Whistler Trip Report-Hiking, etc.
Jul 18th, 2004, 08:47 AM
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Whistler Trip Report-Hiking, etc.
A group of eight middle aged friends went to Whistler this past week. We flew into Vancouver. We picked up a rental car at Avis. We arrived on a Saturday and had a wait of around 20 minutes. The car we had rented was not available and we had to take a substitute. Fortunately the Avis office in Whistler had the car we had booked so we were able to switch as soon as we arrived.
We stayed the first six nights of our trip at the Edgewater Lodge. A few observations on that:
1. Location is super. The hotel is a standard motel design facing a gorgeous lake and an excellent view of the mountains. One downside is there is not a room suitable for gathering. One couple rented a suite which did provide a nice living room area for us to meet and discuss our hiking plans.
2. The only noise we ever heard was the float planes and trains...we loved that.
3. The staff members were very friendly and pleasant.
4. Breakfast is a continental style which featured excellent granola, fruit and breads. The coffee was good and strong. One big downside for us (we are East Coasters) was that nothing was available before 0800 and there was no in room coffee pot. Although the berries, blue and rasp, from the area are ripe and fabulous, none were featured at breakfast.
5. The dinners at the Lodge are wonderful. The food is excellent and very fresh.
6. Last week the weather was very hot and we suffered from poor ventilation in the rooms. It would have been nice to have a couple of windows to open (there was just one in the bedroom) and a screen door which would have allowed us to open the front door.
7. The biggest problem the lodge has is very iffy housekeeping. Our rooms were very erratically cleaned. My room only had the linen changed once and that was the night before we left. We had to ask for soap, shampoo and towels. Bathroom glasses were not replaced but one time. Several mornings the coffee cups were not clean. The rooms are spartan which is fine and actually seems appropriate for the enviornment. However cleanliness is essential. The rugs are frayed and stained, the mattresses were not clean and the floor in the bathroom needed a thorough cleaning. The mattresses were soft and did not provide any support, which after a day of hiking we all needed.
We dined out several times. Thank heavens for Whistler Al, who provided very reliable advice on this site. The only place we tried which I don't recall him recommending was Caramba, which was very good and reasonably priced. They were able to accomodate us with out a reservation which was very nice. Several days we finished our hikes around 6:00 pm and were ready to eat without returning to the hotel. It was nice to have several good choices which accepted very casual dress.
The hiking was relatively challenging. I found the intermediate trails to be more challenging than what I have found hiking in the Tetons or Rockies. My favorite hike for sheer stupendous views was the Little Whistler Peak. It is a short hike on a gravel road. My favorite all around hike was a glorious 9k hike to Garibaldi Lake. Lots of switchbacks, very well maintained trail, wide with no open ridges and the lake at the end was beautiful. It is my personal taste which makes me averse to exposed ridges and very narrow trails, so I wasn't wild about Joffrey Lakes, which does have some gorgeous views. Musical Bumps/Singing Pass is a challenging hike with multiple ups and downs.
After leaving the Edgewater Lodge we headed down to Vancouver. We were all booked on very early flights so we planned to stay at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport. Great choice. First class hotel, very clean, professional staff, fabulous bathrooms and sturdy, firm mattressess. WOW.
En route to our hotel we stopped at the Beachhouse Restaurant at 25th and Marine. Both Whistler Al and LindaBowen had recommended it on this site. Fabulous choice. Excellent food and a terrific server. We loved it.
Thank you, Fodorites, for all your help in planning our trip. I am especially grateful to Whistler Al and LindaBowen for their insights and suggestions. They are really a terrific asset to this site.
Cheers.
We stayed the first six nights of our trip at the Edgewater Lodge. A few observations on that:
1. Location is super. The hotel is a standard motel design facing a gorgeous lake and an excellent view of the mountains. One downside is there is not a room suitable for gathering. One couple rented a suite which did provide a nice living room area for us to meet and discuss our hiking plans.
2. The only noise we ever heard was the float planes and trains...we loved that.
3. The staff members were very friendly and pleasant.
4. Breakfast is a continental style which featured excellent granola, fruit and breads. The coffee was good and strong. One big downside for us (we are East Coasters) was that nothing was available before 0800 and there was no in room coffee pot. Although the berries, blue and rasp, from the area are ripe and fabulous, none were featured at breakfast.
5. The dinners at the Lodge are wonderful. The food is excellent and very fresh.
6. Last week the weather was very hot and we suffered from poor ventilation in the rooms. It would have been nice to have a couple of windows to open (there was just one in the bedroom) and a screen door which would have allowed us to open the front door.
7. The biggest problem the lodge has is very iffy housekeeping. Our rooms were very erratically cleaned. My room only had the linen changed once and that was the night before we left. We had to ask for soap, shampoo and towels. Bathroom glasses were not replaced but one time. Several mornings the coffee cups were not clean. The rooms are spartan which is fine and actually seems appropriate for the enviornment. However cleanliness is essential. The rugs are frayed and stained, the mattresses were not clean and the floor in the bathroom needed a thorough cleaning. The mattresses were soft and did not provide any support, which after a day of hiking we all needed.
We dined out several times. Thank heavens for Whistler Al, who provided very reliable advice on this site. The only place we tried which I don't recall him recommending was Caramba, which was very good and reasonably priced. They were able to accomodate us with out a reservation which was very nice. Several days we finished our hikes around 6:00 pm and were ready to eat without returning to the hotel. It was nice to have several good choices which accepted very casual dress.
The hiking was relatively challenging. I found the intermediate trails to be more challenging than what I have found hiking in the Tetons or Rockies. My favorite hike for sheer stupendous views was the Little Whistler Peak. It is a short hike on a gravel road. My favorite all around hike was a glorious 9k hike to Garibaldi Lake. Lots of switchbacks, very well maintained trail, wide with no open ridges and the lake at the end was beautiful. It is my personal taste which makes me averse to exposed ridges and very narrow trails, so I wasn't wild about Joffrey Lakes, which does have some gorgeous views. Musical Bumps/Singing Pass is a challenging hike with multiple ups and downs.
After leaving the Edgewater Lodge we headed down to Vancouver. We were all booked on very early flights so we planned to stay at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport. Great choice. First class hotel, very clean, professional staff, fabulous bathrooms and sturdy, firm mattressess. WOW.
En route to our hotel we stopped at the Beachhouse Restaurant at 25th and Marine. Both Whistler Al and LindaBowen had recommended it on this site. Fabulous choice. Excellent food and a terrific server. We loved it.
Thank you, Fodorites, for all your help in planning our trip. I am especially grateful to Whistler Al and LindaBowen for their insights and suggestions. They are really a terrific asset to this site.
Cheers.
Jul 18th, 2004, 08:06 PM
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Cmcfong, I'm glad that you and your group had a good holiday in Whistler and Vancouver.
I enjoyed your comments about the Edgewater Lodge for my family has looked at staying there. Too bad about the poor housekeeping, though - I hope you passed your comments on to management.
Isn't the Beach House Cafe great? Did you have the twin male servers?
Vancouver and Whistler and the rest of B.C. is going through a heat wave right now - tonight it's 30 C (90 F) and humid. Very uncoastlike weather, but we've been sitting in the ocean since the early evening.
Hope you come back to visit us.
Cheers,
Linda
I enjoyed your comments about the Edgewater Lodge for my family has looked at staying there. Too bad about the poor housekeeping, though - I hope you passed your comments on to management.
Isn't the Beach House Cafe great? Did you have the twin male servers?
Vancouver and Whistler and the rest of B.C. is going through a heat wave right now - tonight it's 30 C (90 F) and humid. Very uncoastlike weather, but we've been sitting in the ocean since the early evening.
Hope you come back to visit us.
Cheers,
Linda
Jul 19th, 2004, 05:19 AM
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Hi Linda
We didn't have the twin servers at the Beachhouse, but we did have a very charming guy who loves his work.
As to Edgewater, before I went I corresponded with someone named Jay whom I took to be the manager. He was not there during our visit. We never found anyone who appeared to be in charge of the place.
Thanks again for all your good counsel. Our trip was great and we will be back.
cheers
We didn't have the twin servers at the Beachhouse, but we did have a very charming guy who loves his work.
As to Edgewater, before I went I corresponded with someone named Jay whom I took to be the manager. He was not there during our visit. We never found anyone who appeared to be in charge of the place.
Thanks again for all your good counsel. Our trip was great and we will be back.
cheers
Jul 19th, 2004, 11:20 AM
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Hi CMC,
I was hoping to see a trip report by you, and I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip.
I'm sorry to heat that the Edgewater wasn't perfect. We feel that as a world class resort, we have higher standards to live up to. I will be passing on your comments about the rooms, and cleaning, to the manager , in hopes that they upgrade their services.
Other that that, I hope you had a great stay. I thought I might run into your group on the valley trail between the Edgewater and Nicklaus North Golf course( where we live), but we were away for most of the week. Hopefully, you will get a chance to return( perhaps for the 2010 Olympics)Cheers, Al
I was hoping to see a trip report by you, and I'm glad that you enjoyed your trip.
I'm sorry to heat that the Edgewater wasn't perfect. We feel that as a world class resort, we have higher standards to live up to. I will be passing on your comments about the rooms, and cleaning, to the manager , in hopes that they upgrade their services.
Other that that, I hope you had a great stay. I thought I might run into your group on the valley trail between the Edgewater and Nicklaus North Golf course( where we live), but we were away for most of the week. Hopefully, you will get a chance to return( perhaps for the 2010 Olympics)Cheers, Al
Jul 19th, 2004, 12:58 PM
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Sorry we missed you, Whistler Al. Everyone in the group knew about you as all of our decisions were guided by your good advice. We loved our visit and will all definitely be back.
Cheers.
Cheers.
