We just got back home and I wanted to share my reviews of our recent trip to Vegas.
As a whole, Vegas mid August is HOT. I know, I know, DUH, but if you’re not acclimated to 100+ degree weather daily, it’s an experience.
We’re not the gambling sort, so Vegas for us is a place to go for great food and good shows without a flight all the way to NY.
Hotel:
Mandalay Bay Resort
We stayed at the Mandalay Bay resort. The rooms were very nice, spacious and contemporary. There is internet connectivity in every room, but a $12 daily fee. Their landline was solid, but their wireless dropped the signal every 3 minutes.
We spent most of our day sitting on a lounger, taking naps by the pool and frolicking in the water.
The pools were very cool. One of them is a wave pool which was a cool experience. They also had a “lazy rover” which has a slow current that will let you take the scenic floating tour.
The Mandalay has just about everything you need: great places to eat, shopping center, shark reef aquarium, pools, the works. We left the resort just twice in the three days we were there.
The minuses: it was VERY crowded. I think we made a mistake by going right before school got in. Checking in was a nightmare. We spent maybe 20 min in line to check into our room. The pools were also very over-crowded. If you didn’t get there by 10, the chances of finding a lounge chair were slim.
Food:
Amazing!!! Vegas is an awesome place for dining. It’s expensive, but man is it good. We had small items in the morning (muffin, etc. from Starbucks) and ate by the pool at lunch (wraps, burgers, etc). The dinners were our treat.
Border Grill @ the Mandalay Bay.
This little Mexican cantina offers a new twist on Mexican faire. It’s brought to you by the ladies of Two Hot Tamales on the Food Network.
I thought this place had awesome food. Shane didn’t. I ordered a Sautéed Rock Shrimp. DH ordered the Fish Tacos. My meal was amazing, DH’s was just so – so. We were seated promptly, and the drinks were very tasty (mojito, yum), but the service was a bit slow. It’s casual dining, although dressing up isn’t out of place either.
China Grill @ the Mandalay Bay.
OK, the food isn’t exactly authentic Chinese, and Chinese and Grill don’t seem to go together in the same sentence, but if you have a chance to go here, DO!!! Food is so good, but expensive.
We ordered:
- Crab cakes Tomatillo-pineapple salsa and three Mustard-sake sauce
- Grilled garlic shrimp black fettuccini & red curry coconut sauce
- Sweet soy marinated skirt steak Wok, sauteed mein noodles & tempura shitake mushrooms
and each was amazing.
Great service, and really funky decor. The lighting was a little dim, but if you don’t need exteremely close examination of your food, it won’t be a big deal. I recommend calling ahead for a reservation. We were seated right away. The food is meant to be shared so each entre is good to split.
Fiamma @ MGM Grand
Excellent Italian place. Really great service. Again, pricey, but well worth it! We had
- Bufala Mozzarella Heirloom Tomatoes Appetizer
- Calamari Appetizer
- Sautéed Lobster Gnochi
- Prosciutto, Peas, Truffle Butter and Reggiano Fussili
Each was excellent!
Entertainment:
We didn’t do too much during our vacation. We saw a Cirque show and went to see some animals.
Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat @ the Mirage
This is a fun place to spend an hour. You won’t need much more than that really. Watching the dolphins is perhaps the thing you’ll spend the most time doing. They don’t have shows, but you can watch trainers as they interact with the animals.
The secret garden is where many of Sigfried and Roy’s cats live. You’ll see the White Bengal Tigers, lions, the works. It’s a zoo in a smaller space.
Shark Reef @ Mandalay Bay
If you like sharks, this is a the place for you. They had 5-6 different shark types accross a number of aquariums. The decor is pretty cool — there’s a sunken ship portion where you feel that you’re at the hull of a ship long sunk under water with dozens of sharks and other predators swimming all around you. They also have a great display of tropical fish. If you’ve been to the Monterey aquarium, this place won’t feel as impressive, but in the grand scheme of things it’s pretty cool!
KA by Cirque du Soleil @ MGM Grand
The show is very, very cool. As far as acrobatics go, not the most impressive I’ve seen from Cirque, but the set was remarkable. They have a 50′x25′ stage that rotates 360 degrees so some of the acts were completely vertical. Very, very cool!
So that’s my review, for those looking to make a trip of your own at some point.
