Family Friendly? on strip or off?

We are taking our boys (ages 14, 12 and 9) on a Spring Break trip to Grand Canyon and Sedona. Since we are flying into and out of Vegas, we plan on spending our last two nights (about 1.5 days) in Vegas. Looking for a fun but family friendly location. Primarily we are interested in a great pool and we might like to take in a show and maybe check out a few places on the strip (NYNY for the roller coaster ride etc) without having to drive. Since we will have a rental car, I am torn between staying off the strip (maybe at Green Valley Resort) or on the Strip to be close to the entertainment. Are places like MGM Grand or NYNY family friendly enough? Prices seem about equivalent. Thanks for any advice!

 

You see families all over Vegas nowadays, but the primarily "family friendly" places are Excalibur and Circus Circus.

 

MGM would be great. Huge food court. Rainforest Cafe. The boys would love KA. close to NYNY which has a huge Video Arcade. I wouldn't chose NYNY to stay -- if you had to walk through the casino at night it would not be something I would want my children being exposed to. Plus the pools at MGM would be much better. During spring break you would want to go to pool early and leave when the party crowd starts to show up. You would also be close to the Mandalay Bay Shark Reef. If you have a car you could drive to the Pinball Museum and - something I have always wanted to do.

 

You could get Shark Reef passes from myVegas, too. It's not something that I would necessarily pay for, but as a free attraction it has its merits.

 

When you venture out and about, Container Park on East Fremont Street is family friendly and has an impressive play area for the younger children.

Bill

 

If you stay at MGM an Executive Queen Suite would fit your needs and it is usually not that much more than a regular room. There is a huge couch sectional which would be easy for someone to sleep on. The bathrooms are big separate shower and tub plus 2 sinks.

 

thanks, I'll check it out

 

What dates will you be staying in Las Vegas? If your dates happen to coincide with opening week of the NCAA Men's Basketball tournament (March 17-22) it will be very crowded and you will see more than the typical number of drunk to extremely drunk people in the Sportsbooks during the games, and throughout the casinos after the games are over each evening. Along with the drunks there will likely be more than the usual number of hookers hanging around.
Definitely not a 'family friendly' time to be taking your kids to Las Vegas.

 

Not until April 6-8.

 

I was going to recommend MGM, Mandalay, or some other place with a nice pool area, but I'm not sure how much the pool party crowd is going to monopolize it in April.

I think no farther south than MGM would be a good bet, if for no other reason than to cut down on the walking the kids would have to do.

I think they're old enough to enjoy the spectacle of the center Strip, and you can enjoy plenty of Vegas "atmosphere" after the sun goes down, but way before the crazies come out to party.

 

Wasn't the rumor that Rainforest Cafe closing soon? At any rate, there are other options besides GVR for offstrip. There are so many condo hotels and timeshares near the strip that would probably give you more comfort. Instead of MGM, check in to the Signature or Elara.

 

Oh do you think it will be really busy on a monday/tuesday in April?

 

Shouldn't be. If I'm getting comped during that time, then it's slow. Come the 19th-22nd; it'll be fun.

 

Shouldn't be crazy busy, maybe the sportsbooks with the Final Four that preceding Saturday and the National Championship is Monday the 6th but shouldn't concern you much as I'd assume you won't be in the books with the kids but may effect dinner if you're trying to eat somewhere like a sportsbar.

 

Thanks for the advice! I decided on the Signature. It's a short walk to the MGM and we can use the amenities there if we want. It's plenty big for the family, plus I got a groupon deal! yippee!

 

Signature should be perfect; all of the MGM amenities, nice and quiet with no casino immediately downstairs.