Weekend in Tahoe

Comfy hotel and a great time on the mountain, despite record-breaking low temperatures.

Quick Tips:

Rent a car with 4WD/AWD if you don't have one. It's worth the expense and the hassle of not having to put on chains. However, be aware that if there is a blizzard on the mountain they may still require you to have chains even with a 4WD/AWD car. But, if those are the conditions, a 2WD with chains will not be allowed up the mountain.

Best Way To Get Around:

Though there are shuttle buses, I think the best option is driving around. The convenience of getting back to the hotel without lugging all of your gear around is worth the trouble of driving. Also, if you ski at Kirkwood, the distance from mountain to parking lot is nominal.

I've stayed at the Royal Valhalla several times. This time it came out to approximately $103 per night, including taxes and breakfast.

The rooms are more like one-bedroom suites than a traditional hotel room. By suite, I mean that there are two rooms, each containing a queen-size bed. One room will have a TV, couch, and access to a balcony (if you get a balcony room), and the other has just a bed and two nightstands.

This isn't a luxury hotel, it's a budget, but a nicer budget than some of the others in town. In terms of amenities, it has a hot tub located outside that's heated and used. They also provide breakfast, which includes canned fruit, hot or cold cereal, a sweet bun, coffee/tea, milk, and juice.

The hotel is right on the lake, which is beautiful, and it's a little out of the way from the casinos in South Lake, but not so far away that you couldn't walk if you wanted.

They offer specials on their website: http://www.tahoeroyalvalhalla.com/.

Heidi's is a great greasy spoon, without true greasiness (Hey, it's still near California). It specializes in hearty breakfasts that stand up to skiing/boarding on the mountains. If you're looking for a good hearty breakfast/brunch I really recommend this place. My only negative comment is that their sausages are the brown and serve type, which are good, but not my favorite type of breakfast sausage.

Incidentally, since I love breakfast I've never tried their lunches. But, they do carry a lunch menu in the event you're travelling with a non-breakfast eater.

Kirkwood is not a mountain for beginners, most of the mountain is covered in diamond and double diamond trails. But, in the years that I've been up in the area, Kirkwood has usually had the most consistently good snow quality.

That being said, the weekend I was up was approximately 19ºF each day with constant snow. Visibility was not the greatest, but the fresh soft fluffy powder was fantastic. Heavenly, approximately 30 minutes away, did not get the quantity of fresh powder that Kirkwood did that weekend.

Before you go you should evaluate your abilities, and check out the map at http://www.kirkwood.com/

You should also check the website for deals, I got a college discount card (I'm actually in graduate school but they still accepted my ID and course schedule) so I only paid $41 for Saturday and $31 for Sunday.

MontBleu was formerly a Caesar's Palace, and is in the process of an extensive renovation/change over from Caesar's branding to MontBleu branding. I've given them a "somewhat recommended" since they haven't fully renovated, and since they're doing it a little at a time—future visits may be better.

But, to review what I saw, so far it looks as if they're changing from the traditionally tacky Caesar's motif to an Art Deco blue theme, and have reduced the gaming area. Gambling on the main floor doesn't really feel comfortable since half of the floor is empty due to the renovations. Hopefully, they'll be done soon, and a better review can be written then.