I loved this hotel! I was here for 5 days for a poker tournament series, and the hotel was a refreshing change from most of the hotels I've stayed at when playing poker. There were plenty of dining options, from a Johnny Rocket's to a buffet to a few fine dining restaurants. I got a great rate on my room... something like $50/night, and it was even better because I got in on a promo where I got $50 in match play coupons and a $50 dining credit. I ate like a king for the entire duration of my trip! Furthermore, the front desk let me upgrade to their condo rooms for about $10/night, so I was able to stay in one of the nicest hotel rooms I've ever stayed in, complete with a big plasma TV and an LCD TV in the bathroom, a fridge and microwave, upgraded furniture, etc. I wasn't crazy about Reno, but I was sad to leave this hotel behind when I left.

I recently traveled to Reno from Sacramento, CA for my birthday weekend and after trying to make reservations with much difficulty at other casinos (I have no credit card, and the other casinos i.e. Peppermill, etc. would not budge on the credit card policy and let me pay cash for the room.) I decided on the Grand Sierra. I was a fan of the old Hilton, and very curious to see how the property had been updated. It's great! The rooms are beautiful but somewhat expensive (we stayed in a Loft Suite at the Summit for $220/night, and that was the discounted price because of my birthday, normally $350/night); the food is good and relatively inexpensive in the coffee shop, Cafe Sierra. They have an amazing selection of penny slots, which are my boyfriend's and my favorite. In fact, I won $1000.00 while we were there on a penny machine!! To top it off, one of my friends there with me hit a $2020.00 progressive jackpot on a penny machine. Everyone was amazingly nice - they even offered to escort us to our rooms after winning to ensure our safety within the casino, which made us feel very important.
However, there was one hold up - if you are reading this and don't have a credit card and are thinking about making a reservation at the Summit - make sure you have a credit card number with you. They will enter it into their system in order to ensure you keep the room clean (the Summit is a non-smoking property, but people were smoking in the hallways on the higher floors anyway, and i smoked in my room without being caught). i was told on the phone I wouldn't need a credit card upon arrival, and when I told the receptionist this, she began to refuse to give me my room. However, after I (not so nicely) explained to her that i'd been stuck on Donner Summit for 5 1/2 hours, I had missed my birthday arrival in Reno (we left Sac at 6:00pm and didn't arrive in Reno until 1:30AM due to chains/snow), and that i had more than enough cash to pay for the room (I may have turned on the waterworks a bit, too....=-D), she accepted my ATM card number because it has 16 digits as does a credit card.
Overall, though, it was an amazing vacation. Everyone won money in the casino, even my boyfriend and my other friend who wasn't lucky enough to win the progressive. We went up as a group with 3 grand and came back with 4500 bucks after 2 days! I would recommend this place to anyone who loves a nice hotel and a great casino. The poker room is non-smoking, the casino is pretty big with tons of penny machines, there is a fun park outside with thrill rides, go karts and bumper cars (close while we were there due to the snow), and downstairs they have a shopping mall, arcade for kids, and a movie theatre for $3/ticket! You literally can find anything you might want to do in Reno at this place. They even have an amazing adventure desk that will set up snowmobiling trips and outdoor adventure activities for you. A great bet for a great hotel. You can expect us to be staying there anytime we've got the cash to go.

Although I'm sure the Grand Sierra people had great aspirations for this property when they took it over from the Hilton, they have yet to realize those dreams. The outside of the hotel is dated and dreary - you drive past a half built amusement park area to get into the hotel which sets the tone for a depressing arrival. Furthermore since there's no parking garage, unless you use their valet service, you must park in a flat lot that when full can leave you with a 5 minute walk just to get back to the front door.

The staff were attentive and friendly and check-in was a breeze. My room was on the 15th floor and it was a very typical cookie cutter Nevada casino hotel room with 27" tube TV, old bedcovers and standard decor. It was an incredibly average room but an excellent value at less than $50 a night. I would suspect that most people are not going to spend much time in their room anyway in this town.

There are very good restaurant offerings from a Cafe, Charlie Palmers Steak House, several bars, Johnny Rockets, pizza, and about a dozen bars. None were very crowded despite a large poker tournament taking place during my stay. You might miss it if you did not go downstairs, but there is a spa and health club (extra $10 a day for the health club), 4 screen movie theatre, bowling alley and several shops which appeared to be in business, but were mostly closed mid-day on a Saturday. There's also a golf driving range out the back door.

I did not see one of their "Summit" rooms, but understand that ther's some sort of vacation club you need to join and they did have a club sales area set up across from the check in desk.

Overall if you are looking for a comfortable, cheap stay in Reno this hotel should suit you fine.

Yes, the hallways are a bit overdue for a remodel, but on the whole, the hotel is excellent. The buffet is very good, even against the big Vegas ones, they Wynn and Bellagio included. The bowling alley is great and there is very little reason to leave for another Reno casino. We will be back.