We have advance reservations for M-F at the Pepp beginning 9/7. I expect the rooms will be bottom of the totem pole, made thru Continental Vacations ($40 per night plus). Does anyone have advice as to the possibility of a room upgrade for the $20 "offer" to the check in clerk?
Never tried this before but wondering, since it seems to be common for Vegas.
I don't know if $20 will work but there are no bad rooms. The best are in the new Tuscany Tower. In the large Peppermill Tower, over half of the rooms have been remodeled so far; the others are a bit dated but nice enough. Finally, the Montego Bay rooms are newly remodeled but on the small side and have only kings and doubles--not queens. You will probably be given the Peppermill tower so be sure to ask if there are any remodeled rooms available.
George
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, "billbehlert" <billbehlert@...> wrote:
We have advance reservations for M-F at the Pepp beginning 9/7. I expect the rooms will be bottom of the totem pole, made thru Continental Vacations ($40 per night plus). Does anyone have advice as to the possibility of a room upgrade for the $20 "offer" to the check in clerk?
Never tried this before but wondering, since it seems to be common for Vegas.
Save your $20 for VP. I have never been put in a Montego Bay room - they are the oldest - but both the Tuscany and Peppemill Tower rooms are great - even the most basic ones. The new Tuscany tower is more upscale (more expensive if you were paying rack rate), and nicer in some ways - but I prefer the older Peppermill Tower, since it is more convenient to the casino floor. The Tuscany requires a bit of a hike. If you go the Peppermill Tower route, ask if a remodeled room is available.
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, "billbehlert" <billbehlert@...> wrote:
We have advance reservations for M-F at the Pepp beginning 9/7. I expect the rooms will be bottom of the totem pole, made thru Continental Vacations ($40 per night plus). Does anyone have advice as to the possibility of a room upgrade for the $20 "offer" to the check in clerk?
Never tried this before but wondering, since it seems to be common for Vegas.
I've actually stayed in all three in the past 3 months. None are bad rooms and based on room alone you should be okay no matter which room you are put in. Each has their different characteristics and it's what is important to you. Montego rooms are the smallest, but they were the first rooms to be upgraded starting a couple of years ago so all have 42 inch flat screens wall-mounted. I've always stayed in the wing that is attached to the casino so the walk is fairly close as you enter the casino by Oceano.
The Tower rooms, as previously alluded to, are either completely renovated or they haven't started yet so ask for a renovated room if they put you in the tower. There are elevators at either end of the main tower portion so you aren't far from the casino at all.
The Tuscany Tower is indeed the farthest from the casino but only by a 5-minute walk or so and how much more can you win or lose in that amount of time? The rooms are the largest, particularly the bathrooms, and the ambiance is much nicer. Of course, it's unlikely you'll be given a Tuscany room if your cost was $40 but stranger things have happened. I doubt the $20 trick will work but you never know.
Good luck!
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, "Bob" <bobappic@...> wrote:
Save your $20 for VP. I have never been put in a Montego Bay room - they are the oldest - but both the Tuscany and Peppemill Tower rooms are great - even the most basic ones. The new Tuscany tower is more upscale (more expensive if you were paying rack rate), and nicer in some ways - but I prefer the older Peppermill Tower, since it is more convenient to the casino floor. The Tuscany requires a bit of a hike. If you go the Peppermill Tower route, ask if a remodeled room is available.
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, "billbehlert" <billbehlert@> wrote:
>
> We have advance reservations for M-F at the Pepp beginning 9/7. I expect the rooms will be bottom of the totem pole, made thru Continental Vacations ($40 per night plus). Does anyone have advice as to the possibility of a room upgrade for the $20 "offer" to the check in clerk?
>
> Never tried this before but wondering, since it seems to be common for Vegas.
>
Every reply a good one! Thanks a bunch.
We are flying Newark NJ to Denver, then riding the CA Zephyr through the Rockies to Reno. 4 nights, then the Zephyr to Sacramento and fly home. Took me 15 hours to put this trip together inexpensively, but I did get great deals. $40+ per night and $20+ per day for Pepp and car rental. $240 for air and $230 for the train. CANT WAIT til Sept 5
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, "billbehlert" <billbehlert@...> wrote:
We have advance reservations for M-F at the Pepp beginning 9/7. I expect the rooms will be bottom of the totem pole, made thru Continental Vacations ($40 per night plus). Does anyone have advice as to the possibility of a room upgrade for the $20 "offer" to the check in clerk?
Never tried this before but wondering, since it seems to be common for Vegas.
This sounds like a great trip!!! I had never thought of a train...is there an url you can recommend for the train? Do you mind saying what airline you used? My husband and i would love that trip!! Annie. By the way, have a wonderful time in Reno, one of our favorite places...
On Aug 13, 2009, at 8:17 PM, billbehlert wrote:
We are flying Newark NJ to Denver, then riding the CA Zephyr through the Rockies to Reno. 4 nights, then the Zephyr to Sacramento and fly home. Took me 15 hours to put this trip together inexpensively, but I did get great deals. $40+ per night and $20+ per day for Pepp and car rental. $240 for air and $230 for the train. CANT WAIT til Sept 5
I actually just did Reno to Denver (and Reno to Emeryville on a separate
trip) and flew back in the winter months. It's a beautiful trip, but it's
LONG. All told, it was about 26 hours. The California Zephyr is NOTORIOUSLY
late. And when it's late, it can be really late. It's a bigger issue in the
winter months because of weather conditions, but because Amtrak doesn't own
the track - the freight companies do - the train is subject to the freight's
scheduling. Just be prepared for potential serious delays.
The train wasn't packed at all. I was considering getting a Roomette but it
turned out to be unnecessary. There was ample room to spread out across two
seats and sleep comfortably. The food isn't that bad but it's really
unhealthy.
Enjoy.
On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 9:42 AM, Ann Gauvin <ride3843@ride.ri.net> wrote:
On Aug 13, 2009, at 8:17 PM, billbehlert wrote:
>
>
> We are flying Newark NJ to Denver, then riding the CA Zephyr through
> the Rockies to Reno. 4 nights, then the Zephyr to Sacramento and
> fly home. Took me 15 hours to put this trip together
> inexpensively, but I did get great deals. $40+ per night and $20+
> per day for Pepp and car rental. $240 for air and $230 for the
> train. CANT WAIT til Sept 5
>This sounds like a great trip!!! I had never thought of a train...is
there an url you can recommend for the train? Do you mind saying what
airline you used? My husband and i would love that trip!! Annie.
By the way, have a wonderful time in Reno, one of our favorite places...
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
For the train, go to Amtrak, which now owns the famous California Zephyr. They have lots of discounts available. Seniors (over 60 I think) travel as buy one, get one free. The web site is not real easy to navigate, but with persistence, you will find routes, special deals, discounts etc
For the vacation site, I used Continental Vacations. Normally I find I get the best rates going directly to hotel or car rental. But in this case, Continental, even tho they don't fly to Reno, beat the pants off everything.
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, Ann Gauvin <ride3843@...> wrote:
Actually the Zephyr's timing has greatly improved....one reason being that with the recession freight traffic has diminished. I walk my neighborhood every morning and usually hear the westbound Zephyr "whistling" it's way through Sparks, NV (they have a melodious sound to their locomotive airhorns differing from the noise that Union Pacific engines make) between 9 and 10AM, close to the scheduled arrival time at Reno. You can get the schedule on the Amtrak website and also eta's for the current trip.
T C
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, Jason Pawloski <jpawloski@...> wrote:
I actually just did Reno to Denver (and Reno to Emeryville on a separate
trip) and flew back in the winter months. It's a beautiful trip, but it's
LONG. All told, it was about 26 hours. The California Zephyr is NOTORIOUSLY
late. And when it's late, it can be really late. It's a bigger issue in the
winter months because of weather conditions, but because Amtrak doesn't own
the track - the freight companies do - the train is subject to the freight's
scheduling. .<rest deleted>
There is an independant website, Amtrak Train Status History, which shows the arrival times over the past month or so. Except for a few big late arrivals, the great percentage of Zephyrs arrived about on time into Reno.
Actually the Zephyr's timing has greatly improved....one reason being that with the recession freight traffic has diminished. I walk my neighborhood every morning and usually hear the westbound Zephyr "whistling" it's way through Sparks, NV (they have a melodious sound to their locomotive airhorns differing from the noise that Union Pacific engines make) between 9 and 10AM, close to the scheduled arrival time at Reno. You can get the schedule on the Amtrak website and also eta's for the current trip.
T C
I did Oakland to Denver back for Christmas in 1993 I believe. As I recall it was a 29 hour trip, very scenic but I did it cheaply and
rode the observation car all the way, which meant I slept on the floor with a few other hardy souls. The worse part was the 5 hour layover in Salt Lake City overnight for unknown reasons, then showing up for breakfast in the dining car the next morning completely disheveled and exhausted.
I still enjoyed the heck out of it, but next time I will take a sleeping car and do the whole thing in my contemporary styled adult footie pajamas.
--- In vpFREE_Reno@yahoogroups.com, Jason Pawloski <jpawloski@...> wrote:
I actually just did Reno to Denver (and Reno to Emeryville on a separate
trip) and flew back in the winter months. It's a beautiful trip, but it's
LONG. All told, it was about 26 hours. The California Zephyr is NOTORIOUSLY
late. And when it's late, it can be really late. It's a bigger issue in the
winter months because of weather conditions, but because Amtrak doesn't own
the track - the freight companies do - the train is subject to the freight's
scheduling. Just be prepared for potential serious delays.The train wasn't packed at all. I was considering getting a Roomette but it
turned out to be unnecessary. There was ample room to spread out across two
seats and sleep comfortably. The food isn't that bad but it's really
unhealthy.Enjoy.