vegas with kids

[Anonymous]

I'm headed to phoenix for a conference in march and would like to stay a few days in vegas afterwards with my husband and 2 kids (2.5 yo and 7 month old). Which hotels are good for young kids with things for me to do while DH is in the casino? I'd like to stay on the strip so we don't need a car. Are there hotels with kiddie pools and kid-friendly dining options? (we'll probably limit ourselves to buffets once a day!)

[Anonymous]

no. do not bring them.

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the PP. I've only been to Vegas once so I don't feel confident in giving you an exact recommendation, but I think Vegas is very kid friendly. There's so much to see and do that the kids would love. I would definitely take my daughter. Everyone else up gambling and drinking all night doesn't affect you and your family. For hotels I like Treasure Island. Here is a list of kid attractions:

http://www.vegas.com/attractions/kids.html

[Anonymous]

Vegas is fun, we go each year around easter. We always here people are surprised that a family can have fun but we travel all over from Europe to Asia and we have found fun stuff to do everywhere with kids, after all everywhere we travel, people have kids

This is what we did with our then 3 year old.

1. Day trip to Red Rock--30 minutes away from strip...went out there there is a great children't trail for hiking that is something like a circular 1 mile and had a waterfall at part of it. Easy for kids my 3 year old did get tired last 1/4 mile. Gorgeous scenary and lovely ride around the park. Afterwards go to Red Rock Resort for lunch or dinner, very nice buffet and I HATE buffets. The pool there is awesome! Bowling Alley, Movie theatre and also an hourly kids club (we didn't use it)
2. The fish tank at Mirage was a hit Behind the check in desk. We stopped there and he watched fish for an hour.
3. Pools--if you go March-October usually warm enough for pool. We went in April last year and went to pool daily. NICE pool at many properties.
4. We brought a couple of rolls of pennies for him to throw in fountains, there are fountains everywhere.
5. There in a new town center just south of Mandalay bay a bit with a kid's maze made of bushes and a full play area. Play house, tree house, slides, swings, very nice. My son loved it. It's within a fun town center with shopping. We spend a few hours there one afternoon.
6. Went up Eiffel tower
7. The fountain show at Bellagio was very entertaining.
8. We hired Artsy Nannies twice. I was so nervous leaving him but it was fabulous. Did 3 hours first night and then son had such a good time he actually ran down and hugged her when the nanny came the next day. http://www.artsynannies.com/
We had a lady named Andrea (the owner). She did really fun art projects with him, and took him for icecream and then put him to bed. He was well cared for and had fun. We had a suite with a separate bedroom so we brought up champagne and enjoyed in the evening after the kids went to sleep. It's 45 an hour though but we really enjoyed our couples only time
9. Went to Light show at Frontier Street downtown. Some interesting people watching

I don't recommend the shark thing at Mandalay bay I thought it wasn't so good for the money. Son liked the free one better at Mirage Also the tiger experience at Mirage was only ok. I'd skip it. Ditto with Rainforest cafe at MGM, food sucks!

As to where to stay--we usually stay at Venetian but many nice choices. I like staying in mid-strip area easy to walk around to alot. Have fun and don't stress if you think you'll enjoy go for it.

[Anonymous]

OP here. THanks PP! Your suggestions sound fun and easy. I've been to vegas pre-kids and it seemed pretty do-able for families.

[Anonymous]

We have taken our daughter to Vegas several times -- ages 3, 4, and 5.

We stayed at the Bellagio which is lovely, but probably about the least child friendly place we stayed. Pool is awesome. Huge, beautiful, heated. We went to a far end near some steps and our 3 year old spent hours jumping off the steps, riding on our backs in the water, going under water, etc. They have waitstaff that serve drinks poolside -- tip them well, they will bring you whatever you need for your little ones. Oddly, our child cried at the fountain show and she is not usually afraid of much.

Mirage - too cold for the pool when we there one Thanksgiving. Totally agree that the fishtank could kill an hour. They also have a dolphin habitat and some other animals. You have to pay to see them, but it was totally worth it. Our girl had an awesome time waving to the dolphins. It is very small so you can get very close and really watch them which she just loved.

We stayed at Red Rock Resort and Casino the last few times we were there. That is absolutely the best place to stay with kids. First, when you enter the hotel and check in you are on a different floor than the casino so you can enter the hotel and go from lobby to room to pool without going on the smoky casino floor. At the majority of the strip hotels, you have to walk through the smoky casino to get to your room and the pool. Second, the pool is beautiful and has a zero depth entry area perfect for little guys. Third, there is a huge movie theater with stadium seating -- we save up a good kid movie to see when we are there. Fourth, there is a huge bowling alley that welcomes kids. Our kid bowled there at ages 4 and 5. They have bumpers so she had a blast knocking down pins and ordering sprite. Fifth, there is an arcade with lots of video games and air hockey and foosball.

You can hike Red Rock. You can arrange for a Hoover Dam tour. You can also visit an old fashioned western town -- I think it was $25/car when we were there last. It is called Bonnie Springs or something similar. We also went to the outdoor mall with the play area referred to by one of the PPs. It was a lot of fun. They had play structures and houses and fountains or bubblers. Our daughter had a great time there. There is a solid kid friendly restaurant chain called Claim Jumper -- think a cross b/t Cheesecake Factory and Sweetwater. They are super kid friendly and treated my daughter like a queen.

We had planned to take our daughter to one of the Cirque du Soleil shows but wound up not going. They require children to be at least 5 and some of the nice restaurants won't accept reservations or seat parties with children under 5 so that might be your biggest obstacle if you wanted to eat at Robochoun or something. There is a show in the early afternoon with a guy who does a whole comedy routine with animals that is supposed to be great for kids -- your concierge will know about it and it is always in the free booklet of attractions at every hotel. Every hotel has a buffet (Red Rock's was terrific and there were usually some coupons in the paper) and every hotel has a 24 hour casual restaurant that welcomes kids. Mirage also has a Carnagie Deli and they treated our daughter like a visiting deity.

Go you will have a great time!