Let the good times roll...
If you don't have a great time at Whistler, I'm tempted to give you $100. Then again, what would a miserable sod spend $100 on? Wine, women and song? That was all in Whistler and you missed it.
I often think that every ski resort has it's own unique angle. Sometimes a ski resort is family-focused (Big White), sometimes it's hard core ski-focused (Canyons), Upmarket (Aspen, Deer Valley) or old-school cultural (love love love Europe). Whistler is GREAT FUN.
What resort can boast 90 restaurants, bars, lounges and fine dining over 7 different 'parts' of the resort? Can you imagine Jackson Hole with a nightclub? All the patrons would be in bed getting ready for freshies the next morning.
I'm not saying Whistler isn't fabulous snow...read on. I'm just saying the resort didn't close down at eight in anticipation of next day skiing. Dinner and after dinner drinks is just as good as the skiing. I can't wait to get there again very soon.
DINING
Morning coffee, lunch, after ski drinks, dinner. You could feasibly not eat at the same place twice, but at Whistler you soon develop soft spots for certain establishments and enjoy heading back there to see the same faces. Earls upstairs is awesome for fine dining or a special occasion. The Longhorn pumps for a apres drink and the crowd is young. Merlins is good for a nachos and the Crystal lounge is great in general AND for cheap chicken wings and I have a soft spot for the Mongolie Grill. Maybe the visions of Genghis Khan storming the plains spurs on visions of storming down the ski runs. Who knows but it did it for me.
THE SNOW
The common complaint from those used to powder is the wetness of the snow due to the proximity of to the west coast of Canada. Yes. It is slushier than Utah. Ski Whistler then go to Utah and you'll be raving and singing the praises of those sweet Wasatch mountains (see the post on Canyons and Park City). But one vertical mile is NOT to be sniffed at. Neither is 8,100 acres of skiable terrain and 200 trails, 3 glaciers and 37 lifts, I mean sheesh. If you can't have a good time here take a good look at yourself, buy a self-help book and make some changes.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS
In the not too distant past Whistler and Blackcomb were two separate resorts with two separate tickets. Now they're linked financially as one resort and geographically by the 4.4 kilometre Peak to Peak gondola.
ACCOMMODATION
Whistler is a pedestrian village in which the village lined with cobbled streets and is surrounded by hotels and other eye-catching accommodation. Restaurants, boutiques and gift stores lead the way to the gondolas, like the yellow brick road did in the Wizard of Oz. I'm feeling thirsty just thinking about it now. If I had to be a non-skier in a ski resort I'd vote Whistler. There's heaps of stuff to do. The demographic of the town is young (as well as catering for the older crowds) so there is lots of self-catering accommodation available, B and B's and a youth hostel as well as stunning 3, 4 and 5 star hotels with warm pools and spas in fairyland settings in the snow. Not a bad place to be a traveller or on a budget, all told. Heck, if I was 18 and had the chicken wing addiction I have now, I'd be set. Nothing can top a 25 cent spicy chicken wing.Find awesome hotel deals on @WBHotelDeals. or google
LOVE AN ALL-ROUNDER
I love a resort with a museum, I'll take my cultural intake any way I can and Squamish Cultural Centre is tops. Learning about the native people of the Whistler region and their boats, drums, hair clips, weapons and dress is amazing and humbling and made me give a big filthy scowl to skiers throwing cigarette butts onto the snow...through my goggles . Add that to the Vancouver Aquarium where I was privy to observing awe- inspiring Beluga Whales and I was cultural max'd out for the next decade. A value-added vacation is awesome.
If you don't have a great time at Whistler, I'm tempted to give you $100. Then again, what would a miserable sod spend $100 on? Wine, women and song? That was all in Whistler and you missed it.
I often think that every ski resort has it's own unique angle. Sometimes a ski resort is family-focused (Big White), sometimes it's hard core ski-focused (Canyons), Upmarket (Aspen, Deer Valley) or old-school cultural (love love love Europe). Whistler is GREAT FUN.
What resort can boast 90 restaurants, bars, lounges and fine dining over 7 different 'parts' of the resort? Can you imagine Jackson Hole with a nightclub? All the patrons would be in bed getting ready for freshies the next morning.
I'm not saying Whistler isn't fabulous snow...read on. I'm just saying the resort didn't close down at eight in anticipation of next day skiing. Dinner and after dinner drinks is just as good as the skiing. I can't wait to get there again very soon.
DINING
Morning coffee, lunch, after ski drinks, dinner. You could feasibly not eat at the same place twice, but at Whistler you soon develop soft spots for certain establishments and enjoy heading back there to see the same faces. Earls upstairs is awesome for fine dining or a special occasion. The Longhorn pumps for a apres drink and the crowd is young. Merlins is good for a nachos and the Crystal lounge is great in general AND for cheap chicken wings and I have a soft spot for the Mongolie Grill. Maybe the visions of Genghis Khan storming the plains spurs on visions of storming down the ski runs. Who knows but it did it for me.
THE SNOW
The common complaint from those used to powder is the wetness of the snow due to the proximity of to the west coast of Canada. Yes. It is slushier than Utah. Ski Whistler then go to Utah and you'll be raving and singing the praises of those sweet Wasatch mountains (see the post on Canyons and Park City). But one vertical mile is NOT to be sniffed at. Neither is 8,100 acres of skiable terrain and 200 trails, 3 glaciers and 37 lifts, I mean sheesh. If you can't have a good time here take a good look at yourself, buy a self-help book and make some changes.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS
In the not too distant past Whistler and Blackcomb were two separate resorts with two separate tickets. Now they're linked financially as one resort and geographically by the 4.4 kilometre Peak to Peak gondola.
ACCOMMODATION
Whistler is a pedestrian village in which the village lined with cobbled streets and is surrounded by hotels and other eye-catching accommodation. Restaurants, boutiques and gift stores lead the way to the gondolas, like the yellow brick road did in the Wizard of Oz. I'm feeling thirsty just thinking about it now. If I had to be a non-skier in a ski resort I'd vote Whistler. There's heaps of stuff to do. The demographic of the town is young (as well as catering for the older crowds) so there is lots of self-catering accommodation available, B and B's and a youth hostel as well as stunning 3, 4 and 5 star hotels with warm pools and spas in fairyland settings in the snow. Not a bad place to be a traveller or on a budget, all told. Heck, if I was 18 and had the chicken wing addiction I have now, I'd be set. Nothing can top a 25 cent spicy chicken wing.Find awesome hotel deals on @WBHotelDeals. or google
Last Minute Whistler Hotel Deals if you're hankering for a hotel experience that will make coming home feel like a long walk to the executioner's noose. I stayed at The Delta Whistler Suites and had an amazing experience. thre's nothing prettier than a multi-coloured building with balconies framed with snow and icicles. Eating breakfast on the balcony was fun watching the actions below and trips to the supermarket in 'The Square' were enjoyable and led to many interactions with the local Canadians and didn't amke me feel like I was isolated in a hotel.
LOVE AN ALL-ROUNDER
I love a resort with a museum, I'll take my cultural intake any way I can and Squamish Cultural Centre is tops. Learning about the native people of the Whistler region and their boats, drums, hair clips, weapons and dress is amazing and humbling and made me give a big filthy scowl to skiers throwing cigarette butts onto the snow...through my goggles . Add that to the Vancouver Aquarium where I was privy to observing awe- inspiring Beluga Whales and I was cultural max'd out for the next decade. A value-added vacation is awesome.
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| Big Beluga www.slcc.ca Squamish Cultural Centre http://www.whistlerblackcomb.com/index.htm Last Minute Whistler Hotel Deals@WB Hotel Deals | |
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