STAFF HOTEL REVIEWS

THEHotel at Mandalay Bay

THEHotel - THESuite bedroom

3970 Las Vegas Boulevard South
Las Vegas, NV US 89119

THEHotel at Mandalay Bay easily met or exceeded my admittedly lofty expectations for a one night stay in September.

Let’s start at the top. THEHotel is Mandalay Bay’s “hotel within a hotel” – the high end sibling of Mandalay Bay. THEHotel is almost entirely suites (although they do have one room type that is not, so be sure to look at what you book!) and they sure are gorgeous! THEHotel is connected to Mandalay Bay and while THEHotel has its own spa and bar/restaurant options, you’ll find most of the amenities are next door at Mandalay Bay (which also, incidentally, houses the Four Seasons Las Vegas).

THEHotel THESuite living room

I stayed in a suite called THESuite which is the base level suite measuring around 700 sq ft with a separate living room with a large flat panel TV and a massive bathroom including a large glass shower and separate soaking tub – with an additional small wall-mounted flat panel TV in case you’d like to watch TV while in the soaking tub. Nice!  I was a bit surprised that the bedroom TV was an older CRT but I think the reason is the wall units they have in the bedroom aren’t made to accommodate such a large TV and it probably didn’t seem worth it to go through the expense of changing out the massive wall units.

I think a lot of the pictures here will speak for themselves. It has the feel of a swank city apartment.

THEHotel THESuite Bathroom w/ soaking tub

In terms of amenities, Mandalay Bay has lots. In the summer season, when the pools are open and in full swing, I’m not sure you can beat what Mandalay offers. The main pool (free for guests) is really two pools (one gigantic wave pool complete with a real sand beach and lounge chairs on the beach and one standard pool) as well as a lazy river (although the inner tube rental is way over priced, in my opinion, at over $20 a tube).

Beach (the pool) at Mandalay Bay

Next door to the pool area is a European (read as topless women are encouraged) pool called Moorea Beach. Admission starts at $40 for guys and $10 for girls and includes a lounge chair except during peak times. This is notable because many other pools in Las Vegas that charge entry do not include anything in the way of a lounge chair. You might also look for hotel packages that include entry to Moorea if you know you’ll be going. My rate included admission for two which is worth $20-$80 right there.

Moorea Beach @ Mandalay Bay

Mandalay Bay also includes some nice eateries – notably a House of Blues, Charlie Palmer’s Aureole, Michael Mina’s StripSteak, Wolfgang Puck’s Lupo, China Grill, and the Brazillian “rumjungle”, as well as the Vegas standard buffet. Two Starbucks Coffee’s are also available.

One downside to Mandalay Bay is its location all the way at the South end of the strip, not far from the airport. It *is* on the strip and is connected to the Luxor and across the street from the MGM Grand (which has a monorail stop – although door to door the walk to it would probably be about 30 minutes!). If you’ll be driving or taking a cab out, it’s no big deal, but you should know you won’t be ideally situated mid-strip.

Overall, I’d definitely stay at THEHotel at Mandalay Bay again and would recommend you give it a try as well! You can also go for a standard room at Mandalay Bay – generally $20-$30 cheaper (or more) a night.

-DG

Tao Beach at the Venetian vs. Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas

Daytime partying in Las Vegas has reached new heights. First the nightclubs took over the town as nightlife became more about clubbing than gambling. Now, with all the daytime pool parties, one can party from the morning until the late hours of the night and never gamble a dime – at least in summer.

Over Labor Day Weekend of 2009, we went to two of the hottest pool scenes in Vegas to compare and contrast.

Let’s do a side-by-side comparison:

Tao Beach @ The Venetian - Las Vegas

So – how do you know which is for you?  They are both great pool parties – no question.

Tao Beach has a smaller and more intimate vibe to it. We found it a

Rehab at the Hard Rock Hotel - Las Vegas

bit easier to talk to fellow partiers at Tao Beach – probably because the size kept you in closer quarters. So if you are easily overwhelmed, I’d suggest Tao Beach. Similarly, the lines and cost of Rehab may deter some people. A notable pro to Tao Beach if not staying at the Venetian is you can also use the massive and under crowded regular pool right next to Tao Beach.

On the flip side, Rehab is a far bigger and, therefore, crazier scene. It is probably 8 to 10 times bigger and that gives you a lot of room to roam. The ability to drink in Rehab’s pool will make a big difference to some as well.

If you have the energy, I’d suggest doing what we did… Tao Beach on Saturday and Rehab on Sunday. Try them both and find your groove. Although by the time you finish your weekend of partying at Rehab, you may well need to go to rehab!

-DG

I generally tend to book all of my travel on two airlines – American Airlines and Delta. I am one who, you could say, has been successfully lured by their frequent flier programs – where not only do you build miles that can be redeemed for a great value on international business class travel, but also gain certain benefits when you travel with that one airline (including other airlines in their alliance) 25,000 or more miles in a calendar year. I try to maintain status in at least one program a year to enjoy the perks – 1st class check-in, no baggage fees, and complimentary upgrades to first class when available. But does this make for the best air travel experience?

I wanted to find out. My travels took me to Las Vegas this Labor Day weekend and I decided it was time to choose an airline that appeared to not only be new, but fresh and full of amenities one-way and take one of the legacy carriers home. New York to Las Vegas is a 5 hour flight – nearly as far as Los Angeles and as such, I would expect a transcontinental flight in 1st class to provide certain comforts on par with international travel. After all, this is nearly as far a flight as New York to London.

Virgin America

For the outbound New York to Las Vegas leg of my trip, I chose Virgin America. As my flight was on a business day, I really liked the idea of in-flight WiFi. It allowed me to work nearly the whole day while in-flight and ready to start my vacation when I landed. It also made time absolutely fly by. Compared to past transcon flights, this flight on Virgin America easily passed faster than any I’ve ever been on. But Virgin offers way more than WiFi on every plane. They offer an experience.

Virgin America First Class seat

As you can see, this seat is probably unlike any you’ve seen on an American airline flying a domestic route. Indeed, the seat in 1st was just like many airlines International Business class seat. It was wide, comfortable and offered a wide array of positions all the way to a large recline for sleeping.

The in-flight entertainment also reminded me of an international flight. There was a huge range of movies, music, and even satellite TV. Food was another hit. While in First you appear to be limited to the First Class menu, you can actually order anything they have in coach for free. On my flight – a morning flight – I had a nice brushchetta with proscuitto, salsa, eggs, and an olive tapenade. It wasn’t restaurant amazing, but it was great for a domestic airline. The one disappointment in the food area was that I could not access RED – the online food system – to see exactly what they had in coach. In coach they use this system to order and it’d be fairly easy to allow 1st Class passengers to see it. They didn’t even have a printed menu for the First Class cabin food – and I think a menu is always a nice touch in a premium cabin.

The Flight Attendant was fun and friendly and certainly eager to please. She seemed to actually enjoy her job!

Overall, I’d give the Virgin Flight a solid A. If I had the option to earn miles on a US based alliance, I’d be far more likely to be a true convert, but I can honestly say that I’m questioning my legacy-carrier loyalty.

American Airlines

American Airlines 1st class seat

On to the American Airlines flight back. As you can see, this seat looks *nothing* like the one on Virgin America. In fact, this plane appeared to be from the 1970s. As far as the seat goes, it’s not just the new vs. old look. Seat pitch (the recline) on Virgin is 55 inches with a 21 inch width. The AA flight in First had a seat pitch of 39 inches and the same width of 21 inches. A 16″ difference in recline is pretty huge!

No question – this seat on American was far less comfortable. In flight entertainment was limited to a movie and a few NBC shows on the ancient overhead monitor. The power port only works if you have a special DC adapter you’ve purchased before the flight (you can’t just plug your power cord in like you can on Virgin). And the food – a breakfast egg and

AA's prehistoric in-flight entertainment

cheese quesadilla with a side of some kind of sausage was edible but not of the same caliber at all.

Happily, the flight attendants on American were very friendly and eager to please. I dozed off right after takeoff and missed breakfast but they were quick to come over when I woke to offer me my breakfast. Service couldn’t be faulted.

American does not yet offer WiFi on this route so that was out as a way to pass the time.

Overall:  Given that the prices in 1st on American and Virgin are similar, it’s really no comparison. The only thing American came close on was service, although I know from experience that is often luck of the draw – and even that was pretty much a draw and not a win for American. The food, entertainment, seat, Internet availability, and overall feel of the plane went to Virgin America no-contest. Sure, you can’t earn AAdvantage miles on Virgin, but the flight is so much more enjoyable. The only other potential downside to Virgin would be their limited network. If a flight was canceled for mechanical reasons (and JFK-LAS runs only once a day) I’m not sure how easily you can be rerouted or if they’d just cancel and refund your money leaving you scrambling whereas AA has a vast network to reroute you on in that event.

American Airlines, and for that matter all US based airlines, really need to step up the service offerings – especially in premium cabins – if they want to compete with airlines like Jet Blue and Virgin America as they grow bigger and pose more of a threat to their most profitable routes.

DG