Las Vegas with Children?

[lilack]

Planning to go to Las Vegas for a few days as part of a trip to California in October 2010. Have been before but that was pre-kids! I remember there being lots to do apart from the gambling and I'm sure my children will love it but how child friendly is Vegas? Children will be 7 & 9 when we go.

Are there any hotels which are particularly child friendly (or unfriendly!)? We would want to use the pool etc but don't want to be frowned on for having the only kids there. But don't want to be totally overrun with other people's screaming kids either!!

[carys]

We are taking our three children in August.We have booked Mandalay bay as although it is at the end of the strip it has a beach , a wave pool and a shark aquarium.We went to Vegas without the children 3 years ago and I don't particularly remember going anywhere or doing anything that was unsuitable for the children as my dh went to the tables without me.There are the coasters , the white tigers , the pirate ship show at Treasure Island and I may take them to show and the Grand Canyon.We are going for 4 nights on the way home.

[purple myra]

Circus Circus is probably the most child friendly, it has a huge funfair inside...haven't stayed there myself though and don't fancy it much to be honest....as Carys says there is the Secret Garden at the Mirage with the Dolphins and the White Lions and Tigers, there are usually lion cubs on show at MGM, there is so much to see just walking up and down the strip...and there is an M&M World....the ride up to the top of the Eiffel tower, seeing the gondolas in the Venetian etc...

[carys]

I hated Circus Circus when we visited I thought it was a dump at the " wrong " end of town.Sorry hope no one is offended by that.Personally I wouldn't want to stay there with or without children.

[purple myra]

lol....I was being a bit more subtle!
We were booked in there the first time we were supposed to go...cancelled due to 9/11 and when we walked passed it when we finally got to LV 3 years later, we were thanking our lucky stars....but i think there are a lot of things in there to keep children amused

[Jools2]

We stayed a Madalay Bay with our children last year, mainly for the reason they had a good pool area. The hotel was lovely.

We went to LV pre kids and really loved it (was some 18 years ago). This time I thought the place had definitely changed from what we remembered of it and for the worst - don't think we will be going back with our children. We took a walk down the strip and hubby was approached every couple of yards by Hmm! how do I put this - people pushing ‘ladies business cards! We only walk a couple of blocks and decide to give up as our 8 year old DS wanted to know why people were giving Daddy pictures of naked ladies!. :erm: May be we are just getting old but we just thought the place was really tacky.

[LynzeeMcK]

We went to LV last January for our honeymoon and we were suprised how much there was for kids. If we'd known before hand we would have taken them with us!!

We stayed in TI which has a pirate type theme thing going on. They have a nightly pirate battle outside which was great.

Exclaibur has a spongebob motion ride, in amonst a huge kids arcade area. I think there was different options of riding on the dino and mine cart but but we went on spongebob!!!

The is a FAO Schwartz in Caesars forum shops too which has the huge keyboard on the ground.

We also visited the Secret Garden at the Mirage which was great and there was loads of kids there too.

[nt639]

We are in Vegas at the moment with children, We are staying at the Staybridge Suites & it is fantastic, we have a 1 bedroom king suite with full kitchen,washer/dryer, dishwasher etc,lounge with l shaped 8 seater sofa,king bedroom ,3 sinks, seperate bath & 2 person shower,a balcony with furniture. It has no casino, is fully non smoking. They run a free shuttle to the MGM Grand .The pool is great & very quiet we have had it to ourselves the last 2 days. The hotel was built as a timeshare & then taken over by Staybridge. It is less than a year old & if you look on tripadvisor it is rated #1 hotel in Vegas (http://las-vegas-hotels.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g45963-d1197075-Reviews-Staybridge_Suites_Las_Vegas-Las_Vegas_Nevada.html) this all for $79 + tax a night.

[signtalker]

Sorry i dont think Vegas is a place for kids, and i agree with one of the above postings that its tacky!. Mandalay Bay is excellent, in every sense of the word, have stayed here twice.With the HOT babes van touring the strip, the clickers trying to shove girly cards in your face for the "Night Workers", nah not my cup of tea, and my DS was 15 last time he went.
Personally I would venture further afield, where there is more to do and see.
I only use Vegas as a base to fly into now.
Sorry
Jules

[Anne K]

We are there now with our 13 years old son. We booked four nights then 11 in Orlando , thinking this would be enough.wish we had booked longer now as there is so much to see and do for every age group. We are staying in the Signature, which is fantastic. The Stratosphere has 3 coaster type rides at the top of it.Both the New York New York aand the Sahara have a coaster also.And then there is the Grand Canyon which is totally AWESOME.

[Nikki'Andrew]

We are taking our three children in August.We have booked Mandalay bay as although it is at the end of the strip it has a beach , a wave pool and a shark aquarium.We went to Vegas without the children 3 years ago and I don't particularly remember going anywhere or doing anything that was unsuitable for the children as my dh went to the tables without me.There are the coasters , the white tigers , the pirate ship show at Treasure Island and I may take them to show and the Grand Canyon.We are going for 4 nights on the way home.

We stayed at the Mandalay Bay a couple of years ago with our 2 boys who were 7 and 10. The hotel was fantastic with the pool and lazy river and beach.Vegas is tacky and you have to make your own personal choice wether to take kids, but to be fair if it was not tacky it wouldnt be Vegas. Our kids talk constantly about going back as they loved it, but next time they want to stay at Excalibur but thats more about the visual effect of the hotel more than anything else

[gail33]

Hi
We went in 2005 with two children and stayed at the Excalibur. We had a fab time and were not approached by anyone in the street. There was so much to do for the whole family. We are back again in August for my daughter's wedding at the Bellagio with my son and granddaughter in tow. This time we are staying at the MGM but I believe that is also child friendly.

[carys]

If you read reviews in other forums ( not as good as this one :) ) there are lots of people who live in Vegas who give great reviews of things to do and they say that the touts are very good about not handing out the paraphenalia to people with children.I don't think I would be wandering the strip with kids late at night anyway but am fairly certain my boys will be giggling their heads off at some of the scanty lady billboards ! TBH they see worse on TV these days in Eastenders or Hollyoaks ! Don't get me wrong I don't condone it and don't want it flaunted in their faces but as a parent I do think there is a right and wrong way to approach these things and I don't think a child's life experience allows them to see the things we see or the way we see them iyswim ? There is a way of explaining things to children at their level that isn't corruptable.Anyway mine are going and I have no real concerns ! lol

[solo]

We visited Vegas a few years ago for our anniversary, we also stayed at Mandalay Bay which we thought was fantastic! We felt there was plenty to do for all ages, in fact we didn't get round to doing everything we wanted and are returning for a few days in january as part of our trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon!

[Jannine]

My DD:angel: loves Vegas, there is something there for everyone:grin:
We stayed at TI & had no problems, we call the pools 'posing pools' as most Americans stand around in the pool with cocktails, but DD still swam around & had a great time.
A word of warning, there are some people on the main strip handing out cards for 'ladies of the night' :blush:but they don't bother families or children.
Go on you will have a fantastic time:grin: try circus circus for the fair ground rides, Stratosphere for the roller coaster on top of the tower:spin:, new york new york for the taxi ride, DH wouldn't do it:grin:. So many great other rides & attractions!
Can't wait to go back now:(

[LizzyBear]

I don't think I would. I know someone with a 3 year old who used to live in Las Vegas until recently so I know there is stuff for them to do but I just think the vibe of the place as a holiday destination is quite adult and TBH seedy. I'm all for kids being well travelled but I think there are so many other places in the world, and in the western US states in particular, that are more suitable for kids. None of this is intended to 'flame' anyone else's decision, JMHO :)