<p>This part I can’t change: going to a family reunion type activity in Las Vegas one weekend in July.</p>
<p>Some are renting a house but the rest of us are to stay at a hotel at the south end of the strip. We are vacillating between Excalibur and Luxor, both of which have decent hotel rates available - yes, not many people want to go to Las Vegas in July. I walked through Luxor once the one time I was in Vegas for a meeting. The pyramid Ancient Egypt motif was quite entertaining. DH stayed once there years and years ago and he said it was nice but then again cousin-in-law said she had been reading reviews of Luxor and that the hotel needed some updating (but said she said she would be fine with it). </p>
<p>If we wanted to optimize the experience for youngest niece (our 5th grader) and my mom the non-gambling grandma, which would you choose? Does either Excalibur or Luxor have a pool or water slide the kids would love? There will be four or five teenagers, too - does either of them have anything 14 and 15 year olds might find particularly entertaining? </p>
<p>I have never yet found a question that cannot be answered at the Parent Cafe. Thank you for any advice.</p>
<p>Luxor is doing renovations to all the rooms so if they are not done yet it could be a mess. I’m going down in May and got a nice room (suite) at the Venetian for $119/nt on the weekend. Mandalay Bay is another nice place on the south end of the Strip.</p>
<p>I have not stayed at either hotel, but I would call and ask LOTS of questions. The summer is popular for renovations but the pool should be available. However, you want to make sure they have some pool lounging space in the SHADE since it can be 110 out in the summer in LV. I’ve been there in July and I love the heat but can’t take the sun. </p>
<p>The Wynn has a fabulous huge pool (and half of it is shaded at any time of day) and a great spa. Wrong end of the Strip though.</p>
<p>^^^I was just going to tell you what Barrons did-- that Luxor was undergoing renovations. However, they may have changed the timing and scope of the renovations, so it is worth doing a little research. My favorite site is [Reviews</a> of vacations, hotels, resorts, vacation and travel packages - TripAdvisor](<a href=“http://www.tripadvisor.com%5DReviews”>http://www.tripadvisor.com) Read the reviews and the forum section, where you can post questions just like this! Very, very helpful folks.</p>
<p>I stayed at Excalibur with younger s when he was about 16 for a day or 2, before we were heady to meet up with DH. It was ok-- nothing incredible, but ok. VERY inexpensive, and the location is good. They had a game room area, if I recall. I believe most of the hotels have pool-- check their websites. Vegas has become very kid/family friendly. Across the street is NYNY which has a roller coaster and other cool stuff. Older s went to Vegas for a week with gf (on our nickel) for his 21st bday (almost 2 yrs ago now). He found great deals at both the Luxor and NYNY, so stayed a few nights in each one (and the Luxor was already undergoibng renovations then). HE talked bout the pool and stuff, but cant recall if it was at those hotels or possibly Mandalay Bay. There is a monorail that runs from Mandalay to Luxor to Excalibur, and teh big strip monorail is across the street inthe MGM Grande (If I recall). Bear in mind we are talking LARGE distnces when we say “across the street”. May not be easy for grandma to walk those distances. When are you going?/ I love looking this stuff up ont he web and finding deals… If I have time I’ll do some cking for you. What are your dates, and what kind of rooms do you need (how many, what bed arrangements, etc)</p>
<p>** I tried to add. but cc is being a little temperamental with all the college acceptances rolling in today, that the Excalibur is cool for kids-- they’ll like the decor and the Renaissance meal/jousting thing. And the adults will like the “Thunder from Down Under” Mens Revue, if it is still there! (I didnt go, but looked at the pictures ;)</p>
<p>as one who stayed at excalibur as a kid once, i must vouch for the themes extreme appeal to kids!!! dragons, knights, castles, how cool is that?</p>
<p>they have an awesome dinner show, just like medieval times, where you watch these knights joust and fight on horses,etc, while you eat your dinner.</p>
<p>there’s also a fun show that they do in the moat with a dragon, etc.</p>
<p>If it were all adults, I wouldn’t recommend Excaliber. But for kids (especially for a 5th grader and up), I’d recomment Excaliber in a heartbeat!</p>
<p>We stayed at the Excaliber once when my kids were young. It was fun and has entertainment geared towards kids including motion rides that were pretty good (if they still have them).</p>
<p>I would definitely stay in that area (Excalibur/Luxor/Mandalay Bay) - the most kid-friendly part of the strip, lots for kids to do, when we stayed in Vegas for a week as a family we stayed at CircusCircus (what a dump to stay in, but kids might like the activities) but spent all our time down the other end.</p>
<p>Another real FUN kid place is NewYork NewYork, my two teen Ds’ hotel of choice - arcade and the coaster are lots of fun!</p>
<p>Are you going to see any shows while you are there? The Lion King opens in May at Mandalay Bay, which is right next to Luxor. It’s a wonderful show if you haven’t seen it–one of my favorite theatrical experiences ever.</p>
<p>We just stayed at Excalibur in October for a wedding, and the bridal couple were at the Luxor, so we visited there as well. They’re both fun hotels, but the Excalibur is definitely a more kiddie-type theme. They still have the arcade downstairs, and the lobby feels like you’re walking into a castle. It was also very comfortable.</p>
<p>We stayed at the Four Seasons–which is the top four floors of Mandalay Bay. It was quite nice. We didn’t have kids with us, so I’m not sure about kid’s activities, but the concierge there was great. I was looking for activities to keep busy while H was at business meetings, and she had tons of suggestions.</p>
I walked through Luxor once the one time I was in Vegas for a meeting. The pyramid Ancient Egypt motif was quite entertaining. DH stayed once there years and years ago and he said it was nice but then again cousin-in-law said she had been reading reviews of Luxor and that the hotel needed some updating (but said she said she would be fine with it). </p>
but some might stay longer</p>