The Mandarin Oriental (MO) is a hotel that is part of the City Center on the Las Vegas Strip. We recently stayed here as a family. In all honesty, I don't think we would have picked this hotel as a traveling family if we had gone off of research of things for kids to do. However, TravelMan had a conference; this hotel was selected for us.
This Vegas hotel has pros and cons for a family with children. Yet, overall, the experience was wonderful.
Pros:
No casino at check-in or lobby area
Super luxurious, which we like, even with kids in tow
Rooms are very quiet
Great views of strip, especially great for seeing lights at night
Awesome location on the strip & don't forget the CVS is right there too. This was a lifesaver for a family who needed BandAids in a moment's notice and got to the pool one day and realized we forgot to pack goggles. Both very simple fixes with a quick walk to CVS.
Spacious room with good nook for luggage (we had nine pieces...it was a multi-stop trip for us)
Milk and cookies in the room at bedtime. We aren't sure this is a normal thing for the hotel or was a perk of TravelMan's conference, but it was a great treat!
Cons:
Pool is peaceful and serene, which may seem like a pro, but when traveling with children, it was not a benefit. I want my kids to be able to be kids and play. When we arrived at the pool, I asked if it were an “adult only” pool. It was so quiet. I was assured it was fine for children. However, I always felt uncomfortable. When I got my pool bill for the day, I noticed many other hotels were listed at the bottom of the receipt. I went and spoke to concierge to see if I could have access to any of the other properties that the hotel was affliated with (see point two).
Although the hotel is affiliated with other CityCenter properities and even Mandalay Bay, we were not allowed access to any of the other pools at the other properities. This would have been helpful with young children. I never felt comfortable having my children at the MO pool. They weren't being bad. They would play toss with a splash ball or throw dive toys and jump in to get them. These are simple kid things to do at a pool. Yet, it felt as if they were bothering other guests who were peacefully sitting by the pool in such a serene atmosphere.
No kids menu at the pool. We had lunch here during the day and the selections were seafood and salads, not kid-friendly.
This hotel has a complimentary car service. Yet, it was never offiered to us. We had to ask for it. I found this odd. Whenever we stay at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas, and they see our family wants to go to the Bellagio to watch the fountains at night. The driver immediately offers to take us. I am not sure why MO wasn't more open about offering this service to us.
TravelLady Rating: I would stay at the Mandarin Oriental again with or without my family. It is a wonderful hotel. In fact, TravelMan goes on a "guys' weekend" to Vegas each March. Since our stay, he has even mentioned that he would like to stay at the MO for the next guys' weekend. It is a place that could easily spoil you!