The Silver Reef Hotel, Casino, and Spa is located in the northwestern corner of Washington State, in the small city of Ferndale, just north of Bellingham. Its close proximity to the Canadian border and in particular, the city of Vancouver, makes this an attractive destination for Canadians as well.
It’s not that Vancouver doesn’t have casinos, they have several ones, on the smaller side, but a lot of Vancouverites enjoy taking short trips across the border in general and when you can go to a nice casino resort as well, all the better. With a population of 2.3 million people, there’s plenty of people to look to tempt to come down, and this place is less than an hour’s drive away.
Ferndale itself offers small town charm, and the area offers some great views of Mt. Baker which towers on the horizon. Silver Reef’s slogan is “easy to find, hard to leave.” The first part is easy, they are right off Interstate 5, and they do their best to fulfill the second part of this.
The Silver Reef is located on the Lummi Indian Reservation, and all casinos in the state of Washington are Indian casinos, but there are a lot of them in this state and they all compete fiercely with each other to earn your business. The Silver Reef is no exception and while this and the other Indian casinos in the state aren’t on the grand scale of the world’s largest and most exotic, they do bring you some good honest accommodations and gaming, in a comfortable and friendly atmosphere.
Another big thing about this place is that it is set in nature, and this is a part of the country that is truly beautiful. The city of Bellingham is only a very short drive away, and this is a nice sized city with a metro population of over 200,000, and Ferndale is actually part of metro Bellingham, but definitely is a much more rural area. However, guests are easily able to enjoy both a rural atmosphere and also have easy access to the amenities of urban life at the same time should they choose.
A fair number of people bring their RVs to Sliver Reef and while they don’t really have an RV park here, they do have the means to accommodate overnight parking, allowing you to stay right in the RV and enjoy all the casino gambling and other amenities that this resort has to offer.
Silver Reef’s Accommodations and Amenities
The Silver Reef Hotel features a decently sized hotel complex, with 206 rooms and suites, so while they receive a lot of drive up traffic, a fair number of visitors stay overnight as well. There are some lovely suites here for those who either don’t mind spending extra for premium accommodations, or are higher wagers who enjoy playing for significant money and getting the big rooms that this entitles them to. These suites are very luxurious and inviting.
These accommodations are quite affordable, with packages starting at $179 per night, which includes a deluxe room, a deluxe Silver Signature breakfast, a buffet meal for two, and gaming credits. When you account for what you might spend on these dining experiences, this is an excellent offer indeed. This is especially valuable on weekends.
For just $339, you receive all this plus two hour-long credits in their spa, which also features a swimming pool, fitness center, hot tub, steam room, and sauna. They additionally offer an extensive range of spa services. The staff is friendly and helpful.
There exist 6 different restaurants and 3 bars here, beginning with The Steak House at Silver Reef, offering relaxed fine dining combined with some fantastic wine. The Buffet at Silver Reef offers a constantly popular buffet selection. The diner is always busy.
The Red River Café provides excellent cuisine in a more casual environment. Panasia specializes in delicious Asian dishes, and the Pizzanini prepares pizza from scratch and sandwiches. The Barista at Silver Reef is an excellent spot to grab a cup of coffee in addition to pastries and desserts. The variety is impressive.
The Portage Bay Bar, the Terrace Bar, and the Cantina Bar all offer guests a selection of cocktails and other refreshments. There is additionally an events center which presents various live acts. There are furthermore several rooms of various sizes available for group gatherings. These rooms can be customized.
The Casino at Sliver Reef
The Silver Reef Casino offers 50,000 square feet of gaming space, which is a very nice amount without being too overwhelming like you can feel at a big casino. This one is modestly sized but plenty big enough to take care of all of your casino gambling needs and offer all the variety you need to do that.
There are over 1200 slot machines here, and if you can imagine what that would look like, this will give you a sense of the fact that we are not talking a small casino here at all. They have all of the latest and greatest slot games to choose from, and while this might be quite a long way from Vegas in some senses, it isn’t as far as the games they offer.
The slots are by far the most popular form of gaming at the Silver Reef, although they do have 20 gaming tables to take care of those casino players who prefer the more relaxed and laid back atmosphere of table games, without giving up anything at all in terms of the excitement that these games can generate.
Players can choose from 8 different table games, including Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Spanish 21, Pai Gow, Three Card Poker, Four Card Poker, and Ultimate Texas Holdem. So there may not be that many gaming tables but they have a great selection of different ones to choose from, which is what matters.
There’s also a weekly blackjack tournament every Tuesday night for a very modest $20 entry fee. The Silver Reef also offers a Player’s Club where players use their Diamond Dividends card to earn points playing either slots or table games, and these points may be cashed in for various rewards.
This is a nice casino in a nice part of the country and is a particularly good choice if you’re from the area or looking to visit it on a Pacific Northwest getaway, and want to do some gambling as well.