Mandalay Bay

3950 Las Vegas Boulevard S.

 Location: On the Strip

What makes it Special? An 11-acre beach on the Vegas Strip

Entertainment Attraction: Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson One

Number of Rooms: 3,309

Overview:

This resort’s Southeast Asian theme is pretty superficial. The management seems to have ignored the fact that the Burmese city of Mandalay is inland and there’s not a bay within hundreds of miles. But who cares about geographical inconsistencies when you get to stay in a resort that boasts its own massive beach surrounding a 1.6 million gallon wave pool? Guests who don’t want to swim can gamble without leaving the water at the resort’s beachside casino.

The aquatic attractions of the Mandalay Bay Hotel don’t finish where the sand ends: there’s also Shark Reef, an aquarium inhabited by piranha, jellyfish and crocodiles as well as the toothy big fish that give the attraction its name.

It’s not all about water at the Mandalay, though, as the hotel also has a range of attractions for land-lovers as well. Cirque du Soleil’s homage to the life and music of Michael Jackson can be enjoyed one night, while checking out live music from world-famous bands at the House of Blues the next.

Eating options are even more diverse. Unsurprisingly, Asian cuisine and seafood are strongly represented, though the resort also features upscale Tex-Mex at the Border Grill and contemporary Italian at Lupo.

While the Mandalay Bay Hotel’s beautifully-decorated rooms aren’t within everyone’s price range and some guests may find the hotel’s too busy and lacks intimacy, there aren’t many resorts on the Strip that offer this much on land – and under water.