Las Vegas with kids!

[nickiw]

We are hoping to tour the west coast of the USA for 1 month and would like to include Las Vegas. Has anyone done this? Is there anykind of childcare in the larger hotels? Should we avoid it completely. Basically we want a couple of nights of to see a show and gamble but don't want to take the grandparents!!

We were in vegas for 3 nights a few yrs ago. We stayed in Circus Circus which was fairly kiddie centred (however we had no kids at the time). There was an indoor amusement area/fun-park thing for kids which looked cool and seemed like different shows were ongoing at different times of the day (dunno if u had to pay or not). Circus Circus is at one end of 'the strip' and I would only stay on the strip if I were you as you're central to all the top name hotels, and can walk it (its a few miles long though). My favourite thing was to walk along 'hotel watching'. Fabulous fountains to music at the Bellagio and the rollercoaster around New York New York and the indoor canals upstairs in the venetian!!! Also the night time pirate display outside Treasure Island....cool

Also -plenty of shows to see for all ages. Plenty of restaurants too. What age are the kids ? I would definitely think Circus Circus is a good bet anyhow. At the time we enjoyed it but thought it 'to kiddie' and wished we were somewhere more plush!!
Although - there is a fabulous steakhouse there - if you can get a childminder head there some evening MMMmmmm

Do your research and book show tickets in advance as tickets are pricey.
Hope this is some help.

(the more I am thinking back the more I am remembering and I'm sure you could fill a week if required ! I just remember at the time thinking we were glad we didn't stay longer than 3 nights)

hi ...
yep most of the big hotels will be able to provide a babysitting service but will be very pricey.
Also if you get a guide book on las vegas there will be some info there too ( i think there is a local number you can call who provide qualified sitters to go anywhere...)
good luck

We took DS3 when he was 3 years old & stayed for a week at the Luxor. We loved it & he still remembers bits- he's now 11.5.

I think the childcare was basically leaving the phone off the hook for someone to listen in. We didn't use it. You can't take children into the actual casinos but you can take them everywhere else.

We did leave DS in a creche at the MGM grand during the daytime. That was dear but very secure. They gave us a pager & we had to sign for him which was reassuring.

Eating in the hotels we didn't have to pay for "the baby" & as bigbird said there are lots of free sights to gawp at along the strip. DS adored the Treasure Island battle & the volcano outside the Mirage & the white tigers inside the Mirage.

We stayed in the Monte Carlo in 1997 (pre kids) next to New York New York. Fantastic, plush hotel, incredibly reasonable when booked thru Virgin. Large roomes, but not sure about listening in facilities. Choice of restaurants on site, from McDonalds to cheap but excellent eat all you can buffet, to posh Asian grub. Theatre and own brewery also on site. Essentially tho', we were attracted by the massive water park the hotel boasts - and all the kids there were loving it! Wave pools, lagoons, float around in a rubber ring areas - great!

sounds like you really need to do your research. I like the idea of the creche at the Grand. The boys will be 5 and 3 when we get to go. Just need to get my head around the long flight.....thanks for the tips

I don't know if this will be any use to you, but we have been to the West Coast several times (pre-kids) and one thing we always tried to do was fly from the UK to Vegas. It's a much smaller & friendlier aiport than say LA or San Fransico, it's close to the strip so you can afford to get a taxi direct to your hotel and the big hotels have restaurants open 24hrs - very handy after airline food or if you suffer from jetlag.

In Vegas I would check out the cost of hiring a stretch limo. We hired one for less than £25 in 1996 and the driver acted like a tour guide as she drove us along the strip (she even acted as photographer at the wedding we were attending). It was great fun and we felt like celebrities as we cruised the strip. I have promised my DS that we will do it again if we ever take him there.