This Week: Tahoe City

by John Vlahides 1:30PM September 27, 2007   No Comments »

Tahoe City at Night

Believe it or not, it’s time to start planning your winter vacation. What better place to go than Tahoe City? After a good snowfall, the little town glistens beneath a blanket of white, like a Christmas-tree village inside a snow globe.
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The oldest settlement on the lake, Tahoe City exudes the sort of charm most people imagine when they think of Lake Tahoe: little log cabins, towering pine trees, and peerless views over cobalt-blue waters. Okay, so it’s not exactly idyllic—there are several ugly shopping centers and motels built in total disregard to the pristine surroundings—but the town still manages to maintain a down-to-earth simplicity that you just won’t find elsewhere on the lake.

If you’ve never been to Tahoe, stay near Tahoe City, not South Lake, for your first trip—unless you’re a gambler, in which case you should head directly to the south shore’s glittering lights and elusive promise of a jackpot. This guide covers the west and north shores. In the coming weeks, I’ll be updating my guides to Incline Village, Squaw Valley, and Truckee. Stay tuned. In the meantime, if you have any questions about planning a winter trip to any of these other destinations, post a comment at the bottom of the respective page. I’ll get back to you tout de suite.

Why Go?

  • Soak up the old Tahoe vibe at the lake’s oldest settlement.
  • Hide away in a rustic cottage.
  • Ski the mountains where the Donner Party got stuck.

How Far?

  • Three-and-a-half hours from the Golden Gate Bridge

Drawbacks?

  • Crowds: Tahoe City’s charms are no secret.
  • Traffic: Skier traffic jams the roads every winter-weekend afternoon.

Click for Tahoe City restaurants, hotels, and activities.



Tahoe City - The 71Miles Travel Guide

by John Vlahides 11:00AM September 27, 2007   26 Comments »

At a Glance: John’s Favorites

Introduction

Believe it or not, it’s time to start planning your winter vacation. What better place to go than Tahoe City? After a good snowfall, the little town glistens beneath a blanket of white, like a Christmas-tree village inside a snow globe.

The oldest settlement on the lake, Tahoe City exudes the sort of charm most people imagine when they think of Lake Tahoe: little log cabins, towering pine trees, and peerless views over cobalt-blue waters. Okay, so it’s not exactly idyllic—there are several ugly shopping centers and motels built in total disregard to the pristine surroundings—but the town still manages to maintain a down-to-earth simplicity that you just won’t find elsewhere on the lake.

If you’ve never been to Tahoe, stay near Tahoe City, not South Lake, for your first trip—unless you’re a gambler, in which case you should head directly to the south shore’s glittering lights and elusive promise of a jackpot. This guide covers the west and north shores. In the coming weeks, I’ll be updating my guides to Incline Village, Squaw Valley, and Truckee. Stay tuned. In the meantime, if you have any questions about planning a winter trip to any of these other destinations, post a comment at the bottom of the respective page. I’ll get back to you tout de suite.

Why Go?

  • Soak up the old Tahoe vibe at the lake’s oldest settlement.
  • Hide away in a rustic cottage.
  • Ski the mountains where the Donner Party got stuck.

How Far?

  • Three-and-a-half hours from the Golden Gate Bridge

Drawbacks?

  • Crowds: Tahoe City’s charms are no secret.
  • Traffic: Skier traffic jams the roads every winter-weekend afternoon.

See & Do

Tahoe City’s compact downtown area is perfect for summertime strolling and window-shopping, but winter’s icy sidewalks and waist-deep snow banks make wandering on foot a drag. Instead, drive to Fanny Bridge, where you can lean over the railing, your backside in the air (hence the name of the bridge), and look down at the Outlet Gates, the only outlet for Tahoe’s 40 trillion gallons of water. The gates maintain the lake’s water level and are still operated by a hand-winch system, amazing in its simplicity. This is where the Truckee River begins, and the water’s roar is mesmerizing. Kids love it. The bridge is immediately south of the ‘Y,’ the intersection of Highways 89 and 28.

In winter, skiing is the big activity. But if you come before the snow falls, there’s also great late-season hiking. But don’t wander too far into the woods, lest you get caught unprepared and wind up a statistic on the evening news. Check the forecast before you set out. Period.

Catch a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail, the fabled high-mountain footpath from Mexico to Canada; or the Tahoe Rim Trail, the recently completed, 150mi loop trail encircling the Tahoe Basin. To access the PCT, head to the top of Barker Pass Rd, a narrow, partially paved roadway that only locals know (it’s also ideal for road-biking). The 7mi uphill trip takes you right to the PCT. For details on hiking the Rim Trail, check their site. (If you’re an avid hiker with discretionary income, consider making a donation to either of these awesome organizations.)

Get the scoop on all of North Lake Tahoe’s major ski resorts.

Restaurants in Tahoe City: Eat Cheap

Stop by Syd’s Bagelry ($) for fresh-from-the-oven bagels and strong coffee. This is where locals go to catch up on gossip and huddle over laptops linked in to the free Wi-Fi. Want to know what’s really going on in Tahoe City? Talk to Dean, the affable owner: he knows everything—and everyone.

Tourists flock to Rosie’s ($$) for breakfast, but you’ll do way better just south of town at the Fire Sign Café ($–$$). Inside a former house, the restaurant has a warm homey vibe, with a roaring fireplace, and a huge menu of scrambles, omelets, and pancakes served with real maple syrup. When you want to carbo-load before a day on the slopes, this is the place.

For perfect smoothies, hearty sandwiches, strong espresso, and quick breakfasts, head to the Bridgetender ($), the long-running Tahoe City institution, right near Fanny Bridge. A tree fell through the roof of the old location across the street, but the new joint has all the dark wood, moody lighting and raucous laughter you’d expect in a proper tavern. Parents, fear not: the dining room is family-friendly. Ten minutes east in Tahoe Vista, Sancho’s serves surprisingly good Mexican grub in baskets, good when you’ve got hungry kids to feed.

In Kings Beach, Lanza’s ($$) is the old-guard favorite choice for Italian-American cooking. Think red-and-white-checked table cloths and parmesan cheese in shakers on the tables. You’d be hard pressed to find a better spaghetti and meatballs at Tahoe. Nostalgia buffs love it. So do I. (Hard-core food snobs will totally disagree, but sometimes you have to suspend the expectation of perfection and simply eat dinner.)

Restaurants in Tahoe City: Eat Fancy

The buzz on the food scene (such as it is in Tahoe City) is about Sol y Lago ($$$), which takes some intriguing culinary risks, especially for a tourist town. The chef bills the cooking as ‘Sierra Latino,’ which basically means a melding of Spanish, Portugese, Chilean, Argentinean, and French, with spicing tempered for the steak-and-potatoes set. The tapas-style presentations are colorful, portions sizable, and flavors bright, but there’s a lot happening on some of the plates: the sweet-tangy-spicy notes sometimes overpower each other. Still, I give them credit for trying something new; they’ll get their bearings. Though some dishes may disappoint, the lake views won’t. Book a window table and come before sunset.

Wolfdale’s ($$$$) imported Cal-Asian cooking to Tahoe in the mid-1980s and has been going strong ever since. Japanese-trained chef-owner Doug Wolfdale makes everything from teriyaki glaze to smoked salmon himself. The menu changes often, but seafood is the stellar standout. The dining room’s elegant simplicity and well-spaced tables make this a good pick for date night, but be forewarned: prices are high and the cooking is occasionally inconsistent. Still, it’s a good, if not great, pick. Make reservations, and bring your credit card.

Tahoe City Bars: Cocktails with a View

I’m not a big fan of Jake’s on the Lake—the food is terrible—but it’s a good spot for a drink by the water, and it’s right in Tahoe City overlooking the vast blue expanse of water. A better choice is Gar Woods, just east of Tahoe City in Carnelian Bay. Locals flock here—and boy, do they like to throw ‘em back. The drink to order: a wet woody. (You read that right.) Skip the food, unless you need something in your belly to soak up the booze.

Restaurant Prices

  • $ = entrées under $10
  • $$ = $10 to $15
  • $$$ = $16 to $22
  • $$$$ = $22 and up

Cottages and Cabins in Tahoe City

By far the most charming, Tahoma Meadows B&B Cottages ($–$$$) has free-standing cabins tucked beneath giant sugar-pine trees on the west shore of the lake in the tiny settlement of Tahoma, just south of Tahoe City. Each cute-as-a-button, unfussy cottage has homey details like country quilts and a teddy bear on the bed, but the decor manage never to be tacky or overdone, just warm and cozy, like a favorite old sweater. Some units have kitchens, good if you’re on a budget.

Closer to town, the Cottage Inn ($$–$$$) has vintage-1930s cottages with floor-to-ceiling knotty-pine paneling, giving them the classic old Tahoe look, but with modern details like gas fireplaces, tile baths, and Wi-Fi in the main lodge. Some units have lake views, and there’s a private beach. If Tahoma Meadows is booked, make this your next choice.

Ten minutes east of town in Tahoe Vista, Rustic Cottages ($–$$) has simple cottages across the road from the lake. They’re nothing fancy, but they’ve got a bit of charm and make a great inexpensive alternative to a generic motel.

Lodges and B&Bs in Tahoe City

For romance it’s hard to top the Shore House ($$$–$$$$), a lakefront compound of knotty-pine-paneled rooms with gas fireplaces and featherbeds, three miles east of Tahoe City in Tahoe Vista. If you’re here on a date, book a room with a two-person Jacuzzi tub, complete with rubber duckie; otherwise bring a swimsuit for the outdoor lakeside hot tub. Breakfast included. Prices are high, but you just don’t find many places this private and perfectly situated on the shore of the lake.

Three miles south of Tahoe City, the Sunnyside Lodge ($$–$$$) sits smack dab on the lake and has its own docks, where speed boats pull up in summer. Rooms are on the small side, but look spiffy and are a bargain in the off-season—and oh! those lake views. The lakeview dining room downstairs is styled out to look like a mahogany Chris Craft, but the room is better than the food—unless you’re a fan of fried zucchini.

Motels in Tahoe City

The best bargain in town is Mother Nature’s Inn ($–$$). Rooms are dark and have zero view, but because they’re owned by the same people who own the adjoining home-furnishings store, they’re styled out with spiffy-looking bedspreads, curtains, and other details you’d never expect at this price. And if you’re here with a bunch of skiers, they won’t charge you—or mind—if you throw sleeping bags on the floor, something you’d never get away with elsewhere.

Twenty minutes east in Kings Beach, the lakefront Ferrari’s Crown Motel ($–$$) has been owned by the same family since 1958, and they keep the place immaculate. It’s not fancy, but it’s great for families and budgeteers. There’s a lakefront hot tub too.

For a plain-jane motel in Tahoe City, check out the Travelodge ($$), but it’s totally generic—except for the rooftop hot tub overlooking the lake.

More Lake Tahoe trips, hotels, hiking and restaurants.



Northern California Vacation Rentals: A How-to Guide

by John Vlahides 6:30PM September 21, 2007   44 Comments »

Vacation Rentals
Vacation rentals can be tricky to navigate, but the payoff is huge. Whether you’re a budget traveler who can’t afford the double-whammy cost of hotels and restaurants, or a luxury traveler who wants seclusion and over-the-top grandeur, you’ll get more space and privacy for your money by booking a rental property. And you’ll have a kitchen too. There are tradeoffs: you must be willing to give up certain services and amenities—chief among them a staff that will snap to attention when you pick up the phone—and you’ll have to invest time to find a good house. Vacation rentals are for do-it-yourselfers. The fall shoulder season is one of the best times to visit Lake Tahoe, Mendocino, and the Sonoma Coast. Tourists have gone home, and you can score terrific discounts. But be prepared for legwork. To help you get started, I’ve assembled a short list of key questions to ask property owners and rental agents.
Continue below >>

Find a Vacation Rental

    Harbor Vista Half Moon Bay: This 4BR/3BA home in the hills of El Granada has panoramic views of Half Moon Bay and Pillar Point Harbor, and is 1 mile from the beach. Enjoy 2 master suites, 2 decks, a remodeled kitchen, a play structure and a new 6-person spa on the back patio. It’s a secluded retreat that is centrally located on the San Mateo Coast.

There are two ways to rent, from an agent or directly from the property owner. Each has its advantages. When you rent directly from an owner, you’ll be scrutinized more closely, but will have a better sense of what you’re getting into. Homes are an extension of their owners. If you like the owner, you’ll probably like the house. But homeowners only represent one home: theirs. Agents offer more selection and some extra safeguards, but you might pay more to cover their costs.

Plan to make phone calls. Successful vacation-rental hunting starts with the telephone. You can email agents and homeowners, but you can’t easily determine whether you like the person you’re dealing with via typed messages. Trust your intuition. If you don’t get a good feeling, chances are the entire process will be thorny.

RENTING FROM OWNERS:
• Be prepared to talk about yourself. Homeowners rightfully want to know who they’re renting to, and whether you’re a good fit for the house. If you don’t get along, move on.

• Return kindnesses. If a property owner has taken the time to hand write a welcome note, write a thank-you note in return, especially if you like the house. You’re not only being polite, but you’re building a relationship with someone whose home you may want to rent again.

• Ask very specific questions. Owners may take certain things for granted that agents do not, and they often have no objectivity about their homes. Assemble a thorough list of questions before picking up the phone. For more talking points, scroll down past the following section.

RENTING FROM AGENTS:
• Professionalism first. Ask if the agency is a member of the VRMA, the Vacation Rental Management Association. The VRMA sets baseline ethics and standards for agents. If the agency you’re calling isn’t a member, find one that is.

• Interview the agency. How long have they been in business? How many homes do they rent? Cross-check your findings with the local Better Business Bureau.

• Choose a local agency. If you work with an agent in, say, San Francisco, she won’t know what’s happening 100 miles away. Local agents know details out-of-town agents don’t, like if there’s construction happening at the neighbor’s house and if the last winter storm uprooted a tree in the yard.

• Ask to see the agency’s list of mandatory equipment. Agencies provide homeowners with a list of must-haves before they’ll rent the property. Some agents (but not all) will have this on hand. It will help you determine what to expect of their properties.

TALKING POINTS:
• Good rapport counts. Gauge the responses of the agent or homeowner, and trust your gut. If you feel like you’re being pressured, you are. And if you don’t like the person you’re talking to, chances are you’re not going to like the houses he’s renting either.

• Be clear about what you’re looking for. Do you want to spend a quiet weekend by the ocean, napping on a deck with a book on your face, or are you planning to cook all day and throw lavish dinner parties? The house you select must fit your needs. Make them clear from the start.

• Include children in the total headcount. This is important. If you exceed the occupancy maximum, you’re breaking the terms of the lease and rendering your contract void—even if you let just one extra five-year-old sleep on the floor. When an house is advertised as sleeping six, that means six total persons, big or small.

• On-site management can make or break a stay. Who will help in a plumbing emergency if the agent or property owner lives four hours away? Find out who handles problems, and what the procedure is if something goes wrong. This is especially important when dealing with an individual.

• Pay the extra fee for cleaning costs. If you don’t, you may spend your last day vacuuming the house, only to find out that you didn’t pass muster and have to pay the fee anyway. But be kind to the laborers: Rinse dishes before leaving them in the sink, and pick up wastepaper and empty ashtrays. If you’re a slob and don’t want to deal, leave a big fat tip for the housekeeper.

• Ask about hidden expenses. Some agents and homeowner will nickel and dime you to death. Ask about utilities, phone charges, cleaning fees, and any other expenses that you may be charged. Make sure these are spelled out in the contract.

• Be clear about location, especially in cities. If the major sights lie an hour away, you’ll have to factor commute times into your itinerary—and they may be very long. Find out whether a car will be necessary, or if public transportation will be sufficient.

• What about parking? If you’re renting a house in a city, this is huge. Imagine showing up in San Francisco for a week with a car, knowing nothing about the difficulty of street parking or the expense of garaging your vehicle. Find out about transportation at your destination before you go.

• Find out about the hot tub. Make sure that the homeowner employs a maintenance service that checks the water quality after every rental. If the temperature and chemicals are off, you may wind up with a nasty case of hot-tub folliculitis.

• Negotiate, but be reasonable. If you try to lowball an agent or owner, you’re sending the wrong signal. Remember, they’re looking for clues about your character just as much as you are about theirs. You can play chicken and not sign the contract till the last minute, when you can bargain for the lowest-possible rate, but you may lose the house.

• Phone access should be included. Cell phones do not work in many remote locales. Your house should have a phone, and local calls should be free. Better agencies, such as Rams Head in Sea Ranch, require their rental properties to provide free worldwide calling, a nice perk.

• Ignore the term ‘luxury home.’ It means nothing. Realtors and rental agents are liberal with their use of English and often advertise ‘luxury homes’ simply because the house has a hot tub or other random amenities. Determine your own luxury items, and ask if the house includes them.

• Consider proximity to other houses. How far away are the neighbors? Might they see you sunbathing nude? Ask if the house’s outdoor areas are visible from beyond the property boundaries.

• Determine the location of the nearest grocery store. It may be half an hour away, a major inconvenience when you’re in the midst of cooking dinner and find you have no salt.

• Find out about the washer-dryer. Is laundry detergent provided? Chances are you’ll have to bring your own sheets and towels. You won’t want to do laundry once you get back home.

• Special access may not be possible. Because rental properties are not required to comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to get a wheelchair through the bathroom door. Choose a single-story house, and make your needs plain to the agent.

• Emergency medical help may be far away. If your health is tenuous and you’re considering booking a house in a remote location, find out the distance to the nearest emergency-medical facility. In some cases, such as Sea Ranch, you’ll have to drive two hours to Santa Rosa. Better to choose someplace in Wine Country, like Healdsburg or Sonoma.

• Get a signed contract. Period. Read every line and understand every clause before you sign.

THE HOUSE:
• Rental houses are not resorts. There are no controls on what the neighbors do. If quiet really matters, inform the agent or property owner, but note that even locals can’t foretell if a nearby homeowner, inspired by an episode of This Old House, will suddenly haul out a table saw at 9am and start fashioning new kitchen cabinets. Understand that you’ll be staying in a neighborhood and that people need to mow their lawns. Bring earplugs.

• Functionality trumps style. Rental homes are individually decorated by their owners—chacun a son goût. If style matters, closely examine online photographs, but bear in mind that colors do not always reproduce properly on the web. You won’t know what a place looks like till you see it in person. Ultimately the layout and usability of the space are more important than the color scheme, horrendous though it may be. If you want well-maintained, high-end furnishings, stay in a hotel, or be prepared to pay a premium on a rental house.

• Don’t expect the Wi-Fi to work. If there’s a problem, rental agencies can’t help. You’re at the mercy of the tech-support call center of the homeowner’s ISP. Know how to switch your computer to dial-up service, and get the local access number before you leave home.

• No house is allergy-proof. Even if a listing says no pets, there’s no way to know if the owner brought his own dog to the house the previous weekend. If you have serious problems with allergies, take appropriate provisions and pack medications in case of an attack.

• Be flexible in your expectations. Every rental has its quirks. Remember, you’re staying in someone else’s home, and its features will be different from yours. Some details may be annoying. Factor it in.

• Pack heavy and decorate. Colored light bulbs, fabric, and votive candles do wonders for sprucing up an ugly space. And don’t be afraid to rearrange the furniture, so long as you move it back.

THE BEDROOMS:
• Mattresses in rental homes vary hugely. Don’t expect to find the same high-quality mattresses that hotels use. Consider yourself lucky if you score brand-new pillow tops. Ask the owner how long ago he changed them. (Note that agencies can’t answer this question.)

• Count beds, not bedrooms. Sometimes a house will only have three bedrooms, but will be advertised as sleeping eight. A pull-out sofa might count as a bed—fine for kids, bad for adults. Ask how the agent or homeowner calculated occupancy numbers, and determine in advance the exact size of each mattress. And if your kids fall out of bed, don’t book a house with bunks.

• Inquire about linens. They’re usually not included and may cost extra. If you’re into high thread-counts, bring your own sheets. If you decide to rent them, ask if they’re made of 100% cotton, especially in warm-weather destinations. Aside from being scratchy, poly-blend sheets don’t breathe like cotton does.

• Bring your own pillows. Agents never know if a house’s pillows are stuffed with foam or feathers; prepare to find the worst kind—thin, foam, and stained. Property owners aren’t much better at describing pillows. Remember, the owner made the decision to buy them; she’s not going to tell you they suck.

BATHROOMS:
• Ask about towels. You may have to rent them. If you like to wrap a big, thirsty towel around your head after a hot shower, bring your own. Rental towels are typically like gym towels—thin, small, nubby, and boiled to within an inch of their lives—especially when they come from a laundry service engaged by an agency.

• Bring your own shampoo. Expect to find only a wafer-thin bar of paper-wrapped soap in the bath. That’s it.

• Find out if there’s a bathtub. Many houses have only showers—and sometimes only one. If you have eight people wanting to shower in the morning, you’ll lose half the day waiting for them to get ready. And the hot water will probably run out before everyone is washed.

LIVING AREAS & KITCHEN:
• Think about layout. How will you be using the space? It won’t matter if there are few seating areas if you plan to spend the day hiking, but if you want to while away the afternoons dozing with a book on your face, make sure there’s enough furniture.

• Ask about the deck. Most rental houses have outdoor spaces, but not all have furniture. If you rent a house with an ocean-view deck, make sure there’s someplace to sit.

• Audio-visual systems are a wild card. If you’re into television, make sure there’s cable. It will likely be difficult to figure out the synchronization between appliances; ensure that there are written instructions on how to operate them. And don’t expect Surround Sound and DVD players—most rentals have VCRs and stackable vintage cassette-receiver combos, often without CD players. If an agency can’t answer your queries, bring your own iPod, CD player, and speakers, if it matters.

• Find out about the fireplace. Is it wood-burning or gas, or is it a woodstove? Verify that there is a proper supply of wood, but don’t expect to find kindling.

• Fully equipped kitchens usually aren’t. Though there should be enough glasses and dishware for the number of people the house is designed to accommodate, ‘fully stocked’ means only the basics. Inevitably there’ll be a shortage of saucepans or skillets. If you have a favorite utensil—a griddle, Cuisinart, or even a whisk—bring it from home. The same goes for spices, foil and plastic wrap, salt and pepper, and coffee.

• Bring basic foodstuffs. If you have to stock up on everything from flour to olive oil at the local grocery store, you’ll spend a small fortune. Bring it from home.

KIDS & PETS:
• Verify safety. If you have toddlers in tow, don’t book a house on an ocean bluff. Fences don’t always protect kids from falls.

• Kids need space. Is there a playground nearby? A fenced-in yard where they can run around? Be honest about your children’s needs; they won’t act any differently just because you’re on vacation.

• Expect to hear no. Many property owners don’t allows kids or pets. Don’t break the rules, lest you void your contract.

• Pets are not people. It may sound obvious, but don’t automatically assume that you can bring your dog. Ask early in the negotiations. Many agencies rent pet-friendly properties, but will be upset if you bring up your animal as an afterthought during final discussions.

• Bring your own entertainment. While many houses have board games, they’re often missing pieces. Yahtzee is always a winner, and it hardly takes up any space.

King for a week: get the scoop on nine luxury vacation rentals in Lake Tahoe.


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Vacation Rentals