My Honest Review of J Resort: A Downtown Reno Hotel

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

In early 2023, Jacob’s Entertainment completed the purchase of one of Reno’s oldest hotels, the Sands Regency. After promptly changing its name to J Resort, the company announced a nine-figure upgrade to the property, including an arts district, new pool, room and suite upgrades, restaurants, and more.

While the changes are ongoing, as it’ll take a couple more years for the project to reach completion, I recently had the opportunity to spend a weekend at J Resort and experience the changes made thus far.

Many people search for cheap hotels in Reno, you may be one of them. If so, I believe J Resort Reno is a solid option as its nightly rates are reasonable and is in an up-and-coming location near many attractions, including the Riverwalk, Reno Arch, and more.

Full transparency, J Resort did not offer me any kind of incentive to write this. I paid for my room and meals out of pocket. This is to ensure that I give you the most honest and unbiased review to help you decide if this property is what you and your family are looking for.

J Resort Reno Location, Parking and Rates

J Resort Reno’s main parking lot and entrance is located on Arlington Ave., but other entrances include the West 4th Street and Ralston Street sides as well. When it comes to parking, J Resort isn’t lacking what-so-ever. There are multiple parking lots around the property, in addition to a multi-story garage.

As is the case with most casino hotels in Reno, parking is free of charge for both registered guests and visitors, regardless of where you choose to park. For those who prefer valet, you can find that service at the main entrance off of Arlington.

If you’re coming from the parking garage, you’ll likely use the elevator attached to the Aspen Tower (more on those later). You’ll find the check-in desk straight ahead coming off said elevator. From the main entrance, walk straight through the casino and head up the short stairwell to reach it.

Compared to photos I’ve seen of the Sands online, J Resort has definitely upgraded the interior. Gone is the dated reflective paneling, as well as the reds and yellows that scream 1980’s Reno. They’ve been replaced with a more modern approach of cream-colored ceilings, with touches of blue and gold throughout.

You can still tell it’s an aged property, but the effort is just as noticeable. The casino is largely made up of slot machines, but they also have a walled-off high limit area and a few blackjack tables across from the check-in desk.

In my experience, checking in was a breeze. They have self-check in kiosks, but both were out of commission. We had a bit of a wait, but the giant screen behind the desk featuring rotating photos of area attractions kept us occupied. I snapped a photo right as a photo of Emerald Bay, one of my most favorite places, popped up.

Once my credit card was approved, I was given my room keys and a quick break down of the property. All in all, checking in took about fifteen minutes (including waiting in line). That’s good, especially for a Saturday.

I booked our stay through Expedia and paid a total of $215 for two nights in an Aspen Tower king room, which included tax and the $30 per night resort fee. So not accounting for tax, I paid less than $100 per night. Looking at averages throughout the year, their rate tends to hover under that mark. If you’re looking for cheap hotels in Reno, I would consider starting here.

J Resort Reno Towers

There are three towers that make up J Resort Reno. They are the Aspen, Birch, and Cedar Towers. As of January 2025, Birch Tower and its room are under renovation and not available to book. Rooms in the Aspen and Cedar Towers are currently available, though.

Depending on which tower you’re staying in and the amenities you care most about, each tower offers its own set of locational advantages. For example, staying in the Birch Tower would put you close to the main hotel entrance, Hanna’s Table restaurant, the buffet and the smoke free area of the casino.

The Cedar Tower is the newest, but offers the least amount of advantages to guests. All you’re close to is the hotel entrance, a slot machine-heavy area of the casino, a small bar and the gift shop.

Conversely, the Aspen Tower is the only tower with rooms featuring kitchenettes and quick access to the 16th floor fitness center. Additionally, you’ll be closest to the check-in desk, J Paul’s Italian Steakhouse, the blackjack tables, and Afterglow Lounge.

J Resort Reno Aspen Tower King Room

My wife and I booked a king room in the Aspen Tower and were pleasantly pleased with the upgrades. Each wall featured a different color in a mixture of creams and browns, with the main wall featuring a patterned design. The flooring is carpeted, which I look at as a negative as I personally prefer hard floor.

Aside from the king size bed, the room featured a bed bench, small work space, flatscreen TV, ironing board with iron, hair dryer, small array of toiletries, walk in-style shower, an abundance of USB ports and standard plugs, and a kitchenette with microwave, mini-fridge, and coffee maker.

The bathroom was much smaller than it looked in photos, but it was well appointed and made good use of the space. The walk in-style shower was a nice touch, though I can see this being a negative to families with littles who prefer bathtubs. Based on Expedia photos, it looked like the Cedar Tower rooms have bathtubs.

I loved the vanity lighting around the wall-sized mirror, though there is still direct lighting you can’t get around. I’m a huge proponent of indirect lighting, so I’m glad to see more and more hotels heading in this direction.

Both the shower and bathroom floor were made of white marble tiles with a black design pattern (probably faux, to be honest, but it still looks nice). The shower was amazing, as it had the best water pressure of any cheap hotel in Reno I’ve stayed in.

I’m one of those people who inspects my room no matter the hotel. I don’t care if it’s Motel 6 or a Westin. Initially, this room appeared impeccable. To be fair, the bathroom, bed, carpet, and most of the kitchenette were clean. No signs of bed bugs, nothing left over in the bathroom, and no food particles in the microwave.

On the flip side, there were black marks and dust all over the A/C unit, mystery stains on the walls, and not-so-mystery stains on the bed bench. The biggest offender, though, was the inside of the coffee maker’s water compartment. It looked like it’s never been cleaned.

These findings didn’t affect us enough to change rooms, nor did they damper our stay. However, they’re worth mentioning. The rooms may have been upgraded, but this is still an old property dating back to the 70’s. There’s no way they would catch everything, but there needs to be more attention to detail when cleaning.

Another negative was the severe lack of seating. The only options were the single office-style chair and the bed bench, which was out for us due to the visible stains discussed above. There was definitely room near the window to add a love seat or small couch, so I’m baffled as to why they omitted this.

On the flip side, there was an abundance of USB ports and standard plugs throughout the room, which is something a lot of hotels can’t say. There were two of each on each side of the bed, along with additional ports and plugs on the work desk, kitchenette and in the bathroom.

J Resort Reno Amenities

The changes at J Resort Reno are still ongoing, so a few of the typical amenities you’d find at hotels like this aren’t available at the moment. For example, they’re expected to open a new spa sometime in 2025 and they’re working on a new rooftop pool, among other amenities.

The current pool is seasonal as it’s unheated, so it was drained and unavailable to us during our stay. From what I’ve gathered from employees, it may not reopen at all as they’ll just wait to debut the upgraded one.

J Resort Reno Dining and Drink Options

The high end dining offering at J Resort Reno is J Paul’s Italian Steakhouse. During our stay, my wife and I opted to dine here, as we’ve been to a number of Reno steakhouses and have yet to try this newest one. In short, our experience was simply stellar all the way through.

Of course, you have a hearty selection of cuts of both beef and bison. In addition, J Paul’s offers hand crafted Italian fare and seafood classics for those who wish to avoid red meat. They also feature specialty cocktails, offered in both the steakhouse itself and the neighboring lounge.

Their secondary dining option is Hanna’s Table, which is akin to a diner experience. Here, you’ll find typical dishes found at many restaurants, including smash burgers, pan-seared chicken, grilled ribeye, salmon, and a variety of breakfast options in the morning.

If you’ve been to Cafe Milano at the Peppermill, you’ll find it similar to that. Unlike Cafe Milano, though, it isn’t open 24/7 (as of now, at least). Hanna’s is currently open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. After hours, you can get coffee and quick grabs at neighboring Hanna’s Express (though it was frustratingly never open during my stay).

My wife and I dined here for Linner (our term for a lunch + dinner combo) and were pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food. My wife ordered sliders while I ordered a barbecue bacon smash burger. Was it the greatest burger I’ve ever had? No. However, it was flavorful, cooked perfectly, and they didn’t charge me an arm and a leg.

The final dining option at J Resort Reno is The Buffet which is, you guessed it, a buffet. We didn’t partake, as I’m usually not a fan of buffets. However, the online reviews indicate it’s decent and it’s currently the only buffet option in the downtown area.

Afterglow Lounge

The main lounge at J Resort Reno is Afterglow Lounge. The lounge/bar area is lit with bright neon pinks, yellows, greens, and ambers. I can’t say for sure how popular it is, as we were the only ones here on a Saturday night. If it does get crowded, I can see it being problematic with the lack of seating options.

There’s a small stage near the main entrance of the lounge where musical acts perform. This typically occurs on Fridays and Saturdays at 9pm, though I was told those performance nights expand during the summer.

Additionally, there’s a small bar just off the casino near the elevators to the Cedar Tower. Beyond that, the only other option is the lounge at J Paul’s Italian Steakhouse. You do not need a reservation to sit at the bar and if desired, you can order food as well.

J Resort Reno Recreation

As stated earlier in this post, the spa at J Resort Reno won’t be opening until later in 2025 and they’re working on an upgraded rooftop pool. So as of now, recreational opportunities are limited. Thankfully, there are a couple of ways to get your steps in.

On the 16th floor of the Aspen Tower is where you’ll find the fitness center. It’s fairly small, especially considering they advertise is as “world class” on their website. It does the job, though. You’ll find cardio equipment, weight machines, dumbbells, flat screen TVs, and a water bottle refill station.

J Resort Reno Neon Line

Outside of J Resort Reno is the Neon Line, which features a vast and growing collection of art installations from Burning Man. You can view the pieces during the day, but at night is where they truly shine.

Each piece has its own story and some even have interactive elements. At night, they’re lit up and play music. During regular intervals, each piece stops playing the generic music and puts on a show, complete with lighting effects and movements.

There’s no real beginning and end but for context, we began at the Rearing Horse piece on the corner of Ralston and West 4th Streets. From there, we walked up West 4th to Vine Street, then crossed the street and worked our way back down West 4th to the corner of West Street.

Clearly, J Resort is leaning heavily into Reno’s sprawling arts culture and I’m here for it. It helps J Resort to stand out from the other downtown area hotels. Honestly, exploring the Neon Line was my favorite aspect of our weekend here.

If you’re looking for cheap hotels in Reno, I’d recommend J Resort. Rates are cheap right now due to the ongoing construction and currently unavailable amenities, but in my opinion there’s still enough to keep you busy.

In addition, J Resort is a short walk from The Row in downtown, Reno Arch, Riverwalk, National Automobile Museum, Bicentennial Park, City Plaza, Nevada Museum of Art and more.

Luke 1:37

My Honest Review of TownPlace Suites Hotel Near Allegiant Stadium

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I believe will add value to my readers.

When searching for hotels near Allegiant Stadium, many look to the resorts located on the southern end of the strip. A few of which include the Excalibur, Mandalay Bay and Luxor. However, just as many prefer Las Vegas hotels off the strip for a variety of reasons.

Since opening in 2020, Allegiant Stadium has been the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders and has played host to a variety of events. Due to this, Allegiant Stadium attracts millions of visitors on a yearly basis.

If you’re coming to Las Vegas, primarily for an event at the stadium, and you want to avoid the chaos of the strip, there’s an off-strip hotel near Allegiant Stadium that I’ve recently stayed at and recommend. It’s within walking distance of Allegiant Stadium and the strip, and offers solid amenities. Best of all, it’s reasonably priced.

In this review, I’m going to share photos of the property and room, and discuss their various amenities. Additionally, I’ll tell you about my experience and whether or not I would book here again. For transparency purposes, I was not given anything by the property in exchange for this review.

TownePlace Suites Location, Parking, and Rates

TownPlace Suites Stadium District (mouthful, I know), is located on the corner of Dean Martin Drive and Tropicana Ave., roughly half a mile from Allegiant Stadium. Its exact address is 4920 Dean Martin Drive, Las Vegas, NV, 89118.

During my stay, there was a ton of construction happening on Dean Martin Drive and the neighboring overpass, which made it an absolute nightmare driving in and out. However, the hotel is located directly off of Interstate 15, which is the jumping off point to Valley of Fire. Once construction is complete, it’ll be a conveniently located hotel.

Across the street from the property is an In & Out Burger, Chevron gas station, and a variety of other fast food restaurants and marts. TownPlace shares the property with a neighboring Hilton, and both of these hotels share the parking structure as well.

The parking garage is four-levels, with additional parking in the small lot behind it. At TownPlace Suites, guests are charged a daily parking fee of $15. This is becoming more and more commonplace in Las Vegas, with free parking just about non-existent at this point.

Upon check-in, you’ll be given a code to get in and out of the parking garage. Additionally, there are EV charging stations on property. You’ll inquire about those with the clerk at check-in.

If you’re part of the Marriott Bonvoy program, it’s possible to obtain free parking. Not sure which tier my Dad is at but for what it’s worth, he was never charged for parking. It’s worth looking into if you’re a member.

The nightly rate varies greatly according to time of year, current events, and more. On average, you can expect to pay between $250-$350 per night. I believe we paid near the high point of that range. However, there are NO resort fees, which are commonplace for hotels on the strip.

TownPlace Suites Stadium District Amenities (Common Areas)

TownPlace Suites offers many amenities for guests, both in-room and throughout the common areas. In the exterior area just outside of the lobby are many lounge-style seating options with a propane-powered fire pit. Parts of this area are shaded, both by trees and an awning.

Inside, near the check-in desk, are additional seating areas. Some of it is for lounging or socializing, while other areas are reserved for dining during their complimentary, buffet-style breakfast. Breakfast is served:

• Monday - Friday: 6:30am - 9:30am

• Saturday & Sunday: 7:00am - 10:00am

The food offered at breakfast included a variety of yogurts (none of which were greek), waffles, pancakes, breakfast cereals, fruit, eggs, sausage (turkey and beef), and bacon. To be honest, it was just ok. The eggs tasted like the powdered, mix-n-go, type. But hey, it was free.

The pool is considerably small, especially given the locale they’re in. I can’t give it a proper review as it was closed during my stay for an unknown reason. The neighboring Hilton was allowing guests of TownPlace Suites to use theirs, though.

Inside the hotel, a few steps past the elevators on the right is where you’ll find the fitness center. Honestly, I was impressed with its size and amount of equipment, as many hotels of this type tend not to put a whole lot of effort into their gyms.

When you first walk in, the cardio equipment and smith-style weight machine come into view. To the right are a few benches and a dumbbell rack with weights up to 65-pounds. Additionally, there’s water bottle refill station and a plethora of towels at your disposal.

Lastly, to the left of the check-in desk, you’ll find a grab and go market where you can purchase a variety of snack foods, candy, and drinks. To be honest, there’s nothing in there you couldn’t find across the street at Chevron at much better prices.

Most of the hotels near Allegiant Stadium have similar amenities, so there isn’t much here to truly make it stand out, in my opinion. Still, considering the size of the property and price point, they make good use of the space. However, the rooms are where this property shines most.

TownPlace Suites Stadium District One Bedroom Suite

My Dad and I were in town for the Billy Joel concert at Allegiant Stadium, so we decided to book a one bedroom suite since it has a queen bed and a pull out-style couch in the living space. The room was impeccably clean, organized, and well appointed.

The main room comes with a queen-sized bed, a plethora of drawers for organization, flat screen TV, and a closet. While semi-small, it does the job just fine. My Dad reports the mattress and pillows as comfortable. However, there’s a severe lack of plugs and USB ports.

The room came with just about every kitchen amenity you could ask for, including a full-size refrigerator with top freezer, oven with stovetop, dishwasher, and microwave. In addition, you’re provided with a variety of cook and dish ware.

To be honest, we didn’t utilize any of it, with the exception of the refrigerator. That said, the set-up is fantastic. If you’re looking to save money in your food budget, you’ll have everything you’d need to make all of your meals right in your room.

Also in the kitchen is decently-sized coat closet. Inside is a stand-up ironing board, complete with iron, as well as bedding for the pull-out couch. One thing I really liked about this closet was the additional storage space.

The living space, along with the bedroom, is carpeted and comes with a couch that coverts into a bed (more on that later), plenty of drawer space, a flat screen TV, lap desk, rolling food tray and a work desk complete with lamp and a good amount of USB ports.

The couch, when utilized as such, is fine. When converted to a bed, though, it was far and away the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever slept on. The “mattress” was so thin that I may as well have just slept straight on the metal bars underneath.

Despite this being the sole negative I experienced, it was a big one considering this was what I had to sleep on. If you decide to book this room, do yourself a favor and bring an inflatable sleeping pad, like this one, to give yourself more comfort.

Finally, the bathroom featured a walk in-style shower. These are my preference, but those with kids may prefer a tub. Going through Yelp photos, it appears as though this property doesn’t have any rooms with tubs. If that’s a deal breaker for you, you may want to call the property to verify.

Mounted on the shower wall are full-size containers of shampoo, conditioner, and body wash by Alice & Co. Botanicals. Additionally, on the sink counter are hand wash bars and tissues, as well as a blow dryer on the shelf underneath.

How Close to Allegiant Stadium is TownPlace Suites?

TownPlace Suites is one of the many hotels within walking distance of Allegiant Stadium. If you’ve ever been to an event here, you’d know how much of a hassle it is to park or worse yet, the complication of summoning an Uber when the event is over.

When my wife and I came here for a Beyonce concert, we were hit with a three figure Uber ride back to our hotel, all thanks to surge pricing. Additionally, it took close to two hours for our Uber to reach us.

This time around, I was able to save myself a lot of money and hassle by simply walking a short distance back to my hotel. From the hotel’s lobby to security check at Allegiant, TownPlace Suites was just over a half-mile (or about thirteen minute), straight-shot walk down Dean Martin Drive.

As far as safety is concerned, my Dad and I walked this street numerous times, both during the day and at night. Not once did anyone bother us. Additionally, on the night of the concert, there was a heavy police and security presence along the street.

If you’re looking for hotels near Allegiant Stadium, TownPlace Suites Stadium District is a solid option. Additionally, while it’s a hotel off the strip, it’s still close enough to the action. Nearby is the Titanic Artifact Exhibition museum in the Luxor, which is a great family-friendly activity on the strip.