Any Whistler advice?

C

crisagafi

New member
Hey everyone,

So my wife and I are leaving the baby with grandma and we're going skiing to Whistler. My wife hasn't been there for 10 years and I've never been there myself. I keep hearing amazing things about it. Any advice as to where to eat, drink, go out, have fun, what ever? What about getting good deals on ski passes, etc. Any piece of advice would help.

Thanks guys!
--Cris
 
I just came back from there. Do you know where you are staying? If not I would stay in the village somewhere near the gondola. Blackcomb's village is nice too, but I only think that the Fairmont and the 4 seasons is there. Personally I preferred starting my day off from Blackcomb because of the skier traffic in Whistler Village, but if you're not traveling during peak season I don't think it should matter. Anyhow, try Creekbread for a restaurant. The Chophouse in Creekside was nice too. There are plenty of apres joints to choose from and you can't really go wrong. Buy your lift tix ahead of time online. That will save you some money for sure.

If you are staying in the village you won't need a car, if not I highly recommend one. Watch the weather carefully too. Sometimes it snows up high and rains in the valley. The rain can create some good corn, but if it goes below freezing the next day you'll definitely want your edges done.
 
rfarren":16mdxbzl said:
I just came back from there. Do you know where you are staying? If not I would stay in the village somewhere near the gondola. Blackcomb's village is nice too, but I only think that the Fairmont and the 4 seasons is there.
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I'm confused at this separation of "Blackcomb Village" and "Whistler Village". Yes, I was only there once, over 10 years ago, but I remember the two main gondolas - one up Blackcomb and the other going up Whistler - as being no more than 50 meters apart. The only distinctly separate village I remember was Creekside.
 
Marc_C":1ay2mgnc said:
I'm confused at this separation of "Blackcomb Village" and "Whistler Village". Yes, I was only there once, over 10 years ago, but I remember the two main gondolas - one up Blackcomb and the other going up Whistler - as being no more than 50 meters apart. The only distinctly separate village I remember was Creekside.
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Whistler village is the "lower village" whereas Blackcomb is the "upper village." There is a gondola that is about 50 feet or so from the Whistler gondola in the lower village but the true base of Blackcomb is where Blackcomb's daylodge is. There is the wizard express that takes you to the Solar Coaster lift. IMHO it's more expedient in getting you up to the alpine than the Gondola from the base of the lower village. The upper village consists of the 4 seasons, the fairmont, a few restaurants and a bunch of shops and rentals stores. It is not nearly as extensive as the lower village, but doesn't have the crowds either. It makes it much easier to get to the alpine quickly on a crowded day (powder/holiday), and now with the Peak to Peak lift, it is almost as fast to get to the roundhouse on whistler.

Upper Village:
WRR_UpperVillageMap_Jan09.gif


Lower Village:
WRR_VillageMap_Oct07.gif
 
You might find better lodging value in Creekside, where Adam and I stayed in 1998. From there we drove the days we skied Blackcomb, but the Peak-to-Peak would mitigate that issue a lot. Close to but not at Creekside is the Rim Rock Cafe, still reputedly one of Whistler's top dining spots. My other 3 trips I stayed at the Blackcomb base. 1991 was Glacier Lodge condo, 2005 was Chateau Whistler on FTO assignment http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index. ... cle&sid=13 and 2008 with NASJA was Marriott Whistler up the hill a bit.

Look closely at those maps like rfarren posted. The "North Village" is a 10+ minute walk to any of the lifts.
 
Tony Crocker":yh6489b5 said:
Look closely at those maps like rfarren posted. The "North Village" is a 10+ minute walk to any of the lifts.
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If you stay in the upper village it would be wise to stay at the Fairmont since Tony is correct you could be very far from the lifts if you're over by the golf course. I stayed in Bayshores where my Uncle owns a beautiful house. We drove everywhere, but it didn't hinder us as far as going anywhere and eating etc...
 
Thank you all so much for all the great info! I guess I should have mentioned a few more details about my trip. I driving there from the Seattle area and we found this amazing deal at the Four Seasons, which I believe is in Upper Village. We're going to be there during Jan 15 weekend.

Thank you for the weather advice. In terms of restaurants, I really like the recommendations. I heard that there is a really good sushi place in Whistler village. Anyone know the name?

An just to make sure, we chose a good place to stay. I mean, even judging from the maps, it seems to be close to most lifts and gondolas, right? One of my wife's concerns was also the walk and lighting at night when we cross into Whistler Village. Is it a long walk, is it lit?

Again, thank you for your help! I really appreciate it!
 
The walk for a new yorker is nothing. Maybe five minutes max. It goes over a covered bridge, and is slightly wooded between two parking lots. There will be plenty of people doing the walk. It is not hard or scary whatsoever.
 
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