Harrahs Reno

I'm not sure how many of you make it to Reno, but we were up there from 7/30 - 8/4 for Hot August Nights and to visit family.

I booked this room through some general type of host (she keeps calling and bugging me) who is housed somewhere in Las Vegas. I'd never used her before, but she seemed nice enough and is always quick to respond to emails.

The day before we left, my new host in Reno (who I'd never used) left a message to confirm everything (not the general Vegas host) and said I'd been put in a regular room with 2 beds. I had requested a suite with one bed, so I called her back and left a message. She called back right away, even though it was a little bit after her regular work hours, and said she'd put in the suite request(no guarantee) and make sure we had one bed. She did say the limo had been set to pick us up. I'm really glad she called so we didn't have the room hassle when we checked in. I have no idea why, but every once in awhile a host will reserve 2 beds even though I don't ask for it, I'm not sure if it's in an old profile of mine somehwere.

We flew out of San Diego on Southwest and arrived in Reno around 7:30 pm. I'd arranged for the comped limo service (7* perk) and the driver was there as scheduled. He was a nice guy and the bar in back was filled with plenty of beer and little bottles of booze w/mixers. If I'd thought of it sooner I would've snagged some of the little liqour bottles and threw them in my purse for hubby...oh well.

We checked in and were given a "jacuzzi" suite, room 2120. It was nice for Harrahs Reno, it was a true 2 room suite, close to the elevator with a jacuzzi tub and a nice sized shower with two shower heads. My host sent up a basket with assorted fruits/nuts/chocolate. The fridge was stocked with water, orange juice and a couple of different sodas. We had a great view down onto Virginia street and of the cars for HAN.

We got changed and went downstairs to play. We played everthing, assorted slots (we like Buffalo), VP etc... and lost, lost, lost. The only good hit I had was on the Great Owl game, which was around $500. The element that wanders inoff the street late at night can be a little sketchy. I'm just not a big fan of the casino, it's just become so old and run down and it's so disjointed with the sky bridge.

We were hungry and the only thing open at midnight was some small place on the main casino floor back near some bar. We grabbed a couple of burgers, which were ok and called it a night.

The next morning we met my mom at Hash House for brunch. The service was great, but sloooowwww and the food was so-so. We ordered off their smaller portion menu, which for me, is much better than the regular sized plates.

I'd had it with losing, so we asked my mom if she would drive us down to the Peppermill. Once we got there I knew I was done with Harrahs. We had a great day, pretty much breaking even. Their casino is soooo much nicer, with new machines and a lot more variety of games. We were schedule to check in there the next day (double booked), but I went to VIP to see if we could check in right then. The guy that helped us was super nice and he texted us about an hour later and said he had a Siena suite ready for us, so I met up with my dad and headed down to Harrahs to pack up and move.

That's about it for Harrahs. I do have to say my host made a point to come see me and she was super nice. OH, I'd asked if 7*'s get any special food perks, like free buffets and she said no, BUT for anyone that gets 200 tier credits in one day, they can get a free buffet and just need to call a slot person over to write them up the comp. My host then said she would add $100 food credit to my room, to cover us for a meal, which was nice.

Nice report. We are going to Reno from Indy on 9/10 for my brother's Carson City Softball tournament. We go every two years and stay at Harrah's Reno for the first couple of nights because that is the only comp we can get. After several days in CC for softball we drive on to Lake Tahoe for a few days (comp at Harvey's) and then back to Reno for the flight home. I agree 100% about the Peppermill. If we could get a comp there we would not go near Harrahs. We play VP a little at Harrah's but in the morning we drive toward Peppermill with a stop at the Black Bear Restaurant for breakfast. Peppermill is far superior to Harrah's in fact it is close to being the best casino we go to throughout the good old USA and Canada. Great Sports Book, Great Pools, and Great VP. What more could you ask for.

We were there last month, right before HAN, due to a freebie 5 night charter with a day trip to Lake Tahoe included. Can't argue with free flight, shuttles to and from airport. I expected the rooms wouldn't be much, and I was right. Erin, glad you got that good suite. We of course just got a regular room. Small, clean, did I mention small? Two people couldn't pass between the TV/credenza and the foot of the bed. But it was a good flat screen TV with Forensic Files showing late at night to help me get to sleep. Good AC, too, and the bed was good.

Funny, the lady at check in said "And we have your requested room with a view of Virginia street." Huh??? I didn't make such a request, didn't know to make one. She said "it says it right here that you requested it." Well, fine, whatever, but we were in 720 with a view of concrete that probably was in front of Virginia street. Higher up, might have been able to see the street. Didn't really care. Our friend's room didn't have a safe and her bed was awful. We got her moved, and she got the safe and a much better bed.

There isn't much in the way of good food at Harrah's Reno no matter who you are. Their buffet was...awful. Host had come up to me while I was playing and gave me two free ones, but I won't eat there again even if they pay me. Well, maybe I will for the ice cream. The Hash House was OK because I specified what all I wanted in my scrambled eggs, which didn't exactly follow the menu. The Starbucks seemed always to be busy.

The DL was small, chips, dips, veggies, ham pinwheels, but the bartender made very good lemon drops. That made dinner for at least two of our nights.

Best thing about Harrah's Reno is their very nice personnel. They do seem to try to please. Just not much there to work with.

There was a dollar VP machine that somebody had smashed the screen. It was covered with plastic. The cocktail server said it had happened "somebody was losing money and got mad, maybe two weeks ago" and they were waiting for it to get repared. Dang, how long would it take?

We liked the Silver Legacy across the street. Liked their Wheel Poker, first time ever to see this. A Host saw my husband nodding off (he doesn't gamble) and comped us a room for 3 days/nights just for him to have some place to crash while we played. Smart Host, because that is where we ended up doing most of our play. And will again. We could have moved our stuff over but decided too much trouble. A guy playing Quick Hits next to me said his favorite for nice rooms is Peppermill.

Darn, didn't mean to turn this into my TR. Thanks for your report, Erin.

No worries about the long message, I love to hear everyone elses experiences too! And you're right about the Harrahs personnel, they are very nice. The bartender on the main casino floor, near Sammys showroom, comped all of our drinks (4 of us), without playing, because I had a 7* card, which I thought was pretty cool.

You just can't beat the Peppermill, we had a corner Siena suite in the Tuscan tower, which was big, with floor to ceiling windows and basically two rooms (you can close a heavy curtain in between). The bathroom does suffer a bit for the corner room though, no tub and a small shower. I don't need the tub, so it's no biggie to me. There is also a TV in the bathroom, which I enjoy watching when I'm getting ready.

I used to never pay attention to VP pay schedules, but I do now. I remember thinking, they had 9/6 DDB at the quarter and maybe even nickel level (I could be wrong though...soooo many cocktails will do that!).

The only thing (small) issue with the Peppermill is it is quite a hike from the Tuscan tower to the casino, especially if you want to go to the coffee shop. I just tried to look on the bright side, I was getting in some good exercise, I wish I'd had a pedometer to see how far I'd walked. I bet it was a few miles over the course of a couple of days.

The restaurants in the Peppermill are far superior to Harrahs. The coffee shop is awesome and I love Biscottis too. The sports book has great sandwiches if you want a quick bite to eat. I've heard the buffet is pretty good as well, but we didn't go there.

I replied to a host survey for Harrahs Reno and let them know my host was awesome, but in my opinion the property is pretty run down and I will be staying at the Peppermill from now on as I have VIP (Platinum) status with them.

My post-Harrah's survey asked what other casinos we visited, and I checked Silver Legacy. Then the rest of that section was whether this or that was better at SL or Harrah's. Of course for everything except personnel I rated SL better. Personnel got "as good as", because the people at SL were also very nice. I gave the buffet (Harrah's) food "quality" the worst possible score, so hope that gets some attention. Our shuttle driver said that Harrah's is the oldest hotel/casino in Reno, no surprise there. I did comment that the Harrah's Diamond Lounge bartender gave good service and made great martinis and I gave the specific dates we were in there, so hopefully he gets an attaboy. I also recalled names of servers in the Hash House and named them also, as well as all the folks at registration, always very lovely and helpful. I hated to say all bad about the property, given that they gave us free flight and rooms, etc. Hate to be totally unappreciative. In a text box I said "The strength of your property is in your very friendly and helpful personnel, every one."

Thanks for the details about Peppermill. I actually do prefer a tub, so that's helpful to know I'd need to be sure to specify, not that I would ever qualify for a suite.

Candy,

I think you'd be surprised at what the Peppermill will comp if you give them a little bit of play.

Even their remodeled old tower rooms are very nice, although they still have the tub/shower combo which I don't like. The Tuscan tower has a huge jacuzzi tub, big enough for 2.

I received the suite comped for 4 nights and they ended up taking $200 off the $300 total bill, which was mostly all restaurants, even though I had zero comp dollars in my account. They also renew me at their platinum level each year, even though I never have the credits to be that high. I only visit once a year, but I guess they like the play I give them, which I don't think is anymore than I give Harrahs. Oh and I think we lost the same amount of Harrahs in one night as we did at the Peppermill over four nights there.

Are they related to the Peppermill in Las Vegas? Or is that only a hotel, or restaurant? Have I got that mixed up?

At one time the Peppermill was just a chain of coffee shops. They had one in Reno, Vegas and Sacramento...not sure if they were anywhere else.

The one in Reno had started with the coffee shop, Fireside lounge (which is still pretty cool today) and the motor lodge. I'm not sure if the small gambling hall was there or added later. The gambling hall developed into a full casino and things just got bigger from there, with the 1st hotel tower etc...

I think the Peppermill in Vegas is just the coffee shop and Fireside lounge, but I'm not sure they are related to the one in Reno anymore.

I've heard the one in Sacramento is some other restaurant.

Appreciate the ifo and history, Erin.

It's been almost 3 years since I've been to Harrahs Reno. Glad to know the buffet still sucks. I'd rather pay to eat somewhere else. We enjoyed our meal in the steakhouse on the lower level.