travelingWise Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 We stayed here 3 nights for a romantic getaway. Without knowing, I booked during the last 3 nights of the Telus Festival, which I assume is intended to draw people for spring skiing. I was a little worried that it'd be overcrowded, but aside from 1 evening right in the middle of the village, we didn't feel it was crowded at all. In fact, on the slopes, there weren't many people, even though the weather turned out perfect for us! The hotel itself is in a terrific spot in the village. It's literally steps away from the Blackcomb Gondola and still a stone's throw from the Whistler Gondola. There's a ski rental shop right in the bottom floor of the hotel that stays open until 9 pm so you can rent the night before and then stow your gear in the complimentary ski locker room next to it. We got a 10% coupon for rentals as guests of the hotel.At check-in, we inquired about upgrades, the desk staff was very helpful, and tried to find us something, but said that they were booked up the next 2 nights, so there wasn't anything available. When I told her I was worried about the comfort of the murphy bed, she said she'd slept on it and it was just as comfortable as their normal beds. She also said it had village view instead of mountain, but when we got there, we could see the village AND the mountain up behind it, so I'm not sure how much better view one could ask for?? Our room was quite small, as I expected from viewing their pictures. The murphy bed is up so you can walk around. There is a decent couch and chair, as well as a kitchenette and dinette set. We didn't cook anything, but for longer stays, and less $, it'd be very handy. The gas fireplace is nice, and somehow is also the heat source for the room. I never did exactly figure out the thermostat control, and woke up each night way too hot :) I didn't bother to ask the staff about it, though, so I can't blame them. The bed ended up being very comfortable, to my relief. There are only queens in the studios, though. The down duvet was triple sheeted, and quite cozy. A nice selection of different pillows, so I didn't have a rock hard one like most hotels. Nice touch. The room also had a tiny balcony with a chair, but since we were in the inside corner of the hotel's "L" shape, it was pretty much only big enough for 1 person at a time. Still was nice to be able to open it up and enjoy the warm afternoon sun. We didn't use the pool or spa, which have great views of the village and mountain, but aren't very private. We did eat in the hotel's pub for dinner one night. Apparently they were near the end of food service time, because we had to wait - a lot! Waited to get menus, waited to place orders, waited for food... Was pretty good, but better when we ordered their desserts for room service :)Only had 2 issues during stay, and both were due to the festival. There was a stage set up just outside of our hotel for bands and such, and one of them played pretty late one night. Exhausted from skiing, that was fairly annoying since it was really loud inside our room. Still, we were tired enough to fall asleep anyway after a bit. The other issue, I think on the same night, was that our partying neighbors kept their balcony door open and would holler at random intervals until about 3 am, when my husband had to finally get up and tell them... well, you can guess what he said... I felt the hotel staff should've kept that sort of behavior in check better. Otherwise, our stay was without incident. Parking, in their basement, is of course expensive, but at least your car is secure and the elevator goes directly from your room level to car for easy loading.All in all, the hotel's location was great, the room was okay, and the price was good. However, I think the Westin's location is nearly as good and their rooms look much nicer online. If prices are close, I'd choose the Westin first.Didn't take any photos of the room, but you can see some of the fantastic view of the gondolas, village, stage, competition jump, and mountain from our "balcony:"http://static.flickr.com/49/133712867_26d330cac8_b.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/44/133712950_de7923b460_b.jpghttp://static.flickr.com/45/133712997_4519d2ef44_b.jpgIn the ski rental shop:http://static.flickr.com/49/133163296_c43ef0db8d_b.jpg Link to comment
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