Vegas with Teens - Would you splurge?

[klacey1]

We're going to be there for 6 days and plan on doing Bacchanal, Wicked Spoon as well as the one at Rio. We're hoping that for lunch it is somewhat less costly...

I've been to all of these buffets and they were all great, Bacchanal especially! It's absolutely massive. Be prepared to wait in line to go into the restaurant if you go during peak meal times.

 

[Tikitoi]

I've been to all of these buffets and they were all great, Bacchanal especially! It's absolutely massive. Be prepared to wait in line to go into the restaurant if you go during peak meal times.

Thanks for that. Have been looking into the hours and for some reason I only find these are dinner buffets. Was hoping for at least lunch with these. And seems earliest is 3-4 so we're goingto try to plan around those times.

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks for that. Have been looking into the hours and for some reason I only find these are dinner buffets. Was hoping for at least lunch with these. And seems earliest is 3-4 so we're goingto try to plan around those times.

Bacchanal brunch ends at 3pm.

 

[Tikitoi]

Bacchanal brunch ends at 3pm.

I saw that for some but I just wonder how much I'd be missing by not doing dinner I mean is there a big difference in choices between brunch and dinner...

 

[Ngwira]

I saw that for some but I just wonder how much I'd be missing by not doing dinner I mean is there a big difference in choices between brunch and dinner...

We’ve only done brunch and it was more than adequate.

 

[Tikitoi]

We’ve only done brunch and it was more than adequate.

Thank You for that. Will definitely consider that.

 

[NinaBella]

We arrived home at 2AM this morning.

A few of the places we ate. We didn't do any buffets.

Hells Kitchen (Soft opening so we were able to walk in and get a seat. Upon the grand opening they have 12,000 reservations booked for the next three months.)
PBR Rock Bar and Grill
In-N-Out Burger (daughter insisted she wanted to eat here. LOL)
Chipotle
Panda Express
Johnny Rockets
Noodles (inside Bellagio)
Hoover Dam Cafe
Bellagio Cafe
Jean Philippe (inside Bellagio)
... and rainbow cookies from Carlo's Bakery.

We did go to the Hoover Dam in the morning to beat the bus tours. We did the hour long Dam tour. Then we went to Valley of Fire. It was about 1.5 hour drive from Hoover Dam to Valley of Fire through Lake Mead State Park. This kids really didn't like the long drive but they did enjoy the Valley of Fire. Instead of coming back to the strip through Lake Mead State Park we took I-15 because they kids just didn't want the scenic route at that point. My only tip for Valley of Fire or the State Park is to bring a picnic lunch. The visitor center has a few snacks and drinks, but there is literally no where else to find any food so I am glad we ate at the Hoover Dam cafe before we departed for the Valley of Fire. The bathrooms in the Valley of Fire are also port-a-potty's in a harden building. No sink, so bring your own wet wipes or hand sanitizer. The visitor center has regular bathrooms. It was $20 per car to enter the Lake Mead State Park (they only give discounts to active military - we are retired). It was $10 per car, self-pay, at the Valley of Fire since is its own State Park. The hour long Hoover Dam tour was $30 a person.

We also went to the arcade in New York New York which was jammed pack. We also spent about an hour on Freemont Street Experience and the kids were ready to go after an hour. We would have zip lined but the wait was over 2 hours. I didn't prebuy zipline tickets because I wasn't sure they kids want to. My daughter would have done it if I prepaid. She also was willing to jump off the Stratosphere but when I looked at reserving that online for the next day I kept getting an error so I figured it was old out. We never made it to the Stratosphere or Circus Circus.

Of the hotels we visited: Bellagio, Venetian, Caesars Palace, Mandalay Bay, and the Mirage, I was only impressed by Bellagio and the Venetian. I will add I did like the Volcano outdoor area at the Mirage, but the inside was not impressive. Caesars, Mandalay, and Mirage were old and dated. They also smelled horrible even in the lobby. My husband said his eyes were burning in one (I forget which). They are just heavy smoke/cigar/musty smell. My kids even noticed the difference. The Bellagio and Venetian must have a better air filter system as they did not smell like others. We were upgraded to the Bellagio 34th floor with a fountain view and this was a smoking floor and you couldn't even smell smoke.

The two shows we did were Vegas! The Show and the Cirque Du Soleil Michael Jackson One.

Overall, it was a great trip. We didn't gamble at all.

We spent a lot of money on Uber's. I am not sure if renting a car is better because then you have to pay to park. We didn't want to deal with traffic or parking so we only had a rental car for the trip to Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire. Although the Hertz guy gave us the car until 8AM the next day, we returned it to the airport Hertz after returning from Valley of Fire before going back to the hotel. The strip is not as walk able as I would have liked. One of our Uber driver's says they did that by design to push people back into the Casinos. So unless you are going next door or across the street, walking is not convenient because they way they have the sidewalks designed.

 

[NinaBella]

For those looking for a non Casino hotel, our Uber driver said Mandarin Oriental was very nice. It’s is in between the Bellagio and New York New York. I think I would choose a non Casino hotel next time. It’s just a long walk inside the hotel to go through the casino to get coffee, etc.

His other recommmendstion was the Four Seasons but that’s in the middle of the strip. . We all know Four Seasons are always awesome.

https://www.mandarinoriental.com/las-vegas/the-strip/luxury-hotel

 

[Ngwira]

We arrived home at 2AM this morning.

A few of the places we ate. We didn't do any buffets.

Hells Kitchen (Soft opening so we were able to walk in and get a seat. Upon the grand opening they have 12,000 reservations booked for the next three months.)
PBR Rock Bar and Grill
In-N-Out Burger (daughter insisted she wanted to eat here. LOL)
Chipotle
Panda Express
Johnny Rockets
Noodles (inside Bellagio)
Hoover Dam Cafe
Bellagio Cafe
Jean Philippe (inside Bellagio)
... and rainbow cookies from Carlo's Bakery.

We did go to the Hoover Dam in the morning to beat the bus tours. We did the hour long Dam tour. Then we went to Valley of Fire. It was about 1.5 hour drive from Hoover Dam to Valley of Fire through Lake Mead State Park. This kids really didn't like the long drive but they did enjoy the Valley of Fire. Instead of coming back to the strip through Lake Mead State Park we took I-15 because they kids just didn't want the scenic route at that point. My only tip for Valley of Fire or the State Park is to bring a picnic lunch. The visitor center has a few snacks and drinks, but there is literally no where else to find any food so I am glad we ate at the Hoover Dam cafe before we departed for the Valley of Fire. The bathrooms in the Valley of Fire are also port-a-potty's in a harden building. No sink, so bring your own wet wipes or hand sanitizer. The visitor center has regular bathrooms. It was $20 per car to enter the Lake Mead State Park (they only give discounts to active military - we are retired). It was $10 per car, self-pay, at the Valley of Fire since is its own State Park. The hour long Hoover Dam tour was $30 a person.

We also went to the arcade in New York New York which was jammed pack. We also spent about an hour on Freemont Street Experience and the kids were ready to go after an hour. We would have zip lined but the wait was over 2 hours. I didn't prebuy zipline tickets because I wasn't sure they kids want to. My daughter would have done it if I prepaid. She also was willing to jump off the Stratosphere but when I looked at reserving that online for the next day I kept getting an error so I figured it was old out. We never made it to the Stratosphere or Circus Circus.

Of the hotels we visited: Bellagio, Venetian, Caesars Palace, Mandalay Bay, and the Mirage, I was only impressed by Bellagio and the Venetian. I will add I did like the Volcano outdoor area at the Mirage, but the inside was not impressive. Caesars, Mandalay, and Mirage were old and dated. They also smelled horrible even in the lobby. My husband said his eyes were burning in one (I forget which). They are just heavy smoke/cigar/musty smell. My kids even noticed the difference. The Bellagio and Venetian must have a better air filter system as they did not smell like others. We were upgraded to the Bellagio 34th floor with a fountain view and this was a smoking floor and you couldn't even smell smoke.

The two shows we did were Vegas! The Show and the Cirque Du Soleil Michael Jackson One.

Overall, it was a great trip. We didn't gamble at all.

We spent a lot of money on Uber's. I am not sure if renting a car is better because then you have to pay to park. We didn't want to deal with traffic or parking so we only had a rental car for the trip to Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire. Although the Hertz guy gave us the car until 8AM the next day, we returned it to the airport Hertz after returning from Valley of Fire before going back to the hotel. The strip is not as walk able as I would have liked. One of our Uber driver's says they did that by design to push people back into the Casinos. So unless you are going next door or across the street, walking is not convenient because they way they have the sidewalks designed.

Thanks for a wonderful trip report. Our trip is 3 weeks out. I have finalized everything after making umpteen changes including changing our flight back (day later) and booking another night because of the extended stay. So we plan to hotel hop a lot because our hotels are all covered by points. First night, we arrive at 8:30pm. I didn't want to use points or pay for a hotel for so few hours so we are at the Hyatt Place Las Vegas which has a FREE shuttle from the airport. The next morning we pick up our rental car from National. Then it's off to the Delano for two nights. We plan to do Circus Circus and Caesars Bacchanal brunch buffet that day, then walk it off at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. On Thursday, we have a tour booked to check out Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona. We leave at 6:30am and won't return until 9:30pm. We check out Friday morning and head to the Holiday Inn at Zion National Park. We spend a day at Zion and an overnight. On Saturday, we head back to Vegas and check into the Venetian for our last night. Before we check in, we have lunch scheduled at Hash Hash a go go since I found a travelzoo deal! We will also do Fashion Show Mall and if we have time, Fremont Street. Sunday morning at 7:30am we fly home to Philly on SW.

 

[Ngwira]

We arrived home at 2AM this morning.

A few of the places we ate. We didn't do any buffets.

Hells Kitchen (Soft opening so we were able to walk in and get a seat. Upon the grand opening they have 12,000 reservations booked for the next three months.)
PBR Rock Bar and Grill
In-N-Out Burger (daughter insisted she wanted to eat here. LOL)
Chipotle
Panda Express
Johnny Rockets
Noodles (inside Bellagio)
Hoover Dam Cafe
Bellagio Cafe
Jean Philippe (inside Bellagio)
... and rainbow cookies from Carlo's Bakery.

We did go to the Hoover Dam in the morning to beat the bus tours. We did the hour long Dam tour. Then we went to Valley of Fire. It was about 1.5 hour drive from Hoover Dam to Valley of Fire through Lake Mead State Park. This kids really didn't like the long drive but they did enjoy the Valley of Fire. Instead of coming back to the strip through Lake Mead State Park we took I-15 because they kids just didn't want the scenic route at that point. My only tip for Valley of Fire or the State Park is to bring a picnic lunch. The visitor center has a few snacks and drinks, but there is literally no where else to find any food so I am glad we ate at the Hoover Dam cafe before we departed for the Valley of Fire. The bathrooms in the Valley of Fire are also port-a-potty's in a harden building. No sink, so bring your own wet wipes or hand sanitizer. The visitor center has regular bathrooms. It was $20 per car to enter the Lake Mead State Park (they only give discounts to active military - we are retired). It was $10 per car, self-pay, at the Valley of Fire since is its own State Park. The hour long Hoover Dam tour was $30 a person.

We also went to the arcade in New York New York which was jammed pack. We also spent about an hour on Freemont Street Experience and the kids were ready to go after an hour. We would have zip lined but the wait was over 2 hours. I didn't prebuy zipline tickets because I wasn't sure they kids want to. My daughter would have done it if I prepaid. She also was willing to jump off the Stratosphere but when I looked at reserving that online for the next day I kept getting an error so I figured it was old out. We never made it to the Stratosphere or Circus Circus.

Of the hotels we visited: Bellagio, Venetian, Caesars Palace, Mandalay Bay, and the Mirage, I was only impressed by Bellagio and the Venetian. I will add I did like the Volcano outdoor area at the Mirage, but the inside was not impressive. Caesars, Mandalay, and Mirage were old and dated. They also smelled horrible even in the lobby. My husband said his eyes were burning in one (I forget which). They are just heavy smoke/cigar/musty smell. My kids even noticed the difference. The Bellagio and Venetian must have a better air filter system as they did not smell like others. We were upgraded to the Bellagio 34th floor with a fountain view and this was a smoking floor and you couldn't even smell smoke.

The two shows we did were Vegas! The Show and the Cirque Du Soleil Michael Jackson One.

Overall, it was a great trip. We didn't gamble at all.

We spent a lot of money on Uber's. I am not sure if renting a car is better because then you have to pay to park. We didn't want to deal with traffic or parking so we only had a rental car for the trip to Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire. Although the Hertz guy gave us the car until 8AM the next day, we returned it to the airport Hertz after returning from Valley of Fire before going back to the hotel. The strip is not as walk able as I would have liked. One of our Uber driver's says they did that by design to push people back into the Casinos. So unless you are going next door or across the street, walking is not convenient because they way they have the sidewalks designed.

How were the roads? driving in Nevada? We plan to check out In and Out too. We stayed for 4 nights at the Bellagio this past June and ate at all the places in Bellagio that you did.

 

[Ngwira]

For those looking for a non Casino hotel, our Uber driver said Mandarin Oriental was very nice. It’s is in between the Bellagio and New York New York. I think I would choose a non Casino hotel next time. It’s just a long walk inside the hotel to go through the casino to get coffee, etc.

His other recommmendstion was the Four Seasons but that’s in the middle of the strip. . We all know Four Seasons are always awesome.

https://www.mandarinoriental.com/las-vegas/the-strip/luxury-hotel

Mandarin Oriental is a 5 star luxury hotel, so yeah, it's awesome. Four Seasons is the top floor of Mandalay Bay tower and shares space with MB and Delano. I'm surprised you hated Mandalay Bay..we stayed at Delano which is in the same property but separated by a long walkway (no casino). It's much quieter than MB and all suites. We LOVE it there and have 2 nights planned there. MB has one of the BEST pool areas in Vegas. Your kids would love it if it were open. Mine did.

 

[Ngwira]

Thanks for a wonderful trip report. Our trip is 3 weeks out. I have finalized everything after making umpteen changes including changing our flight back (day later) and booking another night because of the extended stay. So we plan to hotel hop a lot because our hotels are all covered by points. First night, we arrive at 8:30pm. I didn't want to use points or pay for a hotel for so few hours so we are at the Hyatt Place Las Vegas which has a FREE shuttle from the airport. The next morning we pick up our rental car from National. Then it's off to the Delano for two nights. We plan to do Circus Circus and Caesars Bacchanal brunch buffet that day, then walk it off at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. On Thursday, we have a tour booked to check out Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona. We leave at 6:30am and won't return until 9:30pm. We check out Friday morning and head to the Holiday Inn at Zion National Park. We spend a day at Zion and an overnight. On Saturday, we head back to Vegas and check into the Venetian for our last night. Before we check in, we have lunch scheduled at Hash Hash a go go since I found a travelzoo deal! We will also do Fashion Show Mall and if we have time, Fremont Street. Sunday morning at 7:30am we fly home to Philly on SW.

No parking fees since I have pearl status at MGM hotels.

 

[Alexle2007]

Mandarin Oriental is a 5 star luxury hotel, so yeah, it's awesome. Four Seasons is the top floor of Mandalay Bay tower and shares space with MB and Delano. I'm surprised you hated Mandalay Bay..we stayed at Delano which is in the same property but separated by a long walkway (no casino). It's much quieter than MB and all suites. We LOVE it there and have 2 nights planned there. MB has one of the BEST pool areas in Vegas. Your kids would love it if it were open. Mine did.

We stayed at Mandalay Bay over Memorial Day weekend this year and besides the distance from everything, we loved it there. DS10 loved the waterpark- wave pool, lazy river and swimming pool!

 

[amalone1013]

I was just thinking of this thread today! We might go for a weekend in April. DH has a friend who will be in a race out there at the speedway, so I might have some solo time. Just have to figure out where to stay now.

 

[NinaBella]

Thanks for a wonderful trip report. Our trip is 3 weeks out. I have finalized everything after making umpteen changes including changing our flight back (day later) and booking another night because of the extended stay. So we plan to hotel hop a lot because our hotels are all covered by points. First night, we arrive at 8:30pm. I didn't want to use points or pay for a hotel for so few hours so we are at the Hyatt Place Las Vegas which has a FREE shuttle from the airport. The next morning we pick up our rental car from National. Then it's off to the Delano for two nights. We plan to do Circus Circus and Caesars Bacchanal brunch buffet that day, then walk it off at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. On Thursday, we have a tour booked to check out Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona. We leave at 6:30am and won't return until 9:30pm. We check out Friday morning and head to the Holiday Inn at Zion National Park. We spend a day at Zion and an overnight. On Saturday, we head back to Vegas and check into the Venetian for our last night. Before we check in, we have lunch scheduled at Hash Hash a go go since I found a travelzoo deal! We will also do Fashion Show Mall and if we have time, Fremont Street. Sunday morning at 7:30am we fly home to Philly on SW.

I wanted to try Hash House A GoGo, but my DH coworker ate there and told him how huge the portions were. So DH started researching the menu and felt it wasn't for us. Basically, too much food and not food we normally eat. LOL. DH gets annoyed when we only take a few bites of our food and he ends up trying to eat the rest.

 

[NinaBella]

We stayed at Mandalay Bay over Memorial Day weekend this year and besides the distance from everything, we loved it there. DS10 loved the waterpark- wave pool, lazy river and swimming pool!

We didn't hate it, just felt it was old and dated (and smelled). The floors were dull and looked like they needed a good cleaning and waxing. I am only judging from walking through the lobby, casino, and shopping areas. We didn't stay any rooms except the Bellagio. One other thing to note is the casinos that had a more musty and smoke smell were also darker lighting. If you walk though Bellagio or Venetian, the casino lighting is almost near normal lighting. I think the Venetian lights were even brighter than Bellagio.

Because this was a January trip and we are from Florida, pools were not something we considered for this trip. We did notice Mirage lazy river was completely drained. We thought about going into the Secret Garden but not one of us wanted to pay $22 each. We live close to Busch Gardens in Tampa.

Mandalay Bay was the only resort that we were approached by an individual trying to sell items. In this case 8x10 hologram posters for $20 each! LOL. What's interesting is after we told him no, I noticed in his back pocket something that said Korea. He was Asian so I asked if he was Korean. He was Japanese but part of a club at NLVU that was fundraising. Their club wants North and South Korea to unify. Hmmm... probably the wrong thread for me to post my opinion on that. I lived in Korea for many years and have Korean relatives. So I am actually glad I didn't buy a cheap hologram for $20. I did ask if he made them himself and he said a girl in their club made them. But these are hologram posters you can get at carnivals.

 

[NinaBella]

How were the roads? driving in Nevada? We plan to check out In and Out too. We stayed for 4 nights at the Bellagio this past June and ate at all the places in Bellagio that you did.

Off the strip the traffic was excellent. We are use to congested traffic here in Tampa.

There was hardly any traffic in the state parks when we arrived. After lunch there was more visitors and more motorcycles as it was excellent weather for a motorcycle ride. The traffic on I-15 was light compared to what we are use to.

On the strip, it was congested traffic starting around lunch until maybe 2AM.

 

[NinaBella]

Thanks for a wonderful trip report. Our trip is 3 weeks out. I have finalized everything after making umpteen changes including changing our flight back (day later) and booking another night because of the extended stay. So we plan to hotel hop a lot because our hotels are all covered by points. First night, we arrive at 8:30pm. I didn't want to use points or pay for a hotel for so few hours so we are at the Hyatt Place Las Vegas which has a FREE shuttle from the airport. The next morning we pick up our rental car from National. Then it's off to the Delano for two nights. We plan to do Circus Circus and Caesars Bacchanal brunch buffet that day, then walk it off at Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood. On Thursday, we have a tour booked to check out Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend in Page, Arizona. We leave at 6:30am and won't return until 9:30pm. We check out Friday morning and head to the Holiday Inn at Zion National Park. We spend a day at Zion and an overnight. On Saturday, we head back to Vegas and check into the Venetian for our last night. Before we check in, we have lunch scheduled at Hash Hash a go go since I found a travelzoo deal! We will also do Fashion Show Mall and if we have time, Fremont Street. Sunday morning at 7:30am we fly home to Philly on SW.

If anyone in your group wants to zipline, I highly recommend make an advance reservation. I really wish we had the change to zipline over Freemont. There is a upper and lower zipline. I would recommend the upper.

https://vegasexperience.com/slotzilla-zip-line/

 

[Ngwira]

Off the strip the traffic was excellent. We are use to congested traffic here in Tampa.

There was hardly any traffic in the state parks when we arrived. After lunch there was more visitors and more motorcycles as it was excellent weather for a motorcycle ride. The traffic on I-15 was light compared to what we are use to.

On the strip, it was congested traffic starting around lunch until maybe 2AM.

Thanks for your input. I know we lose an hour driving into Utah (to visit Zion NP) but we gain an hour on the way back. I understand it's a straight shot from LV so glad we have a car to get there.

 

[Ngwira]

If anyone in your group wants to zipline, I highly recommend make an advance reservation. I really wish we had the change to zipline over Freemont. There is a upper and lower zipline. I would recommend the upper.

https://vegasexperience.com/slotzilla-zip-line/

So the million dollar question is: did you LOVE vegas or just "like" it?