Las Vegas

[Mum from oz]

We are thinking of adding 3 nights in Vegas before our trip, bu thave no idea where to start.

Where did you stay?

What did you do? Other than gamble

We need a place family friendly.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Haven't been there for quite a number of years but I've stayed at Excalibur, Treasure Island and Caeser's. I've also stayed off-strip but can't remember where.

We pretty much go and have a look at all the casino's (not gamble) and the shops. We also go see a Cirque de Soleil show whilst we are there. We've taken a gondola ride in the Venetian, gone to check out the Star Trek attraction at the Hilton, the jousting at Excalibur, the pirate battle at the outside of TI (which I believe is no longer running), the water show at Bellagio, the great shops in Caeser's, the food at Paris, NYNY, Luxor etc; and gone to check out the laser lights/music show at Fremont Street. We also go and try the buffets.

The outlet shopping at Vegas used to be good; but I think that the discounts are no longer as good there because of all the tourists that visit. These days, we tend to use Vegas as a stopover for a couple of nights before going to the Grand Canyon or the National Parks in Utah.

You can avoid the gambling bits of the casinos without too much issue.

 

[hjd0411]

I'm no gambler, but I do enjoy Las Vegas. There are lots of things to do as PrincessinOz has said. The pirate show at TI is still on, but it has changed a bit over the last couple of years! I love wandering the shops, looking at all the theming at the resorts, walking the Strip etc. Not to mention people watching!! Just sit in a hotel lobby/coffe shop for an hour or so - it is great!!!
I have stayed at Treasure Island and The Flamingo - I like the Flamingo's central Strip position, right opposite Caesar's Palace.
Happy to help if you have any questions!

 

[AussiePJ]

We stayed at Excalibur a couple of years ago and found it to be good for our kids who were 7 and 9 at the time.

Circus Circus would probably be OK though it is a ways a way from other Casinos

 

[kylieh]

My DD8 thinks LV is on par with DL. She wants to go back again. For the third time

Last trip we stayed at Marriot Grand Chatteau which are apartments and include a full kitchen washer/dryer in the one+ bedroom suites. About 300 meters off strip and directly opposite the Planet Hollywood side entrance. non-smoking, non-gambling. We would stay there again.

A lot more exe, and we have stayed there too, is the Four Seasons, which is a luxury hotel. I've looked at prices recently and they are quite good. We would stay there again too, but overall I think for ease and location and casualness (is that a word) we preferred the Marriot.

From post 5 is my TR on LV from our last visit. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2450279

 

[ehsmum]

We stayed at the MGM Grand.

I know I'm in the minority but I don't think that Vegas is family friendly at all. I won't go back there again. My kids hated it too.

 

[BrizMarc]

We stayed at the MGM Grand.

I know I'm in the minority but I don't think that Vegas is family friendly at all. I won't go back there again. My kids hated it too.

Im staying at the MGM Grand for my upcoming trip, How did you find it?

 

[heidispidi]

ehsmum, our friends who just retruned from Vegas had the same opinion as you, that's it's not so family friendly. They did not like the spruikers from strip clubs constantly handing out flyers showing showing scantily-clad women, they said the ground was littered with these flyeres and their 2 girls (9 and 10) were 'at' their dad constantly to not look at them, which made things uncomfortable.

 

[Zife]

Hey all. Not from Australia, but noticed the thread and thought I'd chime in.
Personally, I love Signature at MGM. It's a condo-type resort, and is non-smoking, non-gambling.
It's a bit off strip, but is connected by walkways to MGM, which is huge (and has tons of restaurants), and it's fairly easy to get from the walkways, through the casino and to the strip.
Sig is very much a luxury property (and is consistently rated #2 on Trip Advisor), but you can usually get it for pretty close to the same price as MGM (I've actually gotten it for less before), and runs around $129/night for a studio (can be as low as $90) or $179 for a 1-Br (can be as low as $129). Not sure if this is in your price range or not...
Also, a lot of people remember the Vegas of the 90's that was trying to revamp itself as 'family friendly.' Those days are gone. You can still take families there, and there is stuff to do (Cirque shows for one), but as people have already mentioned, it's not 'Disney' friendly.
The 'porn slappers' as they have been dubbed (referenced earlier as 'spruikers') don't actually work for strip clubs. The cards they hand you have phone numbers on them, and they're essentially handing out cards for prostitutes. Note that there is no true nudity on them (as there's a tiny bit of pixilation over nipples), but they're all over the ground, and looking at them while walking, the girls look *very* naked. Now and then you might also see a moving bilboard drive by with one of these cards blown up on it.
I don't want to discourage you from going, but you need to realize Vegas really doesn't try to be family friendly anymore (but lots of families do go, and have a great time). Check out these links for info on Vegas with families.
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic...king_Your_Kids_to_Vegas-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html
http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic...our_Family_in_Las_Vegas-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html

 

[ehsmum]

Im staying at the MGM Grand for my upcoming trip, How did you find it?

It was fine. It was absolutely huge and took ages to get anywhere. Example, it took us 20 minutes to walk from our room to the pool! And you have to walk through the casino to get to the Strip. Actually it takes forever to get anywhere in Vegas. Nothing is a straight forward walk. You can see where you want to go but you have to manouver crowds, walkways etc to get there. It can take you 30 minutes to cross the street.

ehsmum, our friends who just retruned from Vegas had the same opinion as you, that's it's not so family friendly. They did not like the spruikers from strip clubs constantly handing out flyers showing showing scantily-clad women, they said the ground was littered with these flyeres and their 2 girls (9 and 10) were 'at' their dad constantly to not look at them, which made things uncomfortable.

That was a big part of it definitely. We also struggled with the fact that nothing is open during the day. The only thing to do in daylight is swim but the pools are full of drunks, most of them scantily clad and enjoying each other a little too much. When walking along the Strip we had to constantly avoid stepping in vomit and at times, pools of blood. And the smoking indoors is disgusting. We were on a non-smoking floor at the MGM Grand but people smoked everywhere else - the casinos, the pool, the food court, the lifts etc

 

[ehsmum]

I should add that we arrived on a Wednesday night and first ventured out on Thursday which wasn't too bad but the crowds of partiers arrived on Friday which made the weekend miserable. We were also there in July and the heat was unbearable which added to our dislike of the place.

So if you go midweek and not in the middle of summer you will likely have a better time then we did. The porn slappers and smoking will be there all the time, but avoiding the weekend partiers and the excessive heat would go a long way to making it a better experience.

 

[Mum from oz]

Thanks everyone. We have decided to give it a miss this time. Too much hassle to change everything and also the 3 days before our original trip would make it Fri, Sat, Sun in Vegas which like ehsmum said isn't so great and it's more expensive to stay on weekends. I will keep all the info in mind for our next trip

 

[cola]

We've stayed at the Marriott Grand Chateau and it is in a great location and they do have the Marriott kids club area (Marriott's Activity Zone Experience - MAZE) but the pool in the building is not really a kid friendly pool. I think you get access to the Planet Hollywood pool too, but we didn't try it. Over the years, we've also stayed at The Jockey Club (def not recommended now it has towers around it on all sides), Excalibur (just big hotel, nothing special), Worldmark Las Vegas (away from the main section of The Strip but great pool and lots of space), Hilton Hotel (big hotel, nothing special). With no kids, I'd be back at the Marriott Grand Chateau in a second, with small kids, I'd be thinking off Strip and take a grand parent as a baby sitter....

Vegas certainly has become less family friendly over the last 10 years, add the distances to get anywhere plus the heat, it makes Disney World parks seem compact! If your kids idea of a great holiday is a fun pool, there are lot of south Strip resorts with amazing pools (like Cancún Resort) they have shuttles up to the Strip, great if you have someone that doesn't want to walk around an adult version of Disneyland all day and will stay with the kids by the pool, plus there is outlet shopping in Vegas if you're going to Orlando, Vegas outlet shopping doesn't matter much, but if you're going to Disneyland, Vegas outlet shopping is great

 

[reilly12]

On my most recent trip of las vegas in this year, I was stay in My favorite place is Nikki Beach Club, Café Nikki will make its debut on the Las Vegas Strip as a perfect complement to Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel and Casino.

 

[marvel]

sorry to hear about not going to vegas. We have been twice with the kids and going again in Sept. Kids love it, plenty of things to see, lots of shows, the casino's themselves are just great to be in.

Sorry to hear others have had a bad time but in total we have been 6 times, have never seen vomit or blood anywhere, the porn slappers never come near families, and there is much more nudity on tv and music videos than i have ever witnessed in vegas.

You can also do side trips to Hoover damn which is amazing and the shopping is also fantastic at the outlets.

There is m&m world, the pools at the casinos are great, you have great arcades at excalibur etc, magicians.

Just wanted to give you another opinion, we have recommended vegas to many of our friends and they have all come back so happy and waiting to go back. And we are all responsible parents, and still make sure the kids don't stay up late even in vegas.

 

[lffam]

We stayed at Signature MGM. Great one bed apartment. off strip non gambling property. connected to MGM Grand by internal walkway. While we had a fun in Vegas (2adt + 7yo) i wouldn't rush back in a hurry. Like many have said, its a place for adults to have alot of fun, and Im sure you would. we didn't find too much for Kids, while we did M&M world, which was actually quite disappointing (its really just a 3 story retail shop with a mini cinema showing a corny M&M short movie) and we went and vistited all the main hotels. While certainly spectacular, the distance and heat - it was 33 degrees C one night at 830pm - can be a strain.

we did go and see a great show - the Lion King - totally recommend it, fantastic. We also did an "Elvis Wedding" or vow renewal and that was so awesome, definitely the best part of our stay in LV.

As others have said there are other things to do that would be greta for kids we just didnt. I would love to go there again and maybe have other family with us to look after our child - wouldn't ever leave him with and OS babysitter- but failing that I wouldn't go back till he was older.

 

[HappyFingers]

we plan to stay at trmp tower

have read all the reviews and everyone seems really happy with it

 

[Sugarglider]

I'm a bit down on vegas. I thought it was all a bit tacky and pointless. Others have mentioned the porn slappers, and the untidy streets. I thought all the shows were really mediocre - nothing really appealed to me - lots of big acts that were way past their prime. there is only so much walking around the buildings and shopping centres that one can do (which are all themed and quite outrageous for a shopping centre). I just felt like I was wasting time. I was there a friday and monday nights and there were a lot of drunk people wandering around, hanging by the pool etc. Young women in skimpy clothing and swimsuits, carying 1/2 yards of beer, wandering the strip. Not family friendly.
I got a hire car and drove out to Hoover Dam, the Grand Canyon and Sonoma and highly recommend those areas.

 

[queenie82]

Las Vegas is now officially of any Itinerary unless I'm passing through to go to Hoover Dam, Monument Valley etc...

I've been a few times since 1996 and while it was lovely back then when it WAS focused on attracting families, I was very disappointed on our last visit.
Back then we saw Mystere, there was a fun park at MGM, Circus Circus was GREAT and the Pirate show was a LOT of family fun.

Now - MGM's park is gone, Circus Circus is a shadow of its former self, the Pirate show is just scantily clad people roaming around. Do you know that one ship used to sink every show?

The Flamingo is a HELL hole. The stench of smoke is awful. When it was a Hilton it was good. Now...it's crap.
If you want to go stay at an apartment off strip or The Venetian if you want to stay on the strip. The Venetian is always a highlight for me and the Phantom show is FANTASTIC. So if you go...get a package that includes accommodation and that show. There are lots of offers if you join their mailing list.

But only go there as a stop off on the way if you are exploring the surrounds. It is NOT a family destination anymore.