Lake Tahoe; The Middle of Nowhere!

Let's talk about Tahoe's few good points:
One- Breathtaking Beauty!
Second- The people living in Tahoe were friendly and down to earth and welcomed us warmly.
Third- the hotels are relatively inexpensive for the brands such as Casaers and Harrahs.
Fourth- The Trolley Service is for six bucks a day and goes all through Tahoe and surrounding towns.

Now the bad points:
One- Tahoe is in the literal middle of nowhere. You can not get a commercial flight into Tahoe so you are stuck either flying into Sacramento or Reno and then a 2 1/2 hour bus ride into Tahoe.
Two- Other than gambling and very pricey outdoor activities, there is not much in the way of activities or sightseeing to do. My husband and I saw all the sights within the first couple of days. Finally, we got so bored we rented a car but returned it after a day since we still could not find enough to do and the driving is very treacherous on the steep and narrow mountain roads. There is no night life that we could find.
Third- Tahoe is expensive (except the hotels and the trolley).

Quick Tips:

If you must go, fly into Sacramento and take the Amtrak connection bus that travels between Amtrak in Sacramento and Harrahs. You are not supposed to go on it unless you are getting on Amtrak but if you buy the cheapest Amtrak ticket you can find, then you ride the bus for free. On the way back to Sacramento, don't bother buying the ticket because they do not check or ask you for the ticket. So you can ride for free. When you arrive at your hotel, ask for a cheaper rate or a room upgrade; we did and in both hotels we stayed at got better deals. Also book the hotels on-line at their own web sites and keep checking back because the rates kept getting cheaper and cheaper as our vacation grew near so we kept cancelling the reservation and making a new one at a cheaper price.

Best Way To Get Around:

You really don't want to do much walking in Tahoe unless you are hiking or walking in the wilderness. It is very hot and very dusty and outside of the main drag of Tahoe, buldings are not grouped close together. As mentioned above, utilize the trolley. It is cheap and takes you most places you want to go and runs pretty frequently.

The hotel room was average. Stereotypical bedspreads, carpet and curtains in dark colors to hide stains, I guess. Clean but could definitely use some updating. The advantages of this hotel were outside of the room. Large casino, 4 or 5 restaurants, a nice outdoor pool overlooking the lake and mountains, poolside waiter service, a large lobby with comfortable chairs for people watching, a rental car counter in the lobby, a very informative concierge with loads of brochures to look at, a travel area where you can catch buses that go all over the western part of the US and a trolley stop right behind the hotel and a private beach at the lake for hotel patrons only. And with all of this, the hotel rooms over the Fourth of July week were relatively modestly priced for a large tycoon as Harrah's. Most nights were about $99.

Wow, was the room we had great!!! When we booked our room, we took a standard room for about $150 for Fourth of July night and $99 for the following night. But when we got there we asked for an upgrade since our room was not ready and we got it all right! Clean and modestly decorated by Caesar's standards. But the room had a jacuzzi, not one of those tub jacuzzis, but a real one for two people to sit very comfortably in. A large couch overlooking a large window looking out on the mountains and the lake. A bathroom that I think is bigger than our guest bedroom at home with multiple sinks, the toilet in its own room, a roomy shower, heat lamp and wall to wall mirrors.

Outside the room you had limited amenties (no pool, the wait staff a bit snobby, no real exercise room) but you have to go to the Caesar's buffet. Really good food and the price is good, too.

Go to the Hard Rock and have a drink at the bar and look at all the memoriabilia on the walls but skip the food. The food is processed tasting, sub standard in selection and overpriced. We had lunch there the day we were leaving. I had a BLT with fries that tasted like it had come out of a frozen dinner container. My husband had chicken finger basket and the chicken was all stringy and grizzly. The restaurant is really, really loud with music blasting and people in turn talking real loud to hear over the music. The waitresses look like they are there for show (ie skin tight costumes) and really don't want to serve you in this millenium. Overall I rate it- POOR.

My husband and I are always looking for deals when we go on vacation. The Buffet at Caesars is one of them. For about $12-$17 (depending on the night and whether lunch or dinner), you can stuff your face with relatively good food, better than most buffets that I have eaten at.

We went for lunch one day (late afternoon) and ate so much we skipped dinner (so it was like two for one!). They had king crab, shrimp, turkey, roast, made to order omelets, all sorts of hot casserole type food, all sorts of desserts that tasted homemade, and fresh fruit that tasted fresh and not canned! It was very clean and we sat in a booth with a waiter that kept our drink glasses full, our dirty plates taken care of, but then left us alone to eat!

This is well worth the trouble it takes to get to this castle/estate but this outing is not for the physically frail. We took the trolley that runs from downtown Tahoe to this site and it is a good two hour trip, at least with all the stops the trolley makes and the switching of trolleys to get on the right one, plus the wait time for the trolley to come back and pick you up. And then when you arrive, there is a half mile to a mile walk down a very steep, dusty, loose gravel path to the castle that sits on the shore of the lake. And don't forget you have to walk back up in the stifling heat. But once you get through all that the castle is worth seeing.

It has been beautifully restored and has interesting stories to its history told by a very informative guide. After seeing the castle you can swim and picnic on the shore of the lake and/or walk to some mahgnificent looking waterfalls. But be aware and plan to bring plenty of liquid refrshment and something to eat because there is nothing on site to eat or drink and this attraction, like many of the attractions in Tahoe is literally in the middle of the dry, desert-like mountains. Plan on taking the whole day to make this trip.

I want to tell you about this sightseeing adventure but we had a hard time seeing it but for the dirt and dust inches thick over much of the entire ranch, its contents and even the people and animals. This place is a total waste of money and it cost about $20 per person. As you probably know, Bonanza was filmed at the Ponderosa Ranch right outside of Tahoe. My husband is a Western show and movie fan so we went. But literally the majority of the memoriabilia was covered in dirt and dust that blew around us for the entire time we were there, whether we were indoors or out. The costumes the actors wore were old and decrepit looking. The animals looked on the verge of death and in need of being humanely put down. What a waste of time and money!