Postcard from Reno - Suites for the Sweet

Being from California originally, I have been to the three major gambling areas in Nevada on several occasions in my life...Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe and Reno. And I have, more often than not, been able to get rooms at decent prices...not always, but often. When I was in Redding, I knew my next stop would be Reno. I went onto my favorite hotel booking site, Hotwire.com to book a hotel room. I booked a 3.5 star hotel for $32...not bad, heh? On my way to Reno, I decided to perhaps stay an extra night in that town and hoped I could get the same rate.

Now, when you book through Hotwire, you never know what hotel you are getting until you plunk down your credit card. You are given only the rating and the general location. So, after I booked it for Thursday night, I found out I was staying at the Atlantis Resort and Hotel out near the Reno Airport. Not having been in Reno for a while, I didn't know what it was like until I got there. It turns out the place was very, very nice and definitely worth a 3.5 star rating. It was big, with many rooms, a very large casino, and several fine restaurants.

Cool!

So I checked in and asked about staying another night at the same $32 rate. No way, I was told...it would be $69 because rates go up on weekends...and when the desk clerk informed me the hotel didn't have Internet, I said no, that I would figure something else out. No big deal. But, a big hotel like this one not having Internet? I might as well have stayed in Mitchell, OR.

Continuing on...my room was on the 5th floor and it was excellent...large bed, table and chairs, desk, armoire, and a very nice bathroom. And guess what? They did have Internet after all. The desk clerk was wrong. The only bad thing about the room was the view...a fascinating look at all the air conditioning equipment for the casino. I was willing to overlook that...so basically, I was a happy camper.

I went on line to Hotwire to see if I could book the hotel again for the next night for a cheaper rate. I read the description of the hotel and it was exactly the same as the description I had read for the Atlantis...only this time it was at $49 for Friday. The clerk was right...prices go up on Friday. So I booked the room....oops. It was for a different hotel...the Grand Sierra Resort. And once you book on Hotwire, there are no changes or refunds. Oh well...I would have to move. I could handle that as I wasn't doing much else.

About the only thing I really did at the Altantis was enjoy their fantastic, multi-cuisine buffet for $16.95. I noticed the sign there that said the same buffet for Friday night would be $27.95. Things really do go up on weekends...which makes sense...sort of. But, they shouldn't be so blatant in their signage.

Moving right along, after a good night's sleep, I noodled around Reno for a while after checking out...found the Great Sierra Resort (about 5 miles away and quite visible from great distances) and checked in. This hotel gave me a room on the 15th floor...and when I got there, the breath left my body. I was given a large suite at the very end of the hall with a great view of Reno. There was an L-Shaped living room, bedroom with all the amenities, a table, two over-stuffed chairs, desk, and a couch. There was a separate dressing room w/ large closet and sink, and then a bathroom with another sink and separate tub and shower. WOW! My $49 bucks was well spent.

But the best was yet to come....there was a Starbucks on the main floor right by the elevator. My morning coffee obsession was saved. The hotel did not have as many restaurants as the Atlantis, but it did have a Round Table Pizza joint, who make a great pizza...so I at there. For elegance, the Atlantis was a better hotel/casino, but the GSR had Starbucks and more-than-enough elegance for me. All-in-all, I was happy in both places.

I made excellent use of my suite at the GSR and enjoyed my time there very much. I also knew that the following night would be spent in a tent, probably freezing my buns off, so I stayed in my suite until the last possible time for check-out.

I can hear your question now...how did I fare gambling at these two casinos? Actually I broke even as I did not gamble on anything. I was tempted to bet on a football game but I was late in getting to the sports book, so I couldn't. Turns out I would have won. Quite frankly, I just don't gamble. The odds are too well stacked in favor of the house, so I don't bet. But, God, please don't tell anyone as I might not get these great room rates.

Anyway, I left the hotel minutes before they would throw me out and headed south on 395 back into California. And the following night I did camp...and I did freeze my buns off. Stay tuned.