1862 David Walley's Restaurant & Saloon — Restaurant in Minden

We make two week-long stays at DW every year. We just completed our first one-week stay of 2021 last Saturday., and we are already looking forward to returning for our second week. Many people stay at Walleys in the summer months because of the close proximity of golf courses and the relatively easy-to-get-to Jewel of the Sierra Nevada -- Lake Tahoe. Others stay in the winter because of all the places to go skiing, snowboarding, etc. But there is a third wonderful reason to stay at Walleys. In the spring, summer, and fall, Walleys is a nature lover's idea of excellent. And that is why we go. There are numerous hiking trails, ranging from easy to challenging, in the area. But for those who don't wish to hike, all that need be done is to sit on the patio of the room and enjoy. Eagles, hawks, chickadees, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, bluejays, geese, etc., etc., can all be viewed. Get up and go for a stroll on the path along the east perimeter of the grounds and turtles, lizards, deer, coyotes, cows (LOTS of cows), frogs (and even one large bullfrog) can be spotted. Plus, David Walleys is peaceful and serene ... the road running past it is not a truck route so the loudest motor vehicles on it are the occasional motorcycles ... so it is a pastoral paradise. While there, I've heard some guests complain that there are no entertainment features for children. In actuality, there are plenty of things for children to do provided the youngsters are willing to go outside and experience nature. For both children and adults, DW is a superb outdoor classroom. And during our visit last week, we met three fabulous DW employees who work at the guest check-in desk. The names of the three ladies are Bernie, Stephanie M, and Sandra L. A happy smile is always on their faces and so from the first moment a guest enters the front desk area the guest feels welcome and appreciated. I am unable to offer any comment re: the restaurant. When we arrived this year we discovered that our favorite on-the-grounds place to eat -- "Harriet's" -- was no longer in operation. I don't know why it closed down (perhaps because of Covid), but we always ate there and truly enjoyed the meals. During our stay last week, we did not have an opportunity to eat at DW 1862. Let me make one recommendation to anyone who is thinking of staying at Walleys. Take a few moments and check out the pics and info on their website. Don't go there thinking that it is a huge sprawling mega resort that is located amid dozens of restaurants, casinos, shopping malls, and etc. DW is a place to go if you want to shut off the cell phone, disconnect the XBox, turn off the TV, and enjoy what nature has to offer. Go there for the right reason, and I assure you their 5-Star Staff will treat you to a 5-Star stay. Most Very Sincerely, Gary "Olde Carl" Schenauer ...

This was easily one of the most bizarre restaurant experiences I’ve ever had. My family of 5 was staying at the resort and decided to stop in for dinner one evening. We arrived pretty early- around 5:30. They asked if we had a reservation and we said no. This clearly threw the staff into a tizzy. They were looking at the seating chart, walking back to the restaurant to look around, whispering to one another. They told us they really recommend reservations. We apologized, but honestly had no idea. We saw the resort had a restaurant and decided to try it. They told us that they were going to try to squeeze us in. We were told like 3 or 4 times “we’re going to try to squeeze you in.” Honestly we almost left right then because it just seemed like we were off to a bad start and really felt like we’d caused a problem.

After a few minutes, though they said that they had a table for 4 and they would pull a 5th chair over for us. We agreed and followed the hostess to our table. When we stepped into the dining area, I actually let out a chuckle and starting looking for the hidden cameras because the restaurant was EMPTY. I could see maybe 40 tables and 3 of them had people at them. We were seated at a small table in the corner with 5 chairs squeezed around it. We were so confused. It took quite awhile for our server to come, but once he finally did he was very friendly and kind. The food was okay. Not great. Not anything special. But good enough for a convenient dinner where we were staying.

By the time we left it was after 7:00 and the restaurant was still less than half full. There were tables all around us in our little section that remained empty. One of them could have easily been pulled over to give us more space. The restaurant closed at 8:00 that night so I find it hard to imagine they had reservations to fill those tables. I understand they could have been short staffed, but that still doesn’t explain why we had to squeeze around a small table when there was clearly plenty of space. It was just very bizarre. To act like we were messing up their whole system and make a big fuss about how difficult it is to get us in and keep telling us how they are squeezing us in like they were doing us this really big favor, only to have an almost empty restaurant for the whole hour and a half...

The wifi at this place rarely ever worked. It wouldnt be that big of a deal if there was decent phone service in the area which made it difficult looking up things to do and places to go. The hotsprings spa are owned by a separate company outside of the resort and arent actual hotsprings. Its actually just the mineral water from the springs piped into regular looking hot tubs at any other resort. The pool/hotsprings area does have a good view or the mountaims but is very bland. The price to use the hotsprings is $50 a day which is absurd for basically using a pool/hot tub with mineral water instead of the usual chlorine pool water. If the price was cheaper or the pool area was nicer it might be worth it. The concierge service located in the lobby was rude and would only offer to help you if you would tour a time share. Concierge service at other locations in South Lake Tahoe were more helpful and didnt force the tours as extreme as I did and were very nice and helpful even though we werent staying with them or using their tour. The rooms here are cozy and prettt nice, however ours was connected to a screaming child and a very untrained and loud dog. The walls are thin and the door that separates you from the next room might as well be open. All of this would be fine and dandy if it wasnt a 30 minute drive to South Lake Tahoe which is where all the action is at. The drive is beautiful and the roads are well kept and taken care of during heavy snow. I would not recommend staying here if you intend to spend a majority of your time in the Lake Tahoe area. There were many other resorts that were just as nice if not nicer that were avaliable to stay at with the convience of being in the area to...