Las Vegas Vacation: Where to Stay, Vegas With Kids - 2

Where to Stay

Hotel options in Las Vegas run the gamut from budget to over-the-top indulgent. Here’s a look at some favorites:

Luxury Digs

Luxury accommodations also have taken a leap forward. Wynn Las Vegas hit a home run with several awards when it debuted in 2005, and its newly opened sister property, Encore Las Vegas—with its 2,034 suites (the smallest of which is 700 square feet), five signature restaurants, a full-service spa with 37 treatment rooms and 14 garden suites, and a shopping esplanade with Hermes and Chanel—is poised to receive similar accolades. Popular Las Vegas performer Danny Gans will relocate to the new Encore Theater when it opens in February 2009. Midweek starting rates at each for rooms in January are $149 and $159 per night, respectively.

The hotel that really turned the tide though for upscale properties is the Bellagio, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Also noteworthy: Four Seasons Las Vegas (located within the Mandalay Bay complex) and The Venetian.

Non-gaming Properties

A growing trend in recent years has been the increase in the number of properties that do not have casinos.

 

• The Wynn Las Vegas is one of the premier hotels in the area.

danperry.com

At one time, the Four Seasons was the only non-gaming hotel on the Strip. Now a number of newer hotels leave the slot machines and blackjack tables to the big resorts and focus strictly on hospitality. As a parent, I love this. The Four Seasons welcomes kids with special check-in packages and cookies and milk at bedtime.

Carriage House Deluxe Suites Hotel is within walking distance of the Strip and offers a classic pool and tennis courts. Late one night, I saw two young gentlemen chatting together in the oversize lounge of the funky Artisan Hotel and Spa, listening to live jazz and sipping martinis while their toddlers nodded off in their strollers. It looked like a wonderful way to spend a night, but be warned. Some of the rooms may be noisy. 

Vacationers can also opt to stay at a luxury condo, instead of with the masses. Condos typically offer small kitchens with high-end appliances, spa facilities, concierge services, excellent restaurants and lounges. Platinum Hotel and Spa, Las Vegas Cay Club and Signature at MGM are among the newest properties.

 

• The glass ceiling in the Bellagio was done by the famous glass artist Dale Chihuly.

Courtesy of MGM MIRAGE

Finding Vegas Hotel Deals

Being flexible in your travel dates and booking early can literally save you hundreds of dollars. As Vegas fills up, hotel prices skyrocket. Even the top resorts have huge variations in room rates, although with the current economic climate, occupancies are low, so great rates are easier to find.

Avoid the popular holidays like New Year’s Eve and Valentine’s Day, and you can get a room at the Bellagio or Venetian for as little as $129 or $139 per night.

Off the Strip, a traditional hotel may offer fewer in-house goodies, yet it will cost significantly less. Rooms at the Hard Rock start at $63 in 2009. Or consider the Suncoast Hotel and, which offers a nice spa and rates starting at just $38 per night.

Lake Las Vegas and Other Outlying Options

Another choice is to concentrate on resorts removed from the noise and clamor of the action on the Strip, but near enough to easily spend a day in Vegas proper. The Red Rock Resort Casino and Spa is set in the desert with gorgeous views and a terrific spa. It offers adventure packages and is next door to the magnificent Red Rock Canyon Conservation Area, a world-class destination for rock climbing, biking, hiking and viewing petroglyphs, as well containing as a desert tortoise habitat.; per night rates start at $150. The Lake Las Vegas development is about 45 minutes from the Strip and has three top-notch hotels that also offer kids programs as well as condo and vacation home rentals. The area is spectacular and offers a variety of activities including fishing, star-gazing, hiking, biking, golf, tennis, beaches, kayaks, Segways, gondolas and shuttles to the Strip. Resorts include Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort (rates from $159 per night) and the Ritz-Carlton (rates from $259 per night). [Read more in our Lake Las Vegas article.]