Whistler Customer Reviews

Whistler has been a bucket list destination for me for some time, as a mountain biker and a skier it offered a winter and summer appeal, however choosing which season to visit was a tough one. I'm very pleased that we chose winter and skiing for our first ever visit and the resort was everything we had hoped. Whistler catered for a non-skiing member of the group who was looking for shopping, relaxing and dining options, teenagers looking for self-serve food (snacks, drinks, cereals), self-catering supplies and drinking/dining out. COVID restrictions meant that masks, vaccination passport including proof of ID and advance booking for dining were a daily encounter. We definitely suffered on our first couple of days by not having plans and reservations in place. Some of the online reservations through OpenTable failed with our UK card but local phone numbers are available for all the restaurants and the hotel concierge also proved very helpful a couple of times, I encourage people to get out and explore some of the take out or smaller dining establishments and cafe's as they also serve really cost effective and good quality food without the overhead of reservations and fixed times. The benefit of having so many options in resort is that if your first option is busy, your second option and third option give you plenty of scope. Getting around the resort was simple, with a large pedestrianised area which was well surfaced and maintained for walking around whether peak times (with skis and snowboards swinging around at head height) or quieter periods when many people are on the mountain. I would suggest that you do take time off of the mountain, maybe the peak times to be able to experience some of the things in the village. As for the mountain(s), there is a lot on offer, especially if you are happy exploring off-piste. Even with sub-optimal conditions (there had been recent rain, so it was a dust on crust surface) we enjoyed groomers, tree runs, glaciers, bowls and back-country. At the time when we visited, it's worth mentioning that there were staff shortages (either COVID quarantine or walk outs) that reduced the amount of piste bashers running each night and left a number of on mountain options running limited service/menus. I anticipate that this will resolve in time and anybody planning for a future season should probably feel pretty confident in their choice.

Whistler is a large family friendly resort. However it is so large that those who don't want to be around 'kids' or the younger generation can do so without compromise. The 'village' is large enough to occupy the evenings of even the longest breaks and there are plenty of restaurants other eating places and food outlets to be somewhere new every night. A particular favourite was The Keg, where we enjoyed exceptional meals, is suitably separated as Covid restrictions demand. The reason we only rate the resort as four star when it should be a five is the condition of the pistes. There are many and varied however when starting on a perfectly groomed piste just halfway down it can turn into the most extremes of ungroomed mogul fields with no escape route. We agree there may be an alternative at the top but it is too late when you have already started the decent. Competent and advanced skiers would cope however a good run can be spoilt by a sudden change of conditions. Better signposting would help I suppose and a more obvious marking on the piste map boards which are not the easiest to see with the sun on them. The state of the piste is indicated by a coloured light when the board is working. Overall our trip was exactly what we wanted, restful with plenty of skiing in a very pleasant resort with very nice restaurants in which to eat of an evening. We would commend it, go see for yourself.

Whistler is a guge resort with excellent variety of skiing. Steeps, Chutes, Back Country options galore, to easy tree runs and gladed skiing. Something for everyone here. They don't groom as extensively as in Europe so expect some choppy runs and bumps on steeper slopes. On hill dining is fast food style, quite different from the european experience of small mountain restaurants with home cooked food. That said the food is reasonably priced and you get 20% discount when you show your Epic Pass so pretty good value especially if skiing with kids/teenagers. In town there are a good variety of bars and restaurants. Many are pub / relaxed style diners but with some very good food. While the food is similarly priced to UK the wine tends to be a bit more expensive though not outrageously so. For groups with beer drinkers - buy it by the pitcher and you save a good deal over single pints! The village is fairly large so if proximity to the lifts is important to you then stay up that end of the town - we stayed at the Whistler Aava Hotel which was very convenient. We found everyone to be really polite and friendly both on and off the hill. Lift queues were short but very well organised and quick. There are lots of young people working on the lifts as well as in the shops and bars. They were always bright and cheery which was a nice change from how it can be in Europe!