My husband and I stayed at the mgm from 7/31/08-8/3/08. Overall out stay there was very pleasant. We were celebrating our one year wedding anniversery. We arrived early in the morning vegas time. We opted to not do the airport check in because we just wanted to get on the strip quickly.
CHECK IN:Once we arrived at the hotel (about 10:30 am) we attempted to check in but were told to come back in an hour which was fine because we wanted to get lunch anyway. We ate at a small little cafe next to the sports betting place inside the casino and the sandwhiches were great, very fresh. We went back and checked in exactly an hour later. The check in lady we had sucked she was probably the most unfriendly person on the planet, so needless to say an upgrade was out of the question. We got a room on the 16th floor facing the airport and the monorail. Not a bad view even though we wanted a room with a view of the strip but were told no due to "construction" Whatever we didn't really care.

THE ROOM: great!. No complaints at all. Bed was way comfy. Not a lot of hallway noise. Elevators were not as far as people make them seem.

THE CASINO: wow!, The mgm's casino was by far my favorite in Vegas, We visited the casino's at the Bellagio, the Venetian, Harrahs, New York New York, and The Flamenco. In my opinion the MGM was the best. It had the best crowd, and the best tables and most slots. When i say the best crowd let me be more specific...The crowd was very diverse, not all uptight and super rich like at the bellagio, and not complete trash like at harrahs. the perfect blend of both. Good payouts on the slot machines.


DINING: We ate mostly at the mgm, EVERYTHING was expensive, the buffet at dinner time was about $30.00 per person, but there was nothing on that buffet that wasn't delicious. there is also a very good 24 hour cafe type restaurant in the middle of the casino with great food and $$ prices. We didn't do any of the high end restaurants. Instead for our anniversery dinner we went to the Venetian and ate at the restarant that overlooks the canal and the gondolas. (zeferinos)It was $$$$$, but the food wasn't all that. TIP: for breakfast or even a quick lunch check out this little cafe downstairs below the lobby that sells mrs. fields cookies. we had great breakfast sandwhiches there at a fraction of one of the sit down restaurant's cost.

SHOWS:We saw cirque du soleis "zumanity" it's an erotic show. no strippers or anything but for a mature audiance. it was very good and it was right across the street at New York, New York. We also saw a comedy show at Oshea's with Vinnie Faorito. THIS GUY WAS HILARIOUS. YOU WILL PEE IN YOUR PANTS. We went on the advice of several trip advisor reviews and we are so glad we did. He may not be at o'sheas any more though because when we went he had said he would now be doing his show from the flamingo. So check before you go.

POOL: There are way too many pools here. You have to be an idiot to not be able to find a chair here. The main pool does get a little rowdy because it's mostly young 20 YEAR OLDS drinking their faces off and singing along to party music tunes like Baby's got back, but if you are not into that scene there are plenty of other quieter spots.

TIPS:
1.Do not attempt to walk the strip in high heels unless you are a professional street walker, it will be ok for a couple of bocks but then you will want to die.

2.Do not bother bringing jackets for the "night air" It is not cool by any stretch of the imagination. and don't let the whole "it's dry heat" thing fool you. it is fu%$!ng HOT! We went out on the strip the first night at midnight and it was 106 degrees!

3.Do not play the slot machines in the airport. you will never win

4. Buy your vegas trinkets at the hotel or on the strip... the airport is a rip off. Again check ut the basement below the mgm. there is a whole walkway of stores down there.

5. If you are planning on going to the pool everyday. Bring a cover up with you. It is a long walk through te hotel to the pool from the rooms.

Hope my lngthy review Helps! Email me if you have any questions!!! Have FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The MGM itself is a very large area, and going from one point in the hotel/casino to another area can take a while, but overall, we felt this was a very nice hotel, and especially for the price and promos that they run. Pool is very nice, especially when the lazy river is open, but again, you do have to walk a decent amount to get out there. Rooms are very comfortable and modern. Just wish we could win more (or at all) at the MGM casino!

My husband and I just returned from a 5 day stay @ the MGM Grand in Vegas. We had a Grand Tower room and just loved it! It was very spacious, and the view was beautiful!! The only thing we did not appreciate was the number of children running around the hotel-even though they are not allowed in the casino areas to "loiter", this does not stop the crowds of families and strollers from pushing through the various walkways--Vegas is not a place for children, in our opinion-we saw things that made us look twice-I can't imagine what a child would think. Anyway, I guess that's what you get for going in the summer when school is out.

But on a positive note, I would highly encourage adults to see Cirque du Soleil "Zumanity"-it is for ages 18 and older for obvious reasons, but is probably the best show we have ever seen. Make sure you get a love seat when purchasing tickets-romantic!!

Try ESPN Zone restaurant at New York/New York-great for any sports fan. The food and service was wonderful!

We booked two nights at the MGM Grand as an add-on to an existing itinerary (three nights at Treasure Island). This was our 6th stay at the MGM Grand and it had been several years since we had stayed at this property. This resort is HUGE. Expect to do some walking - the first day we did not leave the property since it is so self-contained.

The Room:
We booked a Hollywood Suite which was very nice. (These rooms only go through the 12th floor so if you want a higher floor view book a Spa Suite.) The Hollywood Suites are at the end of a very long hall. We had a nice view of Hooters and Tropicana :-) I liked the separate bedroom and living room. The bathroom is very spacious with a tub/shower combo and a separate shower. There are double sinks and a recessed toilet. It looked like they could have enclosed the toilet in a separate compartmentalized washroom. Since the bathroom has two doors and spans the length of the living room it would have been handy to have these separated.

The living room had a table with 4 chairs, sofa, a couple club chairs and an entertainment center. There is a wet bar and a mini-fridge that is located in a cabinet under the counter.

One note about the TV, the entertainment center is big enough to hold a larger TV but the one in the room is only about 27".

The bedroom had an extremely comfortable mattress!! There is another entertainment center with a TV in the bedroom.

The bedroom and living areas had wall to wall windows which afforded awesome views! (We missed the big windows by the time we were in our room at TI.)

The Grand Pool Area:
The pool area contained 5 separate pools including a lazy river. We rented a cabana for the day which was nice since we were going to hang out by the pool all day. The summer rate for the cabanas is $250. You can reserve the cabanas a week in advance and they will ask your preference for your cabana location. I requested a cabana by the Academy Pool. We had cabana #24 which was a nice end location and very quiet. The cabanas include; 2 sofas, a fridge with sodas and water as well as a couple Red Bulls, some snack foods (popcorn, nuts, candy, and trail mix.) There is a TV and a cabinet with a safe (nice idea!) There is a patio area that has 4 loungers and an umbrella. You also get a host/hostess that takes care of you for the day. Our hostess brought our breakfast and lunch orders and came around often to check on us. The cabanas also include 2 inner tubes and a raft. Our hostess also got us an additional tube without charging us the $16 daily rate. The cabana rentals are reserved for the hours of 10-5.

One comment about the lazy river.... there were a lot of kids swimming in it like a pool and you would be floating on your inner tube and a kid would swim right under you - and some would surface right up your tube! Despite a lot of wild kids, the river was fun.

Restaurants:
We only ate at the buffet, Studio Cafe, Cabana Grill, and food court at this property. Given more time at the resort, we would have tried some of the nicer restaurants but we kept it simple. The menu for Emeril's Fish Kitchen looked awesome.

Services/Staff:
All the folks that we encountered were friendly and courteous. No problems with any of the service. Valet staff was very helpful and prompt and gave us some maps for the area.

Ok, I think I'm done:
(Didn't mean to write a book but I have so much to share!)
I'm glad that we came back to this hotel. I would definitely stay here again. The property is a great deal for the location, pool, and great rates (if you catch a deal or book early.)