Kid friendly Vegas hotels?

[midas]

I think that Mandalay Bay is one of the most kid friendly hotels on the Strip. Great pool area, aquarium and kid friendly restaurants. Spend the extra 30-40 a night and stay at The Hotel at Mandalay where every room is a junior suite with 2 tvs and 1 1/2 baths.

If you can't afford Mandalay - stay at Luxor which connects right to MB.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

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Excalibur is your best (and close to only) option.

Families with kids used to stay at the Circus before Excal opened (includinng mine when I was a tyke). Excal is your best option, easily.

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Also, NYNY is right across the street with a surprisingly good (and expensive) rollercoaster and arcade.

[LasVegasMichael]

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doesn't treasure island have some kid stuff?

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does your kid like hookers? If so, yes.

it's now called "TI" and I don't see anything about kids there.

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TI was originally built to be Wynn's "Family" oriented resort in the early 1990s, which was the peak of the family phase that Vegas went throuh.

However, that phase is long since dead, and with the multimillion dollar remodel, all the Pirates of the Caribbean [censored] that was in Treasure ISland has been sold off at auction (including the bone chandeliers, Jolly Roger sign, and skull and crossbone wall sconces), and the resort is now a respectable adult's resort.

[Dennisa]

Ive taken my kids to the Orleans a number of times. Movie theatre bowling and an arcade. The restaurants and family friendly and the rooms are slightly larger than average Vegas rooms. Its close enough to drive to Excalibur/ Luxor (Imax and motion rides) for the day. Also the Alladin has an afternoon magic show that is kid friendly.

Do not stay at Circus Circus, its a huge dump and the masses of humanity to move from one location to another is awful. If you must, just stop by there for a day trip.

[StevieG]

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My sister, her husband and 2 girls (8 and 9) want to go to Vegas for a few days early April and were wondering which hotel was the most "kid friendly" and reasonable priced of the bunch? Also, is this time of year (early April) warm enough in Vegas for pool access?

TIA

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They asked about hotels, so here are two suggestions:

Flamingo will be reasonable for the center Strip location, there is a good pool (early April may be hit or miss, average high 78, but historic high is close to 100, and low is 40) and the flamingos and penguins are fun for kids (for about 10 minutes anyway)

Orleans is off strip, but will definitely be cheaper for rooms than most places, and has the bonus of bowling lanes and a movie theatre. Not only that, but gift shop, restaurants, etc., all reasonably priced. Never been to the pool, and it can't be anywhere as good as Flamingo, Trop, or Mandalay Bay.


But I agree with others that Vegas is not the place to take the kids. Everything there is to do costs money, most is not cheap, and very little is meant for kids. It's difficult to find a spot to sit down without opening your wallet.

That said, if your sister is determined to go, I am sure we can put together agenda items for you:

Kid Friendly Vegas near the Strip

<ul type="square"> [*] Mac King Comedy Magic show in the afternoon at Harrah's - bonus is that the tickets are cheap (around $20 usually witha free drink), and the adults will have a good time
[*] Dolphins at the Mirage - $15 adult, $10 kids
[*] Flamingo wildlife - penguin feeding time is fun, and it's free
[*] Midway at Circus Circus - crawling with kids, and geared to them completely. Free circus acts, but lots of time between them.
[*] Tournament of Kings at Excalibur - chicken dinner with swordplay entertainment popular with kids, but $60 for a ticket
[*] Pinball Museum - off the beaten path, and off strip, east on Tropicana Ave., but not too far, free admission, and dozens of machines old and new to try out[/list]
A quick search also finds the Lied Children's Discovery museum, north of downtown, so pretty far from the Strip. That seems like fun for kids, but I am sure there's something like that in your sister's hometown.

If not, suggest a trip to the Smithsonian in D.C. instead.

[sternroolz]

Like others have said...just don't bring kids to Vegas. If they do, I agree with the Orleans(if they have a car) or Excalibur suggestions. And if they have to stay at CC, DO NOT stay in the Manor Rooms. Pay the extra $ and stay in the tower.

[otter]

nothing but kids at Circus Circus

[MicroBob]

When I stayed at the TI I was surprised at the number of families and kids running around. This was 2005. And I agree that TI isn't exactly designed to be family-friendly anymore.

But stuff where you have to pay isn't the only stuff for kids to do.

Kids like swimming-pools for example.
Just walking around the theme-stuff in NY could be reasonably entertaining for kids (don't they have a roller-coaster too?)

It probably wouldn't work for 8-9 yr-old girls.
But I know that I would have been WAY into a place like ESPN Zone when I was a 10-16 yr old boy.

[Yawning Chain]

A lot of it depends on what your kids are like. My two girls are water freaks so the better the pool the happier they are. We have stayed at both the Monte Carlo and Mandaly Bay. Both had better than average pools and each time we were in the pools from the time they opened to the time they closed. Everybody had a great time. Most importantly, when mommy and the girls pooped out at night daddy hit the poker room. Tired and happy kids are +EV.

[midas]

I used to think the same way about Vegas and kids that it was not the place for families. I was planning a last minute vacation for my family last year and was planning on going to Scottsdale and the room rates were riduculous - over $400 during the week. We're sick of Florida and my buddy said go to Vegas (I go at least 3 times a year business/pleasure). So I booked a room at The Hotel at MB for an average rate of $239 over 5 days. Every day, we did a big activity - Magic Show, Grand Canyon (plane trip), Hoover Dam, golf and then hit the pool the rest of the time. When they were bored of the pool, my wife and son cruised the hotels and did every tourist thing like Eiffel Tower, NY NY roller coaster, etc. while I hit the poker rooms. My wife and son had a great time and Dad got some poker time as well!!

BTW, this is definitely not an every year family thing - but it is probably the best non-beach vacation we have ever had.