Las Vegas - Where would you stay among the following?

Hi Everyone,

I appreciate everyone's feedback in advance. I am throwing a last minute 3 day trip to Vegas with my wife and 2.5 year old daughter. Just to nip the leave the child at home comments in the bid, that isn't an option and normally I wouldn't plan a trip to Vegas with a child but we are already going to be in the area and wanted to take advantage of being out west and having a few extra days where we can swing by Vegas. We live in Florida so having the opportunity to go to Vegas isn't always the easiest thing.

Anyways, I digress. My wife and I are both in our mid 30's and our trip will consist of doing family friendly activities while my daugher is up and I will probably go gamble on my own late night and maybe hit a bar or two. I am an avid poker player with some occasional blackjack. Having a decent pool would be nice. Anyways, below are the options I am considering and the avg. nightly cost I can get them for.

Venetian/Palazzo - $90
Mandalay Bay - $120
Planet Hollywood - $60 per paid night use points for Friday night
MGM - $80
Paris - $100

I am leaning towards the Venetian/Palazzo because I think it might be the nicest of the properties and having the larger room would be a plus with my daughter. I am putting the Planet Hollywood because I am a Starwood Platinum and have a free night I can use there and also might be able to get an upgrade and not to mention the cash rate for the first 2 days is dirt cheap. That being said, I am leaning against it because I don't think the pool is that great and has no real pluses at all with being family friendly, but by far is the best deal. I could actually get really attractive rates at Wynn/Encore, but I ruled them out because I don't think they are the type of properties to bring a child to.

Anyways, thanks in advance for any advice.

Out of your choices I'd probably do Mandalay for the pool. The Venetian suites are spacious, but more like a Jr. Suite anyway.

If you swing a good deal at the Encore/Wynn go for it, I wouldn't say they're any more kid-unfriendly than any of the other casinos you mentioned.

Out of your choices I'd probably do Mandalay for the pool. ...I wouldn't say they're any more kid-unfriendly than any of the other casinos you mentioned.

I agree with TraveltheWorld as far as pool goes...however I will say that I think Wynn/Encore is definitely more anti-kids than other options. They frown upon strollers anywhere outside of the mall (as do most of their guests) and have signs posted on the doors saying such.

I think your daughter will be amazed by the wave pool, "beach", and the rest of the panoply of pools available at MB.

The Palazzo pool isn't that great, the main area doesn't get the sun until well after midday and at this time of year that is goign to be blisteringly hot. You can go around to the venetian pool but in all honesty I don;t think it's that great a pool.

For pools well it has to be MB but then the MGM pool isn't too bad but, if you're looking at the MGM I would also have a look at the Signature too, nicer rooms, pleasant surrondings and you can still use the MGM pool and facilities, they have some offers on at the moment, all on their website.

Welcome to Flyertalk.

The MGM tries to market their pool to be more of a party atmosphere than the MB. That said, MGM has indeed been running some phenomenal specials - I got a room, $50 fine dining credit, and $25 slot play for $72 last week.

I agree that Mandalay probably might be the best, but I was leaning more towards the Venetian due to the location, overall I think its a nicer property, the size of the room and not to mention it will be a little cheaper. You bring up some good points though, the pool at the Mandalay wins hands down and it is still a pretty nice locale.

I am pretty gun shy on the Wynn though, to me if there is such a thing it is definitely not kid friendly and we have friends who were even turned away at the door with their stroller.

As far as the MGM is concerned, I am leaning against it just because I don't think the rooms and the overall hotel is as nice as the other options. I guess I just have a bad visual in my head from staying there a few years ago in a room in the Grande Tower that looked like it was stuck in the 80s still. I am sure I could have a good time there still though.

I seem to be debating between Mandalay and the Venetian.

Personally,

I prefer Palazzo over Venetian. Though, all of the rooms @ Venetian (with exception to Venezia Tower, IIRC) have been renovated in the last two years. Just think the 'scope' of Palazzo suits me better. As mentioned, the Palazzo pool is not exciting, but you only have a 2.5 year old; so excitement is probably secondary.

Also keep in mind, you can 'upgrade' comp (and promo rooms) at time of check-in (for $), so you 'might' be able to score a Siena suite --- which would make things very comfortable with the kid. Palazzo also has a great concierge lounge on the 23rd floor, though, I've never seen any kids in the lounge (it's supposed to be limited to 2 guests, not sure how they would count a 2.5 year old).

I would definitely choose the P/V location over M-bay, though, if I had older kids along, M-bay would be a consideration, though preferably @ TheHotel.

I think the Venetian/Palazzo has an advantage; if your daughter was older, the pool at the MB might tip the balance, but there is much more around the V/P than MB. You can easily walk to the mall, the TI, and if you wanted to (and I agree that they are not super child friendly) the Wynn/Encore. The rooms are a reasonably size at the V/P and should work for a family.

Another vote for Venetian/Palazzo. You say you want poker - you got it at Venetian, a wonderful poker room with lots of choice in games virtually all the time. And if that doesn't quite do it for you, Wynn's best-in-class poker room is an easy walk from the V/P. Heck, you can even walk to Mirage, another pretty good poker room.

I think the Venetian/Palazzo has an advantage; if your daughter was older, the pool at the MB might tip the balance, but there is much more around the V/P than MB. You can easily walk to the mall, the TI, and if you wanted to (and I agree that they are not super child friendly) the Wynn/Encore. The rooms are a reasonably size at the V/P and should work for a family.

Another vote for Venetian/Palazzo. You say you want poker - you got it at Venetian, a wonderful poker room with lots of choice in games virtually all the time. And if that doesn't quite do it for you, Wynn's best-in-class poker room is an easy walk from the V/P. Heck, you can even walk to Mirage, another pretty good poker room.

These are spot on for the OP's requirements. Family activities and gambling at night with emphasis for avid poker players.

The presence of your 2 1/2 year old tips the scales in favor of the MGM where they have - Lions! - Real Ones! on display.

Their pool is also more kid friendly than the other properties you mentioned.

I agree that Mandalay probably might be the best, but I was leaning more towards the Venetian due to the location, overall I think its a nicer property, the size of the room and not to mention it will be a little cheaper. You bring up some good points though, the pool at the Mandalay wins hands down and it is still a pretty nice locale.

I am pretty gun shy on the Wynn though, to me if there is such a thing it is definitely not kid friendly and we have friends who were even turned away at the door with their stroller.

As far as the MGM is concerned, I am leaning against it just because I don't think the rooms and the overall hotel is as nice as the other options. I guess I just have a bad visual in my head from staying there a few years ago in a room in the Grande Tower that looked like it was stuck in the 80s still. I am sure I could have a good time there still though.

I seem to be debating between Mandalay and the Venetian.

As I've already said, do have a look at the signature @ MGM. Very nice rooms/suites (far better than the MGM), they have some good specials on at the moment too, you can use all MGM facilities and the surrondings are good.
People say the location isn't good well, if you you walk along the moving walkways you'll be on the MGM casino floor within 5 minutes.
If you walk down the front drive of the property and cross the road, you'll be at the miracle mile shope @ planet ho in around 5 minutes....

Since you have a young child, you also might consider the JW Marriott or the Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas. Both are nice and would be much more kid friendly that a Strip hotel. Good pools - they have small casinos which should do the trick for minor gaming needs - although probably out of luck with poker at the RC.

Since you have a young child, you also might consider the JW Marriott or the Ritz Carlton Lake Las Vegas. Both are nice and would be much more kid friendly that a Strip hotel. Good pools - they have small casinos which should do the trick for minor gaming needs - although probably out of luck with poker at the RC.

That is what I was thinking. The OP seems to be on a budget, so Ritz may be out. Other alternatives might be Red Rock or M. I have not been to Red Rock, but it appears to be pretty kid friendly.

The presence of your 2 1/2 year old tips the scales in favor of the MGM where they have - Lions! - Real Ones! on display.

Their pool is also more kid friendly than the other properties you mentioned.The age of the child tips towards V/P in my opinion. At age 2 1/2, you can give her an empty cardboard box for the day and she'll be ecstatic. :D :D :D

(I mean, come on - at age 2 they're not going to remember anything. Save it for when she's 5.)

If you are considering Lake Las Vegas, which is pretty darn far off the beaten path, try Loews (formerly the Hyatt Regency), they have kid pools, kid activities, and a beach.

Just to give everyone an update, I reserved a room at Mandalay Bay tonight. This is actually for next week and I have until Sunday at midnight to cancel if I want. I called up Mandalay Bay directly and the guy was able to find me a deal where they gave me a 3rd night free and it works out to be about the same as the Palazzo. I didn't reserve anything at the Palazzo because the deal I have there requires me to pay for the entire room up front and I am already inside their cancellation policy. I still have until Sunday to decide so I may switch to the Palazzo yet.

I know the Palazzo is definitely a nicer/newer property (although not by a ton) and a better location. A couple of factors have me leaning a little towards Mandalay:

- The pool will be a ton of fun for my daughter and my wife will enjoy it too.
- I've stayed at the Palazzo twice and once with my wife and she said it would be nice to stay somewhere different since she doesn't come to Vegas very often. (I have actually stayed at Mandalay once before too, but it was a long time ago.)

It comes down to better location and nicer room for Palazzo vs. better overall experience for family, fairly nice room still, and not the best location. Also, I know Mandalay only has a small poker room, but I could easily take the tram and go play at MGM which has a huge poker room.

If it was just me I would definitely go for the Palazzo, but the other factors stated have me leaning towards Mandalay. I think whichever I pick we'll have a good time no matter what though. So these are the two finalists if anyone wants to sway me one way or another, but right now I am leaning slightly towards Mandalay. :-)

For those of you that mentioned staying further out and Lake Las Vegas and such, neither of us really have any interest in that as we like being on the strip and going to all the casinos and such. I know there were some votes for MGM, but I kind of ruled them out. I just think the two I am considering are nicer properties. I did check out rates at the Signature and it was going to be a lot more than the Palazzo/Mandalay.

FYI: I would have preferred The Hotel over the regular Mandalay, but their rates were more than double due to an astronomically priced Friday night so I couldn't justify that.

Wynn Encore have some pretty comparable rates (cheaper I think than Palazzo) so that's another option for you.

Wynn Encore have some pretty comparable rates (cheaper I think than Palazzo) so that's another option for you.

This was mentioned up thread, and as the OP correctly pointed out, if there is a non-kid friendly hotel on the strip it would be Wynn/Encore.

Let's face it, they have done everything short of putting a big sign out front stating "We like kids, just not in our Resort and Casino". And lets face it, I'm guessing the OP in not that interested in paying $6 for a cup of apple juice of the little one.

Yeah, the Wynn/Encore is the one property I would advoid with kids. As you mention, they go out of their way with subtle hints to make it known kids aren't encouraged.

The presence of your 2 1/2 year old tips the scales in favor of the MGM where they have - Lions! - Real Ones! on display.

Their pool is also more kid friendly than the other properties you mentioned.

+1. My daughter (12 at the time) absolutely LOVED this hotel because of the pools and the lions :D. At least twice a day we had to go and check them out, feeding time was especially popular. There is a glass area where the lions will lay down and you can walk in under them. WOW!

We have also stayed at Planet Hollywood and the pool is not exciting at all. The rooms at PH are much nicer than the MGM Grand Tower rooms though. PH upgraded us to a nice suite overlooking the Bellagio Fountains.

I cant comment on the other properties as yet.