This review will be brief, especially compared to my Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island and Four Seasons Orlando reviews. The reason is two-fold.

The Mandarin is pretty damn flawless. I mean, there's almost nothing bad about the place. Normally, even the nicest hotels give me a lot to work with as far as constructive criticism. Here, not so much.

I was only here for about 12 hours. Most of my visits are, at minimum, 24 hours, in which I get a pretty lengthy tour of the property. This time was different: I got in too late on Saturday to take a tour, and the place was dead the Sunday morning I left.

Disclaimers aside, even a 12-hour stay was enough to get a feel for the place, and frankly, it was an absolute gem. I found myself walking around the hotel, doing double (even triple) takes on their design, art, and overall aesthetic. Even the staff left me in awe. There's a reason this hotel is often ranked the #1 in Atlanta.

Virtuoso

The Mandarin Oriental is a Virtuoso preferred supplier.

Your Virtuoso amenities include:

Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
Daily Continental Breakfast for up to two in-room guests
$100 USD Resort or Hotel credit, to be utilized during stay
(not combinable, not valid on room rate, no cash value if not redeemed in full)
Early check-in/late check-out
subject to availability
Complimentary Wi-Fi
for duration of stay

Other Virtuoso properties in the area:

InterContinental Buckhead

The Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead

The St. Regis Atlanta

Location

The Mandarin Oriental is located in Buckhead.

For those not familiar with Atlanta, Buckhead is one of the most affluent communities in America [hence the nickname: Beverly Hills of the South]. I usually recommend staying in Buckhead if you've been to Atlanta before, know the area, or have a car. I can't imagine staying anywhere else, but those coming to Atlanta to tour may prefer Midtown, as there is more in the way of events, the crowd is a bit younger, and it's closer to most of Atlanta's more well-known attractions.

Closest international airports: ATL [0:27]; CLT [3:40].

Specs

The Mandarin is a skyscraper, and at 42 floors, you'd expect a hotel with hundreds upon hundreds of rooms. In fact, the property consists of only 127 rooms, mainly because floors 25-42 are full-time residences.

Lobby

Speaking of the Mandarin's lobby as one continuous room is a mistake. Here, the lobby is two separate entities: check-in/reception, and the lobby/lounge.

Probably my only gripe with the Mandarin's design: the reception area is nothing to write home about. It's not ugly, per say. It's just boring.

That said, the lobby is nothing short of stunning. While the lobby had a minimalist aesthetic, it managed to feel luxurious and warm. The artwork adorning the area was beautiful as well, and really made for quite the spectacle. I think I walked by the lobby's centerpiece a half dozen times just to gawk at the "living wall" of greenery and fresh cut orchids.

Accomodations

The Mandarin has four types of standard rooms, two types of suites, one combined room, and one combined suite.

Standard Rooms:

Deluxe Room -

51sqm / 550sqf
Rates from $455 USD
Mandarin Room -

56sqm / 608sqf
Rates from $505 USD
Mandarin Terrace Room -

63sqm / 681sqf
Rates from $535 USD
Superior Room -

45sqm / 482sqf

Suites:

Premier Terrace Suite -

96sqm / 1,037sqf
Rates from $675 USD
Mandarin Suite -

217sqm / 2,340sqf

Combined Rooms:

Two-bedroom Family Room -

107sqm / 1158sqf
Rates From $705 USD
Combined Suites:

Terrace Two-bedroom Suite -

152sqm / 1,645sqf
Rates From $915 USD

All room categories come with complimentary car service within a two-mile radius. While two miles doesn't sound like much, keep in mind that the Lenox Square Mall is within that radius, as are numerous 5* dining options. If it's raining, or if you have a lot to carry [shopping!], this complimentary perk can be huge.

Room

I had really high expectations upon entering our room, as the lobby set the stage for something grand. The room didn't disappoint.

The space was probably one of the better appointed entry-level rooms I've ever been in. More often than not, you can tell you're in an entry level room almost immediately upon walking in: it's smaller, it feels sparse [or conversely: too crammed], it's missing an accouterment or two, and so on. I've had this scenario dozens of times. Instead, at the Mandarin, we had the complete opposite reaction. We genuinely thought we were upgraded [we weren't].

For starters, the room was palatial [it was over 2x the size of my college apartment, which isn't saying much, but still...]. While it was essentially one continuous space, it felt like there were areas of the room that were completely separated from the rest. Furthermore, the foyer really gave us the sense of a dramatic entrance. Your first image is of a long hallway shooting forward into the room, just like a house. On the right hand side of the foyer is the wet bar, and on the left hand side is a tabletop. I mean literally: it feels like you're coming home. All in all, it felt more like a one-bedroom apartment, instead of a standard hotel room.

Bathroom

The bathroom was probably the most exciting aspect of the whole room.

The bathroom must have been at least 150-200 sf of solid marble. Moreover, the tub, shower, and toilet were all separate elements making for a roomy experience [each with it's own door]. The doubly vanity was a plus, too. Two people could comfortably get ready in the morning without butting into each other.

Dining

The Mandarin has two dining options, Taipan and The Caf and Bar.

Taipan is the Mandarin's version of a bar & lounge. The menu is extremely small - one page - but has quite an impressive selection of local ingredients. I'm almost kicking myself I didn't eat here.

The coolest [for lack of a better word] part of Taipan is being able to host your own BBQ in their garden, bluegrass quartets and all. While on-site catering is nothing new, I like how the Mandarin - which holds itself out as a luxury property - organizes the festivities around BBQ and bluegrass [two things most people wouldn't associate with luxury]. It's a nice touch--for a Southerner, at least. It also keeps the Mandarin from taking itself too seriously. No stuffiness here.

While we did not have any sit-down meals on property, we did order room service from Caf: a tomato bisque soup & green tea. We weren't impressed with either - and communicated our thoughts to the staff. They were quick to remedy the situation, relayed our complaints to the chef, and the Manager reached out to us by email within 24 hours to apologize. I wouldn't hesitate to order room service next time I visit.

Spa & Wellness

The spa's front desk was just as blas as the one downstairs. The Mandarin is a beautiful property, but sheesh - these desks are all business, nothing else. Utilitarian is an understatement.

Otherwise, I thought the spa was pretty fantastic. For starters, I love that the spa opens at 5:30 a.m. One of my "luxury hotel pet peeves" [I can't believe I have that list] is when a spa doesn't open until 10 a.m. or later. Being able to sit in a jacuzzi or get a steam before starting your day is bliss. Furthermore, while I wasn't able to snap a pic, the Mandarin has a sixty foot lap pool. That's enormous for a spa pool.

I will say that the steam room was so loud it scared the .... out of me, and my wife's steam room wasn't functional [she had to use the sauna...poor thing]. Otherwise, again: couldn't be happier with the spa experience.

Overall

It goes without saying: I was very impressed with this property. The hiccups we experienced were so minimal they're hardly worth mentioning. Even when we had a hiccup, the staff was on-top of the situation within a moments notice. The hard product was fantastic [huge rooms & bathrooms, stellar two-story spa, beautiful dining area, etc.]. Soft product was equally impressive. While I wouldn't hesitate to come back here, my next trip to the Atlanta area will be to check out the St. Regis. Only then will we know how the Mandarin stacks up to it's local competition.

Final score: 94.0

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