Live entertainment, hot gaming action, fine dining, pampering treatments, and deluxe accommodations await travelers at the Reno Peppermill casino hotel.
Exploring the public rooms and pool courtyard soon after my arrival at the Italy-themed Peppermill Resort Spa Casino in Reno, I was trying not to gawk. The place was so jaw-droppingly exquisite, however, that I couldn’t help myself. It was like stepping into a grand palazzo and a Tuscan village all at the same time.
The 1,621-room Reno Peppermill combines the glitz of Reno casino hotels with nods to the Old World. Inside and out, the Nevada resort’s Italian flavor is always there to savor, from the rustic stonework and vast expanses of marble to statuary reminiscent of the Renaissance and ancient Rome, from red-tile roofs and stately colonnades to murals of the idyllic countryside and great cities of Italy. Indeed, there’s a sense of refinement not found at other Reno casino hotels.
Italian Fare and Other Culinary Delights at the Reno Peppermill
One night at Romanza, the Reno Peppermill’s Italian fine dining restaurant, I feasted on a decadently creamy chicken and gnocchi soup, a main course of meat-stuffed cannelloni smothered in cheese and bechamel sauce, and a basket of artisan breads, all washed down by a bottle of house-made limoncello. Under a celestial ceiling of clouds and twinkly lights, a rotating ensemble of classical statues and a torch show every half hour created some drama. For dessert, I stopped at Biscotti’s Cafe for salted caramel gelato.
Romanza is Peppermill’s Italian fine dining restaurant. (Photo credit: Peppermill Resort Spa Casino)
The AAA Four Diamond property has 10 restaurants, including the swank Bimini’s Steakhouse and the brand-new Sabroso taqueria, a fast-casual Mexican eatery offering traditional favorites like tacos and burritos. Other restaurants include:
- CHI, for Asian delicacies in an elegant setting
- Oceano, the place for seafood and sushi
- The all-day Cafe Milano and Biscotti’s, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Cafe Espresso (open 24 hours), Sports Deli, and Biscotti’s Cafe, all for quick bites
“Art of Cuisine” video screens throughout the Reno casino hotel tempt palates with mouthwatering images of chefs grilling shrimp, lemons being sliced, and cupcakes being frosted. At “Dining Options” digital display stations, restaurant menus appear at the touch of a finger.
Gaming Action and Nightlife at the Reno Peppermill Casino Hotel
The Sports Deli at the Peppermill casino hotel in Reno, specializing in sandwiches stacked mile-high with meats and cheeses, is next to Race and Sportsbook’s high-definition theater, which has over 100 screens, nine express betting windows, 24-hour cashier service, and a complete menu of satellite HDTV games for NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, and NCAA sports, and horse races, too. Race and Sportsbook, fresh from a $3.5 million upgrade, claims to have the largest- and highest-resolution LED display of its kind in the country. The high-tech sports theater features:
- A seamless 110-foot-wide wide by 12-foot-tall screen that can be customized to air up to 30 different games and events at once
- 60 comfortable “Box Seat” carrels with 24-inch touchscreen HDTVs, perfect for catching up on race, sports, odds, and Keno games
- Eight 10’ x 6’ HDTVs on the back wall
- The adjacent Sports Bar, with dozens of high-definition plasma screens broadcasting games and races
Visitors aiming to hit the jackpot flock to the Peppermill casino hotel in Reno for slots, blackjack, roulette, craps, and other games. (Photo credit: Peppermill Resort Spa Casino)
The 82,000-square-foot casino floor also features 1,700 slot machines, video poker, and table games. In the Peppermill resort’s Game Lab Arcade are over 100 family-friendly video games, both old-school and new-school.
Nightlife choices abound at the Peppermill in Reno. One evening I visited the circular Terrace Lounge, whose tall windows overlook the Tuscan Pools deck, and enjoyed the music of a folk singer accompanying herself on the guitar. Along with a beer flight, I ordered a mixed greens salad from the limited bar menu, a fruity creation loaded with blackberries, pear chunks, dried cherries, smoked blue cheese, and candied walnuts. The lounge’s glassed-in whiskey library—a sign notes that it’s under 24-hour surveillance—includes more than 90 bourbon varieties, many of them rare. Whiskey flights allow a good sampling. National headliners take to the stage on select dates in the nearby Tuscany Ballroom.
Reno Casino Hotel’s Impressive Installations of Video Art
Stunning videos on several thousand high-definition screens provide captivating touches to the restaurants, casino floor, and other public areas. The Peppermill’s own videographers travel the globe to capture images of bucket-list destinations, including world capitals, African game reserves, and American national parks. Whether it’s intrepid rafters careening down a wild river or the sun rising over the Great Wall of China, these mesmerizing “Windows of the World” scenes—many of them aerial drone shots—bring back vacation memories or fuel wanderlust for places in your dreams. At selfie stations here and there, the footage remains on the screen for two minutes, giving you time to pose against a Norwegian fjord or “mingle” with giant tortoises in the Galapagos Islands. Travel photography also adorns the walls of guest rooms and hallways, and the videos can be seen on in-room TVs.
Stylish Guest Rooms at the Peppermill Hotel in Reno Brim with Amenities
Floor-to-ceiling windows in my corner unit in the all-suite Tuscany Tower afforded views of both the pool deck and the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Outfitted with marble-top furniture, plush floral carpeting, and velvety brocade drapery with braided sashes, the spacious 550-square-foot nest seemed more like a drawing room fit for an Italian countess than for a mere tourist like me. Rusticated wall treatment, antique-like lamps, sconces with gold fixtures, and burnished cornices and baseboards added to the Old World aura. The sumptuous bathroom, a sea of red marble, had a 10-foot-long double sink, make-up table with stool, mirrors trimmed in golf leaf, and even a TV. Framed art in the bath and the room itself featured images of Everglades National Park, Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania, a tree frog from Costa Rica, a statue in Sicily, and a street scene in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Guest rooms in the Tuscany and Peppermill towers are AAA Four Diamond-rated. (Photo credit: Peppermill Resort Spa Casino)
Both the Tuscany Tower (which opened in late 2009) and Peppermill Tower (dating from the early 1980s) are AAA Four Diamond-rated. Tuscany Tower rooms, larger than those of the Peppermill Tower, are called suites because of their size. Rooms in the Peppermill Tower were updated in 2022. Adjacent to the Tuscany Tower, via an outdoor covered walkway, are 140 rooms in the Three Diamond-rated North and West Wings. Of the Reno casino hotel’s 1,621 rooms, 92 percent are non-smoking.
All guest rooms offer the following features:
- Sealy pillow-top mattresses
- Egyptian cotton bed linens
- Single-cup Keurig
- Refrigerator
- 50-inch LCD hi-definition TV and movie station
- Computer desk with charging station and complimentary Wi-Fi
The Caldarium at the Spa & Salon Toscana. (Photo credit: Peppermill Resort Spa Casino)
Reno Casino Hotel Offers Relaxation at the Spa or Pool
The Reno Peppermill’s Spa & Salon Toscana draws inspiration from the lavish baths of ancient Rome. With three stories of Tuscan architecture, beautiful fountains, and other water features, the 33,000-square-foot sanctuary has:
- 24 treatment rooms offering Himalayan Retreat Salt Therapy, body scrubs, wraps, massages, and skincare
- Gentlemen and Ladies Ritual rooms with hot and cold plunge pools, cascading deluge showers, and eucalyptus steam and cedar wood saunas
- 4K Ultra HDTVs with So Sound acoustic resonance therapy in each room, indulging the senses of sight and sound
- Experience showers that envelop the body with choreography of color lighting
- An indoor pool, a sun deck, and spa cuisine in the Caldarium
- A salon offering hair and nail care treatments
The Reno Peppermill also boasts a state-of-of-the-art fitness center outfitted with the latest machines and a separate exercise room equipped with yoga mats and exercise balls.
The outdoor pool deck features two geothermally heated pools, a cascading waterfall, seasonal private cabanas, and a poolside bar. It is accented by red roof tiles and classical elements—cupolas, columns, balustrades, urns, and statues of maidens from antiquity.
Eco-minded guests know that the Reno Peppermill is the only U.S. hotel heated completely by an onsite geothermal well. It has invested in many other green initiatives, including the installation of over 40,000 square feet of artificial grass, thus reducing the need for water and the use of chemicals and pesticides.
Peppermill Resort Spa Casino is located a few miles south of downtown Reno on Virginia Street, the prominent artery where the famous Reno Arch declares “The Biggest Little City in the World.”
A sprawling resort offering musical entertainment, gaming action, and dining diversity, the Reno Peppermill is practically a city in itself.
By Randy Mink, Senior Editor
Lead photo: Tuscan Pools as seen from the Tuscany Tower. (Randy Mink Photo)
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