For those who are not familiar, the CalNeva is half in California and half in Nevada. With two state boundaries running smack through the center of the entire location, it creates a wide mix of laws and regulations for each portion of the hotel. I must say I am mixed about the reviews of this property. We stayed on Sunday & Monday nights during the off-season, so it was pretty deserted in this hotel (and mostly the entire town for that matter). It was really nice to stay in a historic hotel and I did appreciate the idea and feeling of those who were here before me, but also very sad to know what was once the jewel of the entire area is now for sale (yet again) and struggling for every breath. I thought the rooms were large, clean and fine with coffee pot in the room, comfortable beds and super soft sheets! (The pillows are fairly hard, so those could use some replacing.) A table with two chairs, armoire with tv, and plenty of room for luggage and to set up the ironing board. We stayed on the 5th floor and the most gorgeous views of Lake Tahoe amid the pines. We loved watching the sunrises & sets out the window. (The window actually opened wide for viewing). The down side is the thermostat is very antiquated and is not able to be used to adjust individual room temperatures in off seasons. By this I mean they had had a recent storm and switched to "winter mode" and the A/C did not work during the hotter week we were there. You could only get heater controls. But the staff was always nice and very accommodating and said they would be happy to move us to a room away from the sunny window, and did bring a table fan up for us to use to draw the cool night air inside the room. It was probably only warm to us, maybe about 73-78 degrees. The elevators were small and questionable, but got us where we needed to go every time.
We took the tunnels tour, and I found it interesting, although at $10.00 a person, a bit overpriced for what it was. I was surprised at the small size of the Sinatra, Monroe and Giancanna cabins, but then in the 40’s & 50’s they might have been quite size-appropriate. I loved the old wooden flooring in the ballroom, and could practically see and feel all the shoes that have danced & walked across that floor. Due to the numerous long-gone famous souls and Mafia elements who were either regular patrons or co-owners of this resort, there have been some ghost hunter and séance type events held here, complete with some photos of the captured specters placed along the old stage you can see as part of the tour. The performance lounge still has red velvet curved seating along the wall, like something you would have seen at the old Tropicana or something, and a wooden lifting stage that once housed the orchestra pit and stage lights. The behind stage area is quite large and the acoustics are supposedly quite excellent. They still hold a few events each year, but no one as grand as some of their past performers.
They have a large game room, with air hockey, pinball, pool table and a bunch of other video games; we played around in there one evening all by ourselves except for the occasional staff person passing by. (I kick butt in air hockey! ) There are very few slot machines, maybe about 25 not counting those around the circular bar and the new electronic Blackjack area. Any wins are paid in cash by the person at the bar, so you don’t feel comfortable “machine hopping” since they have to pay out each one separately. They do have an onsite restaurant, and hold weddings here in the chapel area below the cabins but we did not eat there or see the chapel, so no reviews on this. All said, I am glad I had the opportunity to stay here; it kinda feels like I took a small part of something that might vanish in the future.
Room Tip: Get a room on the 4th floor or higher with a view of the Lake - Breathtaking!
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
