Topaz Lodge

1/23/2008

4/5 stars

Ok, my criteria here are kinda odd. This lodge hosted the 37th California Hawking Club meet. The event involves many animals, people with manners only slightly better than the birds, prey being fed to the birds, etc. The lodge staff was beyond wonderful. They even went so far as to create lunch specials just for the CHC. My wife and I aren't gamblers, so we can't speak towards the casino quality, but the staff and locale are GREAT! We didn't try the high-end restaurant, but the coffee shop was good and the service was excellent at all hours. And the staff was unfazed when the conversations veered towards game and what happened to it. Gotta try fishing in the stocked lake sometime; it's beautiful.

Try to get a room in the middle building. It seems much newer and nicer than the first or third building. Those rooms are a bit dated. And people accustomed to business hotels needn't worry if some amenities aren't in the room (an iron and ironing board for us); the staff will bring things up quickly.

If you're there for falconry during the snowy season, remember that most game will cluster towards the homes and worked fields and not the pure brush areas. But there's still a little game (at least a few rabbits) in the outlying brush. (Caveat: My wife's the falconer. I just cook whatever isn't useful for the bird.)

Also, there are two other Yelp listings for the same place. Search for "topaz lodge" in "gardnerville, ca", even though it's a bit south of Gardnerville.

Yelp tags: Hotels Bars Music Venues Casinos Campgrounds Gas & Service Stations