salamz sis, may Allah accept your 'Umrah,
we went for the first time in ramadan, it was beautiful, we landed and went to Makkah and found shuraim and sudais reciting taraweeh as soon as we got out of the car,
was beautiful,
and another nice thing was that everything was open at night so we were able to roam around without the sun killing us.
we got our hotels at ibrahim khaleel street for both umrah and hajj,
As brother Abdul Latif said, it is useful to get a hotel near Al Masjid Al Haraam as it is convenient and you can spend more time there, you can also catch prayers at it even if you run late.
our hotel at umrah wasnt expensive but it was clean, hajj had us arguing a lot though, so it is good to make sure you are shown on a map the EXACT location of your hotel and u confirm that it is clean, or you may end up arguing when u get there and regretting it later.
are you going with a mu'allim?
they sometimes check at the airport to ensure you have someone to guide you about.
it is beautiful though, we climbed to the top of jabal an-nur during fasting and prayed two rakah in the cave of hira.
i also picked up a small loose rock from there as a souvenir.
look at it once in a while and smile.
if you ever need to go hospital - ask the cabbie for "mustasfah an-noor"
it is more organised and has shorter waiting times than the one near the mosque.
the one near the mosque is rowdy and people are busy and bad tempered.
(that was back in '04, not sure how it is now)
always keep a little armband with your hotel number and cell number on the kids and yourselves,
you can pick up sim cards there for cheap.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lost-Found-Kids-personalised-ID-Wristband-Tags-X-5-1-Permanent-Marker-CD-Pen-/220927292060?pt=UK_Boys_Accessories&hash=item33704af29c#ht_1200wt_1396
peace