Plan Your Miniwide in the High Sierra

Reno

Reno Strip

The Biggest Little City in the world anchors northern Nevada and connects to majestic Lake Tahoe via its near proximity (38 miles from downtown) and easy access. Reno is big, yes, but it’s getting bigger, with major corporations moving in, creating jobs and drawing meetings. The Riverwalk District and Midtown are both enjoying a renaissance. Plus, there’s a range of major hotels and resorts both downtown and along what’s unofficially dubbed the “convention corridor,” a clutch of properties within a few minutes of Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO) and Reno-Sparks Convention Center that can be mixed and matched to create your own miniwide gathering.

Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, Reno

Key meeting space: The major meetings player in Reno is Reno-Sparks Convention Center, with 381,000 sq. ft. of exhibit space, 53 meeting rooms and a 30,000-square-foot ballroom. In October, Dynamic Communities, Inc. came to Reno for its Summit 2015, a miniwide networking event that drew more than 4,000 participants. The convention center hosted the group’s expo, with nearly 200 exhibitors, general sessions and meals. Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, connected to the center, held the breakout sessions, while Peppermill Resort Spa Casino served as its headquarters hotel.

Lodging: From a miniwide, convention-corridor perspective, consider the 824-room Atlantis and 1,623-room Peppermill. Both are located on South Virginia Street, as is Courtyard by Marriott Reno, with 117 rooms. Hyatt Place, adjacent to Reno-Tahoe International Airport), is nearby and offers 126 rooms.

Downtown Truckee

Where to have fun: Summer brings rafting and kayaking on the Truckee River and Reno Aces Triple-A baseball; winter features skiing at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, just 25 minutes from downtown. Year-round, National Bowling Stadium gives your group opportunities to roll strikes in a high-end, tournament-style environment. And, of course, there’s the all-season thrill of playing slots, blackjack, roulette, poker and more.

Quotable: “Groups of up to 3,000 people can host events at one of many resort hotels, and for larger groups, the convention center is just 10 minutes away from all of the city’s major hotels,” Cunningham says.

Lake Tahoe–South Shore

Surrounded by pine forests and surging mountain peaks, gorgeously turquoise Lake Tahoe is a gem shared by California and Nevada. South Shore is its popular hub, a vibrant area where a cluster of hotels offer accommodations, dining and, on the Nevada side of the border, marquee entertainment and gaming. Heavenly Mountain Resort, with 97 ski runs, straddles both states.

Harvey’s Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino

Key meeting space: With no convention center in the region, South Shore hotels draw groups for meetings, training seminars and conferences. Large groups gravitate to Harrah’s Lake Tahoe and Harveys Lake Tahoe Hotel and Casino, individually or as a pair. The sister properties offer a total of 50,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and are connected by a tunnel, but you can create your own miniwide on a smaller scale with a few properties within walking distance of each other.

Meet on the California side at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel (more than 10,000 sq. ft.) and stash your top VIPs (and their families) at Marriott’s Timber Lodge’s one-, two- and three-bedroom condos. Or, combine a sales meeting at Lake Tahoe Resort with an incentive component at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe (14,300 sq. ft.), just over the state line.

Refreshed after a $25 million renovation, MontBleu Resort Casino and Spa, one block from the California state line, offers 16,000 sq. ft. The recently upgraded Beach Retreat & Lodge at Tahoe has 6,108 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor space, including the new 3,054-square-foot Beach Retreat Conference Center.

Lodging: Among the properties on the Nevada side, Harrah’s has 512 guest rooms, Harveys 742, MontBleu 437 and Hard Rock 539. In California, Beach Retreat & Lodge at Tahoe has 262 rooms; Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, at the base of Heavenly Mountain Resort, features 400 suites; and Marriott’s Timber Lodge offers various vacation rentals.

Paddleboarding on Lake Tahoe

Where to have fun: Fun activities are seasonal but plentiful. Winter brings powder hounds to Heavenly for skiing and snowboarding. Snowmobilers head out from Zephyr Cove for lake-view tours. In summer, ski lifts carry mountain bikers while major trail systems such as Rubicon Trail and Tahoe Rim Trail challenge hikers. Beaches encourage sunbathing and relaxing. The lake offers water sports galore, as well as sightseeing and dining on historic paddle wheelers and private yachts. Nevada casinos offer their own brand of exciting indoor fun, year-round.

Quotable: According to Mike Frye, event manager for Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, South Lake Tahoe can handle groups from small to large, through a variety of properties. Best yet, he says, “there is built-in fun for offsites and pre- and post-activities.”

Lake Tahoe–North Shore

The North Shore of Lake Tahoe draws enthusiastic visitors and outdoor recreationists to its mountains and blue waters year-round. Historic Truckee is the area’s low-profile ski town, located only minutes from its grand mountain partners.

The Ritz-Carlton, lake Tahoe

Key meeting space: Mountain resorts serve as the area’s major meeting venues. The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe is located midmountain at Northstar California (now a part of Vail Resorts). This luxe resort features 15,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space tucked into one wing of the hotel and includes 6,600-square-foot and 3,000-square-foot ballrooms. Outdoor function space is available, as well.

Lodging: Northstar California encompasses a number of condominium lodges in addition to The Ritz-Carlton resort, which features 170 guest rooms, including 16 suites. Miniwides are possible here. A recent networking meeting for a tech company booked 145 rooms at the hotel and a similar number of condos in Northstar Village, according to Giles Priestland, director of sales and marketing for The Ritz.

Where to have fun: Winter fun at North Lake Tahoe is spelled s-n-o-w. Northstar offers 3,170 skiable acres, plus a ski and snowboard school. The Ritz is a ski-in/ski-out property steps from Northstar chairlifts; it’s also steps from the intermountain gondola that connects the hotel with charming Northstar Village and its complement of luxe shops and restaurants. Summer brings outdoor opportunities such as mountain biking, nearby golf and water sports on the lake.

Quotable: “What sets us apart from other destinations is not just our [midmountain Northstar] location, but also the architecture of the hotel,” Priestland says of the Ritz. “Large windows throughout the hotel bring the outdoors inside, which contributes to inspirational, more productive meetings.”

Wrapping Up

Choosing Reno or Lake Tahoe as your meeting destination is sure to create a buzz among attendees. Reno drew 14 percent more participants at the Dynamic Communities meeting this year than Summit 2014 in St. Louis, according to the organization. And Lake Tahoe? Well, that’s likely to be on everyone’s wish list as an ideal meeting location.

The Lodge at Nakoma—A New Sierra Retreat

Stymied for a real retreat for your retreat? One that’s luxe but fits your budget? Happily, there’s a new property that provides just that. Opened last summer in what’s called the Lost Sierra—a deeply forested area about an hour’s drive north of Reno and Lake Tahoe—is The Lodge at Nakoma in Clio. This 42-room lodge is tucked into the pines at Nakoma resort, an idyllic escape that features a dramatic, Frank Lloyd Wright-designed clubhouse and championship golf course. The teepee-like clubhouse encompasses several meeting spaces, including the Wigwam Room, with 2,106 sq. ft. of space for 140 guests, and three smaller options.

In addition to golf, there are many outdoor recreation possibilities—from hiking and mountain biking to fishing and kayaking. According to Jennifer Lacy, marketing and special events director for the lodge, the Nakoma experience is unique because of the resort’s remoteness, but it still has “all the amenities people need for a true retreat experience.”