On a previous trip to Vegas, I had eaten lunch by the pool at the Mandarin Oriental. So when I heard this is where we were staying as a family with TravelMan's conference, I was a bit concerned about our boys playing at that pool. The Mandarin Oriental pool is peaceful and serene. In fact, upon first glance, one might think it were designated an “adults only” pool.
So I did some research and found out that the Golden Nugget (off the strip, in Downtown Vegas) was rated for having the number one kid pool in Vegas. The plan was for this to give us a break from the pool at the Mandarin Oriental. The Golden “Chicken” Nugget (as my boys called it) boasted of a pool with a shark tank in the center, a 3-story tall slide going through the tank, and a day of fun.
I booked a cheap room and checked in. Well, the pool did have a shark tank in the center. However, the pool is tiny. There were so many people there that it was more of a “standing room only” situation, not a swimming pool. The deck chairs were so close together/crammed together that you couldn't get on or off of them from the side. Instead, you had to climb on them from the end as they were touching one other right side to left side. I noticed all of this upon walking in the doors of the pool but didn't say a word. I wanted my boys to have a great day at the Golden “Chicken” Nugget.
We found one chair where we could put our towels, our bag, shoes, shirts, and at least having a meeting point. I sprayed the boys with sunscreen and off to ride the slide they went. They both rode it once. M went and rode it a second time. Both boys commented they couldn't see the sharks while in the slide due to the "fog" on the slide. They tried to swim around the perimeter of the pool. However, there were so many people in certain parts that they were unable to. Twenty minutes into our arrival, they came over to me and said, “We want to leave.” WHAT?? I knew the pool wasn't great. I wasn't sure how it got to be the “number one rated kid pool in Vegas,” but we had only been there for 20 minutes. Was I really being asked to leave?
Here is the front view of the pool. You can see how small it is. The glass behind the waterfall is the shark tank. The pool water curves around to the back of the tank completing the pool. The yellow tube above the pool is the slide.
The back view of the pool and the shark tank.
I wanted to at least see the inside of the hotel room, so I could report back to all you in Blogland my thoughts of the property. But the boys were serious. “Mom, there is nowhere to swim.” “This pool is so crowded.” “And it's little.” "The slide is slow, and you can't see anything."...and they were right.
We got our pool bag, turned in our pool towels, & went to ask to speak to the front desk manager. I explained to him the situation and that we had only been checked in for 30 minutes; we hadn't even used our room key. Kindly, he refunded our room.
As I was thanking the manager and we were leaving the front desk, I heard a lady behind me asking to leave the hotel as well. When the girl behind the counter asked her why, the lady replied, “My kids don't like the pool.”
TravelLady Rating: The Golden Nugget is not a place I would go back for the pool. Check out the Mandalay Bay or make the pool at your property work. We certainly made the pool at the Mandarin Oriental a little more "kid-friendly" for the time we spent there. :)