Las Vegas thread and MSE guide 2009 part 2

nw_man

We have been to Vegas 6 times and have never taken my child.

Its just not a child friendly place. The pools are fantastic, but if gambling is your thing, they dont even let kids walk through the casino floor.

I reckon it would be acceptable for you if you are only going there for a few days as part of a wider West coast / USA trip.

cindyhove

We are thinking about 4 days. 1 of those could be at the Grand Canyon, so not too long.....
I just thought that in order to make sure they get as many customers as possible they would lay on stuff for kids. :think:

advent1122

cindyhove wrote: »

Has anyone been to Las Vegas with children? Does it work? Do the hotels offer any type of childcare/clubs so that the adults can go to the casino?
Thanks

Yes,
No,
The one we stayed in didn't - Mrs Advent and I had to take it in turns losing at the casino's.

nw_man

advent1122 wrote: »

Yes,
No,
The one we stayed in didn't - Mrs Advent and I had to take it in turns losing at the casino's.

:rotfl:I'm hearing you ! :rotfl:

jackieblack

nw_man wrote: »

they dont even let kids walk through the casino floor.

We were in LV in April with our 13yr old DD. Our experience was that children can walk through the casinos, in many of the hotels you can't get to other attractions without doing so, but are not allowed to stop/linger on the casino floors.

If it's only for a few days, there are things to do that children will enjoy - Bellagio fountains, lions at MGM, etc, but it is definitely not a 'child-friendly' destination.

We did 'have a talk' with DD before we went about some of the things she might see/hear - she is mature enough to understand that there would be things that she would just have to ignore - but if everywhere was like being at home, what would be the point of travel? :rotfl:

Froggitt

December ( including Xmas and New Year )

Have a look at the "list of things to do with kids" on this thread that I posted about two weeks ago when we were thinking about taking them to Vegas.

Volcano

October , November

cindyhove wrote: »

I just thought that in order to make sure they get as many customers as possible they would lay on stuff for kids. :think:

Vegas works exactly the opposite; they get so many customers because they don't cater for kids!

ferf1223

October , November

cindyhove wrote: »

Has anyone been to Las Vegas with children? Does it work? Do the hotels offer any type of childcare/clubs so that the adults can go to the casino?
Thanks

Sorry - just saw that you have a 10-year old so my question on age is irrelevant.

Last I saw there was a Kid's Quest at The Palms - slightly off strip.

Some info here:

http://www.lasvegaskids.net/las_vegas_childcare/childcare2.htm

There are local babysitting services where the sitters will come to your room, but not sure how many parents would be OK with leaving their kid with a total stranger.

As for being surprised that casinos don't offer such services in order to get parents into the casinos, probably part of it is liability...especially in an environment where time loses much meaning and many drinks are consumed - would imagine that kids would be 'forgotten' quite often and then what do they do with them? Part of it is probably that a lot of people who go to Vegas don't believe kids should be there...Vegas tried to become a family destination in the 90s but they've pulled back on that a lot. It's just not set up to be a family destination. Yes, many families do go and have a great time - but you really have to do your research and know what you're in for so you can plan accordingly and not end up disappointed about what you couldn't do.

You won't be able to bring kids into any bars in Vegas, period. Many shows have a minimum age...you may want to avoid walking on the east side of the strip especially by Planet Hollywood unless you want your kids to see the cards and flyers people will be handing out for local escorts, etc...and even just walking around you'll likely see a lot of things you don't see at home!

stoneman

September

A little heads up that might be of interest to those thinking of using BA direct flights to vegas.
I booked ours in the sale a couple of weeks ago, £1,500 for the 2 of us flying World traveler plus (equivalent to Virgin prem economy) while asking about something else on another thread it was disclosed to me that one of the best deals with any airline flying club was the "miles for upgrade" with BA. Essentially you can upgrade an existing class to the next one, ie WT+ to Club world for 12,000 miles each one way if there is availability. I checked with my booking and was quoted £1,250 each to upgrade with money, found that there was availability for reward upgrades, bought 25,000 miles for £430 and now am proud recipients of Clubword seats on our May flight, easily as good as VS upper as far as I can see.
OK we have spent almost £2,000 for upper class seats, so maybe not money saving in the sense, but we have decided to cut down on our trips and travel in a higher class from now on, and for those that always wanted to try the turning left thing on a plane it is a cheaper way to achieve the dream, even if it is only once.
The funny thing is, I would never dream of spending that much on accommodation for a week.

Jerseygirl55

October , November

I am hoping to rent a Las Vegas villa direct from the owner,
all I can seem to find are letting agents who are charging the earth
any one any idea were too look

Regards

Jan