| rev:text
| - "One of these things is not like the other..." (Sesame Street)
The Strip is a loud, gaudy place. Millions of adults reliving their childhood mix with outlandish casinos, shows, and bars who shout that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Yet, only a few steps from this mad, mad, mad, mad world is a calm, serene high-rise hotel that offers respite from the craziness, unique among the hotels on the Strip - all at a price, of course. Welcome to the Mandarin Oriental.
The hotel sets the ambience during the 15 steps from the Strip, along the driveway next to Pinkberry, so by the time you're in the passenger drop-off area, you're surrounded by elegance with the soundtrack of mellow Chinese music. The lobby is on the 23rd floor, not the 1st, giving you a sense of being far removed from what would give you stress. There is also a sense of exclusivity; you cannot go onto the floors of the hotel, spa, or residences unless you have a card key to do so. The staff goes out of their way to be smiling, pleasant, and helpful. Even the cleaning staff was this way, they were not grumpy souls just doing their job. HR probably makes having a good personality a requirement for every job in this hotel; it shows.
Its most unusual feature: no casino. Not even a one-armed bandit. There is no gambling on site, highly unusual for having a S. Las Vegas Blvd. address, and a relief for non-gamblers like me. The restaurants are upper-class, not the brash and overpriced food with brash and underdressed girl waitresses that are so prevalent on this road.
Strange that it's here instead of Sedona AZ. It's not a place the typical Vegas crowd would stay at; but then, I cringe at Vegas, as does my hunny. But a vendor conference was held here, so I guess I gotta go . . . It was a good venue for this conference of approx. 150 people. No one was distracted by the "scene", the hotel prepared well for us with food and tech setup. I can also see this as a place to unwind and get refreshed. The 8th floor has a pool, jacuzzi, finess center, pilates, massages, and other body treatments that I never heard of that made this meat-and-potatoes outdoors-lover roll his eyes. And it seems that the soundtrack of mellow Chinese music is everywhere . . . well, at least it's not the chickie screeching "I kissed a girl and I liked it".
Had a lot of trouble with billing, though. I went here with my colleague, and her P-card would pay for both of our rooms. They didn't seem to grasp the concept, and kept trying to keep the payments completely separate. She got here before I did, and they (or the vendor?) even canceled my reservation because it was so similar to hers. A lot of run-around on both of our parts to get it set up, which would not have happened at the Hyatt Regency and should not have happened here.
Conclusion: If you need to get away from it all, have a soothing several days to get pampered, and have a lot of extra funds to finance the trip . . . then what are you doing in Las Vegas? Well, if you're here, the Mandarin Oriental is available.
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