The Cal Neva Resort Reviews

DO NOT STAY HERE! The Cal Neva is one of the worst places I've ever stayed. Calling it a "resort" is a gross exaggeration. During our stay the water system malfunctioned and we were not able to bathe, shower, or even brush our teeth. We had to depend on bottled water for our needs. We asked for a different room and they claimed that the hotel was "full" although the parking lot was practically empty. Because we had a dog with us we were relegated to the "pet rooms" which are the worst rooms in the hotel AND we were charged an additional $50 pet cleaning fee. Because we had booked through Expedia the hotel would not refund or discount our fees.

The casino is pathetic with only electronic gaming systems (no live games) and most of the electronic systems were "out of order". Everything about the place, both inside and outside is shabby and in need of repair or replacement. Do not stay here if you can avoid it - you will be disappointed. The website is completely misleading. This place truly sucks.

I went for the ghost/history tour it was pretty cool! Apparently JFK, Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe all had cabins here!

@David Brown - 'Bad Times' was not filmed here. The El Royale was built from scratch on a soundstage with much of the furniture and decor being custom made (including branded matchboxes and coasters for the bar). The colour-scheme was meticulously set out so that the California side was mostly yellows and oranges, while the Nevada side was purples and blues. Red was reserved for the borderline, jukebox, and chandelier, while green is almost entirely absent until the end.

Cal neva was great like always. Love the snack bar. What a hidden gem

At 12 15 am for 4 adults we had to wait for 20 minutes to be seated and no one was here on a Saturday night this place is a joke i will send a picture of the place being empty. I would give a negative starr if i could i am on crutches and didn't want to keep on walking to the next place to eat . No concern at all be the staff. Sorry no pic we got tired of waiting we left and went to Denny's screw this place i will never be back such a shame . I bet no one will notice this post

Currently closed for renovations, this hotel once housed such greats as Sinatra and Monroe. Hopefully renovations will continue and the hotel will open!

It's penny slots galore though you should come for the Low priced steak & eggs breakfast if your a non-smoker just be sure to bring a decent respirator to avoid the stinking second hand smoke

Stayed in summer 2013. Old, in need of an update (badly) and hardly any staff at all but I really enjoyed my stay. Just me and Marilyn's ghost.

You get what you pay for...and we paid $54 a night :). The positives - great views of the lake! It truly is sitting on a gold mine location.. The general manager was truly a great person. He was ALWAYS there, morning, noon and night. He made every attempt to make us happy and was genuinely concerned about our stay and our comfort
With that being said, the hotel is in need of some SERIOUS renovations! Elevators were a NIGHTMARE. Carpet, beds, bathrooms, TV's, casino floor, restaurant, meeting space, pool area - out of date is an understatement. And not in a cool, vintagey, Sinatra kind of way...an old smelly, did someone die here kind of way. I feel awful saying that because, again, the general manager was AMAZING. But the guy needs to take his great customer service to another hotel. This one needs some botox.
It was quiet, thats good. No kids, thats really good. The front desk needs customer service training, not so good.

Place is CLOSED. Should be showing this on google maps before having me drive all the way

Don't even know how the Cal-Neva managed to eek out a 2-star hotel rating. The rooms were awful; the furniture was old, stained and broken; the suites seemed to have a gnat infestation (made worse by missing or torn window screens). The staff here were just plain RUDE and when we did manage to finally get seated at their restaurant, the food was bottom-of-the-barrel cafeteria-quality junk. Sad.

My favorite hotel/casino in Tahoe. Can't wait for this place to re-open.

Closed now but an amazing setting. Check out the movie Bad times at the El Royale which was filmed here. Awesome movie!
This is gods country.

I really hope they find new financing for this North lake Icon. It would be great to get CalNeva opened again.

It's a shell of what it once was.... mostly because its being remodeled

Kind of disappointed. This was the go to place way back when. very reasonably priced gambling back then, but now they're into the greed like the other casinos. Didn't go back during my stay.

Great place to gamble cheap! Bartenders are always pouring and the casino is small but good. The rooms are of motel 6 quality and it's not in the best area.

This place is definitely a little dated. The price wasn't bad but the accommodations were pretty meager and the place just seemed run down. If your in a pinch this place will work, but there are many nicer places to go in Tahoe.

CalNeva is closed and should be shown as such on Google maps.

I won a royal flush here New year's day. For 200 $ had a wonderful time with my fiance and brought the New year's in right

Don't trust my review as being current. My 5 star rating is based on this being the location my wife and I got married nearly 30 years ago! Must have been at least a little magic there!

I loved this place! Except for the fact there were cameras in the other side of the room. Also while I was hear it burned down and Chris Hemsworth was there looking like a hill billy but a great experience! I loved the casino!

Love the breakfast and incredible history of the Cal Neva! - walking distance to a great beach and very tranquil area of the lake - it isnt luxury but it hits all the major points of vacationing here

Always a great place to stop when visiting North Lake Tahoe.

Place is vintage and seems to have remained unchanged. Restaurant service was just ok. They missed a few things we had to ask for. The check-in had a few hitches too. Our room keys didn't work and the room wasn't ready when we arrived as promised. There is some water damage in several places on the ceiling in the room.

I thought a friend of mine left a bag of money under my room, but turns out it might have been in the next room. When I tried to poison the girl in the next room she knocked me out. Turns out the money was there but it turned into a crazy night just trying to hang on to it.

Certainly is in no way is this a resort. The place is old, and it shows in many places. The staff worked hard during our stay, but some of the crowd that stays here is kind of trashy. Can be a good value if you score a room with a great view of the lake.

Never stay here. Was smelly and staff was in attached

THIS was the original place Marilyn Monroe stayed with JFK when Frank Sinatra owned it!
What a shame it is closed permanently..... RIP Sammy Davis, Jr. and everyone who vacationed there is the happy '60's.

We were there about 20 yrs ago and I swear I have to pinch myself to be sure it was true that we saw Marilyn's round cabin and the pool they swam in..... such a great old find...

I had a good time here several years ago, as I got a room overlooking Lake Tahoe, but also overlooking the swimming pool, as half of the pool was in Nevada and the other half in California ! I have some sheets of paper and was making paper airplanes and flying them out of the window, watching as the wind would take them off in different directions. I was told this was once owned by the Rat Pack back in the 60's, as when I visited it in the mid 90's it was a nice place to visit, away from the hustle and bustle, in the more quiet area, and the lake is so clear that you can see a dinner plate 100 feet under the water on a sunny day!

Cal Neva isn't anything too special - the rooms are average (in space and decor) but clean. They have a limited casino.

It's one of my preferred nearby hotels from Northstar because of its proximity and price (also pet friendly!), but it's nothing extraordinary.

I'm here because bad times at the El royale. Can't wait to visit

Karaoke there for years food is fantastic so are the staff in both buildings. Bartenders are cool, unless you make fools of yourself in drunken stuper you should check it out. Upstairs also . Karaoke DJ. Darren is awesome!