Family restrooms and changing stations are available, but you might need help finding them
Family Restrooms: Yes (6)
Diaper Changing Stations: Yes (1)
Lactation Space: No
Stroller-Friendly: Yes
Overall Child-Friendly: Somewhat
Time Spent: 2-3 hours
When I dreamt up this blog, the goal was to help others learn from my experiences — even the embarrassing ones. In this case, the embarrassment comes in after the fact. As my family bounced in and out of The Shops at Crystals during a busy day of sightseeing, we struggled to locate a family restroom or diaper changing station for our 10-month-old daughter. As it turns out, the answer was obvious: We should have looked at a map.
A follow-up inquiry with The Shops at Crystals, a luxury shopping center located beside the Aria Resort and Casino, revealed there are no less than six family restrooms on site, as well as a single diaper-changing station on the second level, located near the Tourbillon boutique. Although I didn’t end up using any of these amenities, they’re all identified on the shopping center’s map. This situation made it difficult to place The Shops at Crystals in my ranking of baby-friendly spots in Las Vegas. For reasons that I’ll clarify below, I decided on a dead-center spot at number seven.
You might be wondering how we missed so many helpful amenities. I think there’s an important takeaway in the answer. Although I spent hours researching family restrooms and lactation spaces along the Las Vegas Strip, it just wasn’t possible to catch every relevant detail from afar. There are always post-arrival surprises. For that reason, it’s important to think on your feet and adjust your assumptions accordingly.
In this case, the faulty assumption I made was that Aria and Shops at Crystals were essentially one-in-the-same and didn’t require separate research. Looking back, I actually wish I had relied on my research a little less when we arrived in Vegas. I wish I had checked more property maps on the ground and asked for help more often when I was having trouble.
This learning holds true across multiple locations in downtown Las Vegas. My follow-up research revealed an array of family restrooms and diaper changing stations that I missed. By circling back to double check, I hope I’ll be able to help others more easily find what I missed.
Aside from the amenities we missed, we enjoyed our quick stop at the Shops at Crystals. The property was multi-level, but the elevators weren’t hard to locate. The space was fairly easy to traverse with a stroller. Our primary focus was Princess Diana & The Royals: The Exhibition, located on the third floor. My husband carried our daughter in our Infantino Flip 4-in-1 Convertible Baby Carrier throughout the exhibit, a system that worked well and allowed her to take in the sights alongside the big people. Mother and daughter alike were dazzled by the Barbie-sized replicas of Diana’s most recognizable ensembles.
The Diana exhibit was child-friendly, and it’s currently located beside two other family-friendly exhibits: one focused on Van Gogh and another on Disney animation. However, the rest of the shopping center definitely leans in a more adult direction. This isn’t your standard, midwestern mall with a sticky play area and aromatic pretzel stand. Instead of JC Penney and Forever 21, you’ll find Gucci, Chanel, and Versace. “Luxury” is an accurate term, and the cost of luxury is less child-friendliness. Now that my husband and I have graduated from baby parenting to toddler parenting, I look back on all the expensive merchandise we casually strolled past, and a retroactive panic attack starts brewing.
So, my ranking takes into consideration several factors that balance each other out. The Shops at Crystals offers a strikingly high number of family restrooms, compared with other destinations along the Strip. However, I had trouble finding them and didn’t end up using them, which means I can’t describe what they were like inside.
There was a a diaper-changing station available, but from what I understand, there is just one on site. It seems odd that there wouldn’t be stations in all the family restrooms. In terms of the vibe, there were a few child-friendly exhibits, but the shopping center overall wasn’t especially child-friendly.
That said, I definitely think the Diana exhibit is worth a stop. And it might be a good idea to take advantage of the changing station and family restrooms, since you can’t count on them elsewhere. If you end up scoping them out and learn anything interesting, let me know!