Great weekend retreat

My niece and nephew had never seen snow before so my sister, her kids and I went on a last minute weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe. She got this hotel through priceline.com for 150.00 including tax.

When we arrived, the valet people were quite snooty towards us and I immediately felt uncomfortable. However, when we checked in at the front desk, it was a different story. They were extremely helpful, as were the concierge staff. We checked in and were delighted with the room. The decor was more personable than most chain hotel rooms.

The first thing we had planned to do was go see and play in the snow. Seasons were changing but we were told that Mt. Rose (about 20 minutes away from the hotel) still had some snow. My sister had called 2 days prior to inquire about sled rentals. The person told her that they were about to change the store to summer gear, but that they would leave a few out for us. Well, when we went to the store, the woman had no idea what we were talking about and I could tell that she thought it was ridiculous that anyone would still want to go sledding. She kept saying, "if there is still snow up there" (after the concierge staff said that the snow hasn't melted there yet). I insisted that she at least check to see if there are sleds we can rent. She found them and we were off. The kids were excited to walk around in the snow, although it was so bright out that the reflection off the snow was giving us all a headache.

We went back to our hotel room to rest and suddenly, my niece started to shriek. The room's window had a view of the pool. It was a clean and roomy pool in a comfortable setting. What was odder that being able to sled and swim on the same day was being able to see the snow up in the mountains while swimming on a clear and sunny day.

For dinner, we went to the Lone Star Grille and it was fabulous. It was a treat for us as we usually don't spend that much money on dining. The no flour chocolate cake is to DIE FOR!!!

We went for a walk on the private beach after dinner and the view was spectacular. We were able to watch the sunset while sitting and relaxing. The kids were trying to skip rocks and my sister and I just took in the view.

We ended the night with my bringing the kids to the hotel arcade and my sister going to the casino. Both were not impressive, but gaming was not a priority for us.