12 Days Of Hyatt Vegas: THEhotel at Mandalay Bay

In recognition of Hyatt’s new partnership with MGM resorts, I’ll be trying to review all 12 MGM properties that are now part of the partnership with Hyatt.  The 12 properties are:

MGM Grand (Review)

Signature at MGM Grand

Excalibur

Luxor

Monte Carlo

New York New York

Vdara

Mirage

Bellagio

Aria

Mandalay Bay

THEhotel at Mandalay Bay

This Vegas trip was truly a last-minute affair.  I was in Burbank, California on business and we made the decision at about 5pm that evening that we were going to head to Vegas to squeeze in one more business meeting before I headed back to Denver.

This would definitely be a good test of my Noir status which was granted to me at the Hyatt/M Life kickoff party just a few weeks ago.    I hopped on the Hyatt iPhone app to book my room at around 6:30pm Pacific time.  Oddly, the only property listed on the app was the Hyatt Place Las Vegas, which I’ve stayed at before.  Nope, we wanted to test one of the MGM properties.

I logged onto the mobile Hyatt website instead of the app and all the MGM properties appeared.  A few were sold out, narrowing down my choices.  I had never stayed at THEhotel at Mandalay Bay and the rate was around $100, so that was my choice.  I specifically didn’t make my reservation through the M life phone number just to see what would happen when I checked in.

I arrived pretty much at the stroke of midnight.  THEhotel is located behind Mandalay Bay and has a separate entrance even though the two buildings are linked.  I was dropped off there and made my way into the lobby. Most of the public areas were lit to a low level.  Dark wood finishes and marble were the theme as I made my way to the front desk.

 

Vegas truly is a 24-hour city, something I was reminded of when I got to the front desk to find a line of 8 or 9 people in front of me.  I paused for just a brief second, looked to my right and left and noticed a glassed-in room on the left-hand side of the lobby that had a few couches as well as some desks in it.  I also noticed one employee sitting behind one of the desks.  I headed over to the door and saw the non-descript sign that made my eyes light up (yes, even at midnight!).

 

I made my way into the VIP lounge and the young lady there greeted me warmly and asked if she could help me.  I explained to her I had a reservation and was a Noir status level and asked her to help me check-in.  She asked for my name and keyed it into her computer, fairly quickly adding, “We’ve been waiting for you.”  Now, it’s midnight and I’m pretty tired, so she may have had time to look up my reservation in the computer in those few seconds.  Or, she may be well trained to be warm and inviting to anyone wandering in there, even if she’s not 100% sure they’re an elite member.  I don’t think that my reservation would have made it through the system and been flagged as Noir status, and I pretty much confirmed that when I asked her to list my M life number on the reservation so I could get M life credit for the stay as well.

She offered me a drink and let me know that the lounge was open from 6am to midnight (guess that made me the last VIP of the day).  She gave me key cards and directed me to the elevators.  She was very accommodating and I was very tired, so I refused a drink and headed on my way.

When I got into the elevator, I noticed a slight peculiarity.  The floors jump from 38 to 60, then there’s no floor 63.  I’v read in the past that the number 4 can be viewed as bad luck to Chinese gamblers, which might explain why there are no 40-something floors, and yet there was a 24, 34 and 64.  So be it, odd.  The hotel officially lists 43 floors.

I got off the elevator and proceeded to my room.  Again, a bit sleepy, but still awake enough to pay attention to the fact that there was a pretty big gap between the first two doors in the hallway I was walking down.  That’s just one of those things I always seem to be aware of when walking to my room.  When I got to my door, I looked left and right and noticed a lot of hallway in either direction.  I specifically didn’t ask for a suite upgrade when I checked in just to see what would happen, and it seemed I was going to be quite pleased.

 

This was a beautiful room.  I walked into a marble foyer with a small powder room off to one side.  That transitioned into a spacious living room (actually two sections of living room), dining room and wet bar.  Everything was in impeccable condition.  A truly comfortable space that I unfortunately wouldn’t be enjoying much.

 

 

There was a separate room for an office.  I can’t recall the last time I saw this in a hotel room, though I do remember an enjoyable office in the Presidential suite at the Fairmont Banff Springs.  This would definitely be an ideal room to split business with pleasure on a trip.

 

I hadn’t even gotten to the bedroom yet, which was also quite impressive.  Just for good measure, there was another large coach and soft seating area for relaxing and watching television in the bedroom.

The large faux wall in the middle of the room had two flat screen TVs to serve both sides of the bedroom as well as electronics for various music and video sources.  There were also a number of panels throughout the suite to control the various electronics remotely.  The bedroom area was sizable and comfortable, perfect for the few hours of sleep I would be getting.

 

The bathroom was almost as large as my room at the MGM Grand from a few weeks ago.  There was a large closet area with a bench and mirrors for getting dressed and an equally large double vanity.

 

 

There was a completely separate room with a toilet and bidet, as well as a large soaking/jet tub and a combo shower and steam room.  There was a movable partition between the tub and the seating area in the bedroom which helped to make the bathroom feel even bigger than it was.

 

 

It’s too bad my wife wasn’t with me.  She enjoys L’Occitane amenities, which were placed everywhere throughout the suite.  A nice touch beside the tub were “sugar cubes” for a luxurious bath.

 

Lastly, since it was a country mile from the front door of the suite to the bed at the far end of the bedroom, there was a remote “do not disturb” switch beside the bed.  They threw in a button to request housekeeping from that far away as well, which I view as far less likely.  But, I can imagine a fair number of people getting back to their room very late after a night of eating/clubbing/gambling/drinking and wanting to make sure they don’t get woken up early.  A nice little touch.

 

While I had expected to review a regular room I’m certainly not complaining about getting this great suite.  My reviews are not only of the properties but of how M Life status is treating me, so I definitely score this in the “big win” column and hope it happens frequently in the future.

This property is a Category 5 for Hyatt Gold Passport redemptions which means 18,000 points per night. I consider it a much better investment than the MGM Grand for the same amount of points.  I’m not sure what a regular room experience is like but the pictures of them look pretty nice.

I’ve still got 10 MGM properties to go so I may find a few better gems along the way.  But, so far, Noir status is looking pretty good!

 

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