My husband and I took advantage of a Harrahs free trip with airfare to
Harvey's Lake Tahoe last weekend. The deal was very good - 3 free nights plus
airfare. My play covered all our food. We found the room at Harvey's quite large,
with a partial view of the lake. I don't believe it was as big as the room I
remember at Tahoe's Harrahs, however. It did have 2 1/2 bathrooms, which were
rather large.
We really enjoyed walking around the Tahoe area, even though it was winter.
It snowed on Friday night, but on the next day the sky was clear blue and it
warmed up. Skiers and snowboarders said the conditions were perfect. We are
just lookers, so rode up the gondola ride (about $20 per person round trip) very
close to Harrah's (called Heavenly), for a fantastic view of the lake. I was
surprised to see that the paddlewheelers which travel on the lake run year
round, but we didn't go, figuring that would be rather cold.
We ate at Harvey's Seafood buffet the first night. It was a bit pricey
(around $30), but did have 1/2 lobsters, sushi, and other high quality items.
Unfortunately the sushi wasn't too good though. It was probably equivalent to Rio
Vegas's expensive Seafood buffet. For sushi lovers you are probably better
off to find an all-you-can-eat sushi with better sushi at a similar price.
The people who really would do well at this buffet would be lobster and
shellfish eaters.
The next night we ate at Harvey's The Sage restaurant with a couple of other
list members who we met for the first time, and their friends. This was one
of the highlights of the trip. We really enjoyed talking and eating with them.
We also enjoyed the food, which was excellent, and included many flambe
dishes made at tableside, including warm spinach salad, steak Diane,
chateaubriand, bananas foster, and so on. Highly recommended.
The next day we ate Sunday brunch at Harvey's Llewlellins. It has a
fantastic view of the lake, and thus was worthwhile, even though the approximate $28
charge seemed pricey for the variety of food. The food was good, but it wasn't
the huge brunch selection found at many Vegas and Atlantic City hotels.
Items included cold shrimp and oysters, omlettes, french toast, and so on, mostly
breakfast foods. Quality was good for what was there, but there just wasn't a
giant selection. Still the view was fantastic, and a good pianist played
while you ate. Cheap champagne was nonstop and included in the price.
We also tried Harrah's Forest Buffet for dinner. It was priced at around $18
per person and was good - equivalent to Harrah's Vegas buffet in quality. It
has a partial lake view from a high floor.
Best video poker machines found were 2 quarter 10/7 DB in Harrah's. A lot of
the good VP I remember from 5 years ago was gone. Harvey's had quarter
Deuces Deluxe - good if you know the strategy. I played primarily triple play $1
NSU at Harrah's. Harrah's seemed to have the better selection of VP. I found
one strange Double Joker (quarter) at Harvey's that probably was full pay but
a different than normal pay table.
Overall we lost $ but ran up a bunch of comps and points and had a good time
looking at the beautiful scenery. No doubt I'll be getting more offers from
Harrah's Tahoe or Reno after this trip.
Also found out that Diamond members get free tickets to the Improv and late
night X-rated "X" show (formerly ran at Aladdin). Perhaps other free tix when
other shows are playing.
There are Diamond Lounges in both Harvey's and Harrahs. They open late on
weekdays, and times vary on weekends. They had sparse amount of snacks and
sandwiches, but full bars and lots of lounge chairs/big tvs. Harvey's was very
strange - you have to enter via a special elevator, and 1 person acts as
elevator operator, has to come down to get you in, and also bartender and complete
server. This meant you had to wait a few minutes to get in and may get somewhat
lower service than usual. For Harrah's you must "activate" your Diamond Card
to have it work on the key card slot to get you in (do it at Diamond Desk).
Check for signs for specials (there was a 20% discount running during our
visit for certain restaurants if you did a Quick Comp/swipe). Also there may be
coupon books for restaurants/stores, and Harrahs/Harveys both had coupon
sheets (ask at Total Rewards). Other casinos may also have coupon/freebie books.
Trip from Reno to Harrah's takes about 1 hr 15 min via a bus that runs from
the airport.
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