need to find a small tahoe rental

December 17, 2008 2:31 AM

i'm looking for a nice cottage or similar in tahoe to rent, for just me and my girl for Christmas.

i'm new to the whole renting a place in tahoe thing, but would like to take my girl up there for a few days for christmas. google is pretty useless, as it's just spammed with repeats of the same places.

it'll just be me and her, ideally we'd cook in a night or two, and could use a big tv and internet, and be at least within driving distance to a ski area (she's never seen snow in person, it should be awesome ;)

anyway, hoping someone might have some tips.

posted by jimjam to Travel & Transportation (5 answers total)

Twice we've rented places on the North Shore, once near Tahoe City and once near NorthStar, from property management firms that specialized in vacation rentals. You pay a bit more than if you were renting from a private party, but you know exactly what you are getting, and you have some recourse if things aren't up to your expectations. We had good experiences both times and enjoyed our stays.

This Gogle search should give you some North Shore property management firms to call, web sites to explore, etc. If you want South Shore or Incline Village, just change the search terms.

It's worth noting that Tahoe properties can be expensive to rent over the Christmas and New Years holidays -- six years ago, my wife and I rented a large house (2200+ sq. ft.) with my in-laws near (but not at) NorthStar for the week of Christmas, and it was $3500 for six days. It was nice and had enough room for five adults and a cranky baby, but it wasn't $3500 nice. Also, internet access in rental properties may be more hit or miss than you suspect. Many of the rental properties are older and rustic -- your chances of a wood burning stove and a shelf full of puzzles and board games are infinitely higher than a big TV and internet access; I wish it were otherwise.

Good luck in your search, and get cracking -- with the huge storm this week Tahoe just got a whole lot more appealing to all sorts of people, and it's late in the game to be looking for a place to stay.
posted by mosk at 3:45 AM on December 17, 2008

I've stayed at Rustic Cottages. We LOVED it! It's not fancy, but there are plenty of amenities, like a good breakfast every morning in the lodge, freshly baked treats at check-in, and all that stuff on hand that you might have forgotten, like toothbrushes or toothpaste. The cottages are tiny, with comfy beds, cable, a tiny kitchen with everything you'd need (even souvenir mugs!). Very cute.
posted by cherie72 at 5:47 AM on December 17, 2008 [2 favorites]

The best thing to do is to call up or google a rental organization, like Goldfish Properties (not affiliated - it was just the first one that came up on google), tell them what you're looking for (a cozy cabin with amenities), and let them send you some listings.

I would reccomend, incidentally, that you look in Truckee as well - there are three big ski/snow resorts within a short driving distance, and some of the newer cabins up the mountain a little are very nice, with wifi and big-screen hi-def TVs.
posted by muddgirl at 6:51 AM on December 17, 2008

Also, downtown Truckee is very charming, with an arts district and some very nice restaurants.
posted by muddgirl at 6:52 AM on December 17, 2008

Shinneyboo Creek Cabins (weird name, great place) is really, really romantic, super cozy and rustic but not teddy bear cutsy, and as of last week they were having special rates. The cabins are a bit away from the highway, separated from each other for privacy, and each have a view porch, iron stove, mini kitchen, Peet's coffee, nice bed and linens. No tv or internet however.

Another romantic and really fun thing to do is to take the train down from Truckee down through the Sierras to Emeryville or wherever (assuming you're bay area based). I'm not sure how low the snowline is now. We rented a car, drove to Shinneyboo, dropped the car off in Truckee and hopped on the train. Taking the train through snowy mountains is the wonderful, and there's an observation car for maximum viewing.
posted by tula at 12:22 PM on December 17, 2008 [1 favorite]