Despite delays, wrecking ball coming soon for the Tahoe Biltmore

[desertrunner]

https://www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/art...e=facebook.com

t’s been a quiet two years since Hilton Hotels and Resorts announced that they were partnering with Newport Beach-based developers EKN to purchase the Tahoe Biltmore Casino and Hotel, raze the existing property and rebuild it into a high-end “village.”

That relative silence is about to be broken by the sounds of demolition crews, officials said.

Initially, the new owners, who purchased the locally renowned spot — best known for its $1.99 breakfasts, resident ghost Mary and signature low-lit casino — announced that the teardown of the property’s main building would be complete by the end of 2023.

“As soon as we received a unanimous project approval from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency on April 26, 2023, we moved full steam ahead,” Ebbie Nakhjavani, founder and CEO of EKN Development Group, told the Tahoe Daily Tribune on Aug. 10, 2023. The plans for the new project, which would eventually be branded as a Waldorf Astoria, were set to make way for new construction in 2024.

[Dan Druff]

The Tahoe Biltmore was weird. It evoked images of the once luxurious Bitlmore hotel brand, as well as the Biltmore Estates in North Carolina. In reality was always just a low-middle-end property in Tahoe.

I don't understand the Biltmore name, and can't find any evidence it was ever associated with the other Biltmore properties.

The rooms were extremely run down and the property was in tremendous disrepair. Here are the old Yelp reviews: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tahoe-biltm...no-crystal-bay

It is fitting that the new property will be a Waldorf -- another luxurious name which has been ruined by Hilton, which now owns the brand.

When selecting a hotel, it's good to forget everything you remember about which brands were luxurious in the '80s. Most of those are disappointing at this point, to say the least.

Crystal Bay is on the west side of the Incline Village area of Lake Tahoe, which is on the north side of the lake. It's about 40 minutes by car from "Stateline", the area of south Lake Tahoe where most of the big casinos are located, such as Harrah's.

[Jayjami]

The Tahoe Biltmore was weird. It evoked images of the once luxurious Bitlmore hotel brand, as well as the Biltmore Estates in North Carolina. In reality was always just a low-middle-end property in Tahoe.

I don't understand the Biltmore name, and can't find any evidence it was ever associated with the other Biltmore properties.

The rooms were extremely run down and the property was in tremendous disrepair. Here are the old Yelp reviews: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tahoe-biltm...no-crystal-bay

It is fitting that the new property will be a Waldorf -- another luxurious name which has been ruined by Hilton, which now owns the brand.

When selecting a hotel, it's good to forget everything you remember about which brands were luxurious in the '80s. Most of those are disappointing at this point, to say the least.

Crystal Bay is on the west side of the Incline Village area of Lake Tahoe, which is on the north side of the lake. It's about 40 minutes by car from "Stateline", the area of south Lake Tahoe where most of the big casinos are located, such as Harrah's.

Crystal Bay is ok. They get lots of concerts. It’s a tax haven for rich Californians, so lots of disposable income. Wish they had a poker room in there.

[Dan Druff]

The Tahoe Biltmore was weird. It evoked images of the once luxurious Bitlmore hotel brand, as well as the Biltmore Estates in North Carolina. In reality was always just a low-middle-end property in Tahoe.

I don't understand the Biltmore name, and can't find any evidence it was ever associated with the other Biltmore properties.

The rooms were extremely run down and the property was in tremendous disrepair. Here are the old Yelp reviews: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tahoe-biltm...no-crystal-bay

It is fitting that the new property will be a Waldorf -- another luxurious name which has been ruined by Hilton, which now owns the brand.

When selecting a hotel, it's good to forget everything you remember about which brands were luxurious in the '80s. Most of those are disappointing at this point, to say the least.

Crystal Bay is on the west side of the Incline Village area of Lake Tahoe, which is on the north side of the lake. It's about 40 minutes by car from "Stateline", the area of south Lake Tahoe where most of the big casinos are located, such as Harrah's.

Crystal Bay is ok. They get lots of concerts. It’s a tax haven for rich Californians, so lots of disposable income. Wish they had a poker room in there.

Funny you mention the tax haven thing. I knew a lot of Bay Area & Sacramento poker pros who claimed to live in "Incline Village", when in reality they just had some condo there that they either bought or rented, and spent maybe 2 weeks there max per year.

Actually surprised California bought it and didn't give them a hard time, because Incline Village isn't a likely place for a Californian to suddenly get up and move to full time. It isn't impossible, and it happens, but as you said, it's mostly a state tax haven, given its proximity to the California border. I would think full time movers would be more likely to go to South Lake Tahoe (as I know you did). But of course South Lake Tahoe is California, and that would provide no tax benefits!

To my knowledge, none of them were bothered about it.

[Sanlmar]

Crystal Bay is ok. They get lots of concerts. It’s a tax haven for rich Californians, so lots of disposable income. Wish they had a poker room in there.

Give us stories about the snow.

[Jayjami]

Crystal Bay is ok. They get lots of concerts. It’s a tax haven for rich Californians, so lots of disposable income. Wish they had a poker room in there.

Funny you mention the tax haven thing. I knew a lot of Bay Area & Sacramento poker pros who claimed to live in "Incline Village", when in reality they just had some condo there that they either bought or rented, and spent maybe 2 weeks there max per year.

Actually surprised California bought it and didn't give them a hard time, because Incline Village isn't a likely place for a Californian to suddenly get up and move to full time. It isn't impossible, and it happens, but as you said, it's mostly a state tax haven, given its proximity to the California border. I would think full time movers would be more likely to go to South Lake Tahoe (as I know you did). But of course South Lake Tahoe is California, and that would provide no tax benefits!

To my knowledge, none of them were bothered about it.

Even though my family’s house is in South Lake, In the future, I might buy a condo up on Kingsbury grade as an investment and declare Nevada residency.

[alpha1243]

A couple of $1 chips in my collection from this property:



This property opened as the Tahoe Biltmore in 1948, but from 1952-1956 was the Cal-Neva Biltmore before closing in 1957. It reopened in 1986 as the Tahoe Biltmore.

[Jayjami]

Crystal Bay is ok. They get lots of concerts. It’s a tax haven for rich Californians, so lots of disposable income. Wish they had a poker room in there.

Give us stories about the snow.

This year has been very poor. The snow levels have been really high. We’re often getting rain at the lake. The storms have moved through quickly due to a lot of wind. We haven’t had a “slow dumper” all year. So much for El Niño. In years like this, it’s not uncommon to get a “Miracle March”, but it will be warm wet stuff, not fluffy powder.

[Dan Druff]

Give us stories about the snow.

This year has been very poor. The snow levels have been really high. We’re often getting rain at the lake. The storms have moved through quickly due to a lot of wind. We haven’t had a “slow dumper” all year. So much for El Niño. In years like this, it’s not uncommon to get a “Miracle March”, but it will be warm wet stuff, not fluffy powder.

It's been a very weird season for skiing in California.

Typically as Los Angeles precipitation levels go, so does the snow in the California mountains. If it's wet in LA, there's a decent amount of snow in the San Bernadino Mountains (Big Bear, Wrightwood), and a TON of snow in Mammoth and Tahoe.

Not this year. Fairly prolific rain year for LA (though not as big as last year), but Mammoth sits with a 50-80 inch base (fairly lousy for mid-January), and Heavenly Tahoe sits at 35 inches (again, not good).

Mammoth was horrible in December, and not worth skiing at all.

Mt. Pinos in Ventura County tells a lot of the story. Plenty of rain in most of the county this winter, yet Pinos sits with a whooping 6-12 inches at 8300 feet.

The precipitation has mostly stuck to the coastal areas, and yeah, some of the storms have been too warm to bring snow to the lower elevations of Tahoe.