Redevelopment Means Rejuvenation for South Lake Tahoe

A long-held vision of blending visitor services and the environment becomes a reality as new Marriott resorts and Heavenly Village open.

The natural beauty of Lake Tahoe has long drawn visitors from around the globe to view its majestic sights. In both winter and summer, Lake Tahoe is renowned for outdoor recreation combined with first-class visitor services. Now, with the recent opening of two spectacular Marriott resorts and the Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe has redefined the standard for blending the environment and development.

South Lake Tahoe’s goal to provide visitors with a complete vacation destination—one that combines the finest accommodations and amenities with the awe-inspiring beauty of Lake Tahoe and its 24-hour style of entertainment—has taken more than a decade of diligent work by city planners, private enterprise and environmental groups to be realized.

“The entire city rallied around this effort, and the results have exceeded the expectations of everyone involved,” said Bill Chernock, executive director for the Lake Tahoe Visitor’s Authority. “Now, with the Marriott resorts and the new Heavenly Village, South Lake Tahoe has taken a major step forward in creating a memorable vacation atmosphere.”

The anchor tenants of the development are Marriott Grand Residence Club Lake Tahoe, a unique quarter ownership property, and Marriott’s Timber Lodge, an upscale vacation ownership resort offering one-week intervals. Both resorts offer complete visitor amenities like year-round swimming pools, health clubs and ski services, among other benefits.

The renaissance in South Shore Lake Tahoe continues to delight visitors and locals alike. The Heavenly Village development will soon include an ice-skating rink that will double as a summer amphitheater and a multiplex cinema, both currently under construction. New skier base facilities adjoin the gondola station, which is an easy walk from the downtown resorts. The village hosts a variety of shops and dining establishments, such as Cold Stone Creamery, Patagonia and Wolfgang Puck’s Express, that are expected to open before the end of the year. This new village enables guests at South Shore to simply park their car upon arrival and enjoy their vacation.

A key aspect of linking the resort base directly to the environment that inspires people to come to Lake Tahoe has been the Heavenly gondola. The gondola whisks visitors up a dramatic mountainside to the top of Heavenly. In the winter, the gondola provides access to some of the best skiing and most beautiful views in North America. In the summer, the gondola takes riders up to an extensive hiking trail system that overlooks the entire basin.

Proposed future redevelopment plans include a major convention center project next door to Harveys Hotel Casino, a new resort hotel and retail space.