We just returned from the Hyatt High Sierra Lodge in Incline Village. We had a great week with everything from summer weather to snow! We stayed from the end of October into the first week of November and since this is the shoulder season, it was extremely quiet which is what we were looking for. The location is great, right next door to the Hyatt Regency and across the street from the Lake.
All the units are 2 bedrooms. We stayed in building 5 on the third (top) floor. For privacy this was a good location and of course we never heard any neighbors. The only down side of the top floor is there is no overhang over the balcony so in the event of rain or snow, you have no protection if you go out there. We overlooked lots of trees and the dog park was behind the trees. Incline Creek runs a few feet away so we could hear the sound of rushing water from our balcony. We were not overly bothered by the noise from the park, we heard a few dogs and a soccer game but it was not a problem. You cannot see Lake Tahoe from here.
The unit itself was very nice overall. The décor is mountain rustic but done nicely. The kitchen is well stocked and we had a wood block full of sharp knives including steak knives, which is unusual for a timeshare. There was also a garbage disposal which also is unusual in timeshares. Since we did a lot of cooking in, we appreciated these extra touches. There is a coffee maker, blender and a salt/pepper grinder. When we checked in the refrigerator was not on so we had to call maintenance and it took overnight to really get cold. The other issue was the living room TV remote. We could not figure out how to change channels and finally called and found out that there should be 2 remotes, one for the TV and one for the DVD player. So make sure you get both! The oddest part of the unit was the small size of the bedrooms. In the master bedroom you could barely walk around the bed, there was so little clearance. Also, the Jacuzzi tub in the master bedroom is a single person tub so if you are hoping to have a romantic tub for 2, think again! The internet was intermittent but is free! We were able to get on-line enough to check e-mail.
The living room has a huge gas fireplace which puts out a lot of heat. Our unit stayed really warm all week even though it snowed. We think perhaps being on the top floor we received heat rising from the lower units. We never even turned our heater on the whole week and we had temperatures down to 11 degrees at night outside.
There are 4 gas grills down by the pool and clubhouse. You have to reserve one in advance and they go down and fire it up for you so that when you get there to grill it is all heated up. Nice! You also need to go to the front desk to get the pool table balls and also have the firepit turned on. We found a bocce ball court also nearby, it might have been on the hotel property but the balls were there so we played a few games.
The first few days were beautiful and warm and we were able to hike and picnic by the lake. On Tuesday the temperature dropped 30 degrees! By Thursday it was snowing. So if you travel up in the Sierras, be prepared for any weather! We had no trouble with the roads but one night we saw that chains were required over the summit.
The casino is literally 3 minutes away across the parking lot and there is a row of restaurants right across the street so we never had to drive anywhere at night, really convenient. We ate at the Cutthroat Saloon at the Hyatt a few times and the food was very good and service was fine. The Sierra Café is currently closed for remodeling. Our waiter told us the hotel was only at 20% capacity that week so everything was very quiet and un-crowded. A great time to go if you just want to relax. If you want to ski or have warm weather activities, then you will need to visit in summer or winter instead. We found fall to be beautiful with the aspens turning colors. We will be back!