wrigleyville

Thought I'd give a brief trip report on LV's newest hotel. Overall, I think this will be a fantastic location in the future, especially for work-play trips, but the normal growing pains involved with a new opening are apparent.

Pros:
Very hip lobby and overall decor, think W with a twist of the Ian Schrager (sp?) hotels. Rooms are huge--all suites in the 750 sq. ft. range. Contemporary design with couch, lounge chair, desk/chair, 42" plasma TV/DVD, wet bar, and half-bath in the fornt room. Bedroom has two more chairs, large TV, King-size bed, and PLENTY of closet/drawer space. Off the bedroom is the main bath, with separate toilet area, dual basins, soaking tub and separate shower, all done in tasteful marble. Small (15"?) plasma TV in bathroom as well.
Towels and linens are top-notch, very soft and ultra-comfortable, including the bathrobes and slippers.
The overall feel you get is like you are staying in a high-rise apartment downtown in a major city...very nice.

Cons: Spa and top-floor bar not completed yet (rooms are available up to the 24th floor right now).
We had a problem with our shower, it was apparently leaking into the room below us and they had to come in and do some work in our room.
Elevators aren't working properly, and even when they are fixed, I fear that THEhotel will have the same problem that Mandalay Bay has: too few elevators for too many guests.

One note: I was concerned that it would be a long haul to the casino from the hotel, but it is not bad at all. You come into the casino right next to the sports book and Mama Mia theater.

That's it for now. Unless things go downhill in the next few days, I will definitely stay here again. Very impressed!

galaxyg

Thank you for giving us a review of TheHotel. I'll post a report up when I get back on the 2nd!!

Stagedoor Suzie

I've got a report (w/photos), too.

Enjoy!




[This message has been edited by Stagedoor Suzie (edited Dec 29, 2003).]

Non-NonRev

Thank you for these concise, valuable reports. Do the suites offer high-speed internet access (wired or wireless)? Thanks!

Stagedoor Suzie

Yes. High-speed (Ethernet) access is available for about $10/day at THEhotel.

SS

tixx

I have a membership to The House of Blues Foundation Roomat the top of the Mandalay Bay Hotel thats a great private club up there

wrigleyville

Tixx,

I agree, the Foundation Room is one of the best spots in LV. Although it is losing some of its cache by opening up to the public on Monday nights.

Note that THE hotel is opening a top floor bar/restaurant of its own that will be open to all...and it is a few floors higher than the Foundation Room.

galaxyg

Just came back from a 3 night stay at THEhotel. All I have to say is that I think i've found the hotel I am going to stay at everytime I go to Vegas. Staff was typical - nothing superb or outstanding about service. Was upgraded to a corner suite (have no idea why - maybe its because we arrived late and it was the only thing left). The living room was awesome - 42" plasma tv, plush couch, fax machine/printer (we were on the 7th level), wet bar, and very trendy decor. There was a seperate toilet/sink in the living room area next to the door. The bedroom was awesome. It also had a 42" plasma tv, the bed was heavenly with the down comforter and the pillow top mattress. Since it was a corner room, I believe our bedroom was bigger than usual with more window space. The bathroom was nicely done with the tub and the marble standup shower. I was very impressed with the room.

The only issues I encountered was the hot water in the bathroom. The max temp was at a temperature I usually take a shower in (I usually take really hot showers). But for those who like it extremely hot, you might run into the issue of not being able to get the water temp really hot. Not really sure if this is an issue - I didn't complain since it was okay for me to use. Also, there was noise from construction and we had inquired about it. They discounted our room which was totally not necessary, but I suppose they wanted us to leave on a good note which we did of course (I suppose this is where service came into play and they did a good job of it)! Also, you might run into the problem of getting to THEhotel as many cab drivers and bellhops are not familiar with THEhotel. 5 out of 10 times, we were dropped off at the Mandalay lobby. So make sure to emphasize, THEhotel!

Hope everyone gets a chance to stay at this hotel. Its an awesome hotel and i'm sure its gonna get popular once word gets around!

I assembled an Album with pictures since I know I was curious to see pictures of the room. Thought I'd create one for others to see!

http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4288120893

[This message has been edited by galaxyg (edited Jan 04, 2004).]

jes999

Bedroom in your corner room is definitely larger than the standard. Also has a plasma TV vs a regular 27" tube (maybe it was a 32"). I aggree with the comment about the hot water.

Here is a summery of my comments from an earlier thread.

"I stayed there on the second night they were open (December 18th).
I was told that about 50% of the rooms were ready. There was a little construction noise during the afternoon but nothing too serious. (I was on the 4th floor).

There is a seperate entrance to The Hotel (thru West valet parking entrance) and you DO NOT have to go through the Mnadalay Bay Casino.

Lobby is very SoBe/W ish. Staff was great and rooms were very nice. Three TVs (42" Plasma in Sitting room, 27" regular TV in bedroom and 15" plasma in bathroom), three phones, high quality linens, large bathroom with HUGE tub (no jets), fax/scanner/copier & high speed internet access at desk, two seperate AC/Heating controls, turn down service, very nice (but expensive) mini bar and snack selection.

It's not the Four Seasons, but a good alternative to the standard roooms at ManBay."



[This message has been edited by jes999 (edited Jan 04, 2004).]

jonesing

We stayed at Mandalay Bay that just happened to include a Monday (Dec 29 when it snowed ) and we had NO IDEA about the HOB Foundation Room opening to the public...until we were heading down to the casino when the elevator opened to a HUGE crowd of people! ...? And then a fight broke out (well not much of a fight since the offending loudmouth was quickly subdued and taken away)...that was the only problem we had at Mandalay.

We saw the rooms at THEHotel and I think we all agreed that we're going to try it and Monte Carlo the next time we're in town...unless the new Wynn is open by then.

dbk10

Just returned from a long weekend in Vegas, which just so happens to also have been the first two rounds of the 2004 NCAA March Madness. So, needless to say, both Mandalay Bay and THEHotel were completely sold out as Mandalay has one of the best sportsbooks in town. One thing that my friends and I noted was that with the addition of THEHotel, the sportsbook was more crowded than ever (considering there was an even larger number of people staying in the hotel and the size of the sportsbook didn't change).

That said, I won't describe the room, as that has already been done, but will point out some other things...
1.) a few months after opening, I found that my room was still immaculate and not worn away at all, things still looked very new.
2.) didn't encounter any of the hot water problems, leaky pipes, etc....
3.) yes the hotel was completely sold out, but we never waited long to get an elevator (my group had 4 suites on the 34th floor).
4.) cab line was awesome. THEHotel has it's own little cab station, separate from Mandalay Bay and it never had an extremely long line, so that moved quickly. We also, never ran into any problems with cabs not knowing what THEHotel was (guess it's been open for long enough now) and so we were always taken back there and didn't have to walk through the casino or through Mandalay Bay to get to our rooms.

Over the last two years, Mandalay Bay has become my hotel of choice, and now THEHotel is where I plan to stay for all of my future trips. I had a very enjoyable experience and loved this place.

I wished that there was a separate pool section though. Mandalay Bay has one of the most popular pools on the strip, and again the addition of more guest rooms without increasing the size of everything else, just makes everything else more packed with people.

brendamc

I love the Mandalay Bay (will try THEhotel next time!) except... when there is a Fight on there - the clientele changes totally & it becomes a madhouse. Just a warning - check their fight schedules before booking if you aren't into this.

robertopiano

THEhotel website provides not too much info about this great new hotel. There are only a couple pictures. I have seen the pictures that some other users have taken and that makes me be really glad that I chose THEhotel. However I have read that you can get upgraded to a V SUite and also that Corner Suites are more spacious. How is possible to upgrade to these suites? Do you have to do the $20 tipping to the clerk or is it just a matter of luck? I am taking my mother on a surprise trip to Las Vegas and I want our stay to be fantastic. That's why I would love to get one of the better suites at THEhotel. If you have any suggestions please let me know. Also do you recommend a place to have breakfast at THEhotel or nearby?

blueDC

Me too! We got in late (midnight) and they upgraded us to a corner suite as well. Nice.

I did notice that the check-in/check-out lines can get VERY long. The check-in staff is efficient but there aren't enough of them for a hotel with 1100+ rooms. The Beach was also very crowded (probably because it was 100+ degrees the entire time) so I opted for seclusion at Moorea instead (although there was no peace and quiet to be had with the booming hip-hop music playing continuously).

THEhotel's spa (called THEbathhouse) is AMAZING. The treatments are top-notch (THEhotel was very selective on therapists' skill-level) and the locker area with lounge/plunge pool/steam room/sauna area is stunning. The gym is also great but having to pay to use it if you don't have a spa treatment booked on that day itself is quite a pain; although I can understand the need for a fee seeing that you get to use the awesome facilities in the locker area.

All the cabs we took knew where THEhotel was (you've gotta emphasize "THE") and most of them raved about it. The cab line got out of hand only once during our 3-night stay. We never had to wait more than 15 seconds for the elevators (two banks; one for the bottom-half and one for the top-half). I, too, wished they had their own separate pool. And we didn't get turn-down service on all 3 nights. Breakfast at THEhotel can be had sit-down-waited-on-restaurant style or through a cafe with coffee and pastries. The former was quite reasonable ($12 for American b'fast) and quite good, if I may. The only other place I can think of within the resort is Red, White and Blue in the Mandalay Bay section (a short walk away).

The _Banking_Scot

Hello,

I got an email from The Hotel offering rooms at $149/$159 ( weekday) during August and September. I have a room at the Mandalay Bay for 4 nights at $115 per night average. Is it worth the extra $ for The Hotel ( from the above posts it sounds like the answer could be yes?)

Thanks.

Regards

TBS