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#936676 by gwamgwam
18 Jul 2017, 12:30
Our trip to Las Vegas and Los Angeles is next week. We managed to bag 4 upper class return rewards seats which was a very unexpected surprise.

We're travelling our two daughters (age 12 and 10) and are unsure how this will work for the Las Vegas part of the trip. Some advice from seasoned Las Vegas travellers would be appreciated. We're staying at Wynn while in Las Vegas and we know that the casinos are very strict about under age people. Are there bar/lounge areas in the main hotels where we can have a beer or wine while our daughters have soft drinks?

Also we've heard food and drinks are very expensive. Does anyone have any tips for reducing costs - vouchers, 2-for-1s etc. We'll probably do breakfast and evening meals in the buffets of the main hotels such as Wynn, Bellagio etc.

Any tips are appreciated.
#936677 by mdhayes
18 Jul 2017, 13:49
don't know about he kids and bars etc sorry but regarding food, Vegas is getting more and more expensive due to among other things the fall in the pound. If we go in the middle of summer we don't really do many buffets as the temps kill any big appetite. We really like the sushi place in the fashion mall (RA Sushi) plus they do a happy hour until 7pm which is a steal based on the size of the portions. you can grab quick bites for lunch all over the strip from pizza to panda express.
#936678 by SlimpyJones
18 Jul 2017, 14:01
Hey, great job in getting the reward seats.

I stand to be corrected on this - but I believe the policy around kids is that they are free to walk through the casino areas (because let's face it it's pretty much unavoidable in some of them) but aren't allowed to loiter around the tables.
As far as things to do - Vegas is fine during the day and there will be kid friendly shows on for example. Blue Man group, that sort of thing. Will you have access to a car? The Hoover Dam and Red Rock Canyon are only short drives away and can certainly eat up a day's worth of activities.

I've found food and drink to be reasonably priced - that is to say, it is comparable with other cities in the US. The hotel & resort buffets are a little on the expensive side but the quality is decent. It varies depending on where you go. A lot of them will offer all-day buffet passes, so I'd recommend those if you were looking to do buffet dining for breakfast and dinner.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment!
#936679 by CommanderB
18 Jul 2017, 14:17
SlimpyJones wrote:I stand to be corrected on this - but I believe the policy around kids is that they are free to walk through the casino areas (because let's face it it's pretty much unavoidable in some of them) but aren't allowed to loiter around the tables.


That is how I understood it too.

SlimpyJones wrote:I've found food and drink to be reasonably priced - that is to say, it is comparable with other cities in the US. The hotel & resort buffets are a little on the expensive side but the quality is decent. It varies depending on where you go. A lot of them will offer all-day buffet passes, so I'd recommend those if you were looking to do buffet dining for breakfast and dinner.


Not sure I can agree on reasonably priced... especially at the Wynn. Maybe go off property for cheap deals, I doubt there are many to be found at the Wynn.
#936681 by mallin
18 Jul 2017, 14:26
Agree with what Simply has said, we usually go for the all day buffett as its like getting a meal free with the day ticket. Mind you the Wynn could be quite expensive we usually stay in the Excalibur as its cheap and cheerful and we know the staff well. The higher upmarket the property, dearer the buffets get. There are obviously plenty of MacDonalds and in the Malls, or if you have a car the Walmarts do loads of stuff at a fraction of the price.

With regards to children in the Casino's earlier this year we could not believe how many families and young children were about, mind you think it was the end of Spring break, there was more than adults and they were everywhere mind you not lingering in the Casino floor but definitely eating in there and wandering through. All the Casino's have eating places Starbucks, Krispy Kreme etc. Good luck with the temperatures, they are mind blowing this time of year. Linda
#936682 by cheesebag
18 Jul 2017, 15:42
Saw plenty of kids back in March/April.... It's unavoidable passing through casinos in most hotels getting to the lift areas so they are allowed in, just not "hanging around" the tables or machines.

Theres a Dennys right opposite the Mirage on the strip, also next to a Maccies for your culinary delight :D
#936683 by clanger
18 Jul 2017, 16:52
Children cannot stop on the casino floor and can only walk on the main walkways in the casino. And yes, I second that too about there being loads of kids during school hols around the Wynn pool, you can order drinks there also. Kids of that age are allowed in all the restaurants but the best place to go with them in the wynn is Jardin and Allegro - Allegro has a little known happy hour everyday that is gold dust in the wynn for cheap eats and drinks - its super value and booze is included in the happy hour price list. The drugstore cafe (i think its called that) has some cheap options too. Terrace Point Cafe and Tableau , le Cave etc are other options for a drink with the kids but you would still have to order some food I expect. As I said before you can take children of that age to any of the restaurants, the others just get pricier.

There are lots of chain restaurants and a cheap food hall in the Fashion Show Mall which is directly over the pedestrian bridge from the Wynn.

I would also really recommend a trip to the pools at the Mandalay Bay for a day..there is a lazy river, beach etc. I think you can get in by booking a cabana for a day but I'm sure the Wynn concierge will help you with that.

We have taken our 12 year old with us and she LOVED seeing the sights and people of Vegas...the shopping, walking through the casinos, the NYNY little roller coaster, mirage volcano show, don't forget the Lake of dreams shows at the Wynn, the outlet malls for more shopping, so much to see and do.

Oh and we always stock up on water and drinks/snacks for the room at the CVS or Walgreens..

Have a wonderful trip
#936684 by ScoobySu
18 Jul 2017, 17:25
Well done on getting those G's!

I agree that this year we did find Vegas more pricey than before, the main issue being the exchange rate (oh I remember those happy days of $ 2 to the £ ;-( ) But we also found that a lot of the hotels are "enhancing" their dining options to "celebrity chefs" - GR is everywhere!

You mentioned using the buffets for breakfast/dinner - ISTBC but there are no discounts for children and so you could easily end up paying $$ - for example the Wynn buffet is around $ 20 for breakfast increasing to $ 39 for dinner (excluding weekends) per person before the 8.15% tax and tip. I believe that the Caesar's Group offers a "Buffet of Buffets" 24 hour pass which covers their properties although an additional fee will be charged if you want to eat at Caesar's itself. https://www.caesars.com/las-vegas/buffet-of-buffets

As Clanger says we always stock up on snacks that don't need a fridge and water from a CVS or Walgreens - there are loads on the Strip, and I think the nearest one to Wynn is either at Treasure Island or Palazzo/Venetian. There are also plenty of fast food chain places around, such as Subway, McDs, White Castle, In'n'Out Burger etc.

Being at the Wynn you'll be right opposite the Fashion Show Mall so I'm sure your daughters will be happy with that for something to do ;-) There are some sit down chain restaurants there but on the top floor there is also a food court which is very reasonably priced - we always eat from Panda Express there for around $12 for lunch for two at least once every trip.

We had a really nice meal at BLT Steak at Bally's in May using a Travelzoo voucher - we paid $ 115 before we went but had $ 210 of food & drink (before tax and tip). This was a deal for two but they also do a deal for four which is $ 225 for $ 420 spend before tax & tips. Their menu is on line so you could look before you get the voucher to see if it would be worth your while.

We used a MyVegas reward for Tender at Luxor which was $ 75 off a $ 150 spend, but as you're going next week and staying at the Wynn then MyVegas will probably not work for you though.

As well as the Fashion Show Mall there are the North and South Premium Outlets. We prefer the North but beware - it is all open and there is no cover so you will melt in July! The South is covered. I'd suggest registering for their VIP scheme before you go and printing off the reward voucher, which you can swap at the Outlet information centre for a discount booklet (they did accept screen grabs this year on my phone).

There's more shopping at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace, which has the Atlantis show during the day, and the Miracle Mile down by Planet Hollywood. The advantage of these shops is that they are all air conditioned!

We really enjoyed going to the Neon Museum but that is out in the open, if you can get tickets so close to going. They also do a joint ticket with the Mob Museum, and there are often Groupon and Travelzoo discounts for these. The joint ticket is very highly rated.

There are the "free" shows of the Bellagio Fountains, Mirage volcano, the small fountain outside the Wynn (by the bridges to Fashion Show Mall and Palazzo), the Lake of Dreams at Wynn at night, and just the sheer over the top-ness of the strip. At the bottom of the strip by MGM there is M&M World and Coca-Cola Store with flavours from around the world!

I'd strongly recommend that you wear very comfortable shoes, drink lots of water and use plenty of sunscreen!

One thing that you will come across on the strip though are the "characters" and "show girls" who will hustle for you and your daughters to have photo's taken with them and then expect a tip. There are also the water and CD sellers - so as Burt Bacharach says "Walk On By" ..... (the CD sellers will also be at Venice Beach if you go there when in LA and we found them more "assertive" at Venice Beach than in Vegas )

A car is great for getting away from the Strip - we went to Red Rock Canyon, the Hoover Dam and the Shelby Factory (although the Shelby Factory is only just past the "Welcome" sign) and to the Outlet Mall this year. But if we stayed on the Strip we used Uber and Lyft all the time - our most expensive Uber was $ 9.06 from Aria to the Car Rental Centre and Lyft was $ 8.53 for the 10 minutes it took to crawl from Aria to Mirage at 6.30 pm at night!

The downside with having a car in Vegas is (if you do not have some status with the various Players Clubs) then you will have to pay a daily fee for parking, which varies between hotels and whether self park or valet. At the moment Wynn only charges for valet, but they are installing the gates and pay machines for charging for self parking so it won't be long ... :-( We had six nights in Vegas this year and as Pearl we could self park at any MGM resort for free.

In terms of bars then I'm pretty sure the girls won't be allowed in for soft drinks unless there is also a restaurant. Certainly in the bars we frequent (Parasol Down at Wynn, Lyft at Aria, Baccarat at Bellagio) there were no children. You'll also find the majority of bars do not bar smokers.

Have a fantastic time in LA and Vegas!
#936685 by chrisfinch_2000
18 Jul 2017, 17:37
Place to eat recommendations with children would be Burger at Plannet Hollywood (Gordon Ramsey), and Olives at Bellagio (go an hour before your reservation and request a table outside.) Both have reasonably priced options, we found them to be cheaper than the buffets and better.
#936687 by gumshoe
18 Jul 2017, 18:54
Check out Tix4Tonight - the equivalent of TKTS in London - for discounted show tickets, buffets (not the Wynn!) and restaurants.

They have lots of locations on the Strip including one at Fashion Show Mall across from the Wynn, and you can check what's available online.

As with Broadway, the big shows are very expensive by British standards - you can expect to pay well over $100 for good seats. But the smaller, less popular shows often give away free tickets or at the very least offer vouchers for heavy discounts on the day - ask your concierge what they can do. There are lots of kid-friendly shows like comedy magicians.

One thing to bear in mind is it can take a long time to get anywhere. I always allow 45-60 mins to get to another casino, even if it looks close on the map. The sheer size of the hotels means it can easily take 15-20 minutes just to get from your room to the Strip, and the casinos are masters at hiding the things you really want - buffets, theatres, restaurants, lifts to rooms - as far away from the entrance as possible.

The good news is Uber is pretty cheap - that's probably the best option for 4 of you if you haven't got a car (and you really don't need a car in Vegas).
#936688 by GavinJ
19 Jul 2017, 08:59
We found the ticket booths really helpful. We got some good suggestions from the person manning the queue about suitable shows (V- ultimate variety show was fun, and clean!)

If you are up and down the strip then I do like a bus. 24 hour tickets (from the time of first use) are about $8 and the buses are very effectively air conditioned.

For breakfast I was sent out in the slightly cooler mornings to buy juice, milk and cereal from CVS. We took our own bowls but there are pre-filled kellogs bowls that you can normally find for $1. Much cheaper than any buffet.
#936689 by Smid
19 Jul 2017, 09:17
The downside of the big expensive hotels are they are expensive, I stayed in the Bellagio first time, and found all it gave me was the same room, expensive restaurant and bars and a ten minute walk to the strip because its so far back.

I've stayed in Harrahs/Flamingos/Imperial Palace and recently Downtown (MSS) since. Same type of room, restaurants I might want to eat at.

Now mobility to other places with cheaper/normal restaurants is affected by the fact that you're there during the baking hot season. That's going to cut short your casual stroll between places. Maybe buy a bus pass ($21 for three days) and get the bus to places.

There's far more eating choices around. Get a taxi to Ellis Island just for the food, at $11.99 for Prime Rib and a beer.

Lot's of chains restaurants in the back of Casino Royale, just up from the Venetian, and Harrahs a bit further up. Also in the Fashion Street Mall across the road. But a best tip for that sort of thing, is to just to get the bus to downtown and the food will be half the price down there. Main Street Stations buffet is $11.99 at lunch and is wonderful. If you stay there (can be as low as $30 with no resort fee), they sometimes throw in the buffet.
#936691 by LetThereBeFlight
19 Jul 2017, 11:04
I’ve worked out that I’ve now been to Vegas ten times in the last 12 years. The last time I was there, I stayed for 16 nights. The more often I go, the more often I realise that there is so much more to it than ‘the Strip’ – it’s a vast city but visitors often only bother seeing the one street which is a real shame. One of my oldest friends lives in Vegas and through him I’ve met many locals. And the locals simply don’t go to the Strip unless they’re working there or going to a specific event. And that’s because it’s over priced and far lower quality to what’s available a mile or so away. Believe me, no local waxes lyrical about any on-Strip eatery no matter how famous the celebrity chef running it is.

Here are a few suggestions to see a different side of things there – I’ve tried them all so can vouch for each one:

Go to Red Rock Canyon. It’s close by and very beautiful. It will be too hot at this time of year to do much walking but there are roads in there and places to stop.

Head up to Mount Charleston. It’s about a 45 minute drive from the Strip. As you climb, the temperature will fall by about 20 degrees (centigrade). It’s very pretty up there with a hotel and a few bars and restaurants. During the depths of winter, it’s actually a ski resort. The prices are a fraction of what you'll pay among the bright lights.

Head to Lake Las Vegas. Shops and restaurants and a few hotels. Nicely laid out and food and drink is much lower and noticeably better than what you’ll pay in the centre.

The ‘District’. In the vicinity of the Green Valley Ranch Hotel, a few miles from the Strip. Little curiosity shops and a raft of restaurants including a branch of ‘Lucille’s Smokehouse and BBQ’ – I’ve had to be crowbarred back out through the door on several occasions but the tri-tip is some of the best I’ve ever eaten.

The Las Vegas Motor Speedway holds events on a regular basis. I was lucky enough to see a NASCAR race there once. It might be worth seeing what’s on whilst you’re over.

Kayaking down the Colorado River. There are plenty of companies that organise this. The scenery is quite lovely and it makes for a really good day. However, you will often need to make an early start.

Hire a boat for a few hours on Lake Mead. The Lake was created when the Hoover Dam was built. It’s vast and from certain parts it’s not possible to see the other side – even on a clear day. There is a marina and a little restaurant.

Pahrump is a small town well under an hour’s drive from the Strip. There is a gorgeous little winery there with a fabulous restaurant and really lovely gardens. Again, pretty inexpensive.

Strip malls – mostly low rise concrete blocks, they look hugely unappealing. However, don’t be fooled; some of the nicest food I’ve eaten in Vegas can be found in the eateries found in these. You’ll find several strip malls on most streets, each with a range of shops (ranging from the useful to the utterly bizarre). But almost every one has a place to eat. I remember once stumbling along a place called ‘Sushi Koma’ – really fresh, delicious food, made in front of you and unbelievable value. The local pub chain (PT’s) is also worth a mention. They all have family areas and whilst the food is not exactly Michelin star, it’s tasty nonetheless. Actually, it’s often free – if you’re off Strip and chuck a $20 note into one of the machines built into the bar, and then play $1 a hand poker, you’ll often find your food and drinks are comped. You still need to tip though and would be expected to tip 20% of anything you win as well. It’s the only time I actually gamble in Vegas – it’s more expensive not to! The closer you get to the district of Henderson (the posher part of residential Vegas) the better the restaurants get. Yes, the prices rise too but they’re still far lower than the centre but the quality is so much better than anything you’ll find amongst the bright lights.

Of course, don’t forget Downtown: Definitely better value than the Strip (I do remember going to a really wonderful Thai restaurant there a few years ago) and plenty going on. The giant screen that forms the roof of a large portion is quite a spectacle (hey, it’s Vegas – why wouldn’t it be)? And you can zip line the length of it.

Just try not to be seduced too much by the lights. If you do, you’ll fall into the same trap I did on my first visit and think that the Strip is all there is to it. Pretty lights aside, every year prices rise and quality falls. And yet, sadly, most visitors will never experience anything else.

Oh, and don’t get suckered in by the buffets. You’ll see so many bill boards proclaiming that the XYZ hotel has been “voted no. 1 buffet in town”. It’s all hokum – the buffets are an object lesson in quantity over quality. To me, their only redeeming feature is my morbid fascination of watching the already obese gorging themselves on yet more saturated fat. These things are zoos at best. If you really want to eat on the strip, a fun place to eat is Margaritaville which is opposite Bellagio / Caesars. It’s not overly pricey. Then there’s the Rainforest Café in the MGM which, being Vegas, is quite impressive. Again, not outrageously expensive. However, although neither of these are going to set the culinary world on fire, what they do serve up is infinitely better than you’ll find under the hot-lamps of a buffet – even the ones in the higher-end hotels.

Ultimately, Vegas is a great place; you just have to put in a little effort and do a little digging to find the real deal. I hope you succeed and have a really, really great time.

Paul
#936692 by catsilversword
19 Jul 2017, 11:40
I second what Paul says. Have visited Vegas several times now and, aside from the first time, have rented houses well away from the Strip. Yes,
car needed, but there is so much more to the area than that one road. We usually don't even go to the Strip now! Again, so much easier and cheaper to eat, and of course choices of supermarkets much better...
#936693 by SlimpyJones
19 Jul 2017, 11:59
Thanks Paul, that was a really great post to read. I've been tempted to give Vegas another go but I'm tired of the strip and feel as though I've "been there done that" after only a couple of days so it was refreshing to read that there were so many other things to do in the area.

:)
#936696 by Smid
19 Jul 2017, 15:47
Another experience I like in Vegas is to go down the Town Square area, south of Mandalay Bay, accessible by certain buses, I think the Deus stops there...

Usual pubs, cinemas and shops... Except.

The planes fly in to land over it. You can get a wonderful view of a load of planes a few hundred feet above you with a pint in the sun...
#936703 by gwamgwam
19 Jul 2017, 23:56
Thanks to everyone for all the great advice.

We're really looking forward to it and will be sure to check out some of the places mentioned.
#936731 by Eggtastico
21 Jul 2017, 07:27
Go Fremont St
Prob much more suited to kids but a little tacky.
Table games are a lot cheaper than the strip as well.

As for Shopping, dont forget the 2x Premium Outlets. Named North & South. I suggest you look at which Brands you prefer & go to that one if only time for one!

Dont forget Lake Mead National Park which is near the Hoover Dam

You could have a nose in Circus Circus - thats aimed at Kids
Ethel M Chocolate Factory
Gondola RIde in the Venitian
Mount Charleston about 40 miles outside of Vegas
#936744 by cheesebag
21 Jul 2017, 12:11
right opposite the airport is an industrial estate where they make the largest fish tanks in the world... different I know but its where they film "Tanked" It's called Acrylic Tank Manufacturing and you can watch them being made and there's a gift shop too. We said we watched the TV show and were from England and they took us into the offices to meet the owners and cast/

Just round the corner from there walking back towards the strip is a gun range to pass an hour too!

An alternative morning
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