When we visited Las Vegas a few months ago with the kids we wanted to stay somewhere with an epic pool. Of course, the first place that comes to my mind is the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Mike and I had stayed there a few years before. We knew the kids would have a blast enjoying all the water amenities. Today I’m sharing with you our honest Mandalay Bay review. Do we recommend it or not? Keep reading to find out!

our family’s review of the Mandalay Bay

As I mentioned, the pool was definitely the major draw of Mandalay Bay for us. But when I was trying to decide where to stay for our kid’s very first visit to Las Vegas there were definitely other factors too. In our Mandalay Bay review I’ll cover some of the other things that were important to us.

location of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino

Mandalay Bay is located at the south end of Las Vegas Blvd.–aka. the Strip. It is connected to Luxor and Excalibur both by interior walkways and a tram (always check the website for current operating hours). This makes it very easy to explore some of the other hotels nearby if you’ve got little ones with you. It is also less than a mile to the famous “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign. Although you’re a little bit further from some of the hotels like Bellagio and Mirage, you do have convenient access to MGM Grand and New York, New York.

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Distance from Mandalay Bay to:

• Welcome to Las Vegas sign, .75 miles
• Coca-Cola Store, 1 mile
• Harry Reid International Airport, 2.5 miles
• Las Vegas North Premium Outlets, 6.8 miles
• Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, 17.5 miles
• Hoover Dam, 36 miles

room and suite options

We were in two connecting Two Queen rooms on this stay. The rooms at Mandalay Bay are very spacious and even our “non Strip view” room actually had a great view that my kids were thrilled with! I also like that there is plenty of storage with 2 closets and a large dresser. The bathrooms are a generous size too and feature a separate soaking tub and shower so it’s easy to bathe multiple kids at once.

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Really my only “complaint” has to do with the mini fridge and the snacks in the room. When you arrive your room will be stocked with water bottles, snacks, and a mini fridge that is completely full. You can not use the mini fridge for your own items. In fact, the fridges are weight sensored so even if things are moved around in there you might get charged. We knew that ahead of time so we were prepared and told our kids not to touch anything, but it was still frustrating. Access to a fridge would have really come in handy for us.

fun amenities offered

The highlight of Mandalay Bay is definitely the pool area. Called the Mandalay Bay Beach it features multiple pools and hot tubs, a lazy river, a wave pool, and cabanas to rent spread across 11 acres. The normal hours are 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. You will want to get there early during the busy season. We were there during Spring Break and had a hard time finding lounge chairs next to each other when we showed up around 11:30. We had considered getting a cabana to avoid this issue, but the fee is so high we couldn’t justify it.

At Mandalay Bay Beach you can bring your own inner tube as long as it is under 48″. They even have air pumps there you can fill them with! Otherwise it is $20 to buy an inner tube there. Definitely save your money and bring you own–we bought ours from Target before the trip for $5! The lazy river was also heated and my kids had a blast floating around until a windstorm forced us inside. Also note that the wave pool has a 48″ height requirement which means that my two littlest couldn’t go in. Be prepared so no one in your family is disappointed!

other fun at Mandalay Bay

Mandalay Bay also offers the Shark Reef exhibit and the Michael Jackson One show by Cirque du Soleil. Since we didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy the hotel and our kids are younger we decided not to do either of these activities on this trip.

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Bottom line– We did love our stay and would definitely recommend Mandalay Bay. We reserved our rooms months beforehand and were able to find a decent deal on hotels.com. If you’re going at a time of year when you can utilize the pool I would say book without hesitation. If the pool is not something that appeals to you, then think about booking elsewhere. Also, be aware that there is an extra resort fee and that the walk from parking to your room is a long one.

Have you ever stayed at the Mandalay Bay? Do you have a favorite place to stay on the Las Vegas Strip?