Visitreno

[PrincessaMyron]

Greetings -

Hubby and I are going for a quick anniversary trip at the end of the month and I have a few questions.

We'll be staying 3 nights at the Peppermill, then 2 at the El Dorado and we'd like to get In and Out Burger and visit Grimaldi's pizza....how far (and cost if you can guesstimate) in a cab from either/both hotels to either/both eating establishments?

Also, does anyone have a rough idea of the price of the Sunday Peppermill Champagne Brunch?

Thanks in advance - any other tips for a relative newbie would be greatly appreciated! We've been once or twice before but we're transitioning to Reno from our former fave Las Vegas!

Thanks - lauren

[remano]

Sunday brunch is about $20 adults and $12 children.

There are two In 'n Out's, one is way south on S. Virginia just off 395, the other way east in Sparks just off I 80. I don't know what the cab fare would be for either but I would expect it to be too much to be worth while. As an alternative go to the Little Nugget downtown and have an Awful Awful.

Grimaldi's is in the Legends at Sparks Marina shopping center. That's even farther than the In 'n Out, although if a shopping excursion is part of your plans you could make a whole day out of it.

If it were me, I would rent a car for a few days, hit the In 'n Out off 395 on the way to Lake Tahoe one day, then head out to Legends and maybe a loop up to Pyramid Lake the next. But that's just me. Have a good trip whatever you decide.

[hawk]

I've never heard of Grimaldi's. Is it a chain? Why is it recommended?
I too would be curious as to price, though I seldom pay for food in Reno except for, that is, what money I put into the slots which generates the food comps.

[remano]

[Zydeco]

I'm going to second the opinion that you ditch In & Out and head to the Nugget for the Awful Awful. That is a Reno institution and an outstanding burger. It's a close walk from the Eldorado.....it's awful big and awful good!

[PrincessaMyron]

Hey gang, thanks for the good info!

We've had the Awful Awful (last time we were there) and thought it was pretty good! We've always just wanted to try In and Out because we're from TX and they have no such animal here!

Grimaldi's is a fave of some Vegas message board people I've encountered which is why that one sounded good!

How far a drive from Reno to Lake Tahoe and what's the best thing to do there for a few hours?

We've been by Pyramid Lake (attended burning man a few years running) and I didn't realize you could actually VISIT there! LOL

Keep the tips coming, we're open to anything!

Thanks - lauren

[hawk]

Thanks, Mark, that was very enlightening. Really interested me in their pizza as well. Except I did not like the Beer List. I would have expected some NV beer on tap.

I may check out Grimaldi's this year if finances allow me into "The biggest little".

[john]

Hi Lauren,

If you're looking for fun things to do in Reno, here's a list I send to visitors requesting the same thing:

Here are a few sights that come to mind in the downtown area and a little farther away. Some attractions have a special report on visitreno.com, but they're fairly old and will be updated this summer.

Try the National Auto Museum across the street from the Siena. It's basically a ghost of the original Harrah's Auto Collection, but still has many cars in a pretty cool location. You'll also find a discount coupon on VisitReno's coupon page. http://visitreno.com/nam/index.htm

While you're on the coupon page, grab one for Chris Cady's "Get Hypnotized" comedy show at the Pioneer Underground. It has gotten some very good reviews.

Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center on the University of Nevada, Reno campus has one of the coolest projectors on the planet and they have lots of shows for every age group. http://visitreno.com/planetarium/index.php

For a little shot of history, VSA Arts of Nevada has self-guided tours of its home at Lake Mansion on Arlington Ave.
More about the mansion: http://lakemansion.com/
More about Myron Lake: http://visitreno.com/evanoff/oct-08.php

Like Art? Neither do I, but someone must, because the Nevada Museum of Art is located on Liberty Ave in Reno. http://www.nevadaart.org/

All of the above attractions are easily accessible by using the Sierra Spirit, a free downtown bus. Just look for the big, yellow, rolling shoebox on Virginia Street.

Virginia City is just over half an hour from Reno. At one time, it was the richest city in the US, due to the large silver strikes. Many of the buildings are original and have been well maintained.

Weather permitting, a 45 minute drive to Truckee, CA is always a fun time. It's a little mining town in the Sierras accessible by taking Hwy 80 west to the "historic" part of town. Loads of little shops selling unique stuff. Like Virginia City, it still has the original buildings from its heyday.

For a real adventure try something you've seen in the GSR parking lot. I did the giant swing on my 60th birthday (give or take a couple of months), then took a friend back a few months later. Her only complaint was after the ride was over and the park manager asked if we wanted to go again. She regrets saying, "No", because she felt a little weak in the knees. http://www.ultimaterushpark.com/.

[PrincessaMyron]

Thanks so much for that huge list of things to see and do! Amazing info and I really do appreciate you taking the time to assemble it for us!

2 more weeks and we're there, WOOHOO!

thanks again - lauren

[mjames1229]

OK, Lauren, it's been two weeks... how was the trip?

[PrincessaMyron]

Howdy - we just returned tonight, so here are the highlights.

Peppermill on Sunday 5/30 thru Tue 6/1 then El Dorado on 6/2 and 6/3 - flying home today.

Airline pal let us use some 'buddy passes' so we got First Class both ways - really impressive service, which you rarely see anymore! Going to write to the flight service managers to compliment the crews!

Arrived in RNO, got on the Peppermill shuttle and off we go. Checked in and they advised us they were 'sold out' so there were NO upgrades available, in fact they were downgrading people? WTF? Well, I had mistakenly forgotten to bring our players cards, so we got new ones and come to find out now, we're GOLD members, WOOHOO! They said it was an 'invitation only' so I don't think we'll stay Gold, but more on that later!

When we checked in, the girl was kind enough to upgrade us to a spa suite - very nice and in the Peppermill Tower. We stayed in a Tuscany Suite last year and while those seem bigger, this one was just fine! Will add pics of everything as soon as I get them off the camera onto the computer!

Soooooooo food choices past about 930pm are VERY limited - only the coffee shop is open. Tried repeatedly to get a seat at the VP Bar at the Fireside Lounge, but people literally camped out, playing one coin at a time, UGH!

Went to the CUBE bar and I had originally taken $600 cash as our starting budget - I"m a deuces wild girl and hubby is JOB.....I put a $20 in the machine and hit I"m not sure HOW many 4 deuces, so we cashed out then at $300.

Moved to the 'High Limit' Room and met an absolutely wonderful bartender named Tim - never did he say 'no' but his answer was 'sure, let me find that for you, etc.' We asked for bar snacks and he said certainly - went to the Fireside and got us some almonds and then to the Fish bar for some Goldfish! Shortly thereafter, he snagged us a few sandwiches they had taken over to the high limit poker room - amazing service! My hubby was drinking Red Bull and J-meister and I was a bourbon/coke girl and he even made a suggestion for an upgraded bourbon that is my new personal favorite!

We spent about 6 hours there, probably about $400 profit when we left and he was just an amazing person - the main reason we stayed and played was because he was providing such great service - I"m guessing we probably tipped him $150+ for his incredible personality and service - best employee we met during the whole trip. We spoke w/his supervisor when we were finished and really explained how impressed we were with his service and how we were seriously considering making the P-Mill our new home!

We closed that bar around 4am or so (guessing on the time here) and went to play BJ, then moved to craps....well, there is our new friend Tim....I went to bed around 6am, and my hubby came up shortly thereafter....HERE IS THE WEIRD PART:

Tim apparently had a fatal car accident on his way home from the Peppermill and died a few hours after we left him - what an awful shock as you can imagine.

Here's his obit for those who may know of him:

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rgj/obituary.aspx?n=timothy-ryan-stangle&pid=143304991

His and his fiance were expecting a baby in July and we can only hope for the best for her, as she finds her way through this horrible grief!

Sooooooo my husband returned to the high-limit bar (not knowing about Tim yet) and asked for a Red Bull/J-meister and the new bartender said 'we don't have that'.....no 'let me check', no 'let me see what I can do', no anything, just NO.......night and day service and remember this is the HIGH LIMIT area, which is probably where the really richy people go, right?

We then spoke to a slot hostess (no one else in authority was on duty at that time of night/day/whatever apparently) and she said oh yeah, Tim died today and there's really nothing I an do about the food/beverage service...just kind of slipped it in and both hubby and I later said she did NOT just say he DIED did she? The food/beverage manager came over and was very interested in our concerns and even found a CASE of Red Bull and took it over to the High Limit VP bar - and never a smile or a friendly word did we receive from the new bartender!

Then, this Platinum Card holder comes up to this same bar, asks for a bottle of water. Surly bartender said 'are you gambling here' and the guy pointed to a free-standing machine (with no cocktail service I might add) and said he had just finished. Bartender then said 'no, I can't give you a bottle of water, but I can give you a cup of water from the gun'.....Mr. Platinum said 'this is BS' and left. By this time, the horrific customer service and apathetic attitudes of management really had gotten to us, so we asked to speak w/the Casino Manager - wasn't available so we left for the El Do and left v-mail for him to call us.

On the phone w/my hubby, he was VERY apologetic and offered to sit down w/us over dinner to discuss the many customer service failings we'd experienced and observed. We agreed until we found out he wanted US to get our OWN cab back to the Peppermill and he was going to 'treat' us to dinner at the Coffee Shop or Oceano (or somewhere in that range was the verbiage he used). Based on the fact that the cab is probably $15 each way, why the heck would we both going back to the P-Mill to meet with someone for a complimentary cheeseburger, for real?

This being the case, we checked in at the El Do and they upgraded us (without our asking) to a corner spa suite, room 4200....GREAT view and an awesome room! Dealers and bartenders here were awesome and we especially enjoyed Shane from the bar near the Showroom. Spoke w/his manager who gave us his card and greeted my hubby my NAME the next day in the elevator.

We spent so much time doodling around w/the customer service issues and trying to build up our gaming level that we never got our Awful Awful, an In and Out burger OR pizza from Grimaldi's! Did have a great Filet Mignon from Ruby River Steakhouse and they brought a free birthday dessert for my hubby!

Soooooooooo we're going back in August (my hubby for burning man and I'll join him after for some spa and casino time) so I think we're going to stay far far away from the P-Mill and keep our new home as the El Do.

Any questions, please holler and if you know how to add pictures, please let me know because I can't figure them out!

Thanks again for all of the advice - and we never played TX Hold "Em Either! LOL next time, eh?

Thanks again - lauren

[LilyJDragonfly]

Wow - what an crazy experience... thanks for posting!

We're staying at CC this next week for the first time on a couple of comped rooms. I tried calling ahead to set up a line of credit at CC and no one would call me back, but Silver Legacy had me fixed up in ten minutes on the phone.

I'm glad to hear you had a great experience at the ElDo; I'm excited about checking them out while we're there.

We were planning on scoping out Peppermill, too, but based on your comments, it's on the very-low-priority list now!

[jerry]

Princessa, thanks for the report. Always enjoy reading them.

And, Lily, I agree with ya. More and more I am drawing away from the Pep. It has been numero uno for a couple of years with me. But combinations of things have changed that. I never win there. In spite of my continued losses, they have seriously cut back my offers. I have a hard time working my schedule for a Pep stay with all their restrictions.

In fact, I called for a resv today and was told that the period was excluded. I was trying to come A WEEK before July 4 and it is already excluded. go figure.

[jerry]

I felt like this needed a separate comment. It pains me to hear of the loss of Tim and for those who loved him. He was, indeed, one of the truly nicest people that I ever met at the Pep. I, too, was at the Pep at the same time you were. Just returned yesterday.

Last time I spent a late night with him was at the Tuscany Bar. It was quite late and his girlfriend was there. She was leaving to go to the parking lot and drive home. I offered to walk her out as I was very concerned about her safety in the parking lot at that hour. They both declined but at least I made the offer.

Thanks for posting this info. For those who didn't know him, you missed out on a great guy.