Who's been to Reno, NV???

[LUV DA MOUSE]

I would like to take a quick trip to Reno, NV....leave Chicago on a Friday night and come home Sunday night. What are the nice hotels? Things to do? Where can I find package deals(hotel & air)?

 

[everylastbreath]

Been to Reno many times- unless you are a gambler there really isn't much to do or see. We always stay at Harrahs (get comped there) Love the people in Reno, very friendly, but the actual town is a little "seedy" I wouldn't really wander around too much outside at night- really no shopping (few shops in hotels) Most hotels have decent places to eat. There is a car show that my husband always drags me to, but I would say that is probably the most to see. I don't know about packages, but hotels are pretty reasonable, if you have a "Player" card for one of the hotels you should get a good rate.

Long weekend is plenty of time there- if you don't gamble, it's probably too much time. If you have time, rent a car and take a ride up to Lake Tahoe (about 1 1/2 hr away from Reno) BEAUTIFUL- just do it during the day, don't want to travel the road up there at night especially in winter time! Ask me any questions you like- happy to help.

 

[Whitty]

I agree....you should drive to Tahoe... I would even stay there instead of Reno since they have gambling there too. It's just a fun atmosphere, especially in the winter!!

 

[LUV DA MOUSE]

Been to Reno many times- unless you are a gambler there really isn't much to do or see. We always stay at Harrahs (get comped there) Love the people in Reno, very friendly, but the actual town is a little "seedy" I wouldn't really wander around too much outside at night- really no shopping (few shops in hotels) Most hotels have decent places to eat. There is a car show that my husband always drags me to, but I would say that is probably the most to see. I don't know about packages, but hotels are pretty reasonable, if you have a "Player" card for one of the hotels you should get a good rate.

Long weekend is plenty of time there- if you don't gamble, it's probably too much time. If you have time, rent a car and take a ride up to Lake Tahoe (about 1 1/2 hr away from Reno) BEAUTIFUL- just do it during the day, don't want to travel the road up there at night especially in winter time! Ask me any questions you like- happy to help.

I was looking at hotels and saw some seedy ones!! I was thing about Harrahs and I have a rewards card. What do you think about the Atlantis? I don't gamble that much so I'm not sure there will be much for me to do?? Is there a mall in walking distance of the casino? Can you recommend some good resturants? Thank you I appreciate you responding.

 

[everylastbreath]

I was looking at hotels and saw some seedy ones!! I was thing about Harrahs and I have a rewards card. What do you think about the Atlantis? I don't gamble that much so I'm not sure there will be much for me to do?? Is there a mall in walking distance of the casino? Can you recommend some good resturants? Thank you I appreciate you responding.

Since you have a rewards card, I would def call Harrahs they might even give you something comped- there is NO MALL (crisis for me!) anywhere around, walking distance or driving- forget the shopping aspect, unless you like to go thru pawn shops... Harrahs has a nice steak house & buffet is great. Ride up to Tahoe (Worth the ride it is sooooooo beautiful)Maybe would be worth your while to switch and stay there, but if you looking for a mall, you won't find it there either, but it is much nicer.

 

[LUV DA MOUSE]

Since you have a rewards card, I would def call Harrahs they might even give you something comped- there is NO MALL (crisis for me!) anywhere around, walking distance or driving- forget the shopping aspect, unless you like to go thru pawn shops... Harrahs has a nice steak house & buffet is great. Ride up to Tahoe (Worth the ride it is sooooooo beautiful)Maybe would be worth your while to switch and stay there, but if you looking for a mall, you won't find it there either, but it is much nicer.

Ummmm no mall?!?! What kind of place is this???? LOL Please tell me there is at least a Target. We probably won't go to Tahoe, maybe if we go back. I am worried I will be bored out of my mind if I go this time..lol.

 

[disneyfan55]

Virginia City is a neat old west town if you want to drive a bit!

 

[everylastbreath]

Ummmm no mall?!?! What kind of place is this???? LOL Please tell me there is at least a Target. We probably won't go to Tahoe, maybe if we go back. I am worried I will be bored out of my mind if I go this time..lol.

Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't see any Target's either, better learn how to play poker or something- it really is a gambling town. Why don't you fly to Vegas for the few days instead?

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Sorry to disappoint you, but I didn't see any Target's either, better learn how to play poker or something- it really is a gambling town. Why don't you fly to Vegas for the few days instead?

Agreed ~ lots more to see in Vegas ~ I don't gamble (I do love bingo though) ~ Reno makes me think of Reno 911!

 

[*Susan*]

I'm not advocating a trip to Reno but just wanted to say that there is shopping there. Meadowood Mall has been around for several years. It has a Macy's, and most 'regular' mall stores (nothing fancy). There are a few new malls within a 15-20 minutes drive that are quite nice with lots of shops (The Summit in particular is really nice - it has many stores & is fairly high-end).

There is a Target in Reno and another in Sparks (Sparks is close by Reno)

There is also a new Scheels (GIANT sporting goods store with a ferris wheel, audio-animatronic characters, etc. inside) if you are into that, in Sparks too. Around the Scheels is another new shopping area.

You would absolutely need to rent a car for this stuff though.

All this being said, I can't imagine why anyone would want to go to Reno There are so many other places to visit, esp considering you are coming from another state. We go to Tahoe several times throughout the year and usually make it over to Reno for the day and it's just not that nice of a town. Very seedy, not much to do and definitely not a 'walk around' type of place like Vegas. I'd definitely do Vegas over Reno or if you are into winter sports but still want to gamble, as others have said Tahoe is a great option.

 

[Thumper_Man]

DW and I went this summer to Reno, Lake Tahoe & Vegas; all in one trip. If you really want to stay in Reno, I would recommend the Grand Sierra. We went for a convention, and this is where we stayed at. The casino area seemed a lot cleaner than most we visited. They have a huge pool and a movie theater on site. There are some shops and the restaurants were all pretty good.

The downtown area of Reno seems really run down. Some of the older casinos were shut down and the streets didn't seem to have many people in them. A lot of strip malls and stuff seemed to have closed down as well. So others have it correct, gambling is the main thing to do there.

I agree with other people, if you want to go to Reno, take the extra hour drive to Lake Tahoe. It's more beautiful and we had a much better time there. DW and I want to go back there one of these days. There is a Harrah's in Lake Tahoe. Since you have a membership card, you can call them up and see what kind of deal you get there. Especially since you're just looking for a weekend get away.

We love Vegas. We go at least once a year. Closer, easier trip for us. No matter how many times we've been there, there is always something new to do or see. Since we're doing WDW next year, we'll be skipping Vegas this time.

 

[dznybound]

What do you think about the Atlantis?

I have never stayed at the Atlantis so I can not vouch for the quality of the rooms. I do know that it is a few miles from the main strip of casinos so you must have a car if you stay there. Peppermill Casino is across the street from Atlantis. It's been a couple years, but I've always loved the buffet at Peppemill.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Atlantis is nice enough but it kind of puts you away from the action. You can walk to the Peppermill but that's about all there is in that area. If you want the "strip" atmosphere, check into Harrahs, Silver Legacy or Circus Circus. I've been to Meadowood Mall before and it's OK. Just a mall but it's there if you really want to shop. I would definitely recommend Virginia City. It's a quick but windy drive outside of Reno. We go there every year when we're staying in Tahoe. There's a scenic train ride you can take and an old western-style main street with small casinos, shops and restaurants. If you go in winter, you might have a hard time getting there and many things might be closed. It's more of a summer town. Tahoe, of course, is wonderful. But I wouldn't do it as a day-trip from Reno. It should be a destination in itself.

 

[cccdisney]

Another vote for Lake Tahoe! They have a Harrah's in Tahoe. There are many places to gamble as well lots of shops and restaurants and gorgeous scenery!!!

 

[sasywtch]

Always reading, hardly ever posting (but, that may change as I'm learning to cut spending)....Tahoe! I live 90 minutes from South Lake Tahoe and just the thought of smelling those pine trees and the fresh air sounds good. Kind of sounds like possibly there is good airfare from Chicago to Reno? If so, I'd try for one extra day and drive straight to Tahoe for 2 days. I'm a gambler so Reno is ok to me but honestly, in 35 years of going up there, can't remember anything else I've ever done there.

If you had 3 days and arrived very early (since Reno is 2 hours behind)--and if roads are clear, I'd head to Virginia City for a few hours and then go down into Lake Tahoe.

 

[pk1959]

This is good information! We just got back last week from Vegas, and hubby and I are going back to Vegas again the end of February and had planned on driving up to Reno just to see what is there for a few days before we head to California for a couple of weeks. Now I am wondering if we should either not bother with the Reno part of the trip, or go to Lake Tahoe instead?

I guess we kind of pictured Reno being like the Vegas strip where you can just walk from casino to casino, but that doesn't sound like it is the case. Hmmm...may have to do some more thinking on this portion of the trip.

 

[everylastbreath]

I would skip Reno completely, basically if you like you can drive thru it, it will take you about 15 min. total to go thru it and then you will see it's nothing like Vegas, and if you don't gamble your going to be bored- especially in Feb!! It's cold there- If you have time- do Tahoe- BEAUTIFUL - you won't be disappointed.