LV Experts: Compare/Contrast the Mirage and Mandalay
 

We are planning a short trip over the Labor day weekend. Have never visited Las Vegas but these two hotels caught our eye-mainly due to the pool area descriptions. Would love to read others impressions of the amenities of these two hotels. Thank-you in adavance.

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We have stayed at both. Do you have children? If so, between the two choices I think you'd prefer The Mirage, as it is centrally located, (next to Treasure Island which is probably the most kid-friendly) and within walking distance to much of the strip. <BR> <BR>(BTW, a few years ago we "starred" in another of our vacation movies, "Vegas Vacation", which took place at The Mirage! Check it out for some great footage of the place - and quite a few laughs! :) :) :) <BR> <BR>Be sure to tour the Ethel M Chocolate Factory (free) and wander through their adjoining Cactus Garden - over 200 species from around the world.

I've stayed at the Mirage and the pool is wonderful. The Mirage in general in a great place. If I was to jest keep going on you would be reading for days! But, and there is always a but, according to LasVegas.com Best of 2000 poll they prefer Mandaly Bay. The web-site polls locals and tourists, and then they give there own opinion. Hope you have a great time and see you there since I will be at the Rio!

I've stayed at the Mirage several times and MB once. MB is a nicer hotel in all respects. Its one downside is that it's farther south from the central portion of the strip. But if you compare pools, MB wins by a looong shot. Not that Mirage's isn't a great pool, but MB features its pools. They're why many people stay there in the first place. Rooms are nicer. Baths better. Service better. restaurants better. Casino more comfortable IMO but some like the tree effects in Mirage. Mirage was the cream of LV when it opened. Its clientele is now more mainstream as higher quality competition has opened. You won't be disappointed either way, but MB is much more of a destination hotel.

You definitely would enjoy either one! We have stayed at most of the Vegas resorts and enjoy each one for different reasons. MB might have a slightly better pool area, but not by much, so the other factors of the Mirage may out-weigh the slight pool advantage. The Mirage is much more centrally located and therefore much easier to use as a home base. At MB, we had to take a cab almost everywhere we went. <BR> <BR>IMHO, the casinos are ALL the same - but then they aren't the reason dh and I like Vegas. Check the rates - I suspect they'll be similar. Whatever you choose, you will have great time! Remember your sunscreen!

I would add Bellagio to your choices of places to stay if you're looking for special pools. Added advantage is that it is more centrally located (as is Mirage). <BR> <BR>However, distance is a relative thing. The distance btwn MB and Mirage is not all that far if they were located in NYC. However, bc of the traffic and lack of pedestrian-friendly sidewalks (yes sidewalks are there in Las Vegas, but they mostly encourage you to enter the casinos, wonder why :) ) it seems to take a lot longer to walk the distance. <BR> <BR>We were just in LV two weeks ago, and stayed at Bellagio and MGM, and visited MB, Mirage, and Venetian. Restaurants better at MB (Aureole is fabulous, go there if you like wine and food), pools looked great at MB (especially the beach and wave pool, plus the shark reef is cool to visit--sharks swimming overhead). Bellagio and Venetian also beautiful (atmosphere, shops.) Mirage seemed more like MGM to me, just ho-hum. Bellagio actually quite reasonable for what we got -- large room, beautiful bath that was larger than most hotel rooms. We got a good rate ($139 thru B's internet). MGM was way cheaper ($69, but that was thru my parents, who stay there a lot, so they get lots of comps.) The rate that I could have gotten (no comps) for MGM was $99 or so, so for the extra $40, I would definitely go for Bellagio or Venetian. <BR> <BR>Oh, and another thing if you're worried about location (which you really shouldn't be, since MB IS on the strip), taxi rides are easy and relatively cheap. Bc it was hot and bc of above-mentioned sidewalk issue, we taxied btwn Bellagio and MB and it cost us a grand total of $5.

My fave pools in Vegas are at Caesar's (but no kids there) and Flamingo. <BR> <BR>Mirage's pool falls short of these--way too crowded and nothing special. <BR> <BR>I have only seen MB pool walking by, and it looked awesome, but lots of teens and young 20-somethings there.

Can I throw another choice into the ring? We love Treasure Island. It's centrally located, next to the Mirage, has great pool area, good food and just the right size for us. IMHO, Mandalay is just TOO much of EVERYTHING. The pools are great but again, TOO, TOO many people. Just too massive, overwhelming and IMHO, not visitor-friendly. Again, IMHO - I know it's popular with the masses so please don't slam me - JMHO, remember? We just like the feeling of smaller (ha ha, none of them are small!) and with kids, the central location IS better. Cheap taxi or not, it's fun to explore on foot and easy to do at TI or Mirage.

A post script: We checked out the Venetian as it had been highly recommended and were very disappointed. While most of it is quite elaborate, the pool was very small for a resort that size. Also, like Mandalay, it is not as centrally located. JMHO!

Sandy there's no way you can possibly have actually toured the pool areas of the Mirage AND Mandalay Bay and say that there's not much difference. <BR>Like saying a Lexus isn't much better than a Suzuki. <BR>Mandalay won't allow visitors to tour their pools, so I suspect your comments are made from distant glances only.

To Barry: There was a very EASY way that we were able to see the pools: WE STAYED THERE! I agreed that there is a difference, but IMO, it isn't enough to make up for the close proximity of The Mirage on the Center Strip. As in many things, it's a personal opinion. <BR> <BR>Perhaps in the future, maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge, especially when we don't know what the heck you're talking about!!!!! <BR> <BR>

We just got back and stayed at both TI and Paris but checked out most of the others. What bugged me a bit about Mirage was it was like a major tourist attraction...yes, it has this lovely rainforest, but you hardly see it clammering through all the tourists stopping to take pictures...quite crowded. the pool area here was nice. Caesars pool area was far superior,classier and, of course, in a good location but I know here that some rooms in specific towers are nicer than others. Mandalay is at the far end of the strip but very accessible to all the other properties and getting a taxi is easy. It is superior to Mirage, I feel...the restaurants are very unique, it has quite a reasonable and good buffet. Pool area is the best in Vegas from what I have seen and the rooms are quite spacey. Bellagio would also be worth checking out. Hope this helps a bit! Oh, yes, the people at www.lvol.com discussion board are experts at Vegas!! Try them!!

So Anne Marie, if you didn't stay at Mandalay Bay, how did YOU see the pool? <BR>Just kidding, I really couldn't care less.