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What's pricier Vail or Whistler?

JoeSchmoe

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I've been to Vail, but never Whistler. Of the two mega resorts, which one will drain my Canadian wallet faster?

Exchange in Canada is obviously better, but I've heard horror stories on how expensive a trip to Whistler ends up being after food, drinks, lodging, etc are considered.

Considering both for a family trip. May pull the trigger 2020, but it could take until 2021 to convince my wife.
 

scott43

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Our dollar is crap right now. We stockpile US when it's more equitable. Bought a crap-ton of US when it was at parity. But if you're exchanging as you go, you may want to wait until you get closer. Never know which way it will go. I'd say, all things being equal, Whistler will cost you less. Seems like cost of living is up in the US compared to home right now. Last trip we were paying $4US for milk that costs $4CDN at home..so you're paying higher prices for some stuff as well. Accommodations are probably a wash. What about travel costs? Always seems like flights to US are better value. If we drive to US and fly out of Buffalo or Detroit we can save a lot of money on airfares for the whole family for a little bit of inconvenience.
 

dbostedo

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Having been to both, I'd say if you are staying in the village in both places, Whistler is cheaper. Factoring in the current exchange rate, I'd think Vail would be quite a bit more.

Staying in the village at Vail is a lot more expensive (though it's been a few years since I looked at prices there.) I was able to stay slopeside in a 1 bedroom condo at Whistler for a week for less ~$1500 CDN ($1100 USD at the time) a couple of years ago in February. I couldn't get near that at Vail. Food and drink prices seemed similar on mountain, maybe a bit less in Whistler. I think accomodation, lift tickets, and flight will likely outweigh any food and drink cost differences. They can both be significantly cheaper by staying further from the resort.
 

Coach13

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I think they are comparable lodging wise as you can find lodging deals for both. I think affordable food and drink options are easier to find at Vail. The real $$ difference imo is the travel cost. If you’re traveling from the east coast its much more affordable to fly into Denver and make the short hop to Vail than anywhere within an easy drive of WB.
 
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TS
J

JoeSchmoe

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I'm coming from southern Ontario I'm equidistant to the Toronto and buffalo airports and about 3.5 hours to Detroit. I know I can go direct round trip to DTW on Southwest for under $150 including bags. There's a discount airline out of Hamilton (30 minutes from home) that's $200 plus baggage to Abbotsford BC. Based on the additional travel time to Detroit, I'll call the flight prices a wash.
 

aubergine

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You can go online and quote up packages to see how they compare. Pick a few restaurants at each place and look at their online menus to see what food might cost. Remember to include tax / service / tip etc. My experience in both resorts is that they are both expensive, and if you want to manage the costs, you'll have to make some tradeoffs in where you stay, how you get there, what you cook/eat, brownbagging etc. Both resorts have day lodges on the mountains where you can stash backpacks full of snacks/lunch/beer if you are willing to do that. For a group, that can be an easy savings of $100/day.

As a US based person we tended to ski internationally when the greenback is strong, but its been some years since we've done that. It's looking favorable again for a trip though.

Have a great trip whereever you go.
 

Seldomski

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If you like to do lessons, Whistler is significantly cheaper. Overall it's easier for us to save money at Whistler vs. Vail, primarily due to dollar's strength.

Airfare is always more for us since southwest doesn't go to Vancouver.

I also prefer Whistler terrain over anything else in North America, so even if cost is same, Whistler wins there.

Only "downside" I've seen at Whistler is the snow can be funky/variable. Vail snow is more consistent or less varied.
 

Lofcaudio

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I am pretty shocked by some of the answers. Comparative lodging...no question that Whistler is cheaper. For example, you can stay ski-in/ski-out at Whistler for a reasonable amount. A reasonable amount barely gets you a room in Vail, not to mention nowhere close to staying slope-side. When you factor in the exchange rate, not even close.
 

Jilly

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For lifts, if you are not going Epic, the Edge card is still available to Canadian citizens. But it needs to be purchased early. 2 years ago for the gathering I had a studio condo right near the IGA for $950/week. I flew out WestJet and rented a SUV, all on points. So only expenses were food, edge card, condo and souvenirs. Picked up groceries at the Independant in Squamish and bought some Aussie pies from Peaked Pies for dinner 2 nights. Inexpensive meal and right downstairs from the condo.
 

dbostedo

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I am pretty shocked by some of the answers. Comparative lodging...no question that Whistler is cheaper. For example, you can stay ski-in/ski-out at Whistler for a reasonable amount. A reasonable amount barely gets you a room in Vail, not to mention nowhere close to staying slope-side. When you factor in the exchange rate, not even close.

That's what I said, but not as emphatically! :thumb:
 
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J

JoeSchmoe

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Thanks everyone for all the information. This should help. It looks like vail is cheaper for me flight wise, but more for lodging and lifts.

That said, I was looking more at costs while I'm there. Most of the other costs I can research from an armchair. Restaurant, food, beer, etc prices are harder to get a handle on.

The reason I ask is a colleague of mine goes to Whistler once a year. He once told me he blew $5000 in a long weekend for his wife and him AND he had free lodging. I suspect he was eating at the more expensive restaurants in town... Something which I won't be doing. However, $5000 does give me pause for thought.
 

raytseng

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yea id guess privates with demo rentals, plus spa treatment, plus bottles of wines at dinner. If that's how he rolls, he prpbably blow that similarly everywhere. I'm sure there's also some exaggeration that hes trying to impress you with

Food prices are not going to break your budget. it is inline with what you do at home and your choices matter. e.g., you go to the grocery store and drink alone in your room is going to be 4x less expensive then consuming the exact same thing in a restaurant and bar. You get a slice of pizza its cheaper than a sushi or steak dinner.
 

dovski

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Whistler hands down is much much cheaper than vail. Tons of vacation rentals in Whistler and I have been able to find ski in ski out accommodation for under 400 cdn a night for a family of 5 every time. The trick is you need to plan in advance if you want a good deal. Likewise I find food on the hill to be quite reasonable. Dinner in the village can get spendy, but we like to cook and buy our groceries on the way up in Squamish. Comparable accommodation in Vail tends to be double if not triple the cost. The real question though is where will you have better snow :)
 

Lofcaudio

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Again, my recent experience has been that I am paying fewer Canadian dollars at Whistler for comparative food/drink than at Vail where I am paying American dollars. Places where I ate in Whistler were:

Milestones (Blackcomb base)
Merlin's (Blackcomb base)
Portabello (Blackcomb base)
Teppan Village Sushi
La Brasserie
Black's Pub
Brickworks Pub

All very reasonable and less expensive than what you will find for similar quality food in Vail.
 

Mike King

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Again, my recent experience has been that I am paying fewer Canadian dollars at Whistler for comparative food/drink than at Vail where I am paying American dollars. Places where I ate in Whistler were:

Milestones (Blackcomb base)
Merlin's (Blackcomb base)
Portabello (Blackcomb base)
Teppan Village Sushi
La Brasserie
Black's Pub
Brickworks Pub

All very reasonable and less expensive than what you will find for similar quality food in Vail.
Don't forget Mexican Kitchen (excellent) and Ingrids (great and inexpensive for Breakfast)!

Personally, I think Whistler is cheaper.

Mike
 

trailtrimmer

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Blowing $5k at whistler for two is only possible if you heli skied the whole time and paid top dollar for lodging.

I can do all in with transportation, four days of skiing, one day of snowmobiling for less than $2k very easy.

Exchange rate gets you lift tickets for $100, lodging is spendy, cheapest in January is at $250 a night USD after taxes. You can easily do $600+ a night for a room, but you would be crazy to. Cook breakfast at your room, be reasonable for lunch, go nuts a couple times for dinner.

No need to rent a car, just shuttle. There are free busses everywhere and a rental car stays parked for $25 a day on top of your rental fees.
 

dovski

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Blowing $5k at whistler for two is only possible if you heli skied the whole time and paid top dollar for lodging.

I can do all in with transportation, four days of skiing, one day of snowmobiling for less than $2k very easy.

Exchange rate gets you lift tickets for $100, lodging is spendy, cheapest in January is at $250 a night USD after taxes. You can easily do $600+ a night for a room, but you would be crazy to. Cook breakfast at your room, be reasonable for lunch, go nuts a couple times for dinner.

No need to rent a car, just shuttle. There are free busses everywhere and a rental car stays parked for $25 a day on top of your rental fees.
Even better if you buy a 5 day edge card like I did and ski for free early season your per day cost at Whistler can be as low as $30 :) Family of 5 did 4 days at Whistler over presidents day weekend for under $3K including all meals, accommodation, lift tickets, gas …. etc. We had a 4 bedroom ski in ski out condo on the Blackomb side :)
 

trailtrimmer

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If early season were always reliable conditions, I’d go early too. However the chances of being 100% open in December are slim. This year it dumped 8’ the two weeks before my group arrived, before that 8’ it was pretty toothy still.

April gets super cheap too, that may be the trip next year.
 

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