my 2013 experience......fwiw
we booked kind of late, after getting race tix early, thanks to many suggestions here!
we found the southwest airlines/hotel package was the best deal ( out of Vancouver BC).....we ended up at the Peppermill. our first room was above the casino, which was waaaaaaaay too smoky for our virgin lungs. The switched us to one of the few remaining suites in the new tower; MUCH better. not connected to the casino HVAC.
( note: when something like this happens, get the NAME of the person who gave you the upgrade!....they tried to charge us when we checked out...luckily I remembered the manager on shift who authorized it!)
IF you are getting a car, the location is not as important. we did 3 days without one, used the hotel shuttle, and transit to the races, which they have pretty darn well figured out.....then the last 4 days toured around, hit Virginia city, Carson, Tahoe etc....which we found really worthwhile.
I bought pit passes for every day, but really, unless you want photo ops first thing in the morning, you can just wander the pits after the races for free each day; there was plenty of eye candy then for me.
Open Grandstand tix were great, but for Sat & Sun, I wished I had reserved right at the very top, so there would be some shade on my neck from the banners they put on the fence...plus you can stand up and get some good photos of the starts without anyone behind you.
Lots of regulars on here who can give better advice!
(Race 80)
