Mandalay Bay

123 Reviews
3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV89119
74% got a Vegas Hotel Deal
Mandalay Bay Las Vegas

Mandalay Bay Review Highlights

Recent Hotel Deals & Upgrades

Recent Room Upgrades: 0% 0/0
All Time Upgrades: 74% 82/111

Room Upgrade Reports

JP
03/04/2018
Tipped:  $20 Upgraded to  Bay Suite  from  Bay Suite 

Prime rush, didn’t even have to ask. Made the sandwich and Got upgraded from a 5th floor room to a 27th floor room.

Was this an epic upgrade?
Jason
05/25/2011
Tipped:  $50 Upgraded to  1500 x 3  from  550DR 

Our group arrived very late on a Wednesday night – more precisely 1230AM thursday morning.
Now I must admit I was skeptical of this concept but I figured what the heck, just try it and see what happens. After all, we’re in Vegas so if it doesn’t work we’ll still have a good time.

The lobby was almost vacant. It was late/early and a few days before the big Memorial Day weekend so we knew it was slow. Only two lines were open. We went to a younger Asian woman. I had the $50 stuck between my I’d and cc and was ready to do the routine. She asked for my last name and confirmed that our reservation was for the 550DR. She then asked for the I’d and cc. With a smile I handed it over and waited to make sure she noticed the $50. Once she touched it, I asked if she could do any comp upgrades. She looked back and smiled. This is where it gets fun.

She set the $50 aside and immediately got to work. My buddy who was with me could see the screen and said she was clicking through the list of available rooms at a blazing pace. I suspected that she was searching for something nice. She landed on one and asked us if a two bedroom, two king bed suite would work. Did we hear that right? No way would $50 get us THAT! We smiled and said yes. I couldn’t believe this was working. It was just like this site said! The $50 was quickly placed out of sight and after a few more clicks we had our room keys and the $50 was in her pocket.

As we got to our floor we wondered if we really got the 1500 suite. The desk clerk’s accent made her somewhat difficult to understand so maybe, just maybe, we got too excited and we got a room with a view- which wouldn’t be all that bad.

We stepped out of the elevator still not knowing what we got and joked how the double door suite at the end of the hall was our’s. With a bit of arrogance we continued to joke about those double doors as we kept walking down the hall. Yet we were still skeptical that this actually worked. Then we realized that our room was the last room number in that hall. We got the double doors!

We really had no idea what to expect when we opened the doors. I mean if we would have gotten any type of upgrade we would have been happy. But this was amazing. We opened the doors to see a huge suite with a lounge area, eating area, two bedrooms with separate bathrooms, and 5 TV’s. Oh yeah, and a full view of the strip on the ninth floor. Each night I went to bed (passed out) I was starring right down Las Vegas Blvd. Simply breathtaking. And if that view got boring I would walk to one side of my room and view the airport…and if that was too dull I would walk to the other room and enjoy the mountains.

So to sum this up, we went from the most basic room category to one of the best Mandalay Bay has to offer just for $50. Plus the daily resort fees were covered and we got a couple free drink tickets.

I am now a believer in this and will do it no matter where I go. This takes no special tricks or gimmicks. Just a little extra cash, a smile, and some confidence.

Was this an epic upgrade?
Roy
10/03/2019
Tipped:  $20 Upgraded to  Great Room Suite  from  Deluxe Room 

Originally booked 7 nights in a standard King Room! Front desk lady noticed straight away our $20 inside our passport and asked if we were celebrating a special occasion!?? We notified her it was our wedding anniversary and she gave us a an Elite King suite on the 29th floor!! Amazing upgrade including a bigger floor plan, a double bath tub with an excellent views! Amazing hotel and worth every cent of the $20!!!

Was this an epic upgrade?
Mark R
03/04/2019
Saved:  $$800 Tipped:  $50 Upgraded to  Unsure  from  Unsure 

This was our first time visiting Las Vegas and our first time in 4 years getting away together without our kids (which we told the clerk when she asked if we were celebrating anything special). There were about 10 people ahead of us when we were checking in. We just went to the next available clerk to check in. I put a $50 bill in my passport with my credit card at check-in and asked if there were any complimentary upgrades available. The clerk ran my card and passed my passport and card back to me (she saw the tip but left the $50 in my passport) and said she’d go check with the room coordinator regarding an upgrade. She came back a few min later and said the room coordinator could give us a Moorea Suite for a reduced rate of $50 extra per night. That in itself would have been a great value but she continued on saying she’d comp that $50/night extra charge. So in the end it was a free upgrade. I asked if she needed to run my card again handing my passport and the card (and the $50) back to her to give her another chance to take the tip. She said no and that we were all set to go.

We originally booked an Elite King room which is one room at around 500 square feet with a large bathroom.

The Moorea Suite is 1,440 square feet with a wet bar, area and lounge area, and separate bedroom with large bathroom including a jacuzzi tub.

Was this an epic upgrade?
BamBam
12/17/2018
Saved:  $500 per night Tipped:  $20 Upgraded to  Media Suite  from  Deluxe Room 

Just came back from Vegas…I originally booked the King deluxe room. After reading and watching youtube videos regarding the 20 sandwich trick, I figured let me give it a try…Well, it worked out great…I went from a delux room to a Master penthouse on the 62 floor…it was amazing. I haven’t read of anyone getting upgrade to a penthouse..it was so amazing, just wish I had a big group of friends in Vegas to really enjoy the room..it was just to big…but hey, I am not complaining.

Was this an epic upgrade?
Ed
01/07/2020
Tipped:  $40 Upgraded to  Deluxe Strip View  from  Deluxe Strip View 

Got cheap last minute flight for the wife and I, got to MB late afternoon on my b-day, won $40 on a slot the moment I walked in. Feeling good, I’ll use the $40 to try the trick. Get to check in, no one in line…wow!!! Reading all the great stories, and my luck thus far, I thought upgrade for sure. Walk up to the clerk, and hand him the sandwich with the $40 between my ID and credit card and asked if there were any specials or upgrades available. He takes the ID and card, leaves the $40 on the counter. As he clicks away, he wishes me happy bday, makes a couple calls, jokes with us about spending time in Vegas with no kids…all great signs that an upgrade is coming. He takes the $40, gives us our room keys, and directs us to the elevator. I ask, “so was there an upgrade?” He simply says “sorry, no, were completely booked.” OK? Walking up to our room, I thought maybe a welcome basket or champagne will b waiting for us. Nope, nothing.
Didn’t work, but at least it wasn’t my own money.

Was this an epic upgrade?
Jonathan
08/25/2019
Saved:  $600 Tipped:  $20 Upgraded to  Great Room Suite  from  Deluxe Room 

Booked 2 rooms and thought that it might be difficult for the upgrade on the weekend. I did $50 with the trick, got the upgrade then she handed me back and said to keep it because helping us was her pleasure. So i gave her 20 after and told her thank you.

Was this an epic upgrade?
Alex
06/02/2014
Tipped:  $20 Upgraded to    from  Standard 2 Queen 

HUGE line when we checked in around 530, which I knew was a bad sign. We approached our assigned FD clerk, handed her the ID and CC and obviously laid out a fresh twenty on the counter. We asked if they had any complimentary upgrades and relayed that we had stayed with friends in their 2 bedroom suite and would love to upgrade to on again. She typed for approximately four seconds and said nothing was available. Upon pressing, she said no suites were available at all, not even for paid upgrades. She was not terribly pleasant, but suggested we come down the following day to ask if any became available because there was a huge rush and everything was taken. We came down the following day to talk about upgrades and again presented a 20. She said we could upgrade to a suite for $200 a day. When we asked for a better view with the same room configuration as we had, it would be another $30 a day. Very confusing seeing as you could book a suite with a view for $20 extra for four days. Won’t be going to MB again, unfortunately. Very unhelpful.

Was this an epic upgrade?
Justin
01/20/2012
Tipped:  $20 Upgraded to  Suite @ theHotel  from  2 Queen Beds @ Mandalay Bay 

My goal was to use a female clerk so I could schmooze her a bit. I think it’s easier to do the sandwich tip when you can have good communication and the opposite sex lets the hormones start running too. When I first arrived at the desk, I gave a nice big smile and then gave her the sandwich tip.

She pocketed the $20 and started looking at the computer for rooms. I then said “do you have any complimentary upgrades?”. SHe immediately nods her head and says yes, we do @ theHotel. She then tells me I will get a suite and ask me how many key cards I want.

SUCCESS!

Was this an epic upgrade?
Aaron
03/29/2016
Saved:  $non, they nickel and dimes us for everything Tipped:  $20 Upgraded to  Unsure  from  Unsure 

When we arrived I like others had prepared the sandwich with a $20.00. We just went for the next available clerk as it was busy. For us it was about mid day. We were asked whether we wanted a king or two queens and if floor height was important. I naturally went for as high as we could go with a king bed. I had my sandwich ready as we asked for an upgrade. We were quickly turned down with the response that they didn’t do complimentary upgrades anymore. I pocketed my $20 bill very quickly after that. When we got to our room we asked for a complimentary fridge for our personal liquor, which they never said would be a charge for. At the end of our trip we had to go complain that we were charged and extra $35 a day for this mini fridge. For this we were refunded, but only after we complained. Our room was nice, our view was ok. The customer service at this hotel was less than satisfactory for us.

Was this an epic upgrade?