Trip report: Harveys Lake Tahoe Sept. 22 – Sept. 27, 2006 We left Charlotte NC on time with a stop over in Phoenix we arrived to Reno as scheduled. Hubby upgraded us to first class so the flight was very nice. We used US Air. Our limo driver was waiting for us as soon as we got to baggage claim. Picked up bags and into the limo for the 1 hour and 20 minute drive to Lake Tahoe. A beautiful ride, weather was gorgeous. A detailed day by day might be long so here is a break Down of our stay at Harveys. Check in at VIP/Diamond services was quick and pleasant. The staff there answered all our questions, offered us drinks and treated us very well, we were in our suite within 30 minutes after we arrived, bags soon followed. Suite was # 1801 Lake Tower, California side. The “Bill Cosby Suiteâ€. Our host had sent us a basket with goodies and a bottle of wine. We requested a fridge and that arrived within 10 minutes. This is a wonderful suite. Floor to ceiling windows the entire suite. A balcony with an unobstructed view of the lake and mountains. Small dining area, living room with large TV, dvd, vcr and stereo equipment. Small powder room off the entry. The bedroom had a king size bed with top of the line linens,comforters etc. Great pillows too ! Two sitting chairs, small table, armoire with tv, dresser – ample storage space and decorated in soft gold,seafoam green hues. Master bath was huge. Large closets, more dressers, vanity area etc. another powder room and then down the hall to the HUGE jacuzzi tub/sink area and walk in steam shower. Marble was every where. I really enjoyed the hot towel bar and robes they provided. Oh yes, the ever important coffee pot. We couldn’t have been happier with the room. We did however find that housekeeping kept opening the drapes when they serviced the room, we would come back only to find the room Really HOT. Guess I should have left a note to leave them closed cause it took a long time to cool that place down. Diamond lounge: You could only gain entry via the elevator with the assistance of a staff member. Once to the top the lounge was nicely appointed with leather sofa’s, many small tables/chairs next to the huge windows overlooking the lake. Bar service was good. Food served in the diamond lounge was a bit basic but ample and fresh. Large screen tv’s were showing sports only. All in all a nice place to go and relax for a few drinks or snacks. Dining: Our host made our reservations for all our dinners. We tried 19 KITCHEN BAR the first night. Very good and trendy atmosphere. SEAFOOD BUFFET: Night two, a huge selection. The sushi bar was amazing. Everything but lobster tails. Food was fresh and tasted well. Crab legs were cold tho and I would have preferred them warm. FRIDAYS STATION: this is at Harrahs, very high up with a fantastic view. Again very good. SAGE ROOM STEAK HOUSE: Ok I thought this was the best. Like the old school, table side service, huge tender steaks, just the best in my opinion. Oysters Rockefeller were to die for. Again no room for dessert. All in all the dining at Harveys/Harrahs was very very good. They did have a Fat Burger an Italian place and a Chinese place but we didn’t try those. SHOWS: We went to the Improv and had a blast we also went to the adult show “Debbie loves Dallas†this was not our cup of tea as it was kind of lame but we had comped tickets to both so I can’t complain. Great seats in the curved booths up front. TOURS: Our trip included a free cruise on the Tahoe Star. We were picked up by the limo and were allowed to invite up to 15 people. Our host faxed us a menu before we left so we could choose what we wanted to eat. We opted to book the cruise for just the two of us ( we didn’t know anyone in Tahoe to take with us). The food catered was: Oysters on the half shell, Chilled Prawns, Crab legs, veggie tray with guacamole/herb dip, breads, International cheeses, Berries and fruits, Chicken satays and Peppercorn Filet mignon with béarnaise and steamed asparagus. OH MY GOD !! The spread was huge, didn’t they get the note saying it was just 2 people? Well needless to say we didn’t make a dent in the food and invited the crew (3) to join us. The crew was great fun and they made some mean cocktails. The tour was about an hour and a half. We went to Emerald Bay which was gorgeous. The weather was perfect, we enjoyed this very much. The next tour was a Limo drive around the entire lake ( 72 miles) Our driver was great fun and we stopped for lunch at a little restaurant next to the water. We asked Bob our driver to join us and he did. We could have extended the tour to 8 hours ( at this time it was about 4 hours) but hubby had to get back for a poker tournament. Our host took care of all our tours and I can honestly tell you that we haven’t had that much fun in a long time. SPA: Hubby had the deep tissue massage ( 80 minutes) I had booked The full day spa experience. I went to check in and I told them I had a cold. I didn’t want to make anyone sick. They informed me they could not do any services on me that day and to come back if I felt better. I did use the steam room, sauna and Jacuzzi tho. I was kind of disappointed but I really didn’t feel well and so I understood their position. Hubby enjoyed his appt. and ended up buying me some goodies from the spa. I never did re book as my cold never got better and I still have it now. CASINO: Well we are slot players and that’s about it. Hubby did play some poker and enjoyed that a lot. At first we couldn’t hit a thing. Kind of depressing. Finally I hit for $ 1200.00 and Hubby ended up with 2 more taxable wins. We came home up from when we left and we gambled A LOT. The casino at Harveys was nice but I enjoyed the look of the Harrahs a bit better. Cocktail service was sparce at first but once they realized we tipped and tipped well they were very attentive. Lake Tahoe is probably the prettiest place I have been to in the USA. I would go back again, either in Summer ( the Celebrity Golf tournament) or in the winter so I could ski. The town itself is lovely. Our host took extremely good care of us, we didn’t want for anything. Our bill at the end of our stay was: $ 65.00 ( internet and some tips we put on the room charge) Everything else was comped. The limo picked us up on the 27th and we had the long flight home. I’m very happy we went and recommend Lake Tahoe to anyone.
I've said it before and I'll say it again.. I'm gonna retire in Tahoe... Nice write up, and thanks for making me wanna go back so bad!!!
I LOVE Tahoe! And the spa was right to not let you get any services. I had a spa thing once when I was sick (massage and facial treatment) and it made me feel much worse. Everything was sore after my massage and my face broke out after the facial. I've had them done at the same place when I wasn't sick and it was wonderful. My therapist said something about toxins or something. Sounds like a wonderful trip. Harvey's is probably my favorite place in Tahoe. Although that Bill's place has some yummy, cheap food.