Check in counter personnel were disinterested and condenscending. We arrived late and they had no smoking suites left. After several minutes of back and forth on the equity of prepaying for a suite and not getting one the first of four nights, they offered a $100 food and beverage credit. We were moved into a suite the next day (after several trips to the desk to check if one was ready throughout the day) and it was beautiful. Not a great view but the room decor and having 2 bathrooms was awesome and maid service was excellent.

My husband and I lost a few hundred playing blackjack the last night and the table dealers ranged from surly to extremely helpful. The concierge was a jerk when my husband asked about transportation on the strip and basically blew him off. So it was really hit or miss as to the level of service you received from any particular individual. The valets were great and were more than happy to help with directions and suggestions.

We ate at RM Seafood, Border Grill and Strip Steak for dinner. All three were excellent and the wait staff were top notch. Polite, friendly and accommodating. The highlight for me was seeing and getting to meet Chef Rick Moonen who stepped into the dining room at RM during our meal. He was so nice and it was amazing to see a celebrity chef who actually works in their own restaurant.

Definitely get a Players Club card to track your bets on slots or blackjack. I registered on-line and we picked up the cards before making our first bet. An added bonus is that the same card can be used at several MGM hotels on the strip so I also used it at the MGM Grand and the Luxor. After three days of betting, I had over 6,000 points and we were comped $400 of food and beverage charged to our room. Again to illustrate the disparity in service, when we picked up our player's cards the gentleman barely spoke to us. I asked about linking our cards and was told he could do that. When we checked the next day we found he hadn't linked them and that was quickly remedied by someone more helpful at the club desk. Additionally, the second gentleman gave us two passes to the buffet (decent food) and told us (against the rules) what the approximate value of our points were.

The irony was that the same gentleman we got when we picked up our cards was working the day we were leaving and of course, I got him. What a turn around in attitude once he saw the points I'd racked up in a few days, he was basically falling all over himself to tell me what a great customer I was and how they would be pleased to comp our entire bill. He went on to say that had we booked directly through Mandalay, our rooms would have been comped as well. No worries since I got an excellent package deal through Delta but it was nice to know they could be pleasant at some point suring our stay. One note, make sure you visit the Player's Club desk immediately before checking out. If you check out first, they will do nothing for you as far as comps. The helpful gentleman on Day 2 alerted us to this fact and I was very grateful as it turned out being worth $400 for us.

Overall, we liked TheHotel and would probably stay again. Just be prepared for inconsistent levels of service. The clientele ranged from partiers in their early 20's to older, married couples looking for a more sedate vacation. In comparison, we went to MGM Grand to see Ka (excellent!) and it was a zoo. It seemed everyone there was in party mode and there was a plethora of hooker heals, barely there dresses and lots of young, drunk guys drooling over the throngs of girls cruising the casino. Compared to the Luxor and MGM Grand, Mandalay's casino is much larger and nicer as well. If you can get past some of the bad service and attitudes, this is a nice place to stay and there were a lot of people who did provide excellent service and made our anniversary memorable.