Me and my family live in Reno. We've used it for ten years to get to Northstar, Mount Rose, Heavenly, etc.
It is true that lots of Reno is rundown, but not all of it. I don't know much about the lodging since we live here, but there are definently some good restaurants.
For creative, trendy fare try Campo, Old Granite Street Eatery, and Midtown Eats, all of which are in downtown. My favorite Italian place is La Vecchia, on Skyline Boulevard, though it is a bit pricy.
If you're looking to rent skis or snowboards go to Bobo's Mogul Mouse, which is a little local shop that we all go to in Reno. It's near the Atlantis casino.
See our video here

We could definitely see the appeal of Reno as a base to visit the nearby ski resorts. The hotels are very inexpensive and most of the casinos have games arcades for the kids whilst the big kids play at the tables. The restaurants are also incredibly affordable.

However Reno probably wasn’t our cup of tea because we only gamble on the snow. Reno is a mini version of Las Vegas, but mostly it’s much tackier if that’s possible. A couple of the luxury casinos were nice, but a couple of the cheap casinos were very cheap indeed with some very average characters hanging around – one was just like a circus carnival!

Reno looks a bit derelict during the day because many of the buildings are no longer in use. The heyday of Reno appears to have passed.
See our video here