Restaurant Reservations: If You Don't Have 'Em, You're Out of Luck at MGM National Harbor

Is it a sign of success, bad planning, new employees or not enough employees? On Thursday night, two weeks after their grand opening, you can't get a dinner reservation at MGM National Harbor. The place was humming along busy as ever Thursday night -- long lines at restaurants, a jammed casino and a big crowd at the Lionel Richie concert.

The concert itself was amazing -- Richie was in top form as he performed about 20 of his hits from "Sail On" to "Brick House" and "Stuck On You." He performed a stellar, personable show for an audience that was on their feet for much of the 90 minutes. The venue itself was easy to get in and out of, with plenty of ushers and security. There is a bar where you can order drinks and take them into the venue.

If a trip to MGM National Harbor is in your near future, here are a few tips to help your visit go a little more smoothly:

Need extra assistance? Try valet, escalator

If you need extra assistance (we were with a friend using a cane), try the valet parking. It's pretty fast and the drop-off on the Conservatory level went very smoothly (the only thing we would change? the price, at $25). When you're driving in, follow the Casino Valet sign if you're going to the theater, not the Hotel Valet sign. (Getting to MGM National Harbor was a breeze, traffic-wise, driving from Alexandria.)

Don't try to use the elevators to get from the casino level to the hotel level (we were trying to get to the lobby bar). The elevators (at least Thursday night) are programmed not to go to the hotel level. You'll have to grab the escalator. We're not sure why it's programmed this way, but maybe it's for security.

Hungry? Make reservations

If you plan to sit down, dine and be waited on for a nice meal at MGM National Harbor, be sure to make a reservation. We weren't surprised to hear there were no reservations available at any of the restaurants when we called Thursday afternoon for a Thursday night reservation, but we were a little surprised to hear there weren't any at all for the rest of the year (through Dec. 31). We were told we could try to stop by any of the restaurants Thursday night though and see if they had last-minute availability.

We tried that at a few of the restaurants (Voltaggio Brothers Steak House appeared to be the most crowded) and told there was not any availability due to being booked up with reservations. We did have a little luck at Marcus, which is in a central location in the center atrium (Conservatory) when they added our name to a list, but a table never materialized. At one time we were told it would be an hour wait.

When we returned after an hour, we were told by one person it would be another 20 minutes. Another person said no tables would be available for an hour and a half. When we asked why we couldn't sit at one of the empty tables that we could see, one hostess confided that the problem wasn't that the tables weren't available, it was that the kitchen couldn't keep up, so maybe more hiring is going on to get the kitchens up and running at full speed. Plus side: We were offered glasses of wine while we waited before we gave up.

Tip to host or hostesses at the restaurants: We noticed at several of the restaurants that the hosts/hostesses weren't immediately communicating with customers in line. Instead of greeting them and letting them know what was going on, they "hid" behind the host stand and looked at computer monitors or whispered with other restaurant employees, for minutes at a time.

No dinner reservations? Try National Market

If you do not have a reservation and can't manage to grab a seat at one of the restaurants' bars, where you may be able to order food, your next best bet at MGM National Harbor? National Market -- a collection of restaurants where you get in line and order your food. (The longest line was at Shake Shake.) There are plenty of options, from crab cakes to burgers. The only problem again, is long lines and probably finding a place to sit down to enjoy your meal in the open seating area. Tip: Have one person go stand in line to order food, while the other person scouts out seating.

Another option (if our friend wasn't hampered by her knee, we probably would have tried it) is to hop a bus outside the resort to other restaurants at National Harbor.

Employee shortage?

The online career opportunities page for MGM National Harbor shows 78 food/bar-related job openings, so it looks like MGM National Harbor may be short-staffed.

We did have luck getting a glass of wine at the upstairs lobby bar before the concert, where almost every seat was taken. We were hoping for maybe a few handfuls of peanuts, but it wasn't to be. We paid about $14 apiece for two glasses of Chardonnay. The good news: The wine was terrific, or maybe we were just needing that drink after our trek around MGM looking for food.

All that said, we'll probably be back but do more planning ahead to see some big name concerts (if we can get tickets) in the intimate 3,000-seat theater at MGM National Harbor.

Have you visited MGM National Harbor? What's your experience been? Tell readers in the Comments box below.

PHOTO: FISH on opening night at the MGM National Harbor/Patch photo