but the prices are pretty! There is a very old hotel called the Hardman House, a relic of the 1600's or some such. Complimentary breakfast consists of a hardboiled egg. Your kids don't like hardboiled eggs? America's Best Value Inn on Business Route 395 south of downtown has decent rates without a resort fee. There are a couple of other motels also nearby. You can take your kids to the Senate (also on 395) and to the Senator Club Casino across the street. No, wait! They won't let kids in those places. Leave the kids with some more hardboiled eggs, you go in and vote YES on whatever laws they are cooking up.

As far as I know, Reno/Sparks hotels all charge a resort fee now.

One last thing - it is possible to visit Reno Beach, which is a block-long park where the Truckee River gurgles through. Kids are allowed to dip their feet in the chilly water! Also you can look for divorcees' rings that have been thrown in the river (according to local lore). Make sure the little ones get out of the River before it passes beneath the boundary bridge (the warning is clearly marked), or they will fall over the waterfall, down and away, and never be seen again.

The Fandango Casino in Carson City offered a decent buffet (not sure it still does) in a rain-forest setting.

You can take a side-trip to Donner Lake in California. But do not, DO NOT, eat anything there. You just don't know who it might be.