Published on: March 2, 2026, at 07:21h.

Updated on: February 10, 2026, at 03:22h.

Every credible reference—from Mandalay Bay’s official site to listicles on rooftop bars—states that the Foundation Room, currently undergoing renovations, is situated on the 63rd floor of the resort. However, Mandalay Bay only features 43 floors. What’s the explanation?

The Disappearing Floors

Mandalay Bay bypasses floors 40 to 59 entirely. The numbering transitions from 39, the top of the Four Seasons Hotel, directly to 60, omitting 20 floors to avoid raising eyebrows.

This peculiar floor numbering was established when Mandalay Bay opened on March 2, 1999. During the 1990s, Clark County implemented zoning restrictions limiting hotel heights on the Strip to about 500 feet, ensuring a balance of safety and aesthetics. For Mandalay Bay, this equated to a 43-story tower reaching 480 feet tall, along with a small antenna.

Here’s the accurate floor layout for Mandalay Bay:

• Floors 1–30: These constitute the primary guest room floors, accommodating the bulk of the resort’s 3,209 rooms.
• Floors 31–34: Initially designated as extra guest room floors, these were renumbered to 56–59 after the tragic mass shooting on October 1, 2017, to dissociate the property from the horror linked with the 32nd floor.
• Floors 35–39: These floors comprise the Four Seasons Hotel Las Vegas, a luxury accommodation with its own check-in, branding, and elevators.
• Floors 40–43: These are open-air levels, misleadingly labeled as 60-63. Floor 40 contains luxurious suites, while 41 and 42 host lounges and observation areas, and 43 is home to the Foundation Room. Run by the House of Blues, it offers an exclusive club, dining facilities, and outdoor terraces showcasing panoramic Strip views.

Perception of Height

Creating fictional floor counts is a common practice in Las Vegas, where higher numbers often equate to an aura of prestige.

When staying at The Wynn, a room on the “60th floor” actually places you on the 48th floor, as there are no designated floors 40-49 in either The Wynn or its counterpart, Encore. Additionally, the 4th and 13th floors are absent due to cultural superstitions; the number 4 is perceived as unlucky by many Asian visitors, as it phonetically resembles the word for “death.” (It is pronounced “si” in Mandarin and “shi” in Japanese.)

Other resorts that partake in this strategy include:

• Planet Hollywood: Claims to have a 52nd floor in a building with only 38 stories, bypassing both 13 and 40-49.
• Aria: A tall structure at 61 stories but only has 50 actual floors.
• Resorts World: A seemingly 66-story hotel with just 55 floors.
• The Rio: Advertised as 51 stories while housing only 41 floors.
• The Palms: A 55-story hotel that features only 42 floors.
• Circa: A hotel that stands 60 stories tall yet comprises only 35 floors.

This misleading practice works effectively since guests rarely count the actual building stories from the outside, and many may not give second thoughts to the discrepancies reported by elevators.

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