Tuesday Travel Classics: Ely’s Hotel Nevada

Continuing our series of Travel Classics – those still-sparkling hotel gems of yesteryear -- we make a stop in Ely, Nevada and The Historic Hotel Nevada and Gambling Hall.

Back in 1929 when the six-story tall hotel opened, it was the tallest building in the State of Nevada.  (From my photo, you might still call it a ‘high-rise’ in this small town 250 miles north of Las Vegas). 

The Scout had researched the hotel prior to our Winter Road Trip, but we couldn’t fit in more than a lunch stop there on the southbound route. That little taste had us vowing to return, which is what we did on our return  from Arizona. And that time we spent the night. 

Just like those upscale casinos in Las Vegas, the hotel’s front desk is just off  – in this case – the ‘Gaming Hall’ (casino)  and the guest rooms are on the floors above it. Unlike those Vegas places, this one was small and filled with curios.



Buffalo heads, stuffed critters, the bigger-than-life bronze cowboy and antler chandeliers left no doubt you stepped back into the Ol’ West. Being December, all were decked out in bows and garlands as well. 

We can recommend the hotel restaurant for both the quality of its food and the portions.
This is my half of the French dip sandwich plate we’d ordered for lunch.






The hotel opened during a time in our country’s history when "Prohibition” was still in effect.  But thanks to the local bootlegging efforts the hotel was kept supplied with “Bath tub Gin” and “White Lightning,” the latter a grain alcohol that could reach 200 proof.

Back in its early days rooms rented for $1.50 a night and all had private toilets and nearly all had private baths as well. I suspect they might not have been as cute as the one we stayed in for only$54.95 (free wi-fi and a welcome margarita; no hotel fees, either!) Though we’d been warned that the old pipes carrying water to our shower in our en suite bath could go from cold to hot without warning, we didn’t have a problem (but we didn’t take long leisurely showers either).

Rooms are all named for and decorated with that person's musical memorabilia. 

Ours was Charlie Rich,  the Country Western singer. 

Bet you know this song of his (click the link to You Tube and go) 

“Behind Closed Doors”





If You Go:

Ely, is in White Pine County in the central part of eastern part of Nevada, sitting at the crossroads of U.S. 93 and U.S. 50. As you enter the town,you’ll find a selection of motels flanking the main drag.

But we’d recommend heading straight to The Hotel Nevada where they say, “Stay with us once and you’ll become a ‘customer for life’.”

That’s what happened to us.  We’ll be back. Hopefully, soon!

Have you stayed in a Travel Classic? Tell us about it in the comment section below or for those of you subscribers, head to TravelnWrite where you'll find the comment section.

Travel Tuesday: Waikiki (Sticker) Shock Waves

The good news for Hawaii is that tourism is on an upswing.

The bad news for travelers planning to go there is that tourism is on an upswing. 

As hotel occupancy rates spiral upwards they are taking prices with them. For example, last January (2012), we got a ‘steal’ of  a stay in Waikiki by booking a deal with the online company, Jetsetter. 

Four nights in a premium ocean view room at the Aqua Lotus Honolulu near Diamond Head and total cost: $530. 

Following our stay on O’ahu’s western coast at our KoOlina timeshare, we returned and paid $169 per night (plus taxes) and stayed a couple more nights at the hotel.

Still a reasonable rate, we thought, for a property that sits in the shadow of Diamond Head across from Kapiolani Park and not on the beach.







Our $169 got us this ‘ocean view’ room:

We’d loved the place and planned to return this year. . . but after being struck by Waikiki (Sticker) Shock Waves, we’ve come up with a different -- affordable -- plan.

A quick check of this hotel’s web site (last Thursday), -- using the equivalent days and dates of last year’s stay for comparison purposes -- found that ocean view room available at $351.50 and premium ocean view at $371.50 for the January dates. It costs more in February.

We turned to our trusty Expedia, the on-line booking company where we've often found great discounts, only to be hit with a sticker after shock: the January dates for the hotel were listed at $527 for ocean view and $556 premium ocean view. February dates: $599 and $627, respectively.  (Expedia users rate the hotel as 3.5 out of 5 and TripAdvisor rates it #3 of 81 hotels in Waikiki.)

We are thinking our decision to buy a timeshare at Marriott’s Ko Olina (pictured above) and avoid Honolulu hotels was probably a good one.  In fact, we’ll likely skip Honolulu and Waikiki in 2014 and head directly to Ko Olina.

But since we’d booked flights this year to allow three days in Waikiki, we pulled out the stops on the hotel search and landed at Costco. . .yes, you read that correctly.  (For those not familiar, it is a customer membership warehouse chain that got its start in the Seattle area). So, now in addition to purchasing large quantities of paper goods and food, we also can lay claim to booking our travel there:

We’ll be across the street from Waikiki Beach at the Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel (one of those on the right in the photo above) on a three-night package that provides a partial ocean view room, lei airport greeting, round-trip transfers, daily continental breakfast on the beach and a variety of half-off coupons.  Package price: $614.  

This hotel has the same Expedia rating as the Aqua Lotus but doesn’t fare quite as well on TripAdvisor.  Will we find our ‘deal’ wasn’t as good as we thought?  Stay tuned. We’ll let you know soon!

Have you experienced sticker shock in Hawaii? Or have you found some good hotel deals? If so, where?