My husband, 18yo daughter, and I stayed at the Casuarina last weekend and had a great stay! The location is superb-less than a 5 min. walk from Bally's. We were very happy with the non-smoking room, and the less noisy casino. It was a much more family-friendly atmosphere than most of the hotels we visited. The check in lines were a little slow, but only took about 15 min. The room was very clean and well-stocked. The Starbuck's coffee in the coffeemaker was a nice touch.

Make sure to get something to eat while you are out, unless you want to eat in the restaurant. The hotel does not have any other choices. We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant and it was very good as well as reasonably priced.

We bought an all day pass on the monorail, which stops at Bally's, for $12. each. We didn't need any other transportation. Beware, though, the monorail stations are at the back of each hotel. You have to walk all the way through the hotel to get outside. It is a really long walk through the MGM!

The Secret Garden/Dolphin exhibit at the Mirage was really cool! We also saw Cirque du Soleil (Mystiere), which was the purpose of our trip. It was awesome!

Check out was painless. We tried to check out from the room but for some reason, it wouldn't let us (maybe we were too close to checkout time. By the way, check out isn't until noon. It was particularly helpful to us since our flight had been delays. It gave us a chance to sleep in and relax. I would definitely stay here again!

The Westin is a perfectly fine hotel to win on priceline. We paid $139 per night plus the $11 per night fee. Better bargains are sure to be found, but it was a big SEMA convention, and rodeo in town, so our dates of travel likely resulted in higher prices.
Anyhow, nice intimate casino was fun to end the night at. Close to Ballys, Bills Gamblin Saloon and Flamingo. We walked to Fashio Show mall but took a cab back...tired or hungover, not sure. The cost was $11.25 and worth it. We also bought monorail day pass, but ended up walking so it just kind of depends on what your day will be. Nearby restaurant, Batistas is good and fun. ALso went to Ellis Island, good bar food. Everything was fried, that we ordered, but, it was what we were looking for at the time. There is a convenience store just to the left of hotel entrance that made it convenient for pop. At the hotel, the drinks are free if you are gambling, and cost a fortune if you are not. No problem whether I was betting a penny or $2.00, bar service was the same. Not as fast as the other casinos where it seemed like we had our own cocktail waitress at times, but certainly fine. Across the street was a bar that had a beer and hotdog for $2.50 which we liked as we only like to eat one larger meal a day. It catered to locals which I always like.
I would be happy to stay at the Westin if I won via priceline again, or, would stay there with a direct booking for about the same price. With regard to 4 star rating...the bed was very nice and the room big enough. The place was pretty clean, and mostly smiley staff. One day we did not get housekeeping, but, there were ample towels and supplies so it was not an issue and I am guessing that had it been, it would have been taken care of. We did not take advantage of pool or spa. The hotel always greeted us with a delighful scent when we returned from our day on the strip.
Not sure that there is a recession going on, despite all the doom and gloom reporting going on. Las Vegas was packed, glitzy and full of folks spending money on shows, restaurants, and gambling. I saw a lot of kids, too, but simply do not find this an appealing place to bring my children.

10 minutes from the airport, off the main drag (Las Vegas Blvd), and within 15-20 minutes walking distance to Bellagio, Caesar's Palace, Planet Hollywood, and the Venetian.

If you're going to have a good time while trying to stick to a budget, I'd recommend looking into this place. Because the place is off the strip, its quieter. The casino downstairs is small by comparison, but the betting is cheaper making it more fun (unless you're a high roller).

They have a fitness center and guests can use the spa's steam room (NICE benefit) for free. I mention that b/c you get all the perks of spa amenities (robes, slippers, complimentary juices, water, tea, coffee,etc.) for free...but massages cost extra.

When you exit the hotel and turn right, you hit the strip. When you turn left you hit some nice restaurants (McCormick and Schmick, PF Changs, etc.) If you go past the nice restaurants about 1- 1.5 miles you'll hit the real world places like Target and day-to-day shopping places to meet basic needs w/o spending an arm and a leg.

Starbucks coffee in the room with a mini bar that you can empty out and use as a fridge while you're there. Daily USA Today papers delivered to your door. Wall Street Journal and LV paper available downstairs. If you want the WSJ though they're gone by 6am.

Happy Hour from 5-8pm Mon-Thurs. Free beer, wine, and snacks with a big screen tv. During happy hour roulette is 25 cents, craps is $3, and table games are $5. So get some cheap practice in before hitting the big places.

I'd go back. Very satisfied.

I found the staff to be very friendly at the hotel. The pool is very small, however was adequate for a short stay with a child. Food was very expensive in the pool area and the waitress really seemed to focus on groups of people rather than if you were there alone or with just one other person. I believe the hotel was renovated within the last few years, however it is very tired looking already. I found housekeeping to be below standard. My daughter dropped some chips in the room and while we cleaned them up as best as we could, there were still crumbs. They were not vacuumed up for 2 days. We also didn't have any washcloths for 2 of the 3 days we were there and our room was typically not clean until after 5pm in the evening.