Whistler-Hotel Listel Whistler

Family Adventure Travel-Whistler Review

We recently decided – Spur of the minute – to book a trip to Whistler for an adult skiing getaway for the New Year. We went on-line and decided Whistler would give us the perfect opportunity to get away for a little R & R, so we booked a 3-day, 2-night stay at the Hotel Listel Whistler.

Since it was just the two of us we decided to get a little freaky and went for the Jacuzzi tub, twin bathroom sink, with gas fireplace, King-size bed and robes provided.

What we got was something completely different.

Spontaneous planning only gave us three days to cancel if we needed to. We had no intention of cancelling at the time, but the day before we were to leave we had a family emergency and called to cancel. We were told we could not cancel – even if a family member was in the hospital. The woman I spoke to informed me that it was, “policy,” there was nothing she or we could do about it and, ‘too bad for you.’

That meant that we would have given a hotel over six hundred dollars on the most popular weekend of the year, for nothing except a reservation. In an agitated email I let the hotel know that we felt completely ripped off and that I was going to do something about it. I was informed that the hotel did have an emergency cancellation policy after all, but the staff was so poorly trained that they did not know about it. That evening, I found out that the emergency that we thought was more severe was not life threatening and something we could deal with when we got back so we cautiously went ahead with our original 3-day vacation plans.

Maybe I’m accustomed to a higher standard of customer service and ethics, but I was sincerely surprised to find out the information in the tip below – Buyer Beware!

Travel TIP:

“There’s nothing illegal about not refunding your money if it is clearly stated before you book as it is a condition of sales between the seller & the buyer. With such conditions, the buyer has the choice to accept the conditions and do business with the seller, or reject the condition & shop elsewhere.

Hotels want to fill rooms; when they accept a booking, a room is reserved and no matter how many more customers want that room, it is not available because it has been reserved for someone; it also costs money to process a refund (Note to Consumers – actual costs to hotels are between 2 and 3 percent of your total room reservation fee/payment – a minimal cancellation fee would accommodate and cover costs easily-in ANY hotel). Many hotels will however have a cancellation fee only, and refund part of the deposit if the cancellation does not occur at the last minute; some will even offer a full refund if they have enough time to rebook your room to for another customer.

Read the reservation policy and condition information before you book or ask the hotel booking office when you inquire about a reservation.”

Travel to Whistler is beautiful beyond compare. The recent road improvements because of the Winter Olympics made our drive about 1.5 hours with amazing scenery along the way. Roads tend to be windy so don’t plan on the kids playing car games and not getting car sick – Play geography games instead and have them observe the scenery.

We got to the Hotel Listel Whistler, expecting to walk into a room with the amenities we had thought we booked ahead. Instead we were booked into a room with two queen size beds and a one-sink bathroom. Instead of the romantic New Year we had looked forward to, we walked into our bachelor-type room adequate for two single men looking for dates.

Had we been those two men, our experience and perception would have been much different. As of New Years Eve, we were greeted with the sound of the Sewage wagon parked about 20 feet outside our hotel window – Pumping crap from the Crystal Hotel next door and using a diesel engine. The noise lasted on New Year night from 7:00 PM until past 11:30 PM. It was so loud that we had to turn up the television set to drown it out just so we could sleep – But because of the noise, sleep eluded us. We asked to trade rooms and were told that we could “not,” ”because the Hotel was booked and there were no other rooms to move us to.” We asked twice. Twice we were refused. New Years Day we asked hotel housekeeping (who were in our hallway cleaning rooms the next morning), “How many rooms are available across the hallway (where there was less or no noise)?” Hotel Housekeeping told us that they had only cleaned a couple of rooms on that side of the hallway and that, “There were plenty of vacant rooms on that side.” So, what conclusion could we possibly come to – Same as yours (B O L O G N A – on the front desk, “No move policy”).

Combined with the vendor back-up beeping this was an incredibly annoying (that’s the polite version) experience.

The next morning we were awakened by the crap wagon parked outside our window – once again – at the Crystal Hotel, pumping crap out of the Crystal hotel with their diesel engine thundering away. They began at 7:30 am and were still running at full throttle when we left at 11:00 am. NICE - N O T !

Ok – So, Back to New Year’s Eve Night – after listening to the crap wagon at the hotel next door for over three hours on New Year’s Eve night at 11:00 PM, we decided to grab a coke and watch a movie and stay up for the New Year, since that was our option.

We went out to the vending machine for a coke. No Coke – No nothing. As a matter of fact, all vending machines were empty on all floors – through the length of our stay over the New Year. The front desk solution involved their suggestion that we walk across the street in our pajamas and socks in the dark in the snow and ice to ask the hotel next door if they would mind putting a coke in a glass for us so we could take it back to our own hotel room and if they would mind charging our hotel for it. At 11:00 PM at night.

All this for just less than $800. For two nights!

Front desk staff knew the vending machines were empty on all floors, but they wanted us to solve the vending machine problem for them, no matter what the cost to their hotel guests. And they told us so in very clear terms.

Can you imagine telling a young mother who wanted to soothe her baby with an orange juice at 11:00 o’clock at night that she would need to walk across the street in her socks and pajamas in the dark, in the snow and ice to, “see if the hotel next door could help her by giving her a glass of orange juice and charging it to her room in the hotel next door?” We couldn’t either.

Is hotel cleanliness important to you? Then you’ll be interested to know that the floors were spot-dirty, there were hairclips around the bed frame. Hair was on the walls, floor, and counter areas. White shower grout was filthy black. Bathroom shower handles had visible mold and filth lining the rim.

In one word – YUCK!

The best thing I can say about our stay at the Hotel Listel Whistler was that we had no desire to stay in the room so we spent as much time as we could exploring the sites, the view, the skiing, the better hotels in the area for our next visit and the shops and restaurants. We found several worthwhile hotels and would highly recommend you seek out better trained staff and accommodations which we found by simply walking away – about 50 feet away – from the Listel Hotel Whistler and the Crystal Hotel.

Rating – Over priced, Over promised, under produced, filthy room environment with moderate amenities – including a broken coffee pot lid. A gross lack of staff training, resulting in many questions being answered from staff with, “I don’t know.”

Would we go back to the Hotel Listel Whistler? – Not in a million years.

I would give the Hotel Listel Whistler a 1 on a scale of 1-5.

Same for the Crystal Hotel for their lack of concern for the welfare of the hotel guests.

Noteworthy:

All ski designated areas are well marked, easy to get to, and the views are beautiful. Downhill, cross-country skiing, snow-mobiling, or snowboarding trails were excellent. Even if you just want to take a gondola up to the top of the mountain, have breakfast and take the gondola back down, you won’t be disappointed!
If it’s adventure you are interested in then don’t miss the dog sledding, ziptrek ecotours, heli-skiing/boarding, snowshoeing, sleigh rides, tube park, snowcat tours, powder mountain cat skiing, black comb aviation tours, and professionally back country guided tours. There is something for every family member – including lessons if you want to try something different.
Dad and mom can enjoy a Whistler tasting tour within walking distance, and kids can spend a late afternoon shopping at the multiple popular stores maintained by the more famous labels. Most businesses stay open late. There is an active night life – all within hotel walking distance.

Traveler TIP -

You’ll get asked multiple times if you wouldn’t mind ‘loaning’ your ski pass to the local ski bums who frequent the area around the base of the gondolas and lifts. A day pass from 8:30am -2:30 pm was $95. That’s a little high for some, but well worth it for the experience. It’s annoying, but tolerated.

Traveler TIP -

Best form of communication with your family – Leave your cell phone at home at give everybody a two way radio – AKA, a ‘walkie-talkie’. We took our Midland GXT set with us and never needed a single thing more. We had excellent reception and never lost each other – even once! They worked all over the mountain from the top to the bottom! In an emergency they also work as a GPS System and are easy to tune to emergency stations.
Book early dinner reservations or you run the risk of not enjoying the restaurant you originally had in mind. We expected this with last minute plans and used it as an opportunity to explore several menus. You can’t go wrong by simply going where your nose takes you in Whistler and if you don’t like one place, vote with your feet and go somewhere else. You are abundantly rewarded with multiple outstanding choices and have no reason to compromise or ‘settle’ for something that just isn’t outstanding.

We found great food choices here:

Zogs – Quick, simple breakfast burritos and coffee food at the local outside eatery.
21 Steps – A kitchen/Bar – Friendly service, great presentation, fine meals, and selection at 21 Steps – A kitchen/bar that provided much appreciated service – Their first come, first served attitude that refused to sacrifice customer service under any conditions impressed us.
Amsterdam Cafe and Pub – Special thanks to Nora for her helpful and smiling service – Friendly service, selection, and prices.
Longhorn Saloon – Interesting decor, plus a lot of fun! Good food, fair prices.
Peak2Peak Ski Rental – We were lucky enough to get a man who had been a ski instructor and had some valuable skiing pointers to help us both in sizing our equipment and providing skiing tips. Sam was friendly and knowledgeable and upbeat and fun and we would look for him again.

Hope this helps you plan your family adventure travel vacation! - We LOVED our spontaneous mini skiing vacation to Whistler – Outside of our hotel choice! Go Back to Whistler? – YES!

But, imagine this instead – Do you like Vail, Colorado Skiing and the quaint Village ? The price is about the same and the quality is better – Including airfare tickets! What do you think?