MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas > Reviews > MGM Grand Hotel - Las Vegas

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Excellent
Quality of Rooms	Excellent
Standard of Service	Good
Quality of Facilities	Excellent

Advantages:	4/5 star, great price, good gambling and atmosphere
Disadvantages:	The Lion enclosure

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

My husband and I have just gotten back from a trip to Las Vegas and chose the MGM hotel to stay at so this forms my review.

The MGM is located right on the strip (Las Vegas Boulevard) right by Tropicana Avenue so fairly near one end of the strip. It is located close to the New York New York hotel and there is actually a walkway which joins the two hotels to give you easy access to both.

The hotel in its present form was opened at the end of 1993. Most of the hotels in Las Vegas have a certain them that they like to promote through each of their casinos such at NY NY, Paris, The Venetian etc. The MGM in my opinion is not as heavily themed as the other hotels but follows along the lines of old Hollywood/California movies stars etc with the feature of the MGM lion and movie star photos in the bedrooms. When the MGM first opened it had a Wizard of Oz theme, the green outside meant to look like the Emerald city and various attractions in this mould.

There is a big statue of the MGM lion (Leo) outside of the hotel in gold which is a really bold, imposing statue and looks great. Apparently the entrance of the hotel used to be reached through the mouth of a lion but Chinese gamblers found this to be bad luck and avoided the casino so the entrance was changed.

We booked our room in England through the MGM official website. It was very easy to navigate. We had to use a credit card and they took one nights deposit from us (the rest was paid on check out of the hotel) but this all went smoothly. We stayed for three nights, Fri, Sat, Sun (which are sometimes more expensive than a weekday) and it cost us $520, approximately £260 which in my opinion for a 4/5 star hotel is really good value.
www.mgmgrand.com

The nice thing about most of the hotels in Las Vegas is that the parking is free. We drove there and found our way to the MGM hotel where the car park was clearly signposted. We then made our way to the lobby of the hotel which as extremely impressive. You have to remember than most of the hotels in Vegas are huge and this one is no exception. The main hotel has 5,044 rooms as well as different sections of the hotel that house nicer suites, lofts and villas.

The lobby had more than 20 people on reception so check in was quick and easy. The most impressive thing was the flower displays, all real and hundreds and hundreds of roses.

One thing I do not like about the MGM is that is features a lion enclosure. It is much like an exhibit at the zoo, it has two lions who inhabit it (aparently they live in a ranch off the strip so are not there all the time) and inside is decorated with false rocks and lots of vegetation to make it look like the jungle. It is surrounded by clear walls and a clear ceiling so visitors can see the lions but the space is so so small that it can't be nice for the lions. Every time we walked past they just seemed to be lying there not doing anything and was quite sad to see.

Our rooms was nice and spacious. We had a queen bed that was big and the room was nice and clean. We had a view of the airport which was quite interesting to see. There were planes arriving all the time! The room as cleaned everyday and we could have fresh towels if we wished.

In my opinion the best part of the MGM are the swimming pools. The MGM actually has 5 swimming pools in total. The Grand Pool complex features these pools and 3 whirlpools in a what they call on their website, "an exotic paradise with lush foliage, bridges, fountains and waterfalls." The section we mostly went into had a lazy river which you could just sit in and work your way around the pool. The pools to me are pretty much an extension of a nightclub! There are lots of gorgeous people in eye popping bikinis all strutting their stuff trying to look the best. It is actually extremely fun if you are a people watcher. The pool allows drinks in the water so they are a ton of people with Bud lights, carrying on the party outside. You can order drinks from girls who come around to your sun lounger and either pay cash or charge the drinks to your room. The pools get amazingly busy so if you want a sun lounger, get there early. You can rent cabanas also and need to do this in advance.

They have a new attraction called the Wet Republic Ultra Pool which is the first ever ultra pool in Las Vegas. Basically it is being marketed as an entertainment venue where DJ's play music and famous people entertain you while you sit back in cool chaise loungers, daybeds and sip cocktails.

The hotel is home to a host of entertainment based options. The Cirque du Soleil show KA is performed at the MGM and I believe tickets start around $60. Of course there are lots of gambling options available. On the Sunday night we found a $5 per hand Black Jack table but most of the time the tables started at $10 per hand. We found the staff at the tables very helpful unlike some of the casinos I have been to. I am quite familiar with Black Jack but others on my table that night weren't and the croupiers were giving advice to them and making it quite fun to play. I am not as familiar with Craps but the table staff were advising us how to bet and what different things meant which was nice. I guess it benefits the hotel if they do this and guests are more inclined to play but I did think it was a nice touch.

The hotel has a number of restaurants, the Rainforest Café being a nice friendly one which caters for children. The hotel also has a buffet restaurant with food around $20 per person. There are a number of small cafes too where you can grab a quick bite and also a Starbucks, invaluable for that early morning (or afternoon by the time you stumble in the night before) pickup.

All in all, a great hotel which offers value for money, a great experience and one I would definitely visit again.