water was nice and cool, the pool and pool area very clean and well maintained. Having a cabana was icing on the cake and allowed for an enjoyable day at the pool, with a place to be shaded and lounge around in between getting wet and sun bathing. An awesome retreat with fruit basket, stocked fridge of juices and bottled water, plenty of towels, plasma big screen TV, raft for the pool, and a personal cabana host and server! Highly recommend.
Excalibur can certainly be done on a budget, with fast food available in a food court upstairs and rooms on the cheap if you have budget restrictions. However, if you do splurge and spend the extra for upgrades and extravagances, you will find that with all those upgrades purchased, you will have spent less than you would at THEhotel on the room alone. My husband indicated he would not hesitate to book at Excalibur in the future, given what we got for the money we spent. If the resort as a whole was along the line of what we experienced with our upgraded room and cabana experience, Excalibur would easily be rated 4-5 star. They should update their casino and restaurants, upgrade Tower I, and add a little class to the atmosphere that may possibly draw a slightly classier base of clientele, which would be an enormous improvement.
Gambling at Exalibur left a lot to be desired, as it does tend to attrack less experienced gamers because of the low table limits, which is an enormous annoyance to me. I witnessed a nasty comment and glare at a blackjack table by a player when another player hit 15 and the dealer was showing a Jack. I tried to bite my tongue, but had to point out that it was the right thing to do and there is such a thing as gambling ettiquette, which other experienced gamblers who know what they are doing expect from mutual players. Ridiculous, but not worth another breath. Gamble somewhere else - problem solved! Lots of people who probably should not have been gambling in the first place!
Did not eat at any of the restaurants on site, as we had plans at other locales, with the exception of one breakfast at Sherwood Forest Cafe which was above average in price and quality. Recommend Kahunaville at TI and Tacos & Tequila Mariachi Sunday Brunch and 2 for 1 margaritas at Luxor; both visited on this trip and both exceeded expectations in food quality and atmosphere.
Last, but not least, I feel the need to address the ongoing debate of bringing your kids to Vegas. Simply put - DON'T! Vegas is not an entertainment destination for children - PERIOD! People who bring their small children to Vegas need to research destinations where general theming is not targeted to adults around alcohol, gambling, sexual content, adult humor, and the fact that the majority are there to get away from kids. Nothing irritates me more than dropping $100 on a meal and having to endure crying children the entire time because their parents don't understand or care that they are BORED and TIRED and TICKED OFF because they've been in that stroller for 12 hours. It's a shame and I feel so sorry for those kids. Those parents don't even get it!
If there is one thing that Vegas could improve upon, it is the fact that there is an enormous demand for adult only resorts on the strip. I don't understand why Wynn or MGM properties haven't tapped into that yet. You should at least have that option in Vegas and I think it would quickly prove to be extremely profitable. I would definitely pay more for a child-free Vegas experience.
