We had a lot of fun staying at Mandalay Bay! The rooms are nice and quite large. There are plenty of restaurants (although they are all pretty pricey, but hey, it's Vegas.) The pool area was HUGE and fun to relax at. All the staff we interacted with were really nice and it was super convenient that they held our bags on the last day after we checked out.
I didn't spend any time gambling, but I was happy that the casino didn't smell as strongly of smoke as some of the other casinos.
Things I would recommend trying at Mandalay Bay:
- Definitely go to the pool. There is a lazy river, a wave pool, a (small) hot tub, and a large normal pool. You can order drinks/food and there are plenty of places to sit and soak up some sun.
- The Border Brunch at the Border Grill is expensive but fun. You can have unlimited small plates and I really thought most of them were pretty great. There are more vegetarian options at this restaurant than a lot of the other restaurants we found.
- I didn't get to go to the aquarium while I was in Vegas, but I heard it's lots of fun.
When you check out, you can have your bags held for you at the Bell Desk. They will bring them out and load them in a taxi for you when you leave. It's super convenient. You can also use a kiosk in the lobby to check out so you don't have to wait in line (don't forget to leave your key-card!).
If you have some extra money to blow, the rooms (and overall experience) were a little nicer at The Delano. I would recommend it if you have the $$$.