Ski Vacation booking - acommodation recommendations?

February 9, 2007 4:40 PM

Where’s the best place to book an all-inclusive ski vacation? Where’s a good powder accessible condo with a view/hottub?

Wanted: Place where we can get powder (CO, UT, WY or BC) for the week of 9-17 March and that has some nightlife.

Travelocity, expedia, preliminary standard google searches no good. All give hotels in metropolitan areas or incredibly overpriced ski packages. We’d like to pay ca. $1200 each for flight, lodge and lift ticket for ca 6.days – we’re coming from NYC.

We’d like a condo (pref ski-in ski-out….although a hotel isn’t out of the question), with access to a hottub and access to a nice view. If you just know the answer to this, that’d be great.

We’d like to get some kind of discount for booking flight+lift ticket+accommodation in one go, although if you think that’s a bad idea and you know of a particular steal for pairs or single examples of F/LT/A then let me know too….. Preferably a website/company with which you’ve had good experiences.

And a pony. Yes a ski pony. OK No pony wanted

posted by lalochezia to travel & transportation (6 answers total)

park city, dude!
posted by rbs at 5:03 PM on February 9, 2007

I would look at Whistler-Blackcomb. I've only ever stayed in hotels there but even the cheap hotels are within a few hundred yards of the lifts, and I know there are condos available as well. They have their own package services but I've also booked thengs a la carte and I think the overall prices were similar. I skiied there every winter four years in a row when I lived in Boston and had a great time (and in fact really regret that I'm not going this year). It's probably slightly more expensive now because the US dollar is weaker but I thought it was very cheap then. Not sure about nightlife but there are certainly plenty of bars there.
posted by pombe at 5:31 PM on February 9, 2007

Whistler is great for a few reasons: great nightlife, great shopping and activities, and a tremendous amount of skiable terrain over two adjacent mountains. Package deals are certainly available. However, while they are having a record season in terms of snowfall, there is no guarantee you will get powder. I was up last weekend and there had not been any new snow in over a week and conditions were only so-so. The runs at the top were carved into huge bumps and it was tough going on the runs that weren't groomed. No powder to speak of. Of course, earlier this season I have skied there in 1 and 2 feet of fresh snow and tasted paradise. But it's a bit of gamble. Whistler has a relatively moist, warm climate, since it is pretty close to the coast. There are other places in the interior of BC, or near the BC-Alberta border (ie Banff) that may be a better bet if it is powder you're after, but I have no direct experience with them.

I have heard that Utah has the best snow on the continent. The dry air makes for light fluffy powder. And it's certain to be cheaper than Colorado. THe downside is, bars are heavily regulated in Utah and are mandated to charge a $10 cover (which is technically a membership fee), and you can only buy 3.2% beer in the stores, so the party atmosphere is missing somewhat. As I understand is, this is why Colorado is the more popular destination despite Utah having better snow.
posted by PercussivePaul at 5:46 PM on February 9, 2007

If you want to go to BC, there's Whistler/Blackcomb and the hidden secrets of the interior: Big White, Silver Star and Sun Peaks. These mountains are likely to be a little bit cheaper than Whistler and easy to get to with direct flights from Toronto to Kelowna. You might want to check out the Ontario WestJet special from Big White and other packages on the above websites.

There are a couple of companies that broker house and condo rentals between the owners and renters. Allura Direct has a lot of Whistler properties while OKChalets has a lot of Okanagan listings.

There's the Vancouver Craigslist.

Finally, if you end up buying day tickets for Whistler, you can get a $5 to $10 discount on lift passes buying at a 7-11 in Vancouver or Squamish (the Whistler 7-11 does not sell them).
posted by angrybeaver at 5:58 PM on February 9, 2007

Call the Whistler Res number (on the website), for the past few years they've always been able to find us a good deal.
posted by arcticseal at 5:03 AM on February 10, 2007

If you want to save some money, rent the condo seperately. Try try VRBO for starters. The resorts themselves bleed you.
As for where to go...there's a lot to consider. For great skiing and ease of getting there, its hard to beat Utah. The skiing in and around SLC is great--especially Snowbird and Alta.
But overall, you don't mention what you're looking for. If its a serious ski trip where you want steep and deep and then sleep or if you want night life, luxurious sheets and nice meals. Or some people want to be at a remote, quiet mountain.
for nightlife (not my thing as I too live in nyc and get all i need at home)--people like whistler and south lake tahoe. and aspen and deer valley for ritz and glitz.
for steep and deep---i guess utah or whistler or maybe jackson hole or mammoth mountain. utah isn't having the best year so far. neither is tahoe for that matter, although they just got a lot of wet snow.
for remote, quiet mountain--there's interior BC or Montana or southwestern colorado. These are all a bit more difficult to get to. taos in new mexico is really cool and has gotten good snow this year.

a final thing to consider--if you go inland (across the great basin), you will get less snow, but it will generally be light and nice. if you go coastal--whistler, tahoe--you may get more snow, but it will be wetter heavier snow. you could get rained on.

Its a tough call. but definitely try my advice about renting the condo yourself if you want to save some bucks.
posted by alkupe at 9:53 AM on February 10, 2007