Visitreno

[BC Dave]

I discovered that Whitney Peak now has a website. http://www.whitneypeakhotel.com/ From what little I gleaned from a cursory look over the site - it now appears to be open. Can anyone confirm that? There's no mention of restaurants or even of a casino yet.

[remano]

It is open, and has been for about a month now. I've only walked through, don't have much experience as a customer but here are my impressions so far.

The first change I noticed is that they have divided up the old casino floor into separate spaces for each of the hotel's offerings, each with its own distinct entrance. This alone is a big improvement over CommRow's empty warehouse ambience.

From Commercial Row, entering the door closest to the Old Reno Casino building puts you immediately at the base of the escalators going up to the second floor climbing facility, Base Camp. This has been expanded with the addition of another inside bouldering wall, and the bar has been removed in favor of a workout area full of exercise machines. This is also where you can get onto the balcony for access to the outside climbing wall overlooking Virginia Street.

Next to the east is the entry for Cargo, the entertainment facility. The room has been remodeled with new lighting and sound system and a boxoffice at the door. I haven't seen any of the events here but the advertising shows a pretty full schedule of music and other entertainment on weekends, mostly local bands and B-list touring groups.

Then comes the entry to the hotel itself. They have had valets and doormen out front during recent busy times. The lobby itself is small and plain, featuring a rocks and wood motif to go along with the outdoor theme. They said they were sold out for opening weekend but this can be a bit misleading because not all the rooms are ready for occupancy. Only something like the top 4 floors are open at this time. I haven't seen the rooms except for the photos on the web site. I think there is a back hall for hotel guests to get to Cargo without going outside, and the elevator takes them to the second floor for climbing if they want.

The hotel lobby also offers access to the back of Heritage, the hotel's restaurant. The main entrance is on Virginia Street, which used to be the front entrance to Fitzgerald's. The restaurant is managed by Mark Estee, a local celebrity chef who operates several other restaurants and has been featured on a few network TV food programs. He recently won a celebrity cook-off on the Food Network and donated all winnings to local food kitchens and other charities. In addition to Heritage, he also runs Moody's Bistro in Truckee (reportedly one of Paul McCartney's favorites when he was visiting there), a couple Burger Me's, the very popular Campo on Sierra Street at the river and Chez Louie in the Nevada Museum of Art, as well as consulting for several other Tahoe area eateries. His big thing is featuring locally produced ingredients and a frequently changing menu. It's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, approximately 7 a.m. to 9 or 10 p.m. depending on the day of week.

Heritage is quite large. As you enter, the open kitchen is to your left, the bar is straight ahead, and the large dining area to the right. Decor is natural light colored wood walls and exposed ventilation pipes etc. at the ceiling. We haven't eaten there yet but its on our short list.

Hope this helps. Maybe somebody with actual first hand experience can add the important details.

[BC Dave]

Thanks Remano,

That's an interesting glimpse into the workings and layout the new facility which should breathe fresh life into that too quiet corner of our favourite little town. I just went to the Virginia Street Webcam and saw that they have exterior hotel walls illuminated again. Good stuff!

I hope some sort of casino is in the offing. Wasn't that mentioned in earlier press releases? I could be imaging that.

Anyway, looking forward to hearing more about it.

[remano]

No gambling (not even bar top VP) and no plans to add it. They bill themselves as a non-gaming, non smoking hotel. They do own the building across the alley that houses Siri's slot parlor and there has been speculation that they might construct a pedestrian bridge across the alley to connect the buildings. This would let hotel guests get to one gaming venue without going outside and there also has been talk of a mutual customer appreciation program - Siri's slot points could be redeemed at WP, hotel guests could get free play at Siri's etc. So far that has just been conjecture.

Rather than gaming, I would like to see them put first priority on finding a first class tenant or two for the retail space on the ground floor of their parking ramp. A specialty sporting goods store would fit their theme, but I don't know if the downtown market would support it. Come to think of it, that might be a good topic for discussion in another thread - what would be a good fit for that space?

[BC Dave]

Thanks Remano for the further update.

So I guess I was imagining, mis-remembering, dreaming or by some other means, mistaken about Whitney Peak planning a casino.

At least the idea of a sky-bridge sounds very good. As you say it would give W.P. hotel guests a more complete experience - In essence turning the two adjacent properties into a larger, more complete one.

Your idea for a thread on a good use for the retail space seems like a good one. That's something I have difficulty with however. All I can come up with is slot machines, gift shops, liquor stores, and bars. That's all been tried.

Glad to see the lights on! Go Whitney Peak! Go Reno!