Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino

The bar staff are awesome, the drinks are good, and the back room has the look of a forties gangster movie. The rooms could use some care, but the rest of the place is strange and falling apart in a very cinematic way. If you want to feel stuck in the 1980s, or make a very cheap-looking home movie, this is the place. Probably not for a first date, but maybe for a 50th, when weird and surreal is part of the fun.

We stayed in a cabin the other night, with the hot tub and pool right nearby, which was really convenient. The beds are very firm, so ask for extra pillows. Devora at the front desk helped us with everything we needed and was very hospitable. There's a casino and an indoor ballroom for events, and Crystal Bay and Nugget Casino are right across the street. We're looking forward to coming back next month.

The cottage rooms need maintenance. Ours had torn carpet, holes in the walls, and a musty smell. The price is great for the area, and the staff are friendly, but the WiFi doesn't reach the cottages.

We paid $475 for four nights in July and booked an “updated cottage room” advertised as “close to the pool and the lake.” That description was misleading. I called Bilty months before the trip, and someone there assured me the cottage rooms were great and “ALL UPDATED.” The cottage we got hadn't been updated since around 1991, as far as I could tell. It felt like sixth-grade camp, and definitely wasn't worth $500 for four nights. The photos online make the place look much better with their lighting and angles. I heard only the hotel rooms are updated, but I can't vouch for that. There is no AC. Our “nice room” had a floor fan, a 1996 TV with no flat screen or HD, and a remote, at least. The walk-in closet had no hangers; I used it to store my mountain bike, which I had to wrestle up stairs that seemed built for sixth graders or little people. Everything in the room seemed either stolen or torn up, and the information binder was completely empty. The curtains looked like a cat had clawed them. To get pool towels, we had to hand over a driver's license, even though they'd already charged my credit card $500. The only ice machines are on the third floor of the main hotel, so getting ice from the cottage means a hike and a ride in the original elevator, which has been there since 1921 with all its original hardware. I love Tahoe history and lived there for five years, so the old elevator itself didn't bother me. The run-down cottage and the price did. Save yourself the hassle and money, unless you want to relive sixth-grade camp.