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RVs find home at Vegas resort

Silverton Casino Hotel Lodge sits just a short trip from the glitzy Strip, but the atmosphere is a world away.

By WENDY BOUCHER GARRETT
Published January 1, 2006

LAS VEGAS - There is probably no theme not represented by some hotel or motel here, but the Silverton Casino Hotel Lodge does offer something different. That's in addition to the gazillion-gallon aquarium in the lobby, with its reef, stingrays and fish, and near it, the "pimped out" boat, decorated by West Coast Customs of MTV fame.

For the Silverton is also a luxury RV resort.

Located about five miles from the Strip, the recently renovated, 300-room Silverton dabbles in an Old West theme. But it is unusual because it also caters to RV owners. It has 125 spaces for the vehicles, and the renters have free cable television, two swimming pools, a convenience store, barbecue grills, restrooms and showers, and laundry facilities, among other amenities.

My husband, Tate, and our 6-year-old daughter, Sophie, weren't driving an RV; we simply had gotten squeezed out of hotels on the Strip by numerous conventions.

I figured that while my husband was tending to the business that brought us out here, Sophie and I would tour the hotel and then see the actual Wild West: close by is Red Rock Canyon, a beautiful area that has wild burros.

On our first day, Sophie and Tate went swimming in the hotel's nice pool and when they reported back to the room, they were all atwitter from a celebrity sighting: that guy from that show where they build fancy motorcycles.

I couldn't remember his name (it's Paul Teutul), but by chance I had once seen his American Chopper show on the Discovery Channel, so I knew whom they were talking about. As it turned out, he and his sons were staying at the Silverton to unveil choppers they'd built for the hotel and its new attraction, a Bass Pro Shops sporting goods store.

By around 3 p.m. that day, a crowd was gathering. There was a long, long line forming of folks sitting on portable chairs, eating chicken and waiting for their chance to greet the Teutuls.

I'm not much of a motorcycle connoisseur, but even I could appreciate the beauty of the Harley Davidsons that were starting to collect in front of the hotel.

The unveiling of the new choppers took place in front of the fish tank. There were crowds of people dressed in black leather, denim, chains ...

This event went on for hours, yet the line for photos and autographs never seemed to get shorter.

We finally got a taste of the Old West inside the Bass Pro Shops store. It was hard to notice the merchandise for all the taxidermy tableaus: Huge, formerly live, animals were attacking each other all over the store.

If you stay at the Silverton, it's a good idea to have a car. There's plenty of parking, and it's a quick drive to the city's other attractions. If you take a taxi to the Strip, it mysteriously becomes a slow drive and can cost $20, after the tip. To its credit, the Silverton offers a shuttle service; there is even a shuttle from the RV area to the casino and hotel.

You also need a car if you are driving out to enjoy the wilderness. Commercial tours will take you, but it costs a fair amount, whereas with a rental car, you can drive, park, hike, and snap photos of wildlife at your own pace.

We hiked the children's discovery trail in Red Rock Canyon, where Sophie's constant chatter - usually warning me of unforeseen dangers - probably scared off any desert kangaroo rats or wild ponies I had hoped we'd see.

But on our drive back to the hotel, a herd of wild burros was out near the road, looking cute and posing obligingly, too. Why was there was such a long line to photograph the Teutuls but only us and one other couple here to photograph these fuzzy animals?

We also did some sightseeing on the Strip. Sophie's favorite stops were a 3-D shark movie at the Luxor hotel and the Lied Discovery Children's Museum.

Ultimately, we spent most of our time at the Silverton. Oddly, our guest room was relatively dark, for no apparent reason. It was quite clean, the decor was attractive and the beds were super comfortable, but there was little Wild West motif. There was a giant bear picture in neon colors that practically glowed in the dark, but I figure that served as a night light.

Sophie and I took a stroll around the RV resort one day. I'm guessing that the vehicles we saw cost at least as much as my house and were just as big.

The guests there seemed to fit in one of two groups: snowbirds who meet each other there each winter, or visitors who have cruised in for a week or two. Winter is high season, and while most everybody I met looked to be of retirement age, there is a really nice children's pool/play area open seasonally.

A couple I spoke with said the benefit to staying in an RV resort is that you can go outside but be near your room. True, but with its location near the noisy intersection of Interstate 15 and Blue Diamond Road, the Silverton's RV park was not exactly peaceful.

That area is tidy and seemed welcoming, if a bit bright and arid. The trees, planted in orderly rows, aren't big enough to cast much shade. But the place is right across the street from the casino, which is plenty air-conditioned and dim.

Should I ever go to Las Vegas again, I might consider staying at the Silverton. It was remote and unfamiliar, but strangely charming, too.

- Wendy Boucher Garrett lives in Tampa.

The Silverton Hotel Casino is at 3333 Blue Diamond Road, Las Vegas; call 702 263-7777 or toll-free 1-866-946-4373, www.silvertoncasino.com

[Last modified December 30, 2005, 09:10:05]