My daughter and her roommate both turn 21 in February and I want to take them to Vegas for a weekend. Bellagio and Venetian seem to be out of our price range. Any other suggestions for great hotels for young people? I've never been to Vegas before.

Hard Rock Cafe has a hotel that is pretty happening for people that age. It can get a bit wild at the pool, but the rock concert mantra is neat & hip. Plenty of good shows to consider, including Blue Man Group. My daughter is 21 this month & we're doing the same thing in Chicago. Good luck & have fun.

stotz:
Aladdin. Hopefully it's still good (last time there was 2001)

The Palms or Hard Rock Hotels are ground zero for the young hip crowd.

We just stayed at the Palms and LOVED it!
Very hip crowd that your daughter and roommate will love...the rooms are really nice as well for the price on Expedia.
Hard Rock Cafe will work for them too.

How cool of a Mom you are to take the girls to Vegas!!

The Rio has extra-large rooms, good for 3 persons, and is right across the street from the Palms. The 3 hotels on this corner all have shuttle bus service to the strip all day until about midnight, and a cab is only $10.

Someone had recommended Aladdin earlier in this thread. While it may not be a bad option (great strip location), it is undergoing major renovations to become Planet Hollywood. So if you think the renovations might bother you, I'd recommend staying away.

The Hard Rock and Palms are definitely the place to be for younger crowds. My personal favorite is Hard Rock. I liked the pool and casino layout much better than the Palms. The Circle Bar there is a great hangout at night. The Palms isn't bad though and has some great bars/clubs. Be aware though that both of those properties are very expensive on the weekends. Also they aren't located on the strip which makes it a little more difficult for casino hopping and shopping (though it's only a short cab ride away).

If you have your hearts set on staying on the strip, you may want to consider what types of amenities you'd like or what you want to spend your time doing. For pools Mirage, Mandalay Bay, (and from what I've heard) the Flamingo are the best. If you want to do a decent amount of shopping, you'll want to stay center strip. Caesars and The Venetian have great malls in them and some of the others have smaller shopping areas with stores you may enjoy. I'd also recommend checking out some of the hotel web sites to see what they offer as for bars restaurants and spa's.