Family. Christmas. Mandalay Bay?

I've read through a ton of past posts, but nothing terribly recent, and TripAdvisor reviewers are giving me pause. Bringing our two kids ages 7 and 10 December 23-26. I see lots of recommendations for Mandalay primarily for a) being away from the madness of the strip and b) having an awesome pool. But, does that make sense at Christmas, when it's quieter (and our kids have already seen some things anyway) and we likely won't be able to swim? If our priorities are shows, food, seeing the sights, and a hotel that's clean, updated, not seedy/overly trendy, and has good service, where would you recommend we go? Non-smoking and in-room fridge would be bonuses. It'll be our first time.