Mercure Mandalay Hill Resort

The breakfast buffet is huge, and the dinner buffet looked tempting, though I didn’t try it. If you have time, the Spa has a “Happy Hour” from 9-17:00 with 50% off. The hotel feels relaxing, stylish, luxurious, and comfortable. Front-facing rooms are on the small side, but well laid out; rooms on the other side are larger, with sweeping views of the pool and pagodas, and may be worth the extra cost. Checkout can take a while because the already slow elevators get crowded with bellmen bringing guests’ bags down. I’d stay again and hope to spend more time by the fabulous pool.

It seems a little far from downtown, but for me it’s only a few minutes by car. They’ve kept up their service over the years, even though room occupancy is lower than the level of service they provide. It’s still a great choice, as always. I hope they don’t leave this industry.

The pool area is amazing, and the property is convenient for visiting the sights. Staff are extremely friendly and ready to help. There are three restaurants, and I’d suggest spending an evening at the BBQ with the dance performances. Food quality is good across all of them, though nothing stands out as exceptional. A suite is affordable, and I found the executive lounge worth the extra cost, with food and drinks available all day and cocktails in the evening. You can rent bikes to get around the sights easily, except for Mandalay Hill, where walking or taking a car is better.

The rooms are old and gloomy, and the toilet and bath are no better. This hotel needs a renovation soon. For the price, though, it’s a good hotel. Staff service needs work: the lobby bar was slow, and the breakfast buffet service was below par. They closed the buffet about fifteen minutes after we were still eating, and staff let us know by standing beside our table, just two feet away. It startled us into leaving.