SUPER 8 GARDNERVILLE/MINDEN

Adjust your expectations if you think this is rated at the same standard as other hotels. This was the worst hotel experience I've had in years, with typical stays being at places like Holiday Inn or Best Western Plus. The beds in our room were made, yet the linens had not been changed. Attached are pictures of dog hair and human hair easily visible across the entire bed. The maids didn't even bother to sweep the hairs off before making the beds. Room had 2 beds. Our bed had black dog hair (fuzzy, looked like undercoat) and short black human hairs. The other bed had short hairs that looked like eyelash and eyebrow hairs, all over it. Lighting in the room is so dim that even with all the lights on plus a flashlight and phone flash, it was hard to photograph clearly. We got in late on night one and were horrified to find the filthy linens at midnight. Called the front desk, no one there. My husband tracked down a night property manager who said he had no authority to move us to a new room, but he found another employee who changed our linens herself. These two were the only positive part of the stay. They mentioned the hotel is very short staffed. Linens weren't finished being changed until 1:37 AM. We were exhausted and were told "they will make it right" when we spoke to the front desk later. I also need to add that when booking, I called the front desk because I'd found a lower rate through a travel site. The front desk employee told me to book externally and bring proof of the lower price, and they would honor it, since their system doesn't always match outside booking sites. I followed her advice and had a PDF ready at check in. At checkout, it took about an hour to get someone to agree to waive the cost of the first night. I appreciated that, but honestly didn't feel it was enough given we smelled like the room afterward, dealt with broken AC, etc. When I brought up the rate match I'd been promised, a different staff member rudely claimed no one would have ever said that and that I must have misunderstood. Other issues: the room had a strange, sickly sweet mold smell we don't typically encounter in TX, with obvious water damage on the wall next to the AC unit. We tried opening the window and door for fresh air, but our room was about 15 feet from the smoking area, so we got cigarette smoke instead. Between the two, we chose the smoke. The bathroom door lock didn't work at all, which is a real problem if you're traveling with kids, and it was loud and clanky no matter how carefully you turned it, clearly the cheapest hardware available. The shower drain was clogged, so you stood in ~3" of water while showering, and the faucet made an extremely loud, high pitched shriek the entire time it ran. Carpets were stained and filthy with unidentifiable substances. Several entrances had piles of bird droppings caked on them. All the faucets, knobs, and fixtures looked original from decades ago and were in poor condition. Check in is inside the casino, so expect to smell like smoke before you even reach your room. Management here is a serious problem. Don't expect 24/7 front desk coverage or helpful staff, if anyone is even there. To bring this up to a standard hotel experience, this place really needs to be gutted and rebuilt, along with a complete change in management.

My husband and I were evacuated for a week from our home in Tahoe due to the Caldor Fire, and we ended up staying at Topaz Lodge. We had a campsite because we had loaded our trailer with belongings we didn't want to burn up, and we rented a hotel room also because our trailer was so packed. The employees were all so friendly and understanding! Big shout-out to Danny at the convenience store/gas station! She was so helpful, always had a smile on her face, and she made me laugh during what was an otherwise very stressful time! They offered us evacuee rates, which I found very reasonable. The day before we were allowed to return home, the general manager came around and personally handed out free prime rib dinner certificates to evacuees! The restaurant there has amazing food, too! Have to admit the hotel itself needs some updating, but looks like they are working on that. Thank you to all the employees that were so kind. You really helped us through a difficult time!!

Great time at the casino, terrible accommodations. We rented two rooms for two couples. They put us on the last building about two blocks away. We had to drive to get to the casino. We decided to stay for cocktails before heading to the room. Later when we were exhausted we went to the rooms.. One of the rooms was 98 degrees. They claimed they did not know the AC was broken. We had to call, drive back and get keys for another room. Rooms are old and dark. Erick the morning clerck did not give us a courtesy half hour late check out, that we ask for, after the ordeal of the previous day, he was mean and careless. The place was empty, Thank God the cleaning ladies gave us a little break. It is a one star hotel in my opinion.