Mandalay Bay's China Grill in running for best restroom

They look like something from a futuristic movie: The 10 towering, pod-like structures just inside the China Grill restaurant at Mandalay Bay could be time machines for adventure-seeking heroes or cocoons for otherworldly creatures sent to Earth to devour greedy humans. Or they could very well be the best restrooms in America. China Grill's long-lauded restrooms are among 10 finalists in Cintas Corp.'s annual Best Restroom Contest.

"We've gotten calls from all over the country about these bathrooms," said Leonardo Mariotti, general manager of the Mandalay Bay-based China Grill. "There are six restaurants in the collection of China Grill restaurants, and these restrooms are different from all of the others."

In fact, Cintas' description -- "dazzling fountains, with individual pods, each with its own TV" -- doesn't quite do justice to this restroom space, which resembles a disco, swanky nightclub and something out of "2001: A Space Odyssey," all at once.

Space age sanitary facilities

What greets you first is a wonderfully inventive micro-version of the Bellagio's iconic "dancing" fountains, sans the elaborately synced music.

To get to the restrooms, you walk through a curtain of beads that seems more fit for the home of a voodoo enchantress than a fine-dining establishment.

But the beads are fun, and they lead to an area that's part living room, part swanky nightclub, with red couches and a coffee table.

Now, as for the pods themselves.

Picture the top half of an octagon cut in two pieces. Take one piece, encase it in silvery-white glass and ring the borders with shiny metal.

From the outside, the pods give off a subtle glow, as if there's some sort of metamorphosis going on inside.

The interiors are just as a space-agey, with dim lighting creating a nighttime-all-the-time effect and small TVs in the walls providing escape.

Mariotti said the restrooms complement China Grill's mix of energy and calm.

"They create a very relaxed atmosphere," Mariotti said. "These bathrooms have been popular for a long time. They were mentioned in a hospitality course at Cornell University about cutting-edge bathrooms.

"I guess a lot of our customers were impressed enough to recommend that we participate in this contest," he said.

Cintas created the Best Restroom award in 2002 to honor businesses across the U.S. and Canada that place high value on hygiene and exceptional style in their public restrooms.

"We like to think of this contest as a fun, lighthearted way of drawing the public's attention to the very important issue of restroom hygiene," Rich Bing, marketing manager for Cintas, said in a statement.

"People don't think about such things until they walk into a poorly kept restroom, and then it matters," Bing said. "After that, the odds are they won't be back."

Over the last eight years, the contest has attracted thousands of voters. Online voting (at www.bestrestroom.com) ended Aug. 31.

The site takes visitors on a photographic tour of each facility and then encourages them to choose their favorite.

The winner of the Best Restroom competition will be announced in September.

Best of the rest ... rooms

Other finalists for the 2010 America's Best Restroom award include the Embassy Theatre in Fort Wayne, Ind. (Egyptian design, fireplaces, gold columns and custom wainscoting); Rivue Restaurant & Lounge in Louisville, Ky. (custom light fixtures, translucent ruby washbasins, floor-to-ceiling stall doors and cloth towels); the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City (Italian Carerra marble, bronze-and-crystal chandeliers, floor-to-ceiling commodes, inlaid African anegre wood and hand-painted walls); and Bryant Park in New York (beaux arts design, full-time attendant, fresh-cut flowers, scented oils and electronic seat covers).

They're joined by the Fountain on Locust in St. Louis (hand-painted murals, ornate fixtures and designer mirrors); Lawrence Dumont Stadium in Wichita, Kan. (hand-painted murals, baby-hanging areas adorned as the Lil' Rookie Changing Station); the Muse Hotel in New York (individualized restrooms, each with a different theme); Santa Monica Pier in Santa Monica, Calif. (ocean-themed, with undulating roof form that evokes thoughts of a vintage wooden roller coaster or ocean waves); and Joe's Farm Grill in Gilbert, Ariz. (futuristic design featuring TVs, G.I. Joe and Barbie dolls and automated fixtures).

Previous winners include restrooms at the University of Notre Dame; the Grand Casino in Biloxi, Miss.; Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wis.; the Fort Smith, Ark., Airport; Wendell's Restaurant in Westerville, Ohio; Jungle Jim's International Market in Fairfield, Ohio; the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville; and the Shoji Tabuchi Theatre in Branson, Mo.

Competition sponsor Cintas Corp. is a Cincinnati-based provider of restroom supplies, uniforms and other business services and products.

For more on China Grill and Mandalay Bay, visit www.mandalaybay.com/dining.