Where to stay in/near Las Vegas with young kids?

[citymama]

We will be driving to Las Vegas to meet up with some friends. LV was selected as the point on the map that worked for everyone, and where hotels are relatively inexpensive. None of us gamble, we will have young kids and a dog. Older DD wants to see the lights and sounds of the Strip (she read about the fountains and miniature NY and Paris). One older relative is suggesting we stay at a lakeside Westin outside the city, in Henderson, and we can take the shuttle in from there. Having never been to Vegas, I don't know - should we all try and stay at a "family-friendly" place on the Strip like Circus Circus? Or on the lake at the Westin in Henderson 20 miles out, and take the Strip in small doses? I'm kind of skeeved out by the idea of constant stripper ads on billboards and flyers, and potentially kid un-friendly environment and am leaning towards outside the city. DH thinks I am nuts. Advice? We're only talking two nights.

In terms of entertainment - are there some must-sees? I don't need to take them to the aquarium (we have some great ones here), but I would be up for taking them to see something fun that can only be seen in Vegas. Elvis impersonator? Bellagio fountains? What else? And how to avoid all the sleaze? TIA for advice!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'd stay on the strip. Maybe pick a hotel without a casino, like the 4 Seasons or Vdara. I wouldn't want to stay off the strip. I think it can be family friendly. The worst was seeing the topless girl cards laying around but a quick comment to the kiddos to leave them alone would work for me and my family. Stay away with from costumed characters but that's common sense in any city. ;). Almost every hotel has something fun for the family. The pirate show at Treasure Island, a gondola ride at the Venetian, going into the faux Eiffel Tower at Paris, the fountains you mentioned (see them more than once- the songs and show change), the gardens at the Wynn and Bellagio, the beautiful chandelier at the Cosmopolitan, the Chihuly ceiling at the Bellagio, ride some rides...


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[geochick]

Just don't go out after dark (to avoid the adult content on the Strip), and stay on or near the Strip. We've stayed in Henderson at the Lake with our kids before. Fun for a few days, but it's a real pain to get to the Strip. We also like the JW Marriott. It's off-strip, and a pain to get to the fun stuff. Vegas has traffic!!! Avoid Circus Circus. Scary!!!

We like the Signature at MGM. I doubt they take dogs, though. You can use the MGM pool system, and it's nice to be able to go "home" to a condo without the smells and sounds of the actual Strip hotels. The location is great. http://www.signaturemgmgrand.com/ We had a grocery service deliver groceries so we could make breakfast and lunch in the room. We took the in-laws last time. We booked 2 rooms (be careful to book the right type), and they opened up and connect to become a huge suite.

There are so many family friendly things to do in Vegas. Just be very careful about where and when you go. My kids LOVE Vegas.

[123LuckyMom]

We've taken the kids to Las Vegas several times. We stayed in expensive digs, though. We stayed a night at the Bellagio in a fountain view room, and the kids LOVED watching the fountains out the window and seeing the lights of the strip. They also liked the Bellagio lobby, which has a huge Chihuly chandelier and an indoor garden. There's also a chocolate fountain at the pastry shop in the lobby. Then we spent the majority of the trip at the Four Seasons. I wrote about how much we loved it here. This was our first trip. We've been back since.
Las Vegas with kids, some comments
http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=470280
In addition to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, I recommend the volcano at the Mirage. I don't think I mentioned that in the linked post. We also drove out to Red Rocks National Park and did a little hiking. We saw wild burros, and the kids had fun. At no time did we do much walking along the strip. We also walked quickly through the casino parts of the hotels to get to our destinations. In that way we avoided anything unsavory.

[StantonHyde]

I recommend the Marriott Hotels--there is a Residence Inn and another hotel that are just in back of the strip. Remember--every casino hotel, but one--has smoking. I was in Las Vegas for a conference in October and I thought I was going to die. And I don't have air way issues. There is no way in heck I would stay in one of those places with my kids.

[baymom]

We have stayed at The Platinum which is one block off the strip. There is no casino there and each room is a one bedroom condo with a full kitchen, giant bathroom and living room. Other times, we've stayed at casinos, but this place may be perfect for you. In addition to the things PP have mentioned, our kids have liked going to Red Rocks State (National?) Park that's about 20 minutes away and also the Hoover Dam tour. On the strip, they liked walking through The Parisian, New York-New York and the Venetian. There are also some family friendly shows (magicians, animal, some Cirque De Soliel shows)

[Tondi G]

we stayed at Green Valley Ranch in Henderson and had a nice time. The one bonus to being off the strip is that food isn't ridiculously expensive like it is on the strip. A simple breakfast buffet costs and arm and a leg on the strip! Green Valley Ranch has a kids arcade that my boys loved and the pool, while not special (no water slides or lazy river etc.) was fun. It might not be all that warm anyways so a pool might not be a huge deal. I think staying off the strip and driving in to see the fountains, the volcano at the Mirage, the talking statues/fountains at Ceasar's Palace, the lions at MGM (they have a rainforest cafe at the MGM which my boys always liked) for a few hours would probably be enough. New York, New York has a pretty good size arcade and a roller coaster and Excalibur has a fun arcade/midway for the kids as well. Not sure if you or your kids have any interest in zip lining but that is always an option in Vegas now (at Fremont Street or at the Rio hotel). If you want a great Buffet check out the M hotel http://www.themresort.com/dining/studiob.html

[citymama]

Avoid Circus Circus. Scary!!!















This was the best tip ever! Circus Circus is awful, we went for one of the free shows and I wanted to run screaming. We stayed at the SLS on the north end of the strip and it was wonderful - large rooms, totally new, no smoke, and as Starwood Preferred members I think they upgraded us to the nicest of the 3 towers, the Lux tower on one of the top floors. The kids were blissed out, and the hotel had a couple of terrific restaurants that weren't crazy pricey and a nice breakfast cafe. They liked the fountains and the Vegas sights and sounds, but what they loved best was hiking in Red Rock Canyon National Reserve! Since we didn't spend all that much time on the Strip they were not exposed to any sleaze other than a couple of billboards advertising all nude girls and a male strip show which I attempted to distract them away from looking at! Don't think I would head back to Vegas with kids in a hurry but it was a fun weekend trip.