Block Guides
Las Vegas
Family, a business conference, and a familiar city through the boys’ eyes.
Las Vegas was already familiar to me. This time, a conference brought us back with two little boys, a three-bedroom suite and enough family support to let the city become theirs too.
A City We Knew, Seen Differently Together
In October 2024, the same annual conference that had taken me to Washington the year before brought me to Las Vegas.
Kyle needed to remain home for work, football practices and games, so I traveled with nearly-three-year-old Preston, seven-and-a-half-month-old Avery, my mom — GG — and my dad, whom the boys call G-Pa. My aunt Loretta and her husband, David, drove down from Reno and stayed with us for the week.
Las Vegas did not need an introduction for me. I grew up in northern Nevada and had visited many times, including with Kyle. What changed was the way we experienced it. While I attended sessions at the Bellagio, the boys had a full circle of family around them. When the conference day ended, I rejoined them for the pool, the M&M’S store, a playoff basketball game and a Halloween festival full of rides.
The trip worked because we built it around our actual needs rather than around the version of Las Vegas most people picture. We chose a casino-free hotel with a three-bedroom connected suite, rented a large SUV and gave everyone enough space to help without being on top of one another. The city was the setting. The family structure was what made the week possible.
The city was familiar. Watching the boys make it their own was the part we had not experienced before.
Our Trip at a Glance
- DatesOctober 1–6, 2024 — five nights.
- Traveling WithMom, Preston (nearly three), Avery (seven and a half months), GG, G-Pa, and Aunt Loretta and David from Reno.
- Getting ThereSouthwest with one connection; a large SUV from Avis on the ground.
- Home BaseMarriott’s Grand Chateau — a casino-free, three-bedroom connected suite close to the Bellagio.
- ConferenceDaily sessions at the Bellagio; G-Pa handled the short drop-off so the family kept the SUV.
- WeatherEarly October gave us shorts-and-T-shirt days without the punishing summer heat.
How the Week Worked
G-Pa drove me the short distance to the Bellagio each morning, then the family kept the SUV for the boys’ activities. Once my conference sessions ended, I could rejoin them. That arrangement gave the boys full days without requiring everyone to stay near the conference hotel or wait for my schedule to open.
The Suite Was the Trip’s Headquarters
We chose Marriott’s Grand Chateau for a combination of reasons: it was close to the Bellagio, it did not require us to enter a casino to reach our room and, most importantly, it offered a three-bedroom setup large enough for everyone to stay together. That kept us from scattering across separate hotel rooms and gave me real support around the conference schedule.
Our connected suite sat behind one main entry. One side held the primary bedroom, another large bedroom, a full kitchen, dining table and a generous living room. A second connected space had another bedroom, bathroom and sitting area. Each bedroom had its own bathroom, and the primary bathroom was exceptionally large. In-room laundry made the setup even more practical for a five-night stay.
We prepared most breakfasts and lunches in the suite. Separate bedrooms and living areas gave us room to keep the household moving while the boys napped. Preston slept in bed with me. Avery used a Pack ’n Play, but his sleep was inconsistent, and G-Pa and I often took turns holding him and helping him settle. The space did not solve every sleep challenge; it simply made the hard moments easier to share.
The Small Details the Boys Noticed
Our room overlooked the airport. For Preston, that was an amenity of its own: he could watch airplanes arrive and, even better, watch helicopters land. We also used the fifth-floor pool and Bar & Grill several times. The rooftop pool and SkyBar felt geared toward an older crowd, so the fifth floor became our family’s pool base.
Las Vegas at Kid Height
Discovery Children’s Museum
On October 3, while I attended the conference, GG, G-Pa, Loretta and David took the boys to Discovery Children’s Museum. The museum gave them far more than a single playroom: water play, climbing areas, slides, art, a giant Lite-Brite and a wide range of pretend-play spaces. Preston could explore a kitchen, repair a car, fly an airplane, visit a bank, play doctor and try on football and referee gear in a Las Vegas Raiders area.
They had a blast. For our family, the museum was the clearest reminder that a trip to Las Vegas with small kids does not have to revolve around adapting adult attractions for them. There were places designed entirely around how they wanted to move, touch, pretend and play.
M&M’S Las Vegas
After my conference sessions ended that day, I joined the family for the walk from the hotel to M&M’S Las Vegas. Preston had looked forward to it all day — and then fell asleep in the stroller on the way there. He missed most of the visit, but we still took his photograph and brought M&M’S back for him to enjoy the next day. It was a very toddler ending to a highly anticipated plan.
A Themed Lunch, a Playoff Game and Halloween Rides
Rainforest Cafe
On October 4, we met friends who lived in Las Vegas and their two kids at Rainforest Cafe. The animated animals, sounds and themed setting turned the meal itself into an experience for the boys. It was the one restaurant from the trip that felt memorable enough to carry into this guide; most of our other food was intentionally simple or prepared in the suite.
Las Vegas Aces Playoff Game
We realized during the trip that the Las Vegas Aces were playing on October 4, so we bought last-minute tickets after my conference day. It was Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals against the New York Liberty. Avery stayed behind, while Preston went with me, Loretta, G-Pa and one of my coworkers.
It was Preston’s first basketball game, and he loved it. He cheered, clapped and spun his rally towel with complete enthusiasm. The best photograph from the entire trip is the three of them — Preston, Loretta and G-Pa — smiling together in the arena. It captures exactly what this week gave him: a new experience shared with family.
HallOVeen at the Magical Forest
Later in the trip, we met the same local friends at HallOVeen at the Magical Forest. Preston and I rode a small train, a large carnival slide, the carousel and several spinning rides together. He rode teacup-style cars with G-Pa, chased bubbles and trick-or-treated for candy. The event was not simply a seasonal add-on; it became one of the most complete family evenings of the trip.
Our friends told us the Magical Forest later changes into a Christmas experience. We did not see that version ourselves, but the Halloween event showed us how much family programming exists in Las Vegas beyond the Strip.
Choose the Hotel for the Trip You Are Actually Taking
In Las Vegas, it would have been easy to choose a hotel for spectacle. We chose ours for structure. We needed to stay close enough to the Bellagio for my conference, keep three generations under one roof, give sleeping kids some separation and avoid walking them through a casino every time we entered or left the property.
Marriott’s Grand Chateau did those jobs well. The suite let Loretta, David, GG and G-Pa stay with us instead of elsewhere. The kitchen reduced the number of meals we had to coordinate for a large group. The fifth-floor pool created an easy activity without leaving the hotel. The airport view entertained Preston in the in-between moments. None of those features was the headline attraction of Las Vegas, but together they shaped the quality of our week.
The rental SUV was the other part of that structure. It let G-Pa drop me at the conference and gave the family freedom during the day. The tradeoff came immediately after the flight: Avis provided car seats, but inspecting unfamiliar seats and installing them in an unfamiliar vehicle took time. That transition can feel especially long when everyone is already tired and waiting to begin the trip.
The right hotel did not just hold our family. It gave the week a workable rhythm.
Plenty to Do, Without an Urgent Need to Return
Las Vegas had more than enough to keep our family busy. The children’s museum, pools, Aces game and Magical Forest did not feel like consolation activities for bringing young kids to an adult destination. They were genuinely good family experiences. Early October also gave us comfortable weather for shorts and T-shirts without the punishing heat of summer.
We Would Repeat
- A casino-free hotelThe ability to move through the property without entering a casino mattered to us and would remain a priority with the boys.
- A suite built for extended familyThe trip succeeded because everyone could support the boys while still having private space.
- Discovery Children’s MuseumIt gave the boys a full, active day designed for them rather than asking them to fit into an adult itinerary.
- A live sporting eventThe last-minute Aces tickets created one of the week’s best memories and the photograph that still represents the trip.
- A seasonal family eventHallOVeen gave Preston rides, movement and time with both Mom and G-Pa in one easy evening.
We Would Change
- Allow more time after rental-car pickupInstalling and checking unfamiliar rental car seats takes longer than it appears on the itinerary, especially after a flight.
- Keep walking expectations realisticLas Vegas destinations often look closer than they are. We would continue bringing a stroller and planning for longer walks than the map suggests.
- Return for a reasonA conference, show, concert or specific event could bring us back, but Las Vegas is not an urgent repeat because we have already spent so much time there.
This trip did not change our destination list. It changed the memories attached to a place we already knew. Las Vegas now holds Preston’s first basketball game, a museum day with four adults who love him, a Halloween slide we rode together and the sight of him watching helicopters land from a hotel window. Familiar places can still give a family something new.
