On the Strip I agree with the above post that the Flamingo is an excellent location. As said the pool area is excellent. Better for walkabout than the other 3 you mention.
If off strip, think about Embassy Suites, two room suites, full breakfast included - not good for walking, but you can park at any of the Strip hotels for the day whle you walk.

My first thought was the Flamingo, too. Can't beat the location, the pool is one of the better ones, no resort fees and the room rates are quite reasonable compared to the other hotels on the Strip nearby.

While I am a Flamingo fan (try to get a room up fairly high - 18th floor - that overlooks the incredible Bellagio Fountains and is a great center strip location) - the Trop has a great pool, and you are close to Excaliber which the little one might like, as well as the Ferryboat shooting water at NYNY. Too bad they don't have the Lions on exhibit any more at the MGM,which is cross the street - and a little further up is the M & M shop which has all the things a 3 year old might love.

Offstrip - a lot of bang for the buck - and they have buses to the strip (or you can drive -all the big resorts have free parking) is the Rio. Big rooms/suites and a nice pool and lots of fun stuff going on in the casino - such as the sky ride, etc. http://www.riolasvegas.com/casinos/rio/hotel-casino/property-home.shtml?

In addition - Treasure Island might have some deals. Just google and google away for the deals - and check the bottom line costs - as the Resorts have been slipping in a daily "resort fee" even if you don't use the facilities, etc.

For non-smoking hotels, check the recommendations here: http://www.vegashotelspecial.com/index.php/2011/09/01/las-vegas-for-non-smokers-6563/

Some of the more kid-friendly Vegas hotel include Circus Circus, Excalibur and Stratosphere. All of those have pretty low rates too. Excalibur probably has the best location out of those three.

To get the best rates, book directly with the hotel with the best deal you can find right now. Keep your eyes open for a better deal, and if you find one, book the new deal, and cancel the old reservation. Use something like http://www.vegashotelspecial.com/ to keep tabs on new deals.

How about something like the Hilton Grand Vacations, or something similar?

Up to 3 bedrooms, kitchen, washer and dryer, etc.

http://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/Resorts.aspx#details/index&resortId=39&backFunctionality=0

That's an alternative I would suggest. It gives you a bit more freedom, and you can have a meal or two in the suite.

Try to find a place that doesn't have a weekend pool party. The Flamingo has one and it's terribly annoying if you want to get in some swim time with the toddlers. Pulsating music all afternoon into the evening, lots of screaming 20-somethings drinking, the "Jersey shore" crowd. Even though they have a designated pool area for families, it's still a crazy, loud, boozy atmosphere all around the pool.

MGM has 3 or 4 pools, and the lion cubs for your little one, but the hotel itself is huge and can be hard to navigate depending on the location of your room.

Excalibur has seen better days and I would avoid. Same for Treasure Island.

Check the hotel deals section on LasVegasAdvisor for any June specials.

We stayed at the Venetian, which also has really loud music/party scene at the pool (one section) and the chaises in the rest of the pool area were so close together I felt like you had to navigate a maze or crawl over them to get to your own space. It's a really nice hotel, but probably not where I'd stay with a family with young kids at least on a weekend.

Forget the Trop. It's the most boring hotel on the strip. The Flamingo is a good choice for location and price but how much walking around are you really going to do? It's gonna be over 100 degrees in June. I like the South Point. Very reasonable and they have a movie theater, pool and a bowling alley. Red Rock Hotel and Casino is another local choice. Beautiful property, movie theater, Kids Quest, bowling, pool and there are parks and sightseeing a short ride away. You could go to Super Summer Theater at Spring Mt Ranch and see a live musical outdoors, go to Bonnie Springs, an old ghost town for tourists, and some great restaurants are near by. It's about 25 minutes due west of the Strip. I use lasvegasbylocals.com alot for info on deals and some of the advice I've gotten on there is to check out groupon.com and livingsocial.com for travel deals in Las Vegas. I got a 2 night stay at Red Rock Casino through livingsocial.com with early checkin, late checkout, 2 breakfast buffets each day, 2 movie tix and $100 spa credit for only $189. You can't beat that!! I've also gotten great deals for a 2 night stay at the Hard Rock Hotel in a suite for about the same with dining credit and a free bottle of vodka. Awesome room. Skip Circus Circus. It's the very low end of accomodations.

Thanks you all! I'm still juggling all the alternatives in my mind and looking up prices and details.

I just got back from Bally's It';s directly across the street from Bellagio and connected to Paris. Kitty corner to Caesars. Don't stay far down the strip at Excalibur ort Monte Carlo.

After I reserved my room I received emails from Ballys asking if I'd like to upgrade to the norht tower for $10 per night. SInce i was wiht a group that did not wish to upgrade we did not.

1. The fountains are directly across the street.
2. The hotel was incredibly convenient to everything while being really reasonable.
3. The rooms were more spacious than I ever expected.
4. The rooms were very clean and the bed was amazingly comfortable.
5. The cafe right near the elevators is a great place to cathc a bagle if others are late sleepers or lunch on the run.
6. There is a coffee place right at registration that also has baked goods. Perfect.
7. They let me check iun at 10:00 am on a Friday morning.

I do know that the north tower has been upgraded so you may prefer to do the upgrade for $10 per night.

If you decide to stay there - I would ask for a room at either Bally's or Paris that has a view of the incredible Bellagio fountains which are across the street.

Also see what they have available at Planet Hollywood. Their mile of shops or whatever it is can offer some fun strolling for some in the group.

<<Try to find a place that doesn't have a weekend pool party>>

That's getting increasingly difficult to find.

There was no weekend pool party at Ballys that I saw.

That's because Bally's isn't a trendy or hip hotel. But that's a good point. Bally's is well located, the rooms are big and it may be a bit dull, but it is attached to Paris, which is pretty nice.

Well Bally's is a better choice than Circus Circus, Excalibur and Stratosphere in any event. If there is only 1 kid I wouldn't select the hotel based on a hotel that caters to children. The pool area at Ballys is nice and there is some shade.

With so many choices on the strip the OP should be able to find just the right place. My only other suggestion is to try and stay on either side of Flamingo Road so that you are right in the middle of the strip.

<<Well Bally's is a better choice than Circus Circus, Excalibur and Stratosphere in any event.>>

I definitely agree with that.

Suzeie & tom42: Thanks for the discussion which is helpful. I hadn't considered Bally's. I agree Bally's looks like a good location now that I know more about the strip. (Haven't been to Vegas since the old days when nobody had cell phones! ) My 3-year-old granddaughter just received a lot of toys for her birthday but she preferred to play in the dirt. So it is hard to predict what a child will love. I am trying to book something nice and comfortable with a decent price and a good location which will please everybody.