Restaurants to recommend :
The Keg - we ate here several times, and the steaks were great (as was the seafood). The "baseball" steak was superb, but was surpassed by the New York steak (which came directly from "dead cow heaven").
The Crab Shack - good crab !
Other Points :
- You can get back most of the "GST" tax when you leave. However, check the rules... each receipt must be over C$50 (before tax), with a total amount of C$200 required for a tax claim. Hotel bills can be claimed, if you pay them there (as opposed to being part of a package deal). You get back about 85% of 7% of your total. Its a bit, but not a lot, but its free ! There are leaflets around to explain everything. We found the people downstairs at Spirit Of The North very helpful (its near the bottom of the main lifts).
- Book restaurants in advance. We heard people being quoted very long waiting times.
Below is a table comparing Whistler to an average French resort. This is definitely a skiing resort to return to.
| WHISTLER, CANADA | vs | TYPICAL FRENCH RESORT |
|---|---|---|
| Lifts : | ||
| Shorter lift queues |  | Longer |
| Sniffle stations (tissue dispensers at every lift) | | None |
| Orderly queues | | Unruly sometimes |
| Up-Mountain Restaurants : | ||
| Food - Better value for money | | Not as good |
| Food - Better selection | | Not as good |
| Food - Quality is OK |  | French Food is excelent |
| Restaurants airy | | Not as good |
| Restaurants modern | | Restaurants have more character |
| No smoking anywhere | | Smoking bloody everywhere |
| Free glove driers | | None |
| Massage stations (just C$5 for 5 mins) | | None |
| Lots of hooks for clothes | | Less |
| Baskets under chairs | | None |
| Free 3 min phone calls to Whistler or Vancouver | | No |
| Free Nintendo consoles for kids | | No |
| Pistes : | ||
| Better Terrain Parks | | Not as good |
| Hardly any kids seen on slopes | | Often crowded out by ski school |
| Less crowded (sometimes had whole slope to ourselves) | | More crowded |
| Toilets : | ||
| Cleaner | | Not as good |
| No queues | | Not as good |
| Free | | Have to pay sometimes ! |
| Free hand lotion dispensers | | None |
| Hanging baskets in cubicles | | None |
| General Piste Services : | ||
| Mountain hosts free | | None |
| Free photo with mountain host | | None |
| Better sign-posted pistes | | Not as good |
| Better designed ski area | | Not as good |
| Friendlier staff | | Not as good |
| Better snow | | Not as good |
| Excelent Service (eg people handing out tissues at restaurant entrances) | | Not as good |
| Town : | ||
| Extensive Pedestrianised Area | | Not as good |
| Clean | | Not as good |
| Lots of choice of shops | | Not as good |
| Cheap to eat out | | Not as good |
| Good cheap shopping (even up the mountain) | | Not as good |
| Wide choice of restaurants | | Not as good |
| Travel : | ||
| Generally a scheduled flight | Generally a chartered flight, or low cost airline | |
| Larger baggage allowance | | Not as good |
| Scheduled flight - better service EG: Better food and free alcoholic drinks | | Not as good |
| More sociable flight times | | Often inconvenient times |
| Overall travel time is slightly longer | | Slightly shorter |
| Jet lag is a pain | | No jet lag |
| Booking : | ||
| Avoid 2nd and 3rd weeks of March (US & Canadian holidays). These dates obviously vary. | Avoid 2nd to 4th weeks of February (French half-term) and especially the UK half-term. These dates obviously vary. | |