Viewline Resort Snowmass, Autograph Collection (formerly Westin) [Master Thread]
Dec 17, 2014, 10:52 am
#48
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: FLL
Programs: US CP, AA Plat, DL Silver, EY Gold, Kimpton IC, SPG Plat
Posts: 409
I agree with ski. Stay at the Westin. I had a great five night stay recently. Upgraded to a one bedroom, new restaurant is tasty and location is perfect if you're there for the mountain.
Dec 25, 2014, 4:28 pm
#49
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
News: The Wildwood property is now a Holiday Inn Express. No longer is this a SPG property.
Length of stay: 5nts/6day
Dates: 12/19-12/24
Status: Plat 75, ending 12/24 with 103 nights YTD
Upgrade: Deluxe Pinnacle Room for entire duration of stay. Valley view. Not much of an upgrade.
SNA: Due to my stay, it was booked as 4 stays. 3 individual nights as earned night awards. 2 nights as 12k points per night redemption. All of the SNA's were declined except for one. I eventually declined this SNA to be applied, because I did not want to switch rooms and wait for a junior suite to be cleaned
Pros: Second to none for access. This is a true ski in/ski out property. Starbucks is open 6 AM till 6PM in the winter, except for Sunday. I am a huge fan of Starbucks. The staff were generally on point and very helpful. Ski valet was very prompt with every interaction.
Valet was mostly responsive, but I could see them prefer to take cars from larger/wealthier looking parties (pull up in Infiniti or Benz or better for best service).
The "service express" aka dial 0, picked up every time but once or twice. You need to use them to reach ski valet, car valet, in room service, spa, etc.
Cons: Property has some signs of wear.
E.G. Windows facing the valley did not open/shut easily. Nearly every hotel room door has what you might consider excessive signs of wear/abuse. Snowmass Kitchen has visible signs of water damage near the windows and took over 1 hour for lunch one day (Venga Venga (mexican place) we had a 32 minute in and out lunch). The lunch was comped, but it looked like we had been forgotten about, with larger parties coming and going before we even received our food. We were visiting around Christmas and the decorations were a little light. I was just at the Element in Las Vegas and the decorating was tactfully done and very welcoming.
The elevator is painfully slow. It will not be uncommon to see ghost elevators just open up on your floor as people have left and walked the stairwell. This might be the most active stairwell you will ever see in a hotel ever.
The outside pool became quite icy and you needed to be very careful walking around it to get to the hot tub. One hot tub had lights burnt out, and between the lights burnt out, glass left behind by other guests, and the ice - it became a bit dangerous. If any lawyers want a good lawsuit........
It would be appreciated if the hotel would have regular checks for room service/glass by the pool to be retrieved.
Comments: Hard to hate the property really. They are on point with most everything they offer, and will offer you a true ski in/ski out vacation. Don't expect them to go above and beyond to please you, or upgrade you. I did visit at a pretty busy time. Although there appeared to be larger rooms not in use that would have definitely been an upgrade for us. The biggest complaints are the wear on the property (when its so close to its refresh date), Snowmass Kitchen was not that fast for service (and their definition of a Margarita Pizza is definitely not consistent with the rest of the world), and you might get better service if you pull up in a luxury vehicle from Europe. Every business unit at the hotel seems like they could use a +1 during peak season. Everyone is busy and you may be on the backburner here at times. I bet the Viceroy doesn't have this problem.
Length of stay: 5nts/6day
Dates: 12/19-12/24
Status: Plat 75, ending 12/24 with 103 nights YTD
Upgrade: Deluxe Pinnacle Room for entire duration of stay. Valley view. Not much of an upgrade.
SNA: Due to my stay, it was booked as 4 stays. 3 individual nights as earned night awards. 2 nights as 12k points per night redemption. All of the SNA's were declined except for one. I eventually declined this SNA to be applied, because I did not want to switch rooms and wait for a junior suite to be cleaned
Pros: Second to none for access. This is a true ski in/ski out property. Starbucks is open 6 AM till 6PM in the winter, except for Sunday. I am a huge fan of Starbucks. The staff were generally on point and very helpful. Ski valet was very prompt with every interaction.
Valet was mostly responsive, but I could see them prefer to take cars from larger/wealthier looking parties (pull up in Infiniti or Benz or better for best service).
The "service express" aka dial 0, picked up every time but once or twice. You need to use them to reach ski valet, car valet, in room service, spa, etc.
Cons: Property has some signs of wear.
E.G. Windows facing the valley did not open/shut easily. Nearly every hotel room door has what you might consider excessive signs of wear/abuse. Snowmass Kitchen has visible signs of water damage near the windows and took over 1 hour for lunch one day (Venga Venga (mexican place) we had a 32 minute in and out lunch). The lunch was comped, but it looked like we had been forgotten about, with larger parties coming and going before we even received our food. We were visiting around Christmas and the decorations were a little light. I was just at the Element in Las Vegas and the decorating was tactfully done and very welcoming.
The elevator is painfully slow. It will not be uncommon to see ghost elevators just open up on your floor as people have left and walked the stairwell. This might be the most active stairwell you will ever see in a hotel ever.
The outside pool became quite icy and you needed to be very careful walking around it to get to the hot tub. One hot tub had lights burnt out, and between the lights burnt out, glass left behind by other guests, and the ice - it became a bit dangerous. If any lawyers want a good lawsuit........
It would be appreciated if the hotel would have regular checks for room service/glass by the pool to be retrieved.
Comments: Hard to hate the property really. They are on point with most everything they offer, and will offer you a true ski in/ski out vacation. Don't expect them to go above and beyond to please you, or upgrade you. I did visit at a pretty busy time. Although there appeared to be larger rooms not in use that would have definitely been an upgrade for us. The biggest complaints are the wear on the property (when its so close to its refresh date), Snowmass Kitchen was not that fast for service (and their definition of a Margarita Pizza is definitely not consistent with the rest of the world), and you might get better service if you pull up in a luxury vehicle from Europe. Every business unit at the hotel seems like they could use a +1 during peak season. Everyone is busy and you may be on the backburner here at times. I bet the Viceroy doesn't have this problem.
Last edited by factory81; Jan 1, 2015 at 11:12 am
Dec 27, 2014, 12:07 am
#50
Join Date: May 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: United-1K, Million Miler; SPG-Titanium and Lifetime Platinum; Globalist
Posts: 198
I am in Aspen a few times per year and continue to skip the Westin. I never hear anything positive, and the reviews of friends are consistently terrible.
Dec 29, 2014, 8:28 pm
#52
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
I don't think my stay was bad per se. This isn't the Ritz Carlton or St. Regis. I do think it was a bummer they couldn't fix the water damage by the windows in snowmass kitchen. The doors in such poor shape is also a bummer. But this is a highly utilized resort, and I think if you set your expectations based on your time of stay - you will probably get what you expect.
if you go in the off season and apply a SNA, I bet you will have great luck.
if you go in the off season and apply a SNA, I bet you will have great luck.
Feb 22, 2016, 4:55 pm
#54
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
Do it, as a cat 5 with prices that can be $300~/nt, it is a decent bargain.
There are enough restaurants in the Snowmass village to keep you busy for a week. The access to the mountain is second to none.
There are enough restaurants in the Snowmass village to keep you busy for a week. The access to the mountain is second to none.
Mar 6, 2016, 5:31 pm
#55
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,722
We are thinking of booking here for January 2016, seems like a bargain at 12k points or $110+6k. A few questions:
(1) Has anyone stayed in the standard room with 2 adults & 2 children? Looks a bit tight.
(2) Do they offer UFC (upgrades for cash) in advance of your stay?
(3) Any other tips for families who ski?
We are thinking about pre-purchasing the Mountain Collective ski pass as it offer 3 days at Aspen/Snowmass + 2 days at our local Lake Tahoe resort (Squaw Valley) and 50% off add'l days. Plus children's passes are $1 ^
(Other questions deleted - answered on Westin/St. Regis comparison thread)
Note to moderator: Maybe time to split out the Wildwood posts as that property is not a Westin and no longer part of SPG - makes for a very confusing read.
(1) Has anyone stayed in the standard room with 2 adults & 2 children? Looks a bit tight.
(2) Do they offer UFC (upgrades for cash) in advance of your stay?
(3) Any other tips for families who ski?
We are thinking about pre-purchasing the Mountain Collective ski pass as it offer 3 days at Aspen/Snowmass + 2 days at our local Lake Tahoe resort (Squaw Valley) and 50% off add'l days. Plus children's passes are $1 ^
(Other questions deleted - answered on Westin/St. Regis comparison thread)
Note to moderator: Maybe time to split out the Wildwood posts as that property is not a Westin and no longer part of SPG - makes for a very confusing read.
Last edited by Boraxo; Mar 6, 2016 at 5:46 pm
Mar 13, 2016, 4:11 pm
#56
Join Date: May 2005
Location: CLE
Programs: RA, UA MM 1k, AA EXP, Marriott LTP, Hyatt Plat, SPG100
Posts: 476
Westin Snowmass- anyone been?
I'm staying there this week, as I have for the last several years, and all accounts are on the mark. I travel alone, but it seems to me would be pretty tight with a family in most rooms. However, I am also a mountain collective pass holder and it's a great value to accompany your trip. Enjoy!
Aug 5, 2016, 4:49 am
#58
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Programs: SAS EBD, BA Gold, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz PC, National Exec Elite
Posts: 553
Nice Platinum treatment when I stayed 3 weeks ago. SNA upgrade to large suite with slope view cleared 5 days out, platinum breakfast was 18$/pers (given to all 4 people in room !) which covered Continental BF incl. coffee&juice, or any hot dish ex. drinks. Good quality food.
Late checkout not needed and thus not requested.
All staff was friendly and helpful (but very junior, international and somewhat untrained), and the property and service level was as nice as you'd expect from the Westin brand.
Lots of great outdoors summertime activities recommended by knowledgeable concierge.
Late checkout not needed and thus not requested.
All staff was friendly and helpful (but very junior, international and somewhat untrained), and the property and service level was as nice as you'd expect from the Westin brand.
Lots of great outdoors summertime activities recommended by knowledgeable concierge.
Aug 23, 2016, 12:50 am
#59
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Danville, CA, USA;
Programs: UA 1MM, WN CP, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Gold, IC Plat
Posts: 15,722
So we went ahead and booked this property with points for NYE ^
Speaking of which, any tips for New Years Eve? Last year it appears that you could drop children at the Treehouse Center, and I see there is also a party at Buttermilk bumps though I doubt we'll want to trek into Aspen.
Also our flight arrives just after 10pm. Will we have any trouble getting the shuttle (supposedly included in resort fee)?
Speaking of which, any tips for New Years Eve? Last year it appears that you could drop children at the Treehouse Center, and I see there is also a party at Buttermilk bumps though I doubt we'll want to trek into Aspen.
Also our flight arrives just after 10pm. Will we have any trouble getting the shuttle (supposedly included in resort fee)?
Sep 27, 2016, 10:06 am
#60
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: BOS
Programs: Marriott, AAdvantage, United, Club Carlson
Posts: 1,687
So we went ahead and booked this property with points for NYE ^
Speaking of which, any tips for New Years Eve? Last year it appears that you could drop children at the Treehouse Center, and I see there is also a party at Buttermilk bumps though I doubt we'll want to trek into Aspen.
Also our flight arrives just after 10pm. Will we have any trouble getting the shuttle (supposedly included in resort fee)?
Speaking of which, any tips for New Years Eve? Last year it appears that you could drop children at the Treehouse Center, and I see there is also a party at Buttermilk bumps though I doubt we'll want to trek into Aspen.
Also our flight arrives just after 10pm. Will we have any trouble getting the shuttle (supposedly included in resort fee)?
Last edited by BostonFlyer1624; Sep 27, 2016 at 10:12 am