World Traveller 73 
Review: Delta Hotels by Marriott Whistler Village Suites, Canada
Fall travels took me back to Whistler, British Columbia for a winter conference visit. Since I had previously stayed at the Westin Whistler Resort, I ended up mixing it up and calling in on the Delta by Marriott Whistler Village Suites. The Delta by Marriott Whistler Village Suites has operated under the Delta flag since it opened, although I hadn’t had the opportunity to stay for quite some time. I would end up discovering a functional hotel that offered a little extra room for my three night stay.
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Review: Delta Hotels by Marriott Whistler Village Suites, British Columbia, Canada
“With recently upgraded rooms, the Delta Whistler Village Suites offers fully featured rooms set against a hotel offering slightly less hotel features, and a less than convenient location for ‘ski in – ski out’ downhill skiing”
The mountain resort town of Whistler, British Columbia has a number of hotels that cater to it’s destination oriented visitors. As a regular visitor to town, I usually try out the Westin Whistler Resort and Spa. However, I ended up staying at the Delta Whistler Village Suites instead for a little variety. The price point of the Delta Whistler Village Suites was also slightly cheaper for the company, who was paying for this stay.
Booking The Delta Hotels Whistler Village Suites:
I booked direct on the Marriott website. Rates are typically variable dependent on the season. Rates during my stay were around $300 CAD during shoulder season. The rates average between $400 – $500 CAD in the peak of summer – winter, going as high as $1,300 CAD during Christmas week.
For this three day stay, I booked a base standard Guest Room – 1 Queen Bed, Guest Room for approximately 293 CAD ($180 USD) this three night stay. I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, complimentary access to the Marriott Executive Club Lounge, and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.
With Marriott Titanium Level status, I was fortunate to be upgraded (in advance) one category into a One Bedroom Suite with a separate living space. While it is rarer to get actual suite upgrades these days as an Elite member within the Marriott Bonvoy program, I really appreciated the upgrade.
I would chalk this up to my stay occurring during shoulder season with a low amount of elites. I suspect that your experience may be different during busy summer or winter ski seasons.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Delta Whistler Village Suites has moved to variable pricing within the Marriott Bonvoy program. As a result, rooms are typically approximately 40,000 – 55,000 points per night, with 50,000 points a night as an average standard.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.008 a point, you’d have to spend more than $320 USD to come out ahead for a 40,000 point redemption or $440 USD to come out ahead for a 55,000 point redemption. Whether this represents value will be dependent on what the cash rate is at the property at the time of booking. Given the seasonality or Whistler, this can potentially represent solid value for a Marriott Bonvoy points redemption.
Getting to The Delta Whistler Village Suites:
I self drove up from Vancouver on the Sea to Sky Highway – Highway 99. The drive took about two hours and fifteen minutes on a weekday afternoon.
The Delta Whistler Village Suites is located in the Whistler Village complex. It’s is centrally located on the village strolls. It’s location makes the hotel very central to shopping, restaurants and accessing Lost Lake Trails or the Valley Trail Network.
However, in perhaps it’s largest geographic downfall, the hotel is located a 10 minute walk and 650 meters (0.40 miles / 2135 feet) from the ski slopes of Whistler Blackcomb. While the hotel may be lightly marketed as “ski in / ski out”, this is only true if you enjoy carrying twenty pounds of ski equipment. For those looking for true “ski in ski out convenience, you’ll have to consider The Westin Whistler Resort and Spa as your preferred choice between the two.
Getting back to my arrival experience, the property was easy to find. It’s a short turn off the primary Village Gate Boulevard from Highway 99.
I parked at the front door of the hotel loading area. As with the case with most Delta Hotels, there was no door man working the doorway & arrival area. I went inside and started the check in process at the front desk.
Self Parking was available for $32 CAD a day, with Valet Parking available for $40 CAD a day. This information was not posted on a sign or placard, like it might be in the United States, and I learned about the rate through the front reception.
Checking into the Delta Whistler Village Suites:
The Delta Whistler Village Suites has a functional and compact lobby. The lobby has been refreshed and looks like a contemporary mountain lodge. The lobby consisted of two check in desks. Neither had a wait when I arrived to the property.
I had a pleasant and transactional check in at the Delta Whistler Village Suites. I was informed of my suite upgrade into a One Bedroom Suite courtesy of my Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level status.
During the check in process, I was explained that since the property did not offer an Executive Lounge, I would be given an additional 750 Marriott Bonvoy points per night as compensation.
In terms of selecting the breakfast benefit afforded under Marriott Bonvoy Elite Welcome Bonus, the property offered $10 CAD a day towards the “Perk and Pedal” coffee cart located in the lobby. This is a pretty light breakfast option when compared to the excellent buffet breakfast offered up the street at the Westin Whistler. As a breakfast person, this didn’t too much to jazz up my stay experience.
In perhaps the only advantage, the property does not add on a “Resort Fee” with extras. As a result, there weren’t any extra loop holes to jump through. Despite this, the property didn’t add to many extras.
Through the check in process, I was provided a sheet containing the resorts inclusions, which included “Complimentary Board Games” and “Yoga Mats” available at the front desk to sign out.
I would end up self parking the car and heading directly up to my assigned room from the parking garage.
The Room: A One Bedroom Suite – 1 King Sofa Bed:
The property offers two separate buildings that are not attached at higher levels. I led myself up to Room #1362. I eventually figured out was on the third floor through a little self deduction. My room was located right at the end of the hallway away from the elevators, making it exceptionally quiet.
Room #1362 was a one category hard upgrade from the Guest Room – One King that I booked. My assigned one bedroom suite arrived through a pro-active upgrade in the Marriott App that arrived about twenty four hours prior to my stay as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite member.
The suites at the Delta Whistler Village Suites are a compact 475sqft/43sqm. In terms of size, the room feels as though it might be more suited in an urban downtown hotel environment, rather than a spacious mountain lodge. Accordingly, the theme is on compact living.
Immediately upon entering the room, I found myself in the living area which featured a small kitchen space.
The living space was consistent with that of a one bedroom suite being in a separate demarcated space. The living room was quite small for two travellers. I would imagine that it would feel even smaller with children sleeping on the sofa bed.
The living room featured a small stool coffee table, a large flat screen television along with a small desk combination. Functionally, the space worked quite well
The compact desk featured a full power bar for plug ins. It was a little tight on surface area, although it served well as a location for dropping laptops and cellphones for charging.
The kitchen itself was a small version in an “L” shaped configuration. It featured a compact stove, a small dishwasher and a compact fridge and freezer. All are perfect elements for a longer stay.
The suite also offered a small washer and dryer, which was great for longer stay activiites. Most hotels offer washer dryers in communal facilities. This was terrific for convenience and not having to hang out waiting for a machine to free up.
The room also featured a gas fireplace. Although it shared a wall with the bedroom, the fireplace was one sided and oriented towards the living room.
The bathroom ran the length of the wall behind the living room television. The bathroom featured a corridor style format, with an unusually combined bathroom and stand up shower area. The room featured a single vanity sink, when most larger suites these days feature two sinks.
The shower and tub area was a little compact, and apparently designed for “one”.
Moving towards the bedroom, our room featured a king sized bed in a compact space. There wasn’t a whole lot of room around the sides of the bed, a measure of how large the room felt.
The bedroom featured a second compact flat screen television, which was located over top of a single luggage rack. There was a small closet in the corner, which I was able to use to hang up suits. There wasn’t a whole lot of surplus space in the bedroom, which made storing luggage a little bit of a challenge.
The Delta Whistler Village Suite was kind enough to leave a Marriott Bonvoy welcome amenity. This consisted of a nice card, a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory chocolate bear claw, and a British Baker Bear Paw Chocolate cookie. All of these were greatly appreciated since that I could’t head to an Executive Lounge for that after dinner snack.
In terms of sleep quality, the room was reasonably quiet. Although situated in Whistler Village which can be known for is reveillers’ noise, there were no sounds of noise from the hallway or the village strolls. My floor was very quiet and being an end room, I had limited noise towards my end of the hall. As a result of my stay was very peaceful.
Around the Hotel Property:
The Delta Whistler Village Suites is a limited full service hotel property. It has most of the features that you might expect from a full service hotel, except for an attached restaurant.
Indoor / Outdoor Pool & Sauna:
The Delta Whistler Suites offered an essential indoor / outdoor pool. There is nothing more important than hot tubs and pools after a day of hitting the ski slopes. The pool at the Delta Whistler Suites is slightly better than the Westin Whistler, but won’t reign as one of the top pools in Whistler.
The pool was operating between the hours of 7 AM to 10 PM during our visit.
The indoor pool area offers a small hot tub. Given that Whistler is all about outdoor hot tubs in the mountains, I can’t imagine that this gets too much primary use.
The Delta Whistler Suites offers an indoor access to the pool which allows you to descend into the water and make your way outside.
Once outside you’ll find yourself in a large pool space with a bit of deck space in case you happen to be visiting . The hotel backs onto the Village gate Boulevard so you might get the sounds of traffic noise but you’ll have some views up towards Whistler Mountain.
There was also a smaller than expected outdoor hot tub. I would think that this is smaller than expected for a hotel of this size, and I would imagine that this gets quite full during winter season.
The pool was pretty much deserted during our visit. We didn’t have any concerns accessing the facilities during our stay.
Fitness Center:
The property does have a very small fitness centre adjacent to the pool. It’s hard to imagine working out on the property when there are so many recreational facilities just outside your hotel room door.
During our stay, the fitness centre was open 24 hours a day, with no reservation required.
There were a few treadmills and free-weights available. During my visit, the gym was pretty quiet with no issues getting a machine.
Food and Beverage:
The Delta Whistler Suites food and beverage environment is probably the weakest part of the hotel stay experience. Despite the hotel being located in Whistler Village with dozens of independent restaurants at it’s footsteps, the hotel doesn’t operate it’s own restaurant. This means there isn’t a restaurant where you can charge food directly to your room. It also means that those seeking a full breakfast, will have to travel up the street.
Perk and Pedal Coffee Bike:
Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast
The Delta Whistler Village Suites’ primary food and beverage option is a cart that is open from 7 AM to 9 AM daily. These are pretty short hours for a breakfast cart. For late risers, there is a likelihood you might miss out given that last call is at 9 AM.
Our Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite Welcome Gift of breakfast was worth $10 CAD per person at the coffee cart. The coffee cart had a cafeteria vibe to it, with limited pastries available in the morning.
There’s no lounge at the property. Aside from coffee in the room, this is your only “on property” choice.
Front Desk Snacks and Drinks:
The Delta Whistler Village Suites offered snacks such as chips, bars of popcorn and sodas and energy drinks available at the front desk. This can be accessed “in a pinch”, in case you happen to arrive late.
The property does not offer room service. There are ample restaurants around within walking distance that potentially offer take away (or a Skip the Dishes alternative).
It’s worth mentioning that the Fresh Street grocery store is about 5 minutes walk, and The Grocery Store is also 5 minutes walk from the property. Each of these can meet your needs, provided you visit during operating hours.
Brickworks Public House:
There are several restaurants located within the hotel building, but not affiliated with the hotel. The Brickworks Public House is located in the second building. It’s even accessible though an interior walkway without going outside.
The Brickworks Public House has all of the feel of a hotel operated bar and grill without any of the benefits of room charging (allowing for potentially extra point earnings).
Checking Out of The Delta Ottawa City Centre Hotel:
On departure day, I uattempted to get a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level late check out. I was leaving on a Thursday of the US Thanksgiving Long Weekend. As a result, I wasn’t too optimistic that I’d get very far.
The hotel was able to grant a 1 PM checkout, despite asking for “the latest possible time. While I wasn’t expecting a 4 PM check out, I suppose anything later than 11 AM was an added bonus.
I had no surprises on the bill with everything as expected.
My Marriott Bonvoy points posted to my account within 72 hours as promised.
The Bottom Line: The Delta Whistler Village Suites Hotel
I’m a bit conflicted about my stay at the Delta Whistler Village Suites. Perhaps this comes from spending too much time on the road, cycling through different hotels.
The Delta Whistler Village Suites offered a nice room upgrade into a suite category. The rooms were well appointed and in great condition. However, the lack of executive lounge and having a coffee cart as a breakfast option wasn’t ideal. I also found the rooms to be slightly compact, but well featured.
When compared against the Westin Whistler up the street, the Westin is clearly the more impressive hotel, with a full restaurant and a better location for ski in – ski out activities.
World Traveller 73 
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