One Of The Best Amex FHR Options Out There: My Delano Las Vegas Review

Delano Las Vegas Review

My parents and I spent two nights at the Delano at the Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. This is an MGM Resorts property, and it is also a member of the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts program. How did we like our stay? I will tell you the ins and outs of one of the most underrated properties in Las Vegas in my Delano Las Vegas review.

Booking

We booked through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR). While the total was $300 a night, my mom still had her $200 statement credit from her Amex Platinum card, so when that was applied, the total was about $200 per night. This is by no means cheap, but it was a Christmas gift. It was a good deal when you add in the FHR benefits, as well as when you consider the typical nightly price on weekends here.

Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection (LHRC) used to be another alternative to Amex FHR, but they devalued the credits to $40 per stay and $15 per person per day for breakfast. I noticed that the room price dropped the day before we were supposed to check in, but when we called Amex, they said we could cancel and then rebook. However, since it was within 48 hours of checking in, there is a chance you may not get your money back. So, we decided to just keep our current rate.

See also: Guide to Using & Maximizing the Amex Platinum Hotel Benefits

Prior to Check-In

About 2 days before checking in, my mom got an automated email from the concierge asking if we had any requests, but we didn’t have any.

Delano Las Vegas Review: Location

I think that the main reason the Delano at Mandalay Bay remains under the radar is due to its location — which is good or bad, depending on who you ask. For my parents and me, the location is great, because it is located on the southern end of the strip and is closest to our house in the southern part of the Vegas Valley. This is also the closest hotel to Allegiant Stadium, and you can be at the stadium within 10 minutes. But, there are many people who don’t like this location, so that is why the room rates remain somewhat low for what you are getting.

Delano Check-In Experience

From the Mandalay Bay West Garage, just look for the valet area and you’ll see the Delano entrance. From there, you’ll be greeted with two 10-foot-high boulders and a beautiful lobby, with the front desk at the end.

If you booked through Amex FHR, you can check-in at the VIP area, but there was only one person ahead of us when we checked in. At the front desk, we were greeted by a friendly agent. I asked for an upgrade; while I know it is a benefit of FHR, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Originally, we were assigned a 2-Queen room with no special view on the 8th floor, but she moved us to a 2-Queen stadium view room on the 24th floor.

While I would’ve liked to have a strip view, she was very honest and said there were no better rooms available. She then explained the different Amex FHR benefits.

We could use the food and beverage credit at any of the places below, and then we could use the $60 breakfast credit at Della’s Kitchen, Seabreeze Cafe, or 3940 Coffee and Tea. She also gave us a list of the different outlets where we could use our $100 property credit, which includes most but not all of MGM Resorts’ food and beverage outlets. Make sure to check the list of restaurant options before going to a restaurant.

Delano at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas: Room

Holding our room keys, we walked to the elevator area and went to the 24th floor. 

The room was very nice. My parents and I have stayed here before, and we were super happy to stay here again. This is certainly one of the larger hotel rooms I have stayed at. The room had a desk, a  couch, 2 beds, and 2 bathrooms. We thought it was a great value.

We faced Allegiant Stadium, and I was very impressed with the view. The internet was also relatively fast, at 30 megabytes per second.

The room also featured a wet bar area with a sink, a coffee maker, and a minibar, but we were told by our front desk agent to not touch anything in the minibar.

If you store any personal items in the minibar, you will be charged $50, so it is best not to touch anything. The coffee cups and pods are also not free, so you can either bring your own pods and use your own mug or just head downstairs to 3940 Coffee and Tea for about the same price.

There were two televisions, and they featured a rather limited variety of channels. 

Bathrooms

There are 2 bathrooms in this hotel room: a half bath and a full bathroom. The toilet in the full bathroom was in a separate room.

The shower was a bit low for me at 6’ tall, but it could be adjusted, and that did the trick.

The half bath was also very nice and just had a bathroom and a sink. 

The toiletries in both bathrooms were very nice. While the conditioner was made by Kuer, which is the standard MGM toiletry brand, the other toiletries were from an unknown brand.

Parking

Parking is a bit pricey, and they started charging for parking at all MGM Resorts back in June. The parking is $15 per night for self parking, but we got it for free, since I am an Explorist with Hyatt and we matched that a while back to Mlife Gold.

You can also get free parking if you are a Hyatt Discoverist or higher, as well as an Mlife Sapphire or higher. Valet is also available for $30 on weekends and $26 on weekdays, but both are about the same distance to the front desk.

See also: How to Get Free Parking on the Las Vegas Strip & Avoid Fees at Hotels That Charge!

Service

I was very satisfied with the service that we received at the Delano at Mandalay Bay. While the service isn’t going to be personal (since there are 1,500 rooms), everyone was very friendly. I couldn’t ask for better service at this megaresort.

Amenities

This hotel complex has excellent amenities, and the Mandalay Bay has arguably the best pool in Las Vegas. There are four pools available in the summertime, including a wave pool and a lazy river. If you’re staying at the Delano, you get access to all of the Mandalay Bay amenities, plus a private Delano fitness center and pool.

However, the Delano pool — as well as all but East Lagoon pool at the Mandalay Bay Beach area — are closed in the winter time. The open pool was very warm, and there were two open jacuzzis near that pool, and those were relatively warm but could be slightly hotter.

The area overall was very empty and never got too crowded.

My parents and I worked out at the Delano, and I liked the gym a lot. The equipment is from Cybex, and there was a large amount of equipment available.

It wasn’t crowded, either: there was only one other person there.

My dad and I checked out the Mandalay Bay gym, which was also very nice but a bit smaller than the Delano gym. 

Delano Las Vegas Review: Restaurants

Because we booked through Amex FHR, we got $100 to use at any MGM Resorts outlet, plus $60 per day for breakfast. For our $100 property credit, we ate at Diablo’s cafe at the Luxor, and we were very impressed.

I got the beef burrito, and I thought it was excellent. The total came out to $130 including the tip for three people, so this is a relatively pricey restaurant, but the food was very good.

For breakfast, we ate at the Seabreeze Cafe the first morning, and the food was overall very good. I got a chicken and waffle sandwich for $23, and I thought the portion was very good. The total came to just under $50, before tip.

On the second morning, we ate at Della’s Kitchen, but I would recommend you eat at Seabreeze Cafe, instead, because of the high prices at Della’s. The juice was $9 dollars! Plus, there weren’t any refills. At Seabreeze Cafe, it was $6, and they offered refills. I had coconut waffles at Della’s, which were delicious, but the total came to $65. While I’ve heard great things about Della’s, I’m not sure I’d recommend it, due to the high prices.

Other than Della’s Kitchen, there is also 3940 Coffee and Tea, which, as I stated above, is the third option that is available to use the $60 breakfast credit.

This is good if you prefer to eat in your room or if you want to take your order to go. There is also Franklin, which is a lobby bar and is another option to use the $100 property credit. It is closed on Sundays, but when we were there, there were at most 5 other people. There is also Rivea and the Skyfall Lounge, which has a free champagne toast for Delano guests.

Both restaurants are located on the top floor, and, while both are quite pricey, they offer some of the best views available of the Vegas strip.

VIP Lounge

We also got access to the VIP lounge at the Delano, and we checked it out. All that was available was a very limited selection of beers, small bottles of water, and some Pepsi products, but there weren’t any snacks. I won’t complain, because this was available for free, and it certainly beats paying $10. 

Mandalay Express

There is also a free tram that goes between Mandalay Bay, Luxor, and Excalibur, which was very helpful. There is only one tram running, so it takes the same amount of time to ride the tram as it does to walk. However, it is good if you want to avoid walking for long periods of time.

Casino

There is also a 135,000-square-foot casino that is still super close to the Delano. My parents don’t gamble, so while this wasn’t something we used, if you like to gamble, you are super close to a casino. There is also a large sportsbook, which was very crowded, since we were there during the NFL playoffs.

Managing the High Prices

The prices for everything at Mandalay Bay are going to be very high, but there are some ways to avoid them that we used. There is a McDonald’s across the street that is relatively close. You also can take the Mandalay Express to Excalibur, and you can then walk to the Showcase mall across the street or to Shake Shack.

Final Thoughts

For the second time, I was very impressed by the Delano Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay. This is the type of resort that you never have to leave, due to the endless dining options — as well as incredible pools. The service was excellent, and I really couldn’t ask for a better room. I wasn’t a fan of the high food and beverage prices, but, other than that, I was impressed yet again by the Delano.