My husband had a business trip to Vegas. I’ve never been so I
thought it would be fun for the rest of the family to tag along. So I booked airfare and decided to check out places to stay.
Of course, when I googled “family-friendly, Vegas,” Branson, Missouri
appeared as the top choice. I did find lots of Vegas sites but many were about “What
goes in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” and “Please leave the kids at home.” Oopss…

Avoid Reading in the Tub...

...book a suite. We have been on
trips with our children where we all stayed in the same room and we are either
in bed by 8:00 p.m. or are confined to the bathroom until bedtime.
So unless your child can sleep with the lights on and noise, look for a hotel that offers suites with a separate bedroom. Here are a few things I found:

• Many Vegas hotels offer great discounts on rooms but do not offer any
  discounts on suites.
• Prices are more expensive on a Friday and Saturday night and
  cheaper the other nights so if you have flexibility, book during the week.
• Avoid weeks where major conventions are in town; there will be limited
  room availability and no discounts (if you are there for a convention, then you are stuck but you can have the family spend a couple of days before or after)
• If available, an alternative to a suite is to book two rooms. Ensure that they will guarantee the rooms are adjoining so you don’t end up on the 20th floor while your children are on the 5th floor.

Child Friendly Hotel Checklist

• Does the hotel allow children? Avoid hotels with “No one under 18 admitted” signs posted in the lobby.
• Do you need a refrigerator, microwave or kitchen facilities?
• Is location important – will you have a car or do you plan on walking or using public transportation?
• Do they offer cribs/roll-away beds?
• Is there a buffet restaurant, convenience store, on-site or close-by, etc?
• Are there non-smoking rooms?
• Are there any child-activities, kids-clubs, swimming pool with life guard, etc?
• Is there a casino? Can you avoid the casino to get to your hotel room?
• Does the suite have a separate bedroom? Do you need more than one bedroom?
• Does the hotel offer adjoining rooms? Will they guarantee the rooms will be next to each other?
• Does the hotel seem responsive in helping you with your requests? (if you mention children and the operator hangs up, you don’t want to stay there)

South Point Hotel Casino & Spa

After doing an intensive search, we decided that South Point would meet our needs. A few miles south of The Strip, the South Point offers all the usual amenities including:

• Swimming pool (with lifeguards) and jungle-themed Jacuzzi
• Equestrian Center offering regional and national shows
• Movie Theater (for older kids)
• Bowling Alley (for older kids)
• Plenty of food options including Coronado Café (casual sit-down dining with kid’s menu), Del-Mar Deli, Garden Buffet (kids eat free/half price) and Kate’s Korner ice cream parlor.
• Spacious one-bedroom suites on the top floor (only a single King Size bed…so we made a sleeping area on the floor for the younger one and the older one used a roll-away bed)
• Grocery store a few blocks away allowed us to stock up on fruit, snacks and beverages in the small refrigerator.

There were a few cons such as the major construction project directly over the pool (at least the jack hammering canceled out my kids screaming) and a charge for the roll-away bed that we didn’t expect. The shuttle schedule was limited and should be reserved 24 hours in advance since it books up. Also, the hotel offered a free kid’s club, for children ages three and above (up to 5 hours of peace from the kids…priceless), but this was permanently closed after our trip. It’s too bad; the club offered a variety of activities and equipment perfect for our girls.