Vegas Vacation {Family Style}

This has been a very busy summer!  We didn’t have the time to take a long summer vacation this year so we decided to plan a fun weekend trip instead.  Where do most southern California families head when they just have a few days to play? Vegas, of course!

Vegas? With the family? Why yes, don’t mind if I do.  See, most people know the ‘grown up’ side of Las Vegas.  Its nick name speaks for itself.  While there is plenty of that going on, there is tons to do for kids and families!

We had a Family Friendly and Fun Time in Las Vegas!

I was determined to make it a family friendly vacation in the city that never sleeps…wait that’s not what they call it! :)

Our vacation started as any of our road trips have….lots of giggling, junk food inhaling, and ‘are we there yets’.

Four hours of travel plus a wee bit of traffic.  We stopped at the ‘Stateline’ exit on the border of California and Nevada, about 40 minutes outside of Vegas. There is a ginormous roller coaster, outlet shops, and restaurants.

Pretty tempting, but we had to keep our eyes on the prize…the shiny lights of Vegas just a few miles away!  We grabbed a quick bite at the McDonald’s and headed back on the road.

This trip unlike every other Las Vegas adventure we let the kids choose the hotel.  We scoured the internet for hours ahead of time looking for a) the best deal b) a great location c) fantastic ammenities.  The kids however were laser focused on one thing, and one thing alone–the pool!  Much to our surprise, they chose the Golden Nugget, in downtown Vegas and OFF the famous strip.  I’ve never even been out that way, and the price was right, so we went for it.  Turns out they’ve remodeled this historic hotel recently and it is now home of what’s been voted the best pool in Las Vegas!  Score!

Our family arrived and headed to the lobby to check in.  They have a beautiful aquarium in the lobby to greet their guests.  According to my husband, the hotel looked about a billion times better than ever.  So far, so good!

We spent about 30 seconds in the room and headed straight to the pool.

The pool was smaller than I expected and very crowded.  Still it seemed to accommodate everyone and it was quite pretty!  In the middle of the pool area was an enormous aquarium filled with big fish, and even sharks.  Way cool.

{Notice my little monkey taking a swimming lesson on the left}

Even cooler was the equally fabulous water slide!

How many hotels in Vegas can boast that ammenity?  The slide takes you right through the acquarium before it spits you out to the pool.

We spent the entire afternoon there.

In the early evening we walked through Fremont Street an outdoor covered space with shops and entertainment, to the Main Street Station buffet.

The covered roof has a lights show sometimes showing mini concerts you can listen to as you walk through (we saw ‘The Doors’ and “Queen”).

It can get seedy the later it is, so we made sure to walk through at around 6 p.m.  We got to the buffet and were surprised at just how much it offered!  However, it was NOT budget friendly at all at $25 per person, including my 5 year old who eats like a bird.

The next morning after a very pricey hotel cafe breakfast we headed to the pool again.  The kids loved it so much they didn’t want to do anything else. We enjoyed a fun and family friendly day soaking in the hot Las Vegas rays!

Overall we liked the hotel, but here are some pros and cons, in case you ever plan on staying at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas:

PROS:

Amazing pool

Price

The decor-beautiful aquariums everywhere

The room was decorated nicely, it had a classy look

We took the ‘classy’ out of the equation pretty quickly..

CONS:

Slow drain in the bathroom tub and sink

Parking lot was almost always full at night

The cafe was extremely overpriced (2 breakfasts, 3 muffins, 3 coffees, and a tiny glass of OJ was $70)

HUGE CON:

No free Wi-Fi!  They charged us $12.99 per day, PER DEVICE (phone, laptop, iPad, etc.)

They had disclosed that the charge was per day, not that is was also per device so that was not a fun surprise come check-out time.

The pros did outweigh the cons so overall it was a good stay.

The next day we stepped out on the Vegas strip! Follow along tomorrow for more of our Family Friendly Las Vegas Vacation!

To be continued…

{Click here for Part 2}