MGM Las Vegas properties: combined bottom line review

I recently completed my residency unexpectedly extended stay in Las Vegas (which is to say the extended stay I got instead of a trip to Fiji when my kids got sick). Given the fast track to Hyatt elite status and the current generous Bonus Journeys promotion, I imagine that many readers are considering a jaunt to Las Vegas for cheap elite-qualifying nights. Over the past couple of weeks, I did some hotel hopping and at times both my wife and I had rooms booked (not always at the same property), so we got the chance to check out quite a few Las Vegas properties. In this post, I wanted to put together mini highlights and review information for all of the MGM properties we’ve visited recently along with some general info to set expectations for those newly-considering a trip to the city of Lost Wages.

Our extended stay in Las Vegas in included rooms at many resorts

Since April 17th, my wife and I have stayed at and/or had rooms at the following MGM properties:

• Mandalay Bay (but we upgraded to Delano)
• Delano
• The Signature at MGM Grand
• ParkMGM
• MGM Grand
• Excalibur

We additionally spent two nights at a couple of other properties that we will review separately:

• Treasure Island
• Conrad Las Vegas
• Crockfords Los Vegas (a Hilton LXR brand hotel). and 3 nights at Resorts World

I’ll review the Resorts World properties in a separate post (spoiler alert: I really liked Resorts World and would totally stay at the Conrad or Crockfords again despite the pretty poor location). In this post, I wanted to mainly focus on two things: general expectations for Las Vegas properties and our rankings of the MGM properties where we stayed in terms of where we would stay next time and why. Note that we did not stay at the higher-end MGM properties on this trip. I imagine that those chasing Hyatt qualifying nights are looking to do them relatively cheaply, so we focused on the cheaper MGM properties.

Things award travel regulars are sure to hate about Las Vegas

Some people love Las Vegas and some hate it. Others yet have no interest in visiting. I expect there are a multitude of fronts on which we can agree to disagree about what is a positive / negative / etc.

However, as someone who primarily travels on points, there are a number of things about Las Vegas (or at least specifically about MGM Las Vegas properties) that award travelers are sure to hate. Over the course of the last couple of weeks, I came to accept that these things are just “the way it is” in Vegas, but they run counter-intuitive to our way of life in the miles & points community

First and foremost, expect things that are usually free (in our award travel bubble at least) to not be free, including:

• • Bottled water. Almost every room we visited had a couple of water bottles. They weren’t free at any of the MGM properties.
  • Coffee in the room. Most places had an in-room coffee maker, but you had to pay for the coffee that is otherwise usually free (it was typically inside a sealed Styrofoam cup that was on a weight sensor)
  • A third and fourth person. While you can often book either a room with 1 king or one with 2 doubles for about the same price (or sometimes a slight premium for a room with 2 queen beds), don’t expect to put 4 people in that room without paying an additional fee for person #3 and person #4 (even when they are kids) — as soon as you increase the guest count in the room to 3 or 4, the price rises (which isn’t very common within the US). I’ll be honest: a couple of times I probably forgot to select more people from the drop-down menu (since search engines usually default to 1 or 2 people) and nobody gave us a hard time, but one time when I did select four people (at Treasure Island, not an MGM property but rather a Radisson) I was charged an additional fee for my 5yr old and 2yr old even though I ended up booking a second room (that’s a whole story of its own). They eventually waived the additional guest fees after considerable pushback (the Radisson website had shown no additional fee for the third and fourth person on an award stay — it said 45,000 points and $0, but in reality we got hit with the resort fee and then initially the extra person fee).
  • Upgrades. While many of us are used to asking for upgrades due to our hotel elite status, in Las Vegas our anecdotal experiments held that upgrades were ordinarily the result of a tip to the desk agent rather than elite status. That said, it was common to get a room with a view as a casino elite member — just don’t expect a suite without a tip. That used to come in the form of a $20 bill folded between your ID and license at check-in (Google “$20 sandwich trick”), though these days I think you are more likely to be successful with $50 or more depending on the situation).
  • Mini fridge. While most rooms had a minibar fridge, they were the sensor kind that have no space (or very limited space) for storing personal items. In cases where you could get a mini fridge delivered to the room for personal use, there was a nightly fee. That was a pain for us since we have young kids that never finish a meal in one sitting (though I obviously recognize that families is not the primary target audience for most Las Vegas casinos).

Additionally, don’t expect to be able to get common stuff. For instance, even in hotels that don’t have microwaves in the room, we have often been able to request one and many hotels have them available to bring to guest rooms upon request. That wasn’t the case in Las Vegas (though I certainly understand that a 6,000-room property like the MGM Grand doesn’t want to evacuate a tower for a fire alarm every time a drunk guest burns popcorn, so I get it).

It wasn’t just “stuff” that was generally hard to come by. We also had difficulty getting things we requested like housekeeping to change sheets or bring an extra comforter (the thin sofa bed comforter doesn’t always cut it). Often things that typically require one request required two or three requests (or acceptance that it wasn’t going to happen).

As a final annoyance, I have to mention the sensored minibars and how annoyingly placed they were at some properties. At ParkMGM, there were drinks and snacks at lower-than-hip level on the TV stand. Of course my kids knocked over the gummy bears and nuts — and a charge for $42 showed up on the bill based on the bags getting knocked over a bit as shown in the picture below.

They were able to remove the charge at the front desk, but that wasn’t the only time that we ran into that problem because desk space was often being taken up by something like that and we inevitably knocked things over. Again, charges were taken off without pushback in each case, but at our final stop (Crockfords, a Hilton property at Resorts World, not an MGM), the front desk agent said they could take it off the bill because it was less than $50 but that he wouldn’t have been able to do so if the charge had been more (and just like above, everything was still on the minibar). This certainly wasn’t our first experience with those sensor-based minibar items, but often hotels have them inside a cabinet or closet where it is harder to mistakenly knock them over. If we had been paying the full nightly rate, I could see how some minibar charges might have gone unnoticed at checkout.

None of the above was necessarily isolated to one place or another and despite the negative-sounding tone, we had a good trip (as good as it could be given the circumstances of two kids who ended up getting sick). I feel like all of the above is stuff I just accept as being the way Las Vegas largely operates and so none of it is a deal-breaker in my mind, but I mention all of it for Las Vegas newcomers. I read plenty of negative reviews online of various casino resorts where people complained about not getting free water or coffee in the room and while I find that to be disappointing compared to what I’m accustomed to at other resorts, I knew not to expect those things. I carried a water bottle and accepted that I’d get hit for coffee at an inflated price downstairs, but that I’d charge it to my room and earn both MGM rewards and World of Hyatt points on the charges.

One last thing to note is that eating in Las Vegas has gotten surprisingly pricey. I remember the days when the Westward Ho had a $0.99 3/4 lb hot dog or shrimp cocktail, Riviera had $1.50 all-you-can-eat pancakes, and Mr. Lucky’s at Hard Rock had the $7.77 shrimp, steak, and mashed potatoes special. If that stuff still exists, I don’t know where it is. Instead, we found pizza to be $9 a slice in the casinos (I literally paid $30 with gratuity for two slices of pizza and a bottle of water at The Venetian on my last night in Las Vegas). I enjoy a fine dining experience as much as anybody (and I’m not at all opposed to paying for a good restaurant meal), but I don’t love paying restaurant meal prices for a couple of slices. We ended up redeeming Capital One Shopping cash back for DoorDash gift cards to cover quite a few dinners.

Individual property quick hits / ranking based on our impressions

Our top overall MGM pick: The Signature at MGM Grand

The Signature at MGM Grand wasn’t perfect, but the 1-bedroom suite we booked had a full kitchen, which would be really helpful on an extended Las Vegas stay (particularly with kids).

The rooms didn’t feel as well-maintained or upper-scale like Delano, but the full-sized fridge and microwave were clutch. The other big thing The Signature has going for it is location. While it’s not quite center-strip, being connected to the MGM Grand puts it much better-situated than Delano (which I’m using as a comparison point since Delano is also an all-suites property and has long been our preferred place to stay in Las Vegas).

I had previously noted that I booked my stay at The Signature via Airbnb. Some of the units at The Signature are individually-owned, so I was able to book through Airbnb for significantly less than the nightly rate when booking direct through MGM. I did add the reservation in my MGM app and verify at the front desk that my MGM number and Word of Hyatt number were attached, but I was informed that I probably wouldn’t earn anything since I had booked an owner’s suite through Airbnb. That turned out to be true: the stay shows up in the Hyatt app, but it shows 0 points earned and 0 elite nights earned. If I had booked directly through MGM, I’m sure I would have earned Hyatt elite night credit.

The Signature at MGM positives:

• Full kitchens in 1bdrm suites (and I think this is also true in the studios?)
• Access to all of the MGM Grand amenities (MGM has a very good pool)
• Decent location — connected to MGM by an indoor walkway, so it is easy enough to get out to the strip and across to New York New York or to the shopping center next to the MGM Grand.
• Good price via Airbnb for my stay (this isn’t always a better option than booking direct, but it may be worth a look)

The Signature at MGM negatives:

• Location not quite in the middle of the action
• MGM Grand has a bit of a cigarette smell to it
• No Hyatt elite night credit when booking through Airbnb

Delano: Our old favorite is still highly favored

Delano is a hotel-within-a-hotel. It is a separate tower on the Mandalay Bay grounds that does not have its own casino but does have its own front desk and hotel. All of the rooms at Delano are true 1-bedroom suites (or better) with a solid door that closes between the living room and bedroom.

I should note that we didn’t book Delano. Rather, we (initially) used an offer in my wife’s MGM Gold account to book 2 complimentary nights and 1 paid night at Mandalay Bay that also came with a $20 resort credit (for an all-in total of about $72 for 3 nights and the $20 resort credit) with no resort fee since my wife has MGM Gold status).

Mandalay Bay has a dedicated MGM Gold check-in area, so we went directly to this room when we arrived (it is just off of the main lobby check-in area).

There was complimentary water and some snacks and comfortable seating in the priority check-in area. When handing over her ID, my wife included a $50 bill underneath her ID at check-in and inquired as to whether there were any complimentary suite upgrades available. On a previous trip, when trying the same thing, the Mandalay Bay desk agent had been able to give us a suite at Delano. Knowing that was possible, my wife led with the fact that we would be perfectly happy with Delano if there was a room available there. A few minutes later, we were on our way to our suite at Delano.

One of the things that really impresses me about Delano is the light gray, white, and cream color scheme and how they keep it looking so clean.

Furthermore, when you stay at Delano, you get access to all regular Mandalay Bay amenities (including “The Beach”, Mandalay Bay’s famous wave pool / sandy beach  / sprawling pool complex). The bathtub is also huge, which my kids loved. They literally swam around in it.

Delano pros:

• Full suites with a separated bedroom / living room
• Access to Mandalay Bay amenities like the big pool complex
• Quieter building since there is no casino in it
• Rooms are really well maintained

Delano cons:

• Location isn’t great unless you plan to drive a lot or walk a lot. If you want to go somewhere else, chances are that somewhere else probably isn’t Luxor or Excalibur, but you’ll need to walk through both each day to get anywhere else you want to go.
• Delila’s Kitchen, the 1st floor breakfast restaurant, is now only open Thursday-Sunday

MGM Grand: Great pool & a nice view

With more than 6,000 guest rooms, the MGM Grand is one of the largest hotels in the world.

Unfortunately, we did not get upgraded to a suite at the MGM Grand. Like other MGM properties, there was a dedicated check-in area for those with Gold status or higher. My wife politely asked whether there were any complimentary suite upgrades available and the agent said that there was only one suite type available and that it would have been something like a $300 nightly fee to upgrade. I had looked in the app and there were at least 4 or 5 different types of suites available for booking (and the suite type they offered was only about $100 a night more expensive than the room we had booked). I think they would have found a suite for the right tip.

We booked the MGM Grand via the American Express The Hotel Collection. Two nights with tax came to about $250 before resort fee, so we used the annual credit from an American Express Platinum card to mostly cover this stay. We would still be scheduled to be on the hook for a nightly ~$40 resort fee at the desk when booking through The Hotel Collection. Reports have been that MGM properties are charging a resort fee when people book through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts even when they have MGM Gold status (with the line being that you need to book direct with MGM to get those fees removed).

However, at check-in, the agent noted my wife’s Gold status and removed one night of the resort fee, mentioning that it is supposed to get charged when you book through a third party but that he could take one night off. This was only a two-night stay, so that was half of what we expected to owe. And they did give us an upgrade to a room with a decent strip view.

That also means that we paid about $290 all-in for two nights and we got a $100 resort credit. MGM provided a letter explaining where you can use that $100 credit. The list included tons of restaurants from the various MGM properties in Las Vegas. We ended up going to Eataly at ParkMGM for dinner one night and charging it to our room at the MGM Grand and the resort credit covered it. If you aren’t familiar with what I just said, it is worth repeating: you can charge things to your room across MGM resorts. We ate at ParkMGM but charged to our room at MGM Grand. We’ve done that in plenty of situations before. It won’t work with every retail outlet in every casino, but I always ask. I prefer to charge things to my room whenever possible so that I’ll earn rewards points on all of my spend.

Finally, we loved the pool at the MGM Grand. We only got a chance to use it once or twice, but it had plenty of pool options to keep kids busy.

Unfortunately, we did not receive Hyatt elite night credit for this booking. Presumably that had something to do with booking via The Hotel Collection, but I intend to follow up to see if I can confirm whether we should have gotten credit.

MGM Grand Pros:

• Decent location almost-center-strip
• Great pool complex (I think it’s 6.5 acres)
• Large casino
• Rooms were well-kept considering the size of the place
• Got an upgrade to a good strip view on a base-room booking

MGM Grand Cons:

• No free suite upgrade
• No elite night credit for stay (booked though The Hotel Collection

Park MGM: Smoke-free casino, not our favorite rooms

Park MGM is the re-branded Monte Carlo for those familiar with Las Vegas of the early 2000s. When they rebranded this place, they made it 100% smoke-free. I think this was an awesome move. This place just immediately smelled fresh and clean when you stepped in the door to the casino. If I were going to sit and play hours of blackjack (or a slot machine), this would be the place I’d want to do it because of the smoke-free nature. It is very noticeable. Obviously if you’re a smoker, you’ll want to stay far away.

Unfortunately, Park MGM is so far down the list for us because the room felt a bit like a dungeon. It didn’t help that the curtains were drawn when we walked in, which made it seem like the windows were roughly the right size for a prison cell.

I don’t think the deep red wall and couch did the room any favors, either. Opening the curtain provided a reasonably good view of MGM and New York New York, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the small and dark feeling of the room.

In fairness, I only intended to use the room at ParkMGM as an office (I recorded a podcast episode from this room), so I didn’t make any effort at a suite upgrade at check-in. Like Mandalay Bay and Delano, ParkMGM has a hotel-within-a-hotel concept with “NoMad” occupying the top floors. I’m sure there are nicer rooms.

Park MGM Pros:

• Smoke-free (a pro in my book)
• Pretty good location (closer to the center of the action)
• Can sometimes be an excellent value via The Hotel Collection (less than $100/night sometimes)

Park MGM Cons:

• Room was kind of dark and small
• Pool didn’t look very impressive

Excalibur: Functional, but needs a facelift

Often the cheapest of the MGM properties, I only booked Excalibur because at something like $11 a night one week (and less than $3 per night the next), it was hard not to consider booking just to see it. I also recorded a podcast episode at Excalbur and we used it as a pit stop after hitting the arcade (known as “The Fun Dungeon” when my kids were feeling better). So what does a $3 or $11 room look like? A pretty normal hotel room at first glance.

Ignore the washcloth on the bed in the foreground….not because I put it there, but because that’s what I assumed I was meant to do when I entered the room for the first time and found it there just before taking this picture.

The furniture has seen better days, but it was functional.

Some previous guest had clearly really wanted to be able to adjust the temperature on the A/C and wasn’t going to take “the bars are metal” as a final answer.

The bathroom had a basic shower and a standard sink area.

Upon closer inspection, things were pretty dirty in the corners.

That said, the check-in agent noted that I had been upgraded to a room with a strip view thanks to my MGM Gold status and the room did indeed have a great view of New York New York, the MGM Grand, and the T-Mobile Arena.

I mentioned above that my kids enjoyed some time at “The Fun Dungeon”, the arcade in the basement at Excalibur. It is a sizable arcade with plenty of games and while I joked with several adults who mistakenly took the elevator down that “these are the machines that give you no hope” (as in “they only take your money!”), there were opportunities to win tickets and one day an employee was handing out “MVP” bags to all of the kids with some free goodies.

All that said, at the end of the trip, we stayed at both the Conrad Las Vegas and Crockfords Las Vegas, which are at Resorts World. That resort is situated next door to Circus Circus. While Circus Circus is not cleaner than Excalibur in the public areas, the arcade at Circus Circus is a much better value. We put $60 on an arcade card and the kids played for what felt like 2-3 hours at Circus Circus. While Fun Dungeons at Excalibur probably had more  total games, there was a lot of overlap and many of the overlapping machines were about half the price at Circus Circus that they were at Excalibur (though keep in mind that Circus Circus also has rides and the wristbands weren’t particularly cheap at $30 per kid and $60 per adult). Our kids were content with playing the games.

Bottom line

If we were going back to Las Vegas with our kids, and we wanted an MGM property for Hyatt elite night credit or Hyatt points/promotions, I think we would definitely look to stay at The Signature at MGM Grand for its full-size kitchens, location, and very good pool complex. If I were going to gamble for hours, I’d be happy to do it at Park MGM, which was 100% smoke-free. If it were a trip for just my wife and I, Delano would likely continue to win me over because I like the space and cleanliness of the suites and with two adults I could handle either walking to get where we want to go or taking an Uber. I’d personally not love to stay at Excalibur despite the cheap price tag, but I was happy to book it and use it as a “home base” for the arcade there with my kids. This review does not cover Luxor (as cheap or nearly as cheap as Excalibur) or the more expensive MGM options like Aria, Bellagio, and the Skylofts at MGM Grand. You can surely get nicer places than those covered in this post, but if you’re primarily looking to earn cheap Hyatt elite credit or Bonus Journeys credit, these are likely to be some of the casinos you are considering. On my next trip to Las Vegas, I hope to get in a stay at New York New York in order to be able to compare since NYNY is also sometimes value-priced through MGM Gold. Since Atlantic City and Philadelphia casino matching have given me offers for free nights at Wynn and Resorts World, I may yet be back in Las Vegas at some point this year — it is hard to resist with the chance to pick up very cheap nights credited to Hyatt.

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