"Family trip with teens: Low Season?" a Las Vegas Travel Page by ladg

Well, we just got back from 5 days in Las Vegas. Our first time there. Here?s some reflections that those contemplating a similar trip might find useful. I won?t talk about specific sights?you?ll find those accurately described in guide books and on websites. This is more about the logistics and hotel experiences. Our plan was have a low cost, fun trip to a place we'd never been before. We figured that mid week, low season in Las Vegas might be fun. We chose the Flamingo because the price and location were right, and because it was listed as having one of the 10 best pools in Vegas. While we did have a good time, at relatively low cost, we made a few discoveries that would have been helpful to know beforehand. First?low season is a relative term there! I have never seen such crowds anywhere. We were amazed every time we walked through the lobby of the Flamingo, noon or midnight or 2 am, that there were constant lines at the registration desk. Well, you only register once, but these lines evolved into lines everywhere else?the snack bar, taxi lines, etc.
Our plan was to sit by the pool for several hours each day, and eat/explore/go to afternoon shows during the middle of the day, take a late afternoon nap, and then go out for more eating/exploring and shows. We went out to the pool the first day, at about 10 am. It was a sea of people?chaises pushed together so tightly; you couldn?t get a piece of paper between them. Every single chaise and postage stamp of bare concrete was occupied. I asked one of the towel attendants what time you needed to get there to get a chaise. She said that the pool opens at 8 am, that the workers arrive at 7, and that there is a long line of people lined up when they arrive. I asked when the crowds thin out; she said it gets a little less crowded after 3 pm. Okay, we thought, we?ll just flip the morning swim and afternoon ?explore? times. We went down to the pool at 3:30 (grownups only, the kids wanted to sleep/watch TV). Yes, we found two chaises, but the daily ?pool party? made the pool a pretty raucous place to sit. Scratch the pool part of our trip (probably the part I was most looking forward to, coming from cool, rainy Boston.
However, the rooms was plenty big for 2 moms and 2 teens. Housekeeping and room condition were excellent. We asked for and got an even-numbered room on the 19th floor in the tower that overlooks the Bellagio fountains and the Strip.. Odd numbered rooms overlook the pool.

Weddings: These were happening all the time, and the bridal parties always sparked admiring comments by our teenage girls. It was disconcerting to see brides and grooms, decked out in gowns and tux, eating at one of the restaurants in the mall portion of the casinos at the or even at the snack bar of our hotel! We moms couldn?t imagine why anyone would want to get married in a place that embodies the fake over the real, the profane over the sacred, the exhibitionist over the intimate. We?re not prudes, we like fun, but now that we?ve seen the place, we?re very perplexed by this choice. To each his own, though, and good luck to the happy couples!

Second bit of info for first timers: Although the casinos seem close together on the map, they are very long, hot walks from one to the other, with a few exceptions. Best tips: walk in the earlier part of the morning (before 10:30) or in the late afternoon/early evening (after 7 pm). Even at these times, and certainly during the middle of the day, walk on the sidewalk only when necessary?try to walk inside the casinos with their a/c. We tried to plan our excursions in a way that allowed us to take a cab (less expensive for the 4 of us than the monorail). OK, here?s the news about semi-public transportation: (cabs and monorail). Cabs may not stop on the street! This was a new concept for us. You must go to the valet area of a casino/hotel or restaurant to get a cab. These areas are usually a long walk through the hotel, past the slot machines/gaming tables. Then you are expected to tip the valet who calls you a cab, and unless you?re at a busy hotel, you?ll need to wait (often on line) for a cab to come to the hotel to pick you up. The monorail might be fun, you may ask. Yes, it?s a novelty, but not cheap, and not that convenient. The monorail was built by the casinos, not by the city. So stops are located at the major investors?some of which are very close together, some of which are still a long walk from the places you might want to go. The monorail stops are located at the back of the casinos, necessitating a long walk through one, and then another lengthy walk if you?re going somewhere that?s on the opposite side of the Strip. A pleasant surprise was the free tram that travels between Luxor, Excalibur and Mandalay Bay. This tram?s stops were very conveniently located in or near each of these hotels.

NOISE: There is a constant din everywhere that really started to get on my nerves. It was VERY hard to find a quiet place. And not many places to sit that aren?t in front of a slot machine. Which leads to our next subject:

Bathrooms: Plentiful, clean, often fancy. Quite a departure from here in Boston!

We ate at several buffets. Bellagio for brunch was voted #1 (by the kids) and was very reasonable midweek at about $12.00. We got there just before 10:30, which saved us a few dollars, but it would have been worth it even at $15. Delicious food, excellent variety and friendly, efficient wait staff. Buffet lunch at the Flamingo was about the same price (plus we had a 2-for-1 coupon from our package) that made it even cheaper. Food here was also good, not as fancy or as much variety, but fine. The difference here was that the service was terrible that day. We went again later in the week, and the service was much better. Buffet dinner at Paris was highly touted, but was the least favorite of our kids. The moms liked it more, but it was also much more expensive, and accompanied by another long line and wait.
We all liked the VERY cheap meal at Ellis Island Casino. It was a relatively short walk from the Bally?s monorail station. The 4 of us ate dinner for less than $40, including beer (made on site in their own microbrewery) and shared dessert! Adults had prime rib and sirloin filet, with a big salads, and baked potatos. The kids had pasta (one fettucini alfredo, one meatballs and tomato sauce)?good stuff! The beef was delicious. The service excellent, friendly and efficient. The room, dark, no windows, old fashioned, a bit run down.
We also liked a brunch we had at the Aladdin, in Lombardi?s. Very friendly staff, good food (Eggs Benedict, for most of us). But with charges for refills on the kid?s juices, and the tip, the bill ran to almost $80. The coffee was the best we had the entire week. Strange, though to sit in an Italian bistro, overlooking a Morrocan street scene, with a Mexican cantina?s neon sign across the ?street.?

Shows: We liked all 3 that we paid for: Mac King ($6.95 ?nooner) got us out of the heat and was an enjoyable 60 minutes. Kids liked their ?virgin? dacquaries and we liked our margaritas that were free with the show. Cirque du Soleil?probably the only time I spent $100 for a ticket and felt like it was worth it. We bought our tickets for Mystere a few weeks before our trip. Second City Review at our hotel was rated #1 by our kids. We had a 2-for1 coupon with our package, and were able to get same-day, ? price tickets for the kids at the Coke Store booth. The kids also liked the free ?airplay? show at the Tropicana which we was when we ducked into the casino for a blast of AC mid-walk between MGM and Excalibur. Other incidental/free entertainment was also enjoyable: ?living statues? at Paris and the Venetian; animatronic statues at Caesars Palace, Singing goldoliers at the Venetian, Rainstorm at Alladin, Lion habitat and participating in a TV show rating experience at MGM. All got high marks and filled in for the time we would have preferred to have been poolside.

Grownups favorite experience: Visiting the Guggenheim/Hermitage museum space at the Venetian. We gave our kids one of our cell phones, took them to the ?Grand Canal Shoppes? (read: Mall) in the same hotel, and designated a place to meet in 2 hours. The 2 moms then went and spent an hour or so in blessed quiet, viewing real works of enduring beauty. After the exhibit, as walked back through the carefully recreated frescoes and marbled stairways that led back to the mall, they had a lost a bit of their luster.

Favorite souvenirs: Our Balloon Cups and Eiffel Tower drink glass. $12.95 + tax, including the drinks (again, virgin strawberry dacquaries, and real strong margarita).

All in all, we had a fun time. If I had it to do over again, I would have come for 3 or 4 days, rather than 5 days. And I would have been prepared for a non-pool vacation. We would have limited our visits to the very impressive shopping malls, which, for all their interesting d?cor, were still malls. Know about the taxi situation, and plan ahead to minimize your walking outdoors in the heat of the day. Be sure to buy tickets in advance for Cirque du Soleil?Mystere is the best for kids, and most available. Have a blast!