Frommer's Las Vegas 2004

SOUTH STRIP 81
Kids
Family-Friendly Hotels
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Vegas is simply not a good
place to bring your kids. Most of the major hotels are backing away
from being perceived as places for families. But if you want to make it
a family trip, here are our recommendations, based, if not on overall
kid-friendly attitude, at least on elements that make it appealing for
families.
In addition to the suggestions below, you might consider choosing
a noncasino hotel, particularly a reliable chain, and a place with kitchenettes.
See “East of the Strip,” later in this chapter, for details on several
such choices.
• Circus Circus Hotel/Casino (p. 104) Centrally located on the Strip, this
is our first choice if you’re traveling with the kids. The hotel’s mezzanine
level offers ongoing circus acts daily from 11am to midnight,
dozens of carnival games, and an arcade with more than 300 video
and pinball games. And behind the hotel is a full amusement park.
• Excalibur (p. 82) Owned by the Mandalay Bay Resort Group, Excalibur
features a whole floor of midway games, a large video-game
arcade, free shows for kids (puppets, jugglers, and magicians), and
thrill cinemas. It also has child-oriented eateries and shows.
• Four Seasons (p. 73) For free goodies, service, and general childpampering,
the costly Four Seasons is probably worth the dough
(your kids will be spoiled!).
• Luxor Las Vegas (p. 83) Another Mandalay Bay Resort Group property.
Kids will enjoy the Games of the Gods Arcade, an 18,000-
square-foot video-game arcade that showcases Sega’s latest game
technologies. Another big attraction here is the “Secrets of the
Luxor Pyramid,” a high-tech adventure/thrill ride using motion
simulators and IMAX film.
• MGM Grand Hotel & Casino (p. 77) This resort houses a state-ofthe-art
video-game arcade and carnival midway. A unique offering
here is a youth center for hotel guests ages 3 to 16, with separate
sections for different age groups. Its facilities range from a playhouse
and tumbling mats for toddlers to extensive arts-and-crafts
materials for the older kids. There is also a terrific pool area. The
whole property is a perennial favorite with families.
• New York–New York (p. 79) Over-stimulating and hectic, for sure,
but between the roller coaster and the Coney Island–style Midway, not
to mention just looking around, this has many options for children
(though going almost anywhere requires walking through the casino).
• Ritz-Carlton, Lake Las Vegas (p. 119) Like the Four Seasons, it’s
costly, but with so many recreational activities, and the Lake Las
Vegas setting (well out of the way of the path of Sin City—although
parents can make nighttime getaways thanks to the hotel’s babysitting
services), it offers a lot over the regular Vegas resorts.