Stay Report: Mandalay Bay (Las Vegas, NV - October 2020)

Stay Report: Mandalay Bay Las Vegas 

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My friends and I had planned on spending time in Vegas back in December 2019; then the pandemic hit and every plan everyone made went by the waste side.  In September 2020, it looked like Las Vegas was opening back up a little so decided to move forward with my trip.  It had been over 10+ years since I had last been Vegas so I did not know the best place to stay, location, etc.  My friend had been to Vegas many times and enjoyed staying the Four Seasons, which is on the top 4 floor of the Mandalay Bay; so I decided to stay at the Mandalay Bay so that way we could all just meet in the lobby if we wanted to go anywhere.  It was easy to book the room on the Mandalay Bay website, but the prices kept changing so I constantly had to check back and forth to get the best rate; luckily all the rates booked were able to be cancelled and refunded as all rooms required a deposit (which they did charge to the credit card at the time of the booking).  Each rate included access a resort fee, which included certain perks which I will detail below.  It was not easy to modify or manage the booking online, and any changes needed to be made by calling the hotel, which required pushing too many buttons and being on hold for too long. 

The hotel is located at the end of the strip and there is a grand entrance - there are two entrances, one to

the casino and one to the resort.  Also, there are two hotels connected to the resort - the Mandalay Bay and the Delano (as well as the Four Seasons); its one big maze, not a lot of signage and lots of confusion.  The check-in desks were located at the end of the lobby and there was long roped off area in which to line-up for the check-in desks – like a check-in line at the airport.  The type of service received at check-in depended on which representative you received – some were good at providing details while others only provided the basic information; at check-in I only received the basic information but at check-out I received all the information, some of which would’ve been helpful at the beginning.  I checked, received the key, and proceeded to my room.  Regarding Covid-19 protocols, there were markers placed on the floor to remind guests to social distance while in line, but this was not enforced and it was left up to each individual to their discretion.  There were also masks and sanitizers stations placed each door entryway.

There were different elevator bays depending on which floor your room was located, and each bay had about 8 different elevators so in theory it would be easy to social distance given there is a lot of option; however, again it was left upto the individual to make this decision as the hotel did not provide any guidance or signage regarding this fact.  My room was on the 11^th floor and as you get in, the room was bigger than I expected.  As you walk inside the door, you walk down a mini-hallway to get to the room.  The room has two beds against the right-side of the wall and along the left was a desk connected to a chest with drawers on the bottom, coffee-maker and paid bottle water on top, and then a mini-bar below (which was weight sensitive so even if you picked it up and put it back down, it automatically charged to the room).  Against the opposite wall were the two beds which were large, comfortable and provided a good night’s sleep; again the bed and sleep quality was better than I expected.  In the middle was a nightstand with a lamp and outlets and there were outlets on either side of the beds (which was convenient.  One wall was covered with windows which allowed for lots of light to come inside – and our view was of the airport, which was great for an aviation lover as you could see (but not hear) planes take off all day.  The entrance to bathroom was located next to the beds, and there were individual closets on either side of the bathroom entrance.  The bathroom was huge, and again, bigger and better than I expected.  There were double sinks with lots of counter space, a full jacuzzi tub, a shower, and a covered toilet.  There were also plenty of toiletries including soap, lotion, shampoo, conditioner and towels and if you requested more tons were provided.  Overall, it was a spacious and comfortable hotel room with plenty of room to move and rest.

As it was a resort, there were plenty of amenities for guests to enjoy including many pools, business

center, shows, an aquarium, restaurants, casinos, spas and a man-made beach inside the resort.  Because of the 'resort' status, the hotel included a daily resort fee which covered internet, local calls and other non-essential items; to me, and reviewing what was part of the fee, it was a fee that was designed to gain more money from the guests as it covered nothing and guests were still being charged for other items.  The resort did include complimentary wifi, but the wifi was open to everyone so there was no need for a login so, again, not sure what the fee was good for?  The resort did include many pools, a man-made beach, and lots of cabanas for guests to enjoy (these were not included and had to be paid for).  Because of the pandemic, certain cabanas and chairs were not utilized and staff went around asking guests who were not in the pool to keep their masks on - so that was a pleasant point.

Overall, it was a mixed experience at Mandalay Bay.  The rooms were nice, spacious and comfortable so that was on the plus side; there were also many amenities for the guests to enjoy so that was also positive; negative was that customer service was not great, the resort fee seemed inconsequential, and there was a lack of signage and direction (it was not well laid out).  The size of Mandalay Bay was large and if comparing it to a Disney Resort or a resort in the Caribbean, it was less organized and less friendly - so why go to Vegas if I could get the same thing elsewhere?

Stay Report: IP Casino Resort, Hotel, and Spa (Biloxi, MS - July 2015)

Stay Report: IP Casino Resort, Hotel, and Spa
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We were having a meeting at the IP Casino Resort so I got to experience the meeting rooms plus the hotel.  There are many casino + hotels in the Gulfport/Biloxi area and they range in price and quality.  Overall, the meeting rooms were nice and the hotel room was decent but both were overpowered by the strong smoking smell that is everywhere.  The meeting rooms are located on the 3rd floor - above the gambling hall.  There are a lot of meeting rooms so there is plenty of space and they provide really good food (better than other hotels) but to access the meeting rooms you have to go through the casino and the smoking smell is EXTREMELY strong in the meeting room area.  

photo courtesy of Boyd Gaming

There is a parking garage connected to the casino and from the garage you walk through the casino to the hotel tower.  The check-in desks are along one side of the wall, with one side for regular guests and the other side for premium members.  The side with the regular guests always seemed to have a line and the service could've been faster.  After check-in, I took the elevator to the room.  There are two sets of elevators depending on which floor you go to; apparently more people requested staying on the lower floors and thus those elevators were a bit slower while the elevators for the higher floors were pretty quick.  

Even though the hotel rooms are not above the casino (they are in the tower next to it), you could still smell smoke in the rooms.  My room was on the 20th floor and the smoke smell was there but was not overpowering; some of my colleagues had rooms on lower floors and they said the smell in their rooms was overpowering.  The rooms themselves were nice and large, with a good amount of space.  As you entered the room, on left was the bathroom while on the right was a closet and storage area.  The bathroom was a decent size and contained a shower, a toilet, a sink, as well as toiletries (the toiletries needed to be updated).  The closet contained a safe, storage facility, as well as an iron and ironing board.  Further into the room, on right was a luggage rack followed by a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top.  Next to the chest was a desk with phone and note pad plus pen.  On the other side was a chair + foot lounge and the bed with two side tables.  The bed was a good size, was decently comfortable, and provided for an average night's sleep (it wasn't the best bed, but definitely not the worst bed either).  There was also a large window in the room which let in nice natural light, and in front of the room was a sitting table with two chairs (this to me was not needed in the room).  Overall, it was a nice and spacious room with good facilities.    

photo courtesy of Boyd Gaming

The casino built up a lot of amenities besides gambling for the guest including complimentary wifi, a pool, a fitness center, and a spa.  The wifi is complimentary and the speed is pretty good (you can watch youtube videos).  The pool, fitness center, and spa were all located on the top floor of the hotel.  I wanted to try the fitness center, but it was only open until 8pm and I was in meetings (including dinner meetings) until 9p; I am not sure why the fitness center was not open 24hrs like other hotels as that would've been more convenient.  Another amenity the hotel provides is complimentary bottles of water.  These are provided in the room and can also be requested from housekeeping, and this additional complimentary item adds a nice touch.

Overall, the IP Casino Hotel provided a nice room that was spacious and comfortable and had good amenities
for the guests.  The Casino also provided good food for the meeting, in terms of variety and flavor; there were a variety of healthy and other options available so most diets were covered.  The only negative thing, and its a strong negative, was the smell which was very strong and overpowering.  The smell radiated throughout the hotel and permeated the meeting hall, the chairs, and eventually into your clothes. 

Stay Report: Dead Sea Marriott Resort & Spa (Jordan - January 2012)

Stay Report: Dead Sea Marriott Resort & Spa
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I was travelling through Jordan and was going to stop at the Dead Sea.  There are many hotels in the area, but I am a Marriott Rewards member and had accrued enough points to have a couple of free nights and the Dead Sea Marriott Resort had availability so booked it.  Overall, the Resort is amazing and very was worth every relaxing moment.

The resort is located on the same street as many other resorts, such as the Movenpick, so the location is well-known.  The lobby is very large and open, with check-in desks on the left-hand side and a lounge/sitting area in the middle.  There are large windows straight ahead that provide spectacular views of the Dead Sea.  I checked in, received my key, and proceeded to my room.  The customer service at the hotel was very nice so check-in was quick.

The rooms at the resort are very open, spacious, and comfortable with EXTREMELY comfortable

beds.  As you enter, on the right-side are the closets with storage space as well as a safe. On left was the bathroom with standard facilities including a sink, a toilet, and bathtub as well as toiletries.  The bathroom was spacious and provided the facilities needed.  As you progressed further into the room, on the right-side of the wall was an open area to put your luggage followed by a chests with drawers on the bottom and the TV on top.  Next to the chest was the desk, which looked out onto the window.  Across the left-side wall were the two double beds and a nightstand in between.  The beds were very comfortable and relaxing, and they provided a really good night’s sleep.  The beds were not only nice feature of the room, as the room also had a balcony that faced the courtyard.  Standing outside, you could look over the resort and the many pools.

The Resort itself was a good size and had a variety of facilities available for the guests.  There were multiple pools – some for adults, some for kids, and some for families.  The pools are accessed either directly outside the lobby (on the second floor) or via the first floor with direct access to the restaurant.  The variety of pools meant that you always had access to the pools, and this was nice.  In addition to the pools, the resort also includes a really nice spa and some spa services are included in the room rate -- sauna, steam room, indoor pool, jacuzzi, and other such amenities.  Additional spa services can be booked and paid for separately – I tried the massage and it was very good, so well worth it. 

In addition to the multiple pools, the resort also had multiple restaurants to choose from.  On the first floor of the hotel, with direct access from the pool, was the hotel’s main restaurant which provided the morning breakfast buffet and nightly dinner specials.  In addition to these restaurant, in the pool area there were 2 additional restaurants – a sports bar restaurant with burgers and wings, slow service but good food; and a lounge by the pool, also very slow service but decent food.  

While the Resort provided some nice facilities, the main facility most guests came here for was the Dead Sea.  There is direct access from the hotel to the Dead Sea with a private beach and private entrance for their guests.  The private beach had access to the mud, which a lot of guests were applying to their bodies, as well as an area to go into the Dead Sea (beware of the salt, especially for cuts and bruises).

Overall, I was very impressed and enjoyed the Dead Sea Marriott Resort & Spa.  There were many positives including the spacious rooms, the good customer service, and the number of facilities provided to the guests.  The only negative was the slow service in the restaurant (we went to the same restaurant in the Marriott Amman and found the same slow service so that is something that should be addressed) but other than that, a great and relaxing stay at the Marriott!

Stay Report: Melia Caribe Tropical (Punta Cana, DR - December 2016)

Stay Report: Melia Caribe Tropical (Punta Cana, DR)
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My family and I recently traveled to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.  We were staying there for the holidays and decided to try the all-inclusive Melia Caribe Tropical.  The hotel is operated by the Melia Hotels International, based out of Spain.  They operate a variety of hotels throughout the world, mostly resorts catering to large groups and holiday-makers.  This was my first time staying at a Melia property and my first time at an all-inclusive so I was not sure what to expect.  Here are my impressions.

Overall:  Overall the property is very large and has a lot to offer with a variety of restaurants included.  The hotel has various levels - there is the main level for all guests; there is a separate level called 'The Level' which is adults-only and has its own pool, restaurant, and rooms; and then there is ClubMelia which has its own perks.  We stayed in the general area which also had its own pool, restaurants, and rooms.   

The pool was large enough that it never felt crowded and both chairs and towels were always available.  The chairs were on a first come basis, and many people got there in the morning and put their towel down to claim their chair for the entire day.  The property also included access to the beach - access to beach included beach chairs of which there were plenty.  The Level/Club guests had their own access to the beach with their own chairs.  The beach was nice, some parts had a bit too much seaweed but overall it was a nice beach with plenty of access.  The rooms are spacious and each come with a balcony, a nice perk.  The service definitely needs improvement though.  

Rooms: The rooms were spacious and comfortable enough.  We had two rooms and each room was laid out the same.  As you entered, there was a closet on your right - the closet contained shelves and hangers and it had a safe.  On the left was the full-size bathroom with a toilet, a bidet, a wide sink, a standing shower, and blow dryer.  As you came inside the room, on left were the two beds with a nightstand in the middle and on the opposite side was a stand with drawers underneath and a TV and coffee/tea maker on top.  The drawers underneath contained a fridge which was stocked with free water, soft drinks, and beer.  Further along in the room was a sitting area with two chairs on one side a lounge - this lounge was big enough for a kid or small person to sleep in.  Beyond that was the balcony with two chairs.  

The beds were comfortable but they were definitely not the double beds as advertised - I

would say they were a Twin XL and only one person could fit on them.  The only issues with the room was the service - the beds were made up but the amenities in the room nor in the bathroom were replenished.  Also, the service came at various hours, sometimes at 5p and sometimes at 8am.  It was on request that items would be restocked.

Food:  The hotel is an all-inclusive so all food and drink are included in the hotel price.  The hotel offers a range of restaurants from buffet to Mediterranean, Dominican, and Mexican.  Overall, the quality of food is average - its not gourmet but decent enough.  There is enough variety to please most palates. We ate at the Level restaurant one night and it was similar food but just presented in a better fashion.  Drinks were also complimentary including soft drinks, beer, and house wine.  Overall, the variety of food and drinks included was more than I was expecting

Entertainment:  There is a variety of entertainment available at the hotel.  They have a casino, a kids park, pools, gym, and the beach.  They also have a nightly dance show which is very interesting and got better each night.  

The hotel also offers a gym and spa.  The gym was smaller than I expected - it could fit 10-20 people max - but it had the basic equipment for a nice workout.  A lot of guests choose to run/walk around the large property as that also provided some good exercise.  The hotel did offer aerobic classes - both in the gym and the pool.    

The hotel also has free wifi throughout the property.  This is definitely a nice perk as you are connected throughout your trip.  The wifi was stronger near the longer (for picture posts) but was decent enough speed at the pool and beach area for basic email and connections.  

Service: This is an area where the hotel is definitely lacking.  There was chaos at check-in but we finally managed to check-in.  Even though I had already checked-in online, I still had to go through the process all over again so the online checkin was worthless.  We had asked for one king-size bed room and one with 2 beds, but that was not available so we asked for two rooms close to each other.  Our check-in attendant did not know the layout of the hotel and gave us rooms and opposite ends of the building so we had to go back and adjust our rooms and tell them which rooms we wanted.  The hotel operates trains to get from the main lobby to the beach/pool and room area.  There are 3 different lines and the trains are supposed to run every 10-15 minutes.  We one time waited for over 20 minutes for a train and nothing showed up.  The train system definitely needs to be worked on as it currently does not work.

As I said earlier, the service for the rooms also needed improvement. The attendants came a variety of hours and were good at replenishing the fridge, but only replenished the tea and bathroom amenities when requested. 

Checkout was equally as chaotic and there were some very rude attendants who were arguing with the guests.  They definitely need to fix their check-in and check-out procedures.  There was one positive aspect to the service - Alber Batista, from Guest Services, called to find out who our stay was and when I let him know of the issues, he apologized and provided extra assistance and compensation.  He also followed up the next day to ensure everything was ok, which was especially appreciated.

Conclusion:  Overall, it was an average stay.  Positives included the large-size of the property so there was plenty of room at the pool and beach; the all-inclusive covered a lot more food and drink than I expected; and there was enough to do at the property not to get bored for at least 5 days.  The negatives were the service at check-in, check-out, and room attendants