Martis Valley Lodge Truckee, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

During a Black Friday sales weekend, I thought about ways to use my IKON pass during the winter. Looking at a map of the United States, I immediately zero’d in to looking at dates and prices to visit Reno and Lake Tahoe. With Reno, I could happily meet up with Sonni for dinner before exploring the beauty of the Lake Tahoe area.

As I’d previously stayed at the Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe and PlumpJack Inn, I looked for new and interesting places to stay in the area. Almost immediately, the Martis Valley Lodge Truckee, Tapestry Collection by Hilton stood out. The website photos looked exactly like the right vibe I wanted to relax in. So, I booked it and began to look forward to my snowboarding adventure.

Check In

I checked in to the Martis Valley Lodge online during dinner at Kauboi Izakaya. So, when I arrived at the hotel, I simply stopped by the front desk to be directed to my room and get suggestions for places to enjoy while in Truckee. I asked the question that had brought me to the area: was the snow at Palisades Tahoe worth going up for? The answer was no. The snow was under performing and slushy.

This pretty much summed up my experience at Martis Valley Lodge: I thought it was going to be one way. However, it turned into an underwhelming stay.

Room and Stay

Opening up my room, I was pleased at the design. It reminded me of what I loved about my stay at theThe Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe. I love a well designed room with a cute couch at the foot of the bed. The overall design was upscale, modern and comfortable. The blues, whites and browns played well together.

The bathroom was large, with a separate room for the toilet and shower.

I enjoyed writing in front of the beautiful fireplace.

The Nespresso machine was nice. However, there was no water to make coffee with. After noticing this – as per my Hilton Honors status, water is usually placed in my room – I spoke to the front desk. They mentioned that Truckee has a ban on bottled water and handed me two cans of canned water.

For some reason, housekeeping did not service my room during my stay.

Trailhead social

Breakfast at Trailhead Social at Martis Valley Lodge was literally just like breakfast at a Hampton Inn – except you have to pay $12 for it. Luckily, due to my Hilton Honors status breakfast was complimentary. However, it was profoundly underwhelming.

When I returned from a day of exploring Truckee and the greater Lake Tahoe area, I stopped by the front desk to browse the evening menu. I found it odd that I couldn’t find a menu on the hotel’s website and I wanted to see the options available. Honestly, it looked like low effort, high priced hotel food.

The Situation With the Television

I don’t usually bother turning on the television in hotel rooms, but in a rare state of relaxation, I decided to see what was on. The familiar Hilton welcome screen appeared with app sign-in options, yet when I tried to watch live TV, multiple channels displayed “FXX HD Channel Off-Air,” another read Off-Air, and one was just a black screen.

Frustrated, I messaged the front desk through the Hilton app and, after no response, called. The associate, in a bored tone, told me I could try resetting the TV myself and, if that didn’t work, maintenance might look at it in the morning. I could also move rooms in the morning if it couldn’t be fixed. When I asked whether this was common, he said yes. Then, he blamed possible satellite or cable issues, and explained that resetting the TV was essentially the only solution.

In that moment, the polished image of Martis Valley Lodge began to fade. I had overlooked the underwhelming breakfast, the need to request the in-room waters, and even the $20 nightly parking fee supposedly for “snow removal”. But a nonfunctioning television – and the indifference surrounding it – felt like the final straw.

Overall

Overall, the hotel is pretty much mid. Where I did enjoy the decor and the updated decor, the lack of ability to use the television and the completely underwhelming food menus was definitely a negative.

This hotel doesn’t need to be the Ritz Carlton, Lake Tahoe. Nor, does it need to be as great at PlumpJack Inn. But, what I hope is that - at a certain point, Martis Valley Lodge stops relying on the beautiful facade and starts having the service to back it up the price per night.

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