The mirrored tower of the Mohegan Sun Hotel rises out of the Eastern Connecticut hills like a glittering 36-story silver crystal. Standing above the banks of the Thames River, it provides lodgings for the massive Mohegan Sun gaming and entertainment complex run by the Mohegan Tribe, halfway between the metropolitan areas of New York City and Boston and just a mile off Interstate 395 on its own feeder road. Visitors partake in world-class entertainment, fine dining, upscale shopping, elegant lodging, and hundreds of thousands of square feet of gaming all under one roof.
Because the hotel entry also serves as one of the entries to the entire gaming, entertainment, dining, and shopping complex, it is busy at almost any hour. A broad canopy covers an extensive valet parking area, which is staffed with helpful baggage handlers. The free valet parking service uses a bar-code call system, which allows visitors to pick up their cars at any of the complex's exits in five minutes or less.
The bustling lobby is decorated with polished stone and tile floors, birch-bark walls, fountains, and trees made of steel strung with over 3,000,000 beads. Check-in is fast and efficient, with a smaller VIP check-in area tucked away near the main entry. A private lounge allows high rollers and celebrities to get their rooms in complete comfort, and a special charter-bus entry handles large groups quickly and efficiently. To one side, a cluster of comfortable couches and chairs watched over by the 24-hour concierge divides the lobby from the two banks of elevators. Security-conscious hotel staff check visitors' key-cards before they are allowed on the elevators.
Mohegan Sun's restaurants range from fast food to fine dining, with much of the selection focused on the high-moderate range. As the hotel lobby
transitions into the rest of the complex, dining is right at hand, with casual dining left and right, and gourmet Italian dining at Todd English's Tuscany straight ahead. In all, the complex holds more than 25 restaurants, including three buffets, five fine dining options, and two food courts. While casinos hold an eternal timelessness, night and day blending together, the restaurants at Mohegan sun maintain hours similar to those outside, with casual dining open for lunch and dinner, fine dining mostly dinner, and few choices in the middle of the night. Chief's Bagels and Imus Ranch Coffee both stay open 24 hours, for late-night snacks between visits to the casinos. For a quick bite, Johnny Rocket makes an excellent burger and fries in a 50s diner atmosphere. For a reasonably-priced casual dinner, try ribs at Big Bubba's BBQ. Liquor and beer is served at most of the restaurants, and Mohegan Sun's twelve bars stay open past midnight, including the Dubliner Irish pub and Ultra 88 dance club. A three-story mountain of back-lighted alabaster and onyx houses Leffingwells martini bar, with a dome of stars overhead, the casino below, and 50 different martinis on the menu.
Entertainment within the complex is not limited to gaming in the two casinos—free nightly music at the 300-seat Wolf Den covers a range from jazz to rock and from Quiet Riot to the Oak Ridge Boys, major acts like Janet Jackson come to the 10,000 seat Mohegan Sun Arena, and the intimate Cabaret Theatre brings comedy acts to a 350-person audience. Within the hotel tower, a heated, enclosed junior-Olympic pool with a full-service bar is opened out to fresh air in the summer. It is part of the hotel's fitness center, complete not only with the expected exercise equipment, but also with staff members who lead aerobics and spin classes.
The Elemis Spa fills the remainder of the hotel's third floor, with beauty parlor treatments for the outside, and relaxing 
spa and massage treatments for the inside. The spa's signature treatments include the Ceremony of Strawberry Moon—a couples massage followed by a jasmine flower bath for two, along with champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. The concierge can arrange explorations outside the hotel and resort complex, including golfing in the Tribe's 18-hole championship golf course Mohegan Sun Country Club at Pautipaug or to nearby attractions like Olde Mystic Village or Rhode Island beaches.
The hotel's trading-post themed gift shop is only the beginning of Mohegan Sun's 130,000 sq ft of upscale shopping. Among the 60 retail outlets include shops like Coach, Godiva Chocolatier and Swarovski crystal.
Mohegan sun has over 100,000 sq ft of function space spread across two floors, ranging from a pair of boardroom-sized meeting rooms to the Uncas Ballroom, the largest ballroom in the Northeast with over 37,000 sq ft, enough room for class space for 3,400 people. Each room has full AV connections, ethernet, and drop-down digital video projectors. Loading docks make easy access to the ballroom, while a large pre-function area connects the convention center area to the nearby casino. If additional space is needed, meeting planners can have exclusive use of one of the restaurants or of the Cabaret.
The hotel's 1176 rooms are accessed by security-card controlled elevators. The decor across the entire hotel carries on the Native American themes. The smallest standard rooms measure 415 sq ft, while the largest suite is over 3,600 sq ft. The beds are either king or double-queen, plushly appointed. The sofas in the suites are full-size pull-outs. Each standard room has two chairs and a desk accessible from both sides, making the desk a tabletop for room service. Data services include a dataport at the desk, 
wireless Internet, two phone lines, and voice mail. Many of the rooms feature 32-inch flat-screen TVs with RGB and RCA inputs while most of the standard rooms have not yet upgraded from their 27-inch standard TVs, with front audio and video inputs. Each room has its own safe large enough for a laptop computer, minibar, iron and board, hair dryer and coffeemaker. Standard room baths are typically tub with shower, while the suites feature separate tubs and showers and the handicapped-accessible rooms have wheelchair-accessible showers.
The hotel has three classes of views, the best of which is the Cove View. River View is also nice, while Countryside View should be avoided except on the highest floors as it overlooks the expansive rooftop of the remainder of Mohegan Sun's structure. The views of the river and cove are wonderful, especially at the height of autumn color or during the snowfalls.
Only 350 of the hotel's rooms are smoke-free. Three rooms on each floor are wheelchair-accessible, with lower beds, legroom under the sinks, lower closet poles, and wheel-in showers. While guide animals are allowed, no other pets are allowed.
There are no other hotels in the area that service the visitors to Mohegan Sun's casinos. Lodgings at Mystic, New London, and the competing Foxwoods resort and casino are all a half-hour's drive away, making the experience of going to Mohegan Sun a day-trip rather than an immersive experience. All said, it's that experience that makes a stay at Mohegan Sun unique—from the time you give your keys to the valet to the time he returns them, you are under one roof, with no need to explore outside for your entire stay.
