Weekend Getaway Review: Lake Tahoe
Yes, yes, the picture I took is lovely, but picture aside, there is one word to sum up a weekend getaway at Tahoe: OVERRATED. H and I got a wild hair and decided to be spontaneous and go away for the weekend. Lake Tahoe was our destination, primarily because we've lived in the Bay area almost 2 years and have never been, and we knew it would not be difficult to get to this time of year. So on Friday we booked a room at the Horizon Resort Casino in South Lake Tahoe. We had an okay time - mostly it was just nice to get away and be in a place where all there was to do was spend time with each other. Took us about 3 and a half hours to drive there from San Jose area. When we got there, they tried the infamous "room switch", in which we were offered a room with a "pool view" instead of the lake view I had requested. We walked around the "Village" area, which was overcrowded, then promptly hiked down to the beach and sat and talked. When we got back to the hotel, we did play the penny slots, which was my first time ever operating a slot machine. I do have to admit, they're pretty addicting, but I can't get the $8 we lost off my mind. After that came a nice dinner at Josh's, which is the restaurant on the first floor of our hotel, followed by the "TV Magic Show". This morning, we got up early and took the scenic drive around the lake, which was my favorite part of our stay. Here's a quick review of pros and cons of Tahoe area:Pros
1. Not a horrendous drive from San Francisco or San Jose.
2. Plenty to do if you're a skier, drinker, or gambler.
3. Pretty scenery.
4. The Magic show was decent.
5. At our hotel, we could park and walk to everything - dinner and casino and even a Starbucks was inside the hotel.
6. Tahoe City - nicest area we saw on our drive around the lake.
Cons
1. Expensive - our room was especially overpriced for what it was .
2. Built-up, especially around the south side of the lake.
3. Casino inside hotel + lousy insulation = loud at night.
4. If you've lived in a place with lakes and mountains, like I have, it's nothing new.
5. Not much to do that's not horribly expensive if you're not a drinker, skier, or gambler.
Bottom line: If you live in the Bay area and really want a weekend getaway, there are plenty of other places. Look elsewhere.
posted by Notta Wallflower at 4:58 PM
14 Comments:
Sounds like fun though. The last time I was in California was when I was fifteen. I think that is where Lake Tahoe is. I have no idea really.
Tahoe overrated?? LOL, I guess you really are used to mountains and trees. Tahoe is one of my favorite places to go, but then I'm a Midwestern girl who can never get over the scenic beauty there. We have gone a couple times during the off season, and true, there wasn't much to do but we enjoyed just walking around and catching different views of the beautiful lake.
But yeah, certainly the main draw is the skiing such a short drive from SF. When we ski we often go with a group of friends so we sort of bring our own nightlife. And also, we prefer to rent a cabin with a hot tub, which is way more fun than staying in a casino hotel, but usually only affordable if you're with a group.
The only thing I don't like about going up there is that, outside of Tahoe City, it's hard to walk places because of the lack of sidewalks. Oh, and yeah, the expense.
Have you guys been out to Sonoma yet? That's a nice getaway, and even if you're not into wine, the food and scenery are great and a picnic in downtown Sonoma is always fun.
Tweety - Lake Tahoe is part Northern CA and part Nevada.
Tessence - I loved the scenery, but we also had trouble with finding sidewalks when we weren't on the main drag. I guess the thing that was difficult was that I paid attention to how much everything cost, especially since we just took a trip in Feb. I should have given more background - I lived my summers at a mountain lake and it was so much fun. We also went up there some winters because it wasn't far from the ski hills. My grandparents had a cabin right on the lake in Eastern Washington and it was one of my fondest memories of childhood. I guess I didn't stop to think of how spoiled I was. :-P
I do want to go to Sonoma. I was there a long time ago when my dad lived in Santa Rosa, but I was a teenager at the time. I'm into wine more than H is, but we both just like to get away and go new places. Sonoma is definitely on our "must visit" list.
Ok. Thanks for the clarification. I wasnt sure. The last time I was out that way we were up in Sandy Valley Nv. Up there by Death Valley I guess.
I've always been told by friends that this was the "ideal" getaway.But of course, people say that about Alaska and Hawaii and Las Vegas.It's good to read it first-hand from someone who gave it a fair shot. Thanks!
Michael - I think that if you want a ski getaway, it's fine. If you like mountains and lakes and the wilderness, head north. Western Canada is perfect for that. I like Alaska in the summer - it's beautiful. And Hawaii is gorgeous also. Trips like that I feel like are worth my money spent. I just didn't feel like Tahoe was worth the money we spent, that's all. Honestly, after obsessing over gambling $8, I'm thinking that Vegas would not be the place for me. :-P
This is off the topic here but i have been meaning to ask you. How old is old enough to give your child a pair of scissors? I mean child size of course. I has some for school of course but B keeps wanting to cut and I am afraid of letting her have them at home. She is almost three so I am not sure and I think that is why K had so much trouble at first also because mom here was afraid to let her have them. Help when you get a moment. Tweets.
Looks gorgeous, but I'm not a skiier, a gambler, or a drinker so I doubt that I would be overly impressed, either.
Tweets - I'm not an occupational therapist, but some of my 2 and a half year olds are cutting with supervision and the "kid safe" scissors. If they don't know what to do with scissors, I show them how to hold them, tell them "thumbs up" so they don't have a funky grip and hurt their wrist, and I help them hold the paper and say "open... close" to help them get the hang of it. As she gets used to it, gradually help her a little less, but always watch. Hope that helps. For kiddos who have trouble staying on the lines, I use a yellow highlighter and highlight where I want them to cut - one line at a time. If you want more info on scissor use, though, you can also ask the OT at your daughter's school. :-)
SME - If you live in Canada and have seen a lot of places there, I don't think you'd be impressed by Tahoe. But sometimes it's just fun to go away. :-)
Notta thanks. I will give her a try later on today. And see what she does with it. It cant hurt to try right.
We LOVE mountain vacations, but I think we'll skip Tahoe. We prefer the Canadian Rockies, in our camper, with our family, and the dog. ;)
TSHS - That reminds me of vacations I used to go on when I was young. My grandparents had a fifth-wheeler and took us to Canada quite a bit in the summer. It's something I always looked forward to.
Yikes. It's too bad you didn't like Tahoe.
As a kid, my folks knew someone with a cabin and we swapped favors so we could get the cabin for a weekend. That's the only way to go.
Yes, it is indeed overbuilt now. It's a shame. Wasn't always that way. One of my biggest complaints with this world is all the nice areas have people now.
You can however still get away in the Tahoe area. You just have to do things on foot with backpacks.
ZS - Even though I love spontenaity, I think I would have liked it better had we researched where we stayed and which activities we wanted to do. I just get disappointed when something is not how I pictured it in my mind.
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