World Traveller 73 
Review: The Westin Whistler Resort and Spa, Whistler, Canada
The Westin Whistler Resort and Spa remains one of the most popular options for a Marriott Bonvoy points hotel located in Whistler, Canada. Situated right next to the Whistler Village, the Westin Whistler Resort and Spa offers almost every feature imaginable for a full service hotel at a ski resort. I would get the opportunity to visit the property for a three day stay during off season, being able to test out most of its features during a recent stay.
Review: The Westin Whistler Resort and Spa, Whistler, Canada
“The Westin Whistler Resort and Spa is the best choice for Marriott Bonvoy loyalists in Whistler Village, with a compact full featured resort property that is exceptionally well located to winter skiing and summer activities”
Booking The Westin Whistler Resort:
My visit to this property was during a business trip midweek during low season in November. As a result, the hotel had a lot of inventory available with rooms available as low as $199 CAD ($145 USD).
It’s worth mentioning that as a seasonal property, the rates vary considerably based on demand. During the winter ski season, rates can go from a low of $489 CAD ($345 USD), all the way up to $2,057 CAD ($1,500 USD) a night during holiday periods. If you are looking for a discounted rate, it’s best to book early.
Along with a great deal of rate variability, the hotel does seem to offer some restrictive cancellation policies during high season. At times, the hotel does charge pre-payment of the full value of the reservation, with cancellation policies that may limit cancellation within 60 days of arrival. Please make sure you closely check your terms and conditions of your reservation before proceeding to book, in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Marriott Bonvoy Opportunities:
The mountain resort of Whistler, Canada remains a popular summer and winter destination for many international travellers. Given the cost of getting here, it can be worthwhile exploring your point redemption options for a week long stay in Whistler.
Rooms at the Westin Whistler Resort are typically available for a low of 52,000 points in off season. The room rates jump to between 60,000 – 80,000 during ski season, dependent if you are booking mid week or on the weekend. It’s worth noting that you’ll have to book well in advance if you are hoping to secure a stay during Christmas or new year’s week, as these often completely sell out months in advance.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.8 cents per point, it only makes sense to redeem points under the right circumstances. For example, it didn’t seem to make sense to redeem 52,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for a room valued at $416 USD when cash rates were under $200 CAD during my low season visit. During the winter ski season, if a room was available for 60,000 points (worth $480 USD), up to 80,000 points (worth $640 USD), you’ll have to take a close look to see which combination offered the best value.
Marriott Bonvoy members get the fifth night free when redeeming five or more day stay. Keep in mind that by redeeming five nights, and getting the fifth night free, will increase the value proposition by lowering the average number of points per night.
Getting to The Westin Whistler Resort:
I self drove to the property from the Vancouver area. The drive up from Vancouver was approximately two hours and twenty minutes, with a brief stop in Squamish for some supplies.
While I used a car to get to the property, it’s worth mentioning that a car is not needed at all once you arrive to the property. If you were arriving off an international flight from Vancouver International Airport, it’s worthwhile investigating taking a shuttle from the airport to Whistler, versus a self drive which would involve a car rental + parking fee + gas expense + the related traffic aggravation.
The hotel is very conveniently located on the edge of Whistler Village. The hotel could not be any closer to the Whistler Mountain ski slope, and is tucked against the mountain. This leads to a variety of different views from each hotel room.
On arrival to the property, I left my keys with the valet and walked inside to check in. The valet explained the parking options; $34 CAD ($24.90 USD) a night for self parking and $38 CAD ($27.85 USD) a night for valet parking (a bargain premium over self parking). I ended up self parking my vehicle as a result of my company’s travel expense policies.
Checking into The Westin Whistler Resort:
The lower lobby space at The Westin Whistler Resort makes a great first impression. The arrival’s hall features a large waiting area with a massive fireplace; just the thing to set you into the mood of a mountain resort. Based on the hotel’s design, this area was pretty much only used for arriving and departing by vehicle, since access to the Whistler Village is through a different part of the hotel.
I walked over to the front desk. I passed by a pleasant looking green wall, and a master staircase to gain access to other parts of the hotel. The lobby was pretty deserted during a mid week arrival at about 5 PM.
There was no wait to be served. During check in, I was thanked for my loyalty as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member. I would end up selecting breakfast as a breakfast benefit. The check in service was typically pleasant and efficient.
As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member, I was pro-actively upgraded (without asking) from the base “One Queen Bed – Deluxe Studio” to a “One Bedroom Suite, Mountain View”. The upgrade was provided in advance about forty eight hours in advance of checking into the property through the Marriott app. This was a multi category upgrade past several versions of the Deluxe Studios with Balconies, Village and Mountain Views into a Suite Category. I was also given the highest floor possible. There was no further upgrade on arrival to the hotel.
Despite having great upgrade success at this property during off season, I would caution Marriott Bonvoy elites that the hotel is often fully booked during winter (and summer weekends). While I had a great upgrade success story during my off season stay, I probably would manage my expectations during a winter stay, as often the hotel is completely sold out, resulting in less upgrade opportunities.
Being a resort property, the hotel is technically excluded from offering a late check out benefit under the terms and conditions of the Marriott Bonvoy program. When I asked for a late check out during the check in process, I was asked to come back on the day before departure.
Fortunately, I was able to get a late check out to 3 PM on the day before departure without any issues. Despite the low occupancy, it was still a little inconvenient having to arrange your plans the day before travel, when you’re trying to find a place to manage calls and not knowing whether you’re going to be stuck in a lobby or in the comfort of your room.
During the winter season, there is ski valet fee of $25 CAD ($18 USD) that is levied for skiers. The rate is included for those staying in (or upgraded to) Suites, as the hotel discourages guests from taking ski equipment into hotel rooms. This fee includes ski valet with a slope drop off. During my stay, the ski valet was not in operation. There was no other “Resort Fee” applied to room rate during the off season.
I was assigned Room #975 in the West Tower. The elevators were located a short walk from the lobby. I ended up going to self park my vehicle in the attached underground parking garage and self navigated up to the room without further baggage assistance.
The Room: 1 Queen Bed, Mountain View, Balcony, 1-Bedroom Suite
After ascending into the hotel lobby via the parking garage elevator, and changing cars into the tower elevators, I ended up in the hallway of the top ninth floor. The hallways were nicely decorated, although the doors of the rooms were showing a little bit of wear and tear.
The rooms at the Westin Whistler are a little on the compact side. While nicely appointed, they won’t remind you of a super luxury ski resort hotel. Instead, I find that they are closer to compact contemporary convenience, despite the heavy prices that you might find staying here in high season.
I entered into the One Bedroom Suite. I immediately found myself in the kitchen and dining room area.
The Dining Room:
The dining room featured a small round table with seating for four people. The table was fairly small, and you won’t be setting up any elaborate dining meals with this limited amount of real estate.
It’s worth mentioning that, being a resort hotel, there is no actual desk located in the hotel room. I ended up dropping most of my electronics and laptops on the dining room table, to set up for work during my visit.
Mini Kitchen:
The dining room featured a mini kitchen. The kitchen was complete with tableware for four people. The kitchen featured a microwave, an oven, a full refrigerator and freezer. There was also a two element cooktop.
While I wouldn’t call it a gourmet kitchen with Sub Zero appliances, I would really appreciate having access to cooking facilities for a longer stay.
The Living Room:
The living room offered a modern looking sofa bed couch and gas fireplace. Being a sofa bed, the seating area was a little firmer than I might have liked. With two accent throw pillows, I was able to sit on an angle quite comfortably.
The room offered a large flat screen television over the fireplace. It was comfortable viewing the television from the couch with a head on view without any crooked angles.
The living room offered a gas fireplace that was temperature controlled through the thermostat. It’s not often you get a hotel room with a gas fireplace. The gas fireplace added a great ambience to the room.
While I didn’t have any ski equipment or clothing with me, I would imagine that it could be a little compact staying in the living room when wet gear was set out to dry.
The living room offered a small balcony. Access to the balcony was via a door next to the fireplace. The balcony was pretty small, and aside from taking view photographs, I couldn’t imagine spending much time seated outside in this small space.
The balcony did offer some pretty nice views. As a result of being on the ninth floor, and higher than many other Whistler hotels, I had a pretty nice view over the village hotel rooftops and Rainbow Mountain across the valley.
The living space of the one bedroom suite was as comfortable as I could have asked for. It would be especially comfortable for a longer stay. However, it’s likely less compact with a couple, and even less compact if you happen to have children staying with you on the sofa bed, or perhaps ski equipment and gear in your room.
The Bedroom:
Being a proper One Bedroom Suite, the room offered a private and separate bedroom. Generally speaking, The Westin Whistler has some compact rooms. The One Bedroom Suite offered a Queen Size bed with limited room to maneuver around the bed.
The room featured a Westin Heavenly Bed, with a USB charge port on one side of the bed.
The bedroom offered a second flat television in the bedroom. While I am not a television in bed sort of person, it was a nice feature for those that prefer to watch television in bed.
Aside from the smaller nature of the bedroom, I didn’t spend much time in here other than sleeping or changing.
The Bathroom:
The One Bedroom Suite offered a single vanity sink bathroom. The bathroom was on the smaller size for a hotel room that could hold up to four people.
The bathroom featured a combination tub and shower combo. The shower was a tight squeeze but was functional with reasonable water pressure for a Westin hotel.
In terms of sleep quality, I had a really good sleep at The Westin Whistler Resort. The room was absent any noise. The area surrounding the hotel was peaceful and quiet.
Around the Hotel Property:
The hotel is cut into the side of a mountain slope at the base of Whistler Mountain. As a result, the hotel offers a different access point other than the lobby front door in order to get out to Whistler Village.
After getting off the elevator on floor #1, visitors will have access to the shopping concourse located inside the hotel. There are quite a few art galleries, the independent from the hotel Kaze Japanese Restaurant, and access to the properties’ concierge desk and ski valet facilities.
The first floor also features access to the hotels’ affiliated food and beverage outlets; Grill and Vine and The FireRock Lounge. There was also a descending staircase to the hotel’s lower lobby where I had arrived by vehicle.
The First Floor was the place of where I would end up spending the most of time during the stay, as a result of it’s village access and food and beverage outlets.
Whistler Village / Whistler Mountain Access:
The hotel offers convenient foot access to Whistler Village in a location described as ski in and ski out. From immediately outside the Grill and Vine restaurant, you can access the pedestrian oriented Whistler Village.
From the steps of the Westin Whistler Resort deck, it is a very short 4 minute walk to Whistler Village. After a short walk across the deck, and across a traffic circle that is closed to public traffic, you’ll find yourself at the base of the Whistler Mountain Gondola. Given it’s excellent access to Whistler Village, a car is not needed to access all restaurants and entertainment.
If you’re questioning whether you could walk this distance in ski boots, the walk is across the traffic circle and around the corner. Of the Whistler Village hotels, the Westin Whistler offers among the shortest walks possible in Whistler, to the Whistler (Whistler Village Gondola & Fitzsimmons Express) and Blackcomb Mountain (Excalibur Gondola) ski lift access points.
During the winter months, there is a ski valet that is featured at the hotel. After paying a fee, guests have access to a ski valet that allows skis to be dropped off hillside after the end of a day of skiing.
Westin Workout Fitness Studio:
It may seem a little strange to have an indoor fitness studio when surrounded by the beauty of Whistler. However, the Westin Whistler Resort offers a pretty good facility when it comes to exercise.
The Second Floor offers access to the Westin Workout Fitness Studio without paying a resort fee. Access is gained using your key fob. The access point also happens to be where the Westin Spa is located.
After entering the Westin Fitness Studio, it was a short walk down to the First Floor to access the Health Club Facilities.
The Westin Fitness Studio offered a number of treadmills and exercise equipment that was situated against a large glass window. There was excellent daylight in the gym, making for a great workout environment.
Immediately next to the gym was the indoor hot tub, and passage way to the outdoor pool.
The hotel features an outdoor pool and a small outdoor hot tub.
In perhaps the only negative feature for this particular hotel, the outdoor hot tub is too small to accomodate the hundreds of skiers seeking a little muscle relief after a day on the ski slopes. If you happen to be visiting during the winter season, I would manage your hot tub time expectations accordingly.
The Mountain Club:
Hidden away on the first floor of the Westin Whistler Resort and Spa is the Mountain Club. While some visitors may confuse this for a hotel lounge, this is actually a private club accessible through a $15,000 CAD ($11,000 USD) initiation membership fee that is run independent from the hotel by Gibbons of Whistler.
The Club offers patrons access to covered parking, club and ski locker rooms. There is no access feature for this amenity for guests of the Westin Whistler Resort and Spa, regardless of Marriott Bonvoy Elite level.
It is worth mentioning that the hotel has been known to operate a temporary “pop up” Platinum lounge in a hotel conference room on the second floor during the winter months. The temporary lounge is solely to manage elite breakfast traffic in the Grill and Vine Restaurant. This feature wasn’t in operation during my off season visit. If your stay is during the busier winter months, you may find yourself being directed to a pop up room for the breakfast benefit.
Food and Beverage:
The Westin Whistler Resort and spa features two primary restaurants that are affiliated with the hotel. These are the Grill and Vine restaurant and the Fire Rock Lounge.
If these two restaurants aren’t to your liking, Whistler Village is steps away from the resort and contains dozens of restaurants located just off the property.
Grill and Vine:
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast
Grill and Vine represents the hotel’s primary food and beverage outlet. It’s worth mentioning that the restaurant is also bookable through Open Table reservations system, for those looking to maximize their point earning opportunities.
Grill and Vine offered a large dining room, with high windows that let in a large amount of natural light.
The hotel, like many others, seemed to offer some menus with tiny font. I’m not sure why they aim for such small type, but it’s certainly a challenge to read.
Marriott Bonvoy Elite members that select breakfast as their elite welcome benefit are given access to the full breakfast buffet valued at $41 CAD per person per day.
As a result of slow occupancy during my visit, the buffet was not set up. Instead, those seeking breakfast were offered the opportunity to order anything off the menu.
The first day, I enjoyed a continental breakfast. The continental breakfast featured banana bread, fresh cut fruit, along with a yoghurt parfait.
The second day, I was ordered Eggs Benedict with smoked salmon and micro-greens. The Eggs Benedict was well presented with hollandaise sauce that didn’t break.
The last day I enjoyed the Grill and Vine’s version of Avocado Toast with two poached eggs, tomato, olive oil and multigrain bread. In Westin style, this was served with a generous portion of fruit.
There was no bill to sign at the end of breakfast. Service was prompt and friendly with food quality that was great and “as expected” for the Westin brand.
Grab and Go:
The Grill and Vine offered a Grab and Go counter. The Grab and Go Counter was located near the Grill and Vine entrance.
The Grab and Go counter offered Starbucks Coffee and morning pastries. While it is the only Starbucks Coffee available near the hotel, I’d also recommend the nearby Lift Coffee Company that’s located on the direct route to the ski hill.
The FireRock Lounge:
The hotel also featured the FireRock Lounge. The FireRock Lounge was marketed as offering artisanal cocktails and delicious tapas, this contemporary restaurant is the perfect place to warm up after a day on the slopes or a day of hiking through the backcountry.
The FireRock Lounge was mostly empty during my visit, although it is usually much busier during the winter season. The FireRock Lounge was a dark space that I personally didn’t find to be super appealing as a result of its emptiness. Perhaps visiting with a number of people, or relaxing after a day of skiing would change my impression.
Bottom Line: The Westin Whistler Resort
The Westin Whistler Resort will certainly please Marriott Bonvoy loyalists with a great property.
The Westin Whistler Resort features a great location that is located in the best possible postal code for Whistler Village. It’s spot just next to Whistler Mountain will be convenient for all types of visitors.
While the pricing can be over the top expensive during ski season, the hotel room itself doesn’t deliver the same value in terms of space or size. The rooms are slightly compact and would be even more tight if I had a family staying with me.
Despite this, the Westin Whistler Resort and Spa would easily be a number one choice for those loyal to the Marriott Bonvoy program, and is arguablely the best franchised hotel to stay at in Whistler.
World Traveller 73 
Recent Comments