Elko, Wells, or one of the Wendovers?

Replies: 13 - Last Post: 25-Aug-2007 21:14 Last Post By: idahoslim

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f_furnace

22-Aug-2007 23:27
Posts: 135

Elko, Wells, or one of the Wendovers?

I'm going to be driving from Napa, CA to Utah next month, and am looking for a motel. I don't need fancy - clean and comfortable trumps all else. A pool and nearby dining options better than Denny's and Burger King would be good, too. Elko is about halfway; Wells, West Wendover, and Wendover would work, too. It seems like the Motel 6's in the area are ~$40 and Super 8's are ~$60, so that general range would be best. Any advice on places to avoid would be great, too.
I'll be through Sept. 13/14/15 (exact dates not determined at this time) - does anyone know if there are any events going on then? Rooms at the Wendovers seem to be filling up - is it just the SLC'ers getting their gambling on?
Thanks

"…I, too, like most of them, come from that lost village back in the hills, am also exiled, a displaced person, an internal emigrant in this new America of concrete and iron which none of us can quite understand or accept or wholly love." - Edward Abbey

Willy775

23-Aug-2007 02:30
Posts: 427

Good luck on those dining options. You might find more interesting conversation in a local dining establishment, but in most cases not much better food. In much of Nevada the best dining options are inside the casinos so probably just plan on that. There will be lots of choices out that way after Labor Day, they get very few visitors once summer ends in Elko. Wendover always gets a crowd on weekends, if you can get there by the 13th you should get a cheap room. Even the 14th shouldn't be too bad, its Saturday nights which are tough. Can't say I really have a motel suggestion, but the quality of places is likely going to be in the range of the two you spoke of and at those rates.

DaveT

23-Aug-2007 02:55
Posts: 250

As #1 says, Elko would give you the most choice. Wells is much smaller. Wendover is just a casino border town that exists so that Utah residents can escape their Puritanical state to gamble and drink freely. It's best avoided.

Besides the usual run of motel restaurants and fast food joints, Elko has at least one good Basque restaurant, the Star. You might ask at your motel desk about any others. Basque food is in general excellent and Basque restaurants quite friendly.

jlawrence01

23-Aug-2007 06:41
Posts: 566

Elko would be your best bet in terms of selection. There are a lot of motels, many small independents. However, they may be pricy as they are generally filled with a lot of mine workers.

The restaurant situation is a LOT better than fast food joints.

First, there are three Basque places, all of which will give you a large meal at a reasonable price. I am not sure that i would call the Star the best in town but it is teh most expensive.

Star Hotel
246 Silver St,
Elko, NV 89801

Biltoki
405 Silver St,
Elko, NV 89801

Nevada Dinner House - Map
351 W Silver St,
Elko, NV 89801

A cheaper coffee shop in in the Best Western across from the Red Lion Casino Hotel.

Best Western Gold Country Motor Inn
2050 Idaho Street,
Elko, NV 89801

Wells is pretty dumpy with little to offer.

idahoslim

23-Aug-2007 07:22
Posts: 580

Agree with above suggestions. Bendover is exactly as you suspect.
I've stayed in motels in Lovelock, Winnemucca, Elko, and Wells, depending on where I am when it is beddie bye time.
They all have decent midrange motels. You could Priceline them if you're fairly certain where you will be in the evening.

Don't eat at the Elko Red Lion. I fell for their prime rib special priced dinner and it was horrid.
You won't find tasty or well prepared food in this part of the country, but the Basque places are at least somewhat entertaining and you will not leave hungry.

Elko and Wells have a couple of cat houses, so I've heard.
Elko's museum is interesting. It has an overwhelming and disturbing stuffed animal exhibit, a great gun collection, mining exhibit, and local history stuff.
The Western Folklife Center, home of Cowboy Poetry, is worth stopping into.

kodachrome_baby

23-Aug-2007 07:45
Posts: 4,702

I got a speeding ticket in wendover. That's all I can remember about that town.

Minky2

23-Aug-2007 09:14
Posts: 1,545

Eat at the Basque restaurants.

JoanR

23-Aug-2007 17:02
Posts: 271

Yes, go to Elko and eat at one of the Basque restaurants. It will be more food than you can eat... but if you get an authentic one, the food is very good and you might just be there in time for a basque family birthday celebration as we were once.

Caldor1

23-Aug-2007 20:17
Posts: 118

Just drive the whole distance at once. You can easily do it, its a long drive but not that bad these days with higher speed limits, etc. Heck as a kid, I remember my dad driving non-stop from SLC to Sacramento only stopping for gas, and that was when the speed limit was 55mph.

Though the Basque restuarants might be good, there are also good basque restaurants in Winters, not too far from Napa, since there used to be a lot of sheep farming in the area. I think Dixon may also have a few(not sure about that one though). The only other thing besides that and gambling that people stop for in those towns consists of extra-curricular activities at certain facilities since that sort of thing is legal in many counties in NV.

This is my signature. There are many like it but this one is mine.

f_furnace

23-Aug-2007 23:48
Posts: 135

I would love to drive it in one shot. If it were just me and my regular car, i'd go US 50 and stay at Hotel Nevada in Ely. But this time, my car will be on the trailer attached to a U-Haul. I'm not sure what time of day i'll be leaving, not to mention I will not be doing much low flying. I'm currently thinking of just planning on Elko, and push it to Wells if I can (conditions that day depending).
I tried Priceline and Orbitz and Hotwire and all them - and pretty much came up with bupkus.

thesnort

24-Aug-2007 00:08
Posts: 525

I can't understand the love for "Basque" food in the States. Yes, you get a buttload of food, but it's really bland and ordinary. I lived for years in Spain (7, I think) and it resembles nothing I've ever had there in País Vasco. Will someone who's had both American Basque and Spanish Basque please chime in now. I'm starting to hear the Twilight Zone theme.
But, on the plus side, the people who work at these establishments are really pleasant and nice to be around. The Star appears to be Elko's favorite Basque....just in case you go.

Not the power to remember, but its very opposite, the power to forget, is a necessary condition for our existence.
Saint Basil

JoanR

24-Aug-2007 16:30
Posts: 271

the snort,

Yes, Spanish basque is more "gourmet" than Nevada basque. The basques who came to Nevada came for economic reasons. They made a living herding sheep. I find it good, plain filling food, with soup and salad and interesting side dishes besides the main course. (Which used to be mutton, probably, but that choice has been changed to lamb.) Also, there is atmosphere and usually a good bar. This is country Basque, not city Basque.

brettyb

25-Aug-2007 10:34
Posts: 34

The one advantage to West Wendover, NV is that, I believe, rooms at the casinos are very cheap during the week.

idahoslim

25-Aug-2007 21:14
Posts: 580

I think it was at the Star where we ate.
The food quantity was overwhelming, but the best value was the more than middle aged server lady who removed all, what must have been fifteen, plates from our table in one stack up her generous arm. Wow!
When we leave the west coast to drive back to Idaho, we pretty much abandon all hope of good food again until we return west.
That midwestern blandness that makes up the mountain west food is extra ordinary in the very true sense of the term.

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