Westin Whistler Resort & Spa, B.C. Canada 2006 on [Master Thread]
Jan 14, 2019, 3:18 pm
Jan 14, 2019, 4:43 pm
Jun 24, 2019, 12:32 pm
Buffet wasn't the best but it was alright for a North American property
Staff was amazing tho, especially the front office agents ^
Jun 26, 2019, 5:11 pm
Aug 2, 2019, 9:32 am
Very disappointing.
Jan 19, 2020, 8:32 pm
Considering going back in a few weeks to ski, obviously at a much higher price...
Jan 20, 2020, 1:08 am
Choice of continental breakfast in popup lounge (and welcome points) or full buffet/single item off menu for two in restaurant with dated daily vouchers (instead of welcome points). Remember to ask for 10% discount on any extras beyond the two meals if you are more than two people.
We found service in general was very inconsistent, as if some didn't care as they were full and you weren't going to come back anytime soon.
Jan 20, 2020, 12:27 pm
Jan 20, 2020, 10:21 pm
Oct 21, 2020, 5:56 pm
The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler
4090 Whistler Way Whistler, BC CA V0N1B4
Westin Whistler = Best Value for the Money in Whistler (27 Photos)
The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler
We had a couple of stays in Westin Whistler this month and I can say post-covid in my opinion it remains the best value for the money in town. I believe Westin is worth a price premium over Hilton and Delta and for our dates I did not even have to pay more for Westin because these three hotels had roughly the same room rates which made it a no-brainer to pick Westin. Generally speaking based on our latest stays Westin has adjusted well post-covid, for example I found breakfast to be even better than before and also upgrades remain generous so I can continue to recommend this property.
Check In
The normal check-in time is temporarily 4pm and check-out 11am due to covid, however as Marriott Ambassador Elite we were able to get 10am check-in on the first stay, and for the second stay despite the hotel being sold out the night before, we had 11am check-in which was great. Check-out 4pm was also offered proactively so it’s safe to stay that elite benefits have not been cut back at this property in that regard.
Room
For one of our two stays we had a one-bedroom suite with mountain view plus balcony, which is a similar upgrade as we had in previous years. The view from the room is great and significantly superior to view rooms at Fairmont.
On the other stay we also had the loft suite for the first time. The loft suite is significantly more expensive than the 1-bedroom suite so I was definitely happy about the upgrade although I would note that the price difference appears to be quite material considering that the loft suite is not that much bigger than the regular suites so if I had to pay cash, it would be content with the regular suite. The design of the loft is more inspiring because of the high cathedral ceiling over the living room and the open floor plan. However in front of our loft all we could see were trees in front of our window so not as impressive as the views from the regular suite
Overall this is a hotel where I would be happy with most kinds of suites, all of them being quite good quality. The one weakness is that rooms are somewhat small, low ceilings in the bathrooms, and there is not a lot of space to walk on either side of the bed. The bedroom of the regular suite was not big enough to accommodate a king size bed so we had a queen bed, and in the loft suite there was only a night table on one side of the bed. However after staying at Fairmont Whistler in between our two stays at Westin, it would be hard to argue that the lack of space at Westin is a problem given the poor upgrades that Accor Diamond guests can get at Fairmont – the rooms there are standard and boring, and even smaller than suites at Westin.
To finish with the room at Westin I would mention that Netflix was available on the TV unlike at Fairmont and Four Seasons Whistler.
Dining
For breakfast, the Grill & Vine restaurant was temporarily closed for a couple of weeks of renovations so guests were redirected to the FireRock Lounge which does not have many tables so it can get full on weekends but during the week it was quiet and not crowded. They installed glass partitions between seats as a covid precaution. The buffet at Westin used to be quite nice and now it’s been replaced with an a la carte menu which is even better than before. The avocado toast was particularly delicious; for North American breakfast standards it was definitely impressive. For comparison purposes, coincidentally when we stayed at Fairmont they also had avocado toast on the breakfast menu. Fairmont is a far more expensive hotel than Westin so Fairmont should be expected to beat Westin for breakfast (among other things) but it was actually the other way around – as can be seen from the pictures the avocado toast at Westin looked better and tasted better as well. Also Westin allowed us to have a main dish plus a side order, but Fairmont we could only have a main dish as the breakfast benefit, and nothing else. I wish Westin could make breakfast in the room available for guests Platinum and above, but unfortunately it was in the restaurant only, unlike Fairmont. But on the positive side, breakfast at Westin was until noon which is quite generous timing which we appreciated.
Service
Service at Westin is still excellent and stood out more than at Fairmont. Staff at reception welcomed us back and addressed us by name when we returned and staff at the restaurant were friendly and flexible with our orders.
Wifi
Wifi was ok but not the best by worldwide standards with speeds of 6-12 Mbps despite the hotel not having high occupancy. That said, if I compare to the disastrous wifi at Fairmont I was happy to come back to Westin for a workable connection and I would not complain.
Overall
At the time we stayed in Whistler, Fairmont was 50% more expensive than Westin during weekends and double the price during weekdays but our experience was superior at Westin in almost every way. Other than no housekeeping being available I have not seen any cutbacks at Westin, in fact breakfast is even better than pre-covid. I should also note that the lack of housekeeping is not isolated to Westin; other hotels in British Colombia where we stayed this month did the same thing so Westin does not stand out negatively and I suspect it’s a government-mandated rule rather than a decision by Westin. Westin remains a good choice in Whistler as they have adapted well to covid and I will return in the future.
Dec 22, 2021, 4:13 pm
Looks like Breakfast Buffet is back. Selection is great and service was actually very nice and quick. They had smoked salmon, variety of cheeses, greek yogurt, etc. They seem to switch things up a bit every morning since they did have waffles one day, pancakes and bread pudding (amazing!) the next day. They seemed to only offer coffee as part of Elite benefits but they had no issue making my wife a Latte at no cost. I do miss when they let you order from the regular menu as the Eggs Benny was pretty good but the buffet was a welcome sight.
Hotel was sold out most of the week so had to wait until 3:30PM for check-in. Was upgraded to a One Bedroom Suite as a Platinum Elite 2 days prior. Only could get a 11:30AM late check-out on Sunday but overall a good stay.
Dec 24, 2021, 9:51 am
On check-in, room wasn't ready yet because I was there early (10:30 AM), so stored our stuff with the bell hop, and hit the slopes for some laps, and then was called later by the front desk and advised room was ready.
Wasn't given a choice of amenity, was told I would just get breakfast coupons and keys, once my room was ready. I guess technically this was a violation of the Marriott Platinum Elite Guarantee but I didn't want to press the issue, or get anyone in trouble because they seem to have a lot of new staff here.
When I went to get my room keys at around 4 PM there was a long wait (20+ mins) and there was no dedicated elite line. They then gave me my room keys, but forgot to give me the breakfast vouchers until prompted. I was randomly served a complimentary hot chocolate while waiting in line which hit the spot. Our bags were proactively delivered to our room.
As a Platinum upgraded to a 1 bedroom suite, but only at check-in, not upgraded in advance. Was given a room on the 3rd floor of the main building, which apparently was right above the pool, and it was quite noisy until 10 PM.
Breakfast buffet is back, but there was a 30 minute wait for tables even though there seemed to be many empty tables in the dining room. Maybe limited capacity due to covid, or short staffed.
Gym hours have been reduced (due to covid) and only opens at 7 AM. Was told that reduced hours is due to the fact that they need staff to verify vaccination status in order to use the gym. Really liked the Peloton bikes and steam rooms.
On the last day of my stay, was offered a 1 PM late checkout, but had planned to ski until about 3 PM so stored our bags with the bell hop again (left our bags in the room for pick-up). When we went to retrieve our bags after skiing they initially couldn't find our bags, and took about 20-30 minutes to locate them as they were stored in another room.
Feb 15, 2022, 4:16 pm
I had been expecting to pay extra for the ski valet, but it is free when you stay in a one bedroom suite (or higher) so that was a nice extra bonus of the upgrade. My only major compliant about this hotel is pool / hot tub set up. The pool itself is fine but the tiny outdoor hot tub is totally inadequate for a 400 room ski hotel - it was always packed. Not sure what they were thinking when they designed it like that. The Fairmont is way better on that front, and there's a few other things I like better about it over the Westin. If cost were equal I'd probably lean Fairmont, but with decent Plat benefits here, and Fairmont charging a 30% premium for our dates, we were pretty happy with the Westin.