When THEhotel opened in 2004 a lot of people made fun of the name. Mostly me. Come on, you have to admit it’s a bit silly.

But if you can get past that trendy bit of moniker madness, you’ll find one of the best hotels in Las Vegas in its category, worthy of its massive and immediate acclaim including the coveted AAA Four Diamond Award.

In theory, THEhotel is merely an expansion of Mandalay Bay, the upscale hotel at the south end of The Strip. But they operate the 64-story tower as its own entity, complete with a separate entrance and check-in desk, its own elevators, its own restaurants and lobby bar, its own spa, and its own valet parking. If you want you could stay at THEhotel and never step foot in Mandalay Bay.

Of course if you do choose to wander down the long hallway to the Bay you have a massive casino, more restaurants, shops, and entertainment waiting for you. A warning though – to get there you have to pass the showroom so try to avoid it just before and after show times so you don’t get caught in the crush.

THEhotel is done in a stark black, white, and tan color scheme in the public areas make the place look like nothing else you’ll find in Vegas, turning what could’ve just been another room tower into its own universe, completely separate in ambience from the rest of Mandalay Bay.

In the lobby area you’ll find a 24-hour café serving a wide variety of menu items, a lobby bar with a pool table, and a coffee bar serving pastries and the like.

A short elevator ride delivers you to the Bathhouse spa, an eye-popping space with lots of reflecting pools and waterfalls tucked into surprising places creating a coolly tranquil ambience. They offer the full range of services alongside the usual hot tubs and saunas so if you need to pamper your cares away this seems like a really good place to do it.

Or if you need to sweat your cares away there’s also a fully equipped, high-tech workout room with all the latest treadmills and exercise equipment. I still don’t understand why anyone uses these in Vegas but if you do, you’re a better person than I am.

At the top of the tower – up a stomach-churning glass elevator ride, you have been warned – is Mix, a nightclub and restaurant offering some unparalleled views of the city. The nightclub is done all in black while the restaurant is all white, decorated whimsically as if you’re inside a champagne bottle with bubbles everywhere.

The 1,120 suites are stunning, done in rich chocolate brown with splashes of orange on the furnishings that look great, but be aware that some of the living room pieces aren’t all that comfy for long stretches of sitting, doing nothing, as I am often inclined to do - especially when there’s a 42” plasma screen TV in the living room, a 36” inch plasma in the bedroom, and a 13” inch in the bathroom.

These are honest-to-God suites, with a separate living and sleeping areas. There’s a half bath as you enter, a wet bar, a couch and chair, a desk wired with high-speed Internet service, and the aforementioned big TV with pay-per-view movies and a DVD player.

The bedroom has a full bath – big with a separate tub and shower and lots of high-end spa amenities - plus an armoire with the other TV, a big comfy bed, another chair, and assorted other furnishings. It’s all quite lovely and some touches of whimsy (the rolls in the bathroom are marked THEtp) take the edge off what could be viewed as aggressively trendy.

Of course all this luxury doesn’t come cheap. You’ll probably never get a room here for less than $179 a night and weekends go for well over $300 (sometimes over $400), which is a heck of a lot of money to pay when you could probably get something next door at Luxor for half that. Whether or not it’s worth it is a decision I can’t make for you, but I’m inclined to say that if you want to pay these kind of rates there are very few hotels in this town that do what they are doing as well as they are doing it.

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