Banie

Can you provide me with the email address of the concierge?

Also I understand from some other posts that it is possible to reserve ski passes in advance and charge them to your room. Did you use this option? How does it work?

Thanks for any info

mnredfox

I drive up from SEA as well, great way to save money. Cars are a lot cheaper, and so are airfares.

I always get groceries in Bellingham, there's a Fred Meyer (or something like that) there that is a lot cheaper than Whistler. Even YVR has some cheaper grocery stores.

When I stayed at the Whistler Resort, we parked in the overnight lot in Whistler. Yeah it's for campers, but no one towed us.

Buy your lift tickets at the 711 in Squamish. Saves money too.

rickmktg

[email protected]

Yes, I reserved them ahead of time, you have to, at least 3 days, and you can do it through the concierge.

Banie

We had a great GLON stay at the Hilton Whistler!

Booking was for a standard room (2 beds). The rep who took the reservation commented on my profile request for a King bed, and said "there is nothing else available on a reward booking, but don't worry you will be upgraded".

We arrived early (11.30am) and where happy to discover that we had indeed been upgraded (Whistler junior suite - exactly the one in the photos!) and the room was already ready. We were also given coupons (2 per day) for continental breakfast.

Room was great. Open fire, very large bed, full kitchen (everything spotlessly clean) and nice bathroom with jacuzzi bath (great after a long day's skiing).

We were given free internet access in the room (wired) and were warned at check in that wireless use would be charged. First time I have ever heard of this, but the wired access was fine for us and so that was all we used.

We had breakfast each morning in the restaurant, usually ordering from the a la carte menu. The coupons were good for the continental breakfast buffet, or could be upgraded (for $6) to the full hot buffet. Alternatively they have a $20 value each towards anything on the a la carte menu. On a few days we went slightly over the $40 value but were never charged. We did not experience any pressure to upgrade. Service was at times a little slow.

We did not eat in the restaurant for lunch or dinner (put off mainly by the lack of windows / natural light).

We had snacks and drinks in the bar on 2 occasions in the afternoon - good quality, and reasonable prices (for Whistler). We looked in a few times at night and the bar was always very busy and with a very young crowd.

Housekeeping was overall to a very high standard.

We decided to extend our stay and were able to book the cheapest available online rate and check in online to the same upgraded room.

As we were leaving in the evening the hotel agreed to give us a late check out, at no additional charge, which meant that we could ski all day and still shower etc before leaving.

A great stay, and a good use of points given the prices especially over the Easter weekend.

luxury

Will be going up to the Hilton Whistler this weekend -- booked a 1 BR suite and have been confirmed into a 2 BR Superior (Alpine) suite. Will report back on the room upon our return.

luxury

The Hilton Whistler stay was very nice. Our 2 BR Alpine suite was great, on the 4th floor, with views over the driving range and the mountain beyond. The layout is a little strange as only one of the 2 bedrooms is ensuite. The Master bath has a small bathroom. The second bedroom, on the corner of the building, does not have its own bathroom -- the bathroom is located just off the entry into the suite. However, this bathroom, while larger, also has a steam room which is fantastic. If we only had some eucalyptus it would have been perfect.

The kitchen was fully stocked with any cooking utensils you may need to cook up a storm. The living room features a nice sitting area and an actualy working fireplace -- the hotel provides you with a log you can burn along with matches.

One problem was getting the AC to work -- it would cool the room down and then shut off for extended periods of time only kicking in when the room got way too hot.

The breakfast downstairs was good and the supplement of $6 was reasonable for the buffet breakfast.

A very nice option and at the right price I would consider returning again.

todd-r

That tends to happen when you light the fire!

luxury

what does??

sjefenole

Hi there, Fiance and I checked out this property as well as Four Seasons and Westin today for our wedding in June. All we want is a nice hotel for 2 nights for us and our families to see Whistler.
As we're getting married we of course need our own room, but are thinking of getting an Alpine suite for my family and her family. She is a Gold (/Surpass) VIP, I'm a Blue member.

How can we get the most points, benefits etc. for this stay?
We'd like to be upgraded of course if it was possible - not sure about this as a Gold member though.
Probably won't care too much about the breakfast.
Since the 2 BR is more expensive - it would make sense to get the base points for that one and I know you can get it for 2 rooms. Do they have to be on same reservation? I cannot seem to book 2 different rooms on one res.
Alternatively, she could book the 2 suites in her name and I could get our room and another in mine (we have a couple extra guests). But then we would risk an upgrade as I am Blue?

Or would emailing concierge about this help?

Thank you.

mnredfox

Try the GM and skip the concierge. No guarantees, but try.

birdyy

Can anyone give me the latest with regard to upgrades on award stays, for a platinum member. Does this generally happen or not?

Also, do they still charge a daily resort fee on top of the parking charge.

Thanks much.

Land-of-Miles

I don't recall a resort fee when I stayed over Xmas and NY 2 years ago. I paid what I though was a reasonable C$50 or thereabouts per night to guarantee an upgrade to an "Executive Room" (this was arranged directly with the property in advance), these have a sofa bed, fireplace and kitchen arranged studio style. I do recall getting free internet and free breakfast for my stay, obviously free internet is now available for all Diamonds.

I was given a very nice room on the top floor and with a good view of the slopes and main Gondola. If you are travelling at a busy time of year I would recommend coming to a similar local arrangement as the basic rooms appear to be rather poor.

We are staying across the road at the Westin this Xmas so the contrast will be interesting.

birdyy

Thanks much for the info. I usually stay at the Westin but thought I would safe my valuable Starwood points and use some of the extra Hiltons but apparently they are fully booked.

I appreciate the info on the basic rooms.

You'll love the Westin and I would love to hear your thoughts on one over the other, once you're back.

Land-of-Miles

Do they have any revenue rooms available? If you go back through I think this thread but I am not sure, you will see that I had a similar issue. The "standard" room type is really not very standard at all at this property from the top of my head they have something like 8 "standard" rooms from something like a total of around 200. Thus it is practically impossible to book one during peak periods. I tried a Diamond force to no avail initially but then escalated the issue until it was resolved and I was given a redemption.

There was none of this nonsense at the Westin with a virtually identical advance booking window. I am also paying to upgrade my suite at the Westin to a Mountainview Loft Suite as I like to have a bit of space on a winter-sports trip. The contrast between the 2 properties will be interesting.

birdyy

I just tried the Diamond Desk but they were only offering standard rooms. So, are you saying I would probably not get the standard room? They also said that only a King standard (no kitchen) was available even though doubles are available for a paid stay. I didn't push the Diamond force yet because on top of that, they want a 30 day non refundable deposit. I haven't stayed at a Hilton in a while but what's the deal with a 30 day cancellation policy. That's a total joke.

You're right, you get none of that nonsense at Westin. Hilton needs to take a few lessons.