When most people hear about Reno, they think of one thing: gambling. As someone who doesn’t gamble, I’m here to tell you there is SO much more to Reno! As we discovered, Reno is only a 30 minute drive from Northstar mountain in Lake Tahoe and provides an immense amount of hotel options, restaurants and entertainment at a reasonable price. During this trip, we stayed at the Whitney Peak hotel and were blown away by the service, room and vibe of the hotel. Read on to hear what we thought!
Location: 5/5
In terms of being front and center in Reno, this is it! The Whitney Peak has a great location next to all the casinos, a block from the river and just a few minutes off the main highway. As I mentioned, I had no idea how close Reno was to North Lake Tahoe and it was actually such a great surprise. Reno is a very small town so everything is close by here. They have a very understated main entrance and it’s around the corner from the main drag. Walking into the smoke-free, casino-free environment was a welcome change from other Reno properties.
Lobby & Check in experience: 4.5/5
The lobby is very cool. From the outside, you can’t really tell how hip the hotel actually is. But when you walk in, the lobby is straight ahead and offers beautiful lighting and a seating area. They also always serve water and hot cider in the lobby which is nice when it’s 35 degrees and snowing outside. While the bellman weren’t always the quickest to help, the front desk agent was kind, efficient and genuinely happy to see us. In fact, everyone we met at the front desk very super helpful and nice. It was my birthday weekend so we got some extra free drink coupons to use at the club lounge and we were sent off to our room. Overall, the check in experience was very pleasant and efficient.
Rooms: 5/5
Oh. my. gosh. This is where their service REALLY shined. We checked into our Club Level King Suite and immediately were taken aback. Not only was the room gorgeous but the staff had decorated every square centimeter of the room with birthday decor! There were balloons, hershey’s chocolates, confetti and ribbons absolutely everywhere. Words don’t even do it justice- just check this out:
The King Suite had a large living room complete with a bar, mini kitchen with microwave and fridge. We looked out at the gorgeous white-capped mountains and at night had an epic view of downtown Reno’s lights. The bedroom was also a great size with a huge king bed and large bathroom.
The decor in the room was very cool: live edge tables, comfortable chairs and sofa, beautiful artwork of the mountains on the wall and just generally great vibes. It felt very “mountain-chic”. We were on the top floor of the hotel and overall, it was a very quiet room. We had no noise issues whatsoever.
Facilities: 4.5/5
The Whitney Peak is a very cool hotel because of the available facilities. Not only do they have a great restaurant, but they also have a full climbing gym, outdoor climbing wall that spans the height of the building and also a music venue. You could spend your entire stay entertaining yourself at all their outlets without even leaving the hotel- it’s so much fun.
The outdoor climbing wall: we didn’t get to try it this time due to the weather but there is a top rope wall where you can climb up the entire height of the Whitney Peak. I would love to try it next time, but stay away if you’re afraid of heights – it’s so impressive 😂.
The indoor climbing gym: the bouldering gym is located on the second floor of the hotel. It’s a public gym so we met tons of locals who climb here regularly. They have a lot of different routes and it’s a really fun excuse to get into it if you’ve never tried. They offer day passes and you can buy them from the front desk of the hotel. I know they also offer yoga classes and other classes through the gym as well. There is a co-ed steam and sauna that are a great relaxer post gym-sesh. The only bummer was that the showers weren’t as nice as their steam/sauna.
The music venue, Cargo: unfortunately, nothing was playing the night we stayed but their music venue is a huge draw for music buffs! They have some great bands come through and you can check out their upcoming shows here. Whitney Peak also has a fun tradition of making posters for every band and you can see them framed around the property and in your room.
The club level lounge: WOW! This was a great perk. This seriously rivals some of the biggest brands in the world and their sad excuses for club lounges. This club is the size of two large suites on the 15th floor and is SO cozy! There are big sofas and chairs everywhere and lots of tables to sit at. They even have those funky hammock chairs where you can enjoy the view from a comfy seat. In the morning, they serve a light breakfast with coffee and tea along with muffins, toast and eggs. The evening spread was what blew my mind though – local beers, lots of delicious wine (who can say no to Oyster Bay?) and a great charcuterie tray along with some light appetizers. The staff there were lovely and made sure your glass was never empty.
Dining: 4.5/5
I had my birthday dinner at Roundabout grill and it was great! The decor and overall vibe of the restaurant is super hip and has the same furnishings as the hotel rooms. We ordered a couple of cocktails that were delicious and split the Tuna Tartar. I ordered a steak and Max ordered a pasta dish – everything was delicious. The price was very reasonable for the quality and I got a free dessert for my birthday ;).
Service: 4.5/5
The front desk staff and concierge were particularly amazing. From check in to check out, they were polite, helpful and went above and beyond to make my birthday special (see the room photos above if you don’t believe me). They have fun making people’s trips amazing and I know this because they were talking about how they filled another guest’s bathtub with beer bottles for St Patricks day, so it wasn’t just me :). They called after check in to make sure everything was ok and they were able to accommodate a late check out without issue. The staff in the club lounge was so sweet as well. They made sure our glasses were always full and spent time getting to know us. The only service that wasn’t top notch was the bellman. They were fine but they weren’t around often to hold the door, assist with luggage or provide information. I’m sure most people would never notice, but knowing how above and beyond the rest of the staff go, it was a bit of a difference. All in all, I love the staff here and would return based on their service alone.
Overall: 4.67
Overall, we loved our stay. We were completely overwhelmed by the amazing welcome and continuously impressed with the staff’s service and commitment to guest satisfaction. The amenities are so much fun and a very different experience than what you’d have at other hotels. No request is too small for the staff here (check out this buzzfeed article) and you can tell they love their jobs. The next time I take a trip to Reno, I would not hesitate to book a stay at the Whitney Peak again.
Disclaimer: We stayed at the Whitney Peak as press. Please know the opinions expressed are all our own and may not reflect the hotel’s views.