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  • Friday, June 02, 2017

    Reno Convention Update: Hotel Impressive, Plenty of Restaurants

    by Paulette Casey

    It’s time to talk about Reno! Jim and I visited last month and we think you will be happy with the hotel we have been assigned for the National American Legion Convention (Aug. 18-24, Reno, Nevada).

    Peppermill Resort

    Peppermill Resort and Casino is the NY delegation hotel.

    HOTEL: The Peppermill Resort Spa and Casino, 2707 South Virginia Street, is quite impressive. All of our rooms will be located in the Peppermill Tower, which is close to all the restaurants and casino floor. Rooms will be King or 2 Queens and all have a refrigerator and Keurig coffeemaker. The hotel also has free wi-fi. There is free parking at the hotel as well as a free airport shuttle. The shuttle departs the airport at 15 minutes before and after the hour, with the last one leaving the airport at 11:45 pm. For anyone interested, there is an Enterprise car rental on site at the hotel.

    There are many restaurants to choose from at the Peppermill. These include 3 fine dining (steakhouse, Chinese and Italian) 4 casual dining (seafood, buffet, burgers, sandwiches) and several quick stops such as a sports deli and cafes. The Peppermill has no fewer than 15 bars throughout the hotel. We didn’t get to all of them, but we did find that the Sports Bar near the Sports Deli had the most reasonable drinks. There will be a booklet in your room with all the happenings for the week, including Happy Hour specials at certain bars and the list of live music acts which happen every night at the Terrace Lounge. It lists Casino and Spa specials as well. The Peppermill has a fitness center and two gorgeous outdoor pools too! There is a gift shop, a women’s shop and a men’s shop to browse in.

    SURROUNDING AREA: Right across the street from the hotel is Clarey’s, a friendly neighborhood restaurant and pub that we were told has a great breakfast and Harp and Guinness on tap along with a nice choice of bottled beer. We stopped there and told them we were coming!

    Once you leave the hotel, if you make a right onto S. Virginia, there is a 7-11 on the next corner and a Walgreen’s past that, both on the right hand side. If you continue down South Virginia Street, you will come to National Headquarters, the Atlantis Hotel, on the left, which is adjacent to the Convention Center. Further down on S. Virginia on the left is the Meadowood Mall, with anchor stores such as Macy’s, Sears, JC Penney, etc. There is shopping on the right side also. There is a local bus that stops outside the hotel that can take you to that mall as well as the other way into downtown.

    If you make a left onto S. Virginia from the hotel, you will be heading towards downtown. On the next corner on the right is Town Liquor Store and further down on the right is Shopper’s Square, which includes Smart and Final Supermarket, CVS, I Hop, Tuesday Morning and Marshall’s.

    DOWNTOWN: There are many more casinos downtown including Silver Legacy, Eldorado, Circus Circus, Harrah’s and the Sands Regency. Take a scenic walk along the Truckee Riverwalk, which crosses S. Virginia as you enter downtown. There are a few museums also, including the National Automobile Museum, the Nevada Museum of Art and the Fleischmann Planetarium. Reno Aces Baseball takes place at the Greater Nevada Field downtown as well.

    MEDICAL CARE: There is an urgent care, Concentra Urgent Care, 2 miles away at 6410 S. Virginia St. The nearest hospital is 3 miles away. The Renown Regional Medical Center is located at 1155 Mill St. in Reno. Hopefully we will not have to avail of either!

    FURTHER AFIELD: Of course there are many other sights to see in the Reno/Lake Tahoe area, including Virginia City, cruises on Lake Tahoe, Truckee and Donner Lake and Museum. The convention center will be running tours to some of these places. Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevadas provide really breathtaking scenery.

    Wishing you all a wonderful convention!