Articles
Whistler Real Estate Guide - Whistler, Canada
Testimonials
2008
Hi everyone - thanks for organising a really fantastic holiday for us and to Julian and Alex for being so helpful whilst we were there. The kids say it was their best holiday EVER. We will be in touch when we next come back to Whistler. Have a great summer.
Fay Watson
2008
Many thanks to you all for your time and efforts, prior & during our stay in Whistler this year and helping to make it a very memorable trip for all concerned. The VIP virgins in the group were all very impressed with the service and the VIP veterans, knew what to expect and we weren't let down! It was good to see the whole team on a number of occasions, in the bar, at the condo, on the slopes, in the street and at the hockey. A team that is truly customer facing!
Some of the restaurants I'd not been to before, so you've now complicated the bookings for next season as we now have more excellent restaurants to choose from, than days we will be staying! La Rua was a real treat and the table at Hy's was the best! Araxi's was also a dining experience not to be missed. The late notice changing of lessons, booking of lift tickets and fresh tracks was greatly appreciated. The Canucks hockey game in Vancouver was a real treat and great to witness a 6-2 win! Thanks to Gunter for his chauffeuring skills up and down Highway 99 (Or Lower Peak to Creek Highway, as we now call it with it's unbashed feel to the road!)
Dylan - special thanks to you for guiding us round and taking us up Spanky's Ladder - an experience that will remain in the memory for a long time! And also for spending your free time with us on your day off prior to going on vacation yourself. I realise how precious the time commodity is and we are very grateful to you.
Enjoy the rest of the season and the summer and all being well we'll see you again next season!
Take care & ski you soon!
Tim Withey
UK
2007
We just wanted to thank you for arranging a great ski trip in March for Matt, Jeff, Beth and myself. Besides the weather, it met all of our expectations and more. The accommodations at the Gables was perfect for us, your restaurant choices were top notch, and suggestions of stores to shop were excellent. This is the first time we have used a concierge service and we are now spoiled. After years of making all the arrangements myself, it was nice to sit back and let someone else with knowledge of the area plan our days out for us. The ski day with Julian was the highlight of the trip. The kids still are talking about that long adventure down the back bowl. The last night stay at the airport worked out perfect and made the trek to the airport much shorter.
Who knows, we may contact you about coming out for the 2010 Olympics.
Thanks again for all your help.
Bill Breunsbach
2007
Dear VIP Mountain Holiday Gang,
We have finally settled down long enough to write a letter and thank you for the superior service you provided during our wedding and honeymoon trip to Whistler. Whistler is a fantastic destination and turned out to be exactly what we wanted for our wedding and honeymoon location. However, without you guys, it would not have been as spectacular. We are so appreciative of your advice, transporation and suggestions. It was a pleasure to know Julie and Julian, and we would love to meet the rest of you when we return to Whistler, perhaps in a few years for an anniversary celebration. Once again, thanks for making our trip a success and helping us create tons of happy memories.
Kindest Regards,
John and Laura Clements
1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2007
First hooked up with Matt and Ben going on 10 years ago now and they are the one and only call I have to make when planning a trip to Whistler. All you have to do is let them know when you're coming and what you need and all the paperwork and reservations are taken care of for you. They provide you a welcome packet with village / trail maps, your lesson and lift tickets all pre-printed and delivered and pretty much anything else you can think to ask for. Everything is done ahead of time and Julie does an incredible job of keeping on top of all the things you need to do.
On top of that, what can be better than having a true local take you around for the day in fresh powder? Huge thanks to Julian for taking his time to help me discover the love for knee deep powder, showing me what lines to take and how best to ski in something that we East Coasters are quite unfamiliar with. "Powder" back East might cover your skis if you are lucky and chances are thats just leftover manmade stuff you are pushing around. Really just an incredible morning although I hope to make a better showing of myself next time - less falling, more skiing!
I cant think of anything VIP hasn't helped me with over my trips up there. Whether its renting a condo or hotel, making dinner suggestions, showing the best runs to take or getting you tickets to the best party on New Years - these guys really can do it all.
Thanks again VIP, great service as always. The only regret I have is not trying heliskiing but hey thats why they make next year!
Phil and Jodie
Virginia, USA
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006
As part of his mid-life crisis in 2000, my husband George Anson decided, in his 40th year, to learn to ski. Always well prepared, he had done his homework and chosen Whistler, ski capital of the universe, as his preferred destination. Further homework and internet serendipity put him in touch with VIP Mountain Holidays. The rest is history, as they say.
Ever proactive, expert and tireless, Ben and Matt have nannied our jetlagged and clueless family of five through the whole great adventure. We have just returned from our sixth visit over New Year 2006/7 and feel rather proud that after those first, faltering snow-plough turns, we have now attained the dizzy-heights of off-piste and heli-skiing. Challenges to Ben and Matt have been many and varied, from exacting accommodation requirements to lost property scattered widely around the resort and even last-minute baby-sitting demands (on New Year's Eve, no less). They have never failed to meet any of them - promptly and with good grace and humour.
We would recommend VIP to anybody considering a trip to Whistler. Their knowledge of the resort and its facilities is second-to-none, whether dealing with total beginners or experts. Ben and Matt have become our good friends and we look forward to many more years of great family ski trips.
Kirsty Anson
Buckinghamshire, England
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, & 2006
We first booked a trip to Whistler with VIP back when it was just Ben'n'Matt and have kept coming back, booking with VIP, almost every year since. It's great to have everything arranged for you - reservations, passes, lessons, groceries - including roses in our hotel room when we arrived on Valentine's day (well thought of Ben, shame is Rich would never have thought of it himself!) - and a friendly face to pick you up at the airport, even when you arrive four and a half hours late! However, the really special thing about the VIP service is the guiding. It's amazing to explore the mountains with people who know it so well, who can always seem to find somewhere fantastic away from the crowds. We've been to Whistler with various mixed groups of ranging abilities and our guide from VIP has always been able to accommodate this, give us a great day on the slopes and, usually, drink beer with us at the end of the day! We're sure we'll be back again very soon.
Rich and Ceri Jefferson,
London, UK
Apr 2006
Dear VIP Mtn Hols.
I got home safely after a slight delay at the airport, and I just wanted to say a big thank you for making my trip a very memorable one - and this time no injuries (discounting wounded pride on some of the "falls" I had!)
Next season I hope to come armed with ski buddies - all being well, of the Paul & Liz and Matt variety! And maybe some more but we'll have to see.
Julian - sorry I didn't get to ski with you on Wednesday, I hope that your arm makes a hasty recovery (maybe you should quit skating or wear armour?!) Thank you for getting me started upon arrival and explaining the hockey rules to me.
Dylan - thank you for spending your time with me on your day off, I really appreciate it and am indebted to your guiding skills, as I said dead customers don't return, so thank your for your patience and support! Go, Canucks Go!
Julie - Sorry that I didn't get to meet up with you this time, but thank you for all your hard work prior and during my trip.
Matt - thank you for the ride back to the airport, I greatly appreciate it. I hope that you manage to retain your fuss ball (table football) crown amongst the growing competition!
Ben - Thank you, as ever, for being the primary link, and also a big thank you for sourcing the Canuck's tickets. Despite the result, I really enjoyed the experience.
Enjoy the rest of the season and as I said all being well, I'll catch up with you folks anon.
A very satisfied customer!
Tim Withey
UK
Mar 2006
Hi guys, Inessa and I just wanted to thank you for a great service that you provided during our trip to Whistler. We had an amazing time both on and off the mountain, and for the most part it was because of Dylan. I had so much fun skiing with Dylan, it was wicked… I think you have a great business concept and the service is impeccable. We will definitely spread the word and hopefully we'll be back for the winter Olympics. Please keep us on your Olympics list of clients. I will send some pictures that i took when I went skiing with Dylan and heliskiing as well.
Thanks, Dmitry Levkov
Russia-New York
2006 & 2007
Dear Ben, Matt, Dylan and Julian
A huge thank you to you all for making Sarah's and my time in Whistler such a massive success and one we hope to repeat in the future.Arriving in a new ski resort and time warped can be a daunting experience. First impressions are always very important. The level of service and comfort extended by you all made our induction into Whistler life quick, painless and enjoyable from the first instant. Sarah and I have had relatively few holidays alone together because we always seem to end up sharing our holidays with our friends. Our trip to Canada was very special. We spent 10 days in each others company with every detail taken care of with none of the normal stress levels, so your strap line 'hassle free holidays to Whistler' rings very true. We are both passionate about our food and your restaurant selection was faultless. On our final day, in Vancouver, we had lunch at Cin Cin which is a sister restaurant to Araxi. It was absolutely fantastic so Araxi needs to be explored next time around. Being guided around the massive ski area was tremendous fun and sensitively done. Sarah and I enjoy our skiing very much but levels of fitness and age have an impact on what one can actually do. Sadly energy levels can disappoint sometimes! You all took us to our limits and were supremely professional in recognising when our will and energy reserves were diverging. At the end we felt we had skied as much as we could have done……all credit to you. We did not even have to think about changing skis between regular skiing and heli-skiing: so after a tiring day on the slopes there was no agonising tramp around town in the evening to change skis…..it was all done by you guys….fabulous service! Then to arrive at the Four Seasons ski concierge at the bottom of the mountain, hot, tired and totally finished after a days skiing on powder that dreams are made of - to be met by a smiling and polite attendant who takes your skis from you, pours you a cup of hot chocolate (that tastes like melted Maltesers!) and then even takes your boots off for you …bliss!!!……..eat your heart out Courcheval!! As you know, we are off to Obergurgl in 3 weeks time and we have reserved the appropriate K2 skis having been shown the way by Summit. We only hope there will be good cause to seek out some Phat Love's and equivalent in Austria. We will send to you a selection of photographs in due course. With our heartfelt thanks for all your effort in making it such a terrific week for us both. We are already spreading the word. Ben, thanks also for your email. Jet lag not too much on a problem, just re-adjusting to normality and the office tomorrow. Best wishes
Ed & Sarah Hamilton,
UK
Mar 2006
Hi Guys,
Just wanted to send you a quick email to thank you for all for making our trip to Whistler such a resounding success.Julian was a first rate host, always on hand to help but never to the point of "crowding us". Every detail we asked your team to organise (accommodation, lift tickets, restaurant bookings, alpine guides, heliskiing) was arranged perfectly, saving us time and effort when we were in the resort. Julian's recommendations for restaurants to visit during our stay was spot-on, and the time he spent with us on and off the piste showing us the best parts of Whistler, made for a great day skiing. The most impressive thing about all of this was that the end result was cheaper than booking direct through any of the numerous websites we could find. Both Katie and I are very happy to be included in any references for VIP. Needless to say if we visit Whistler again we'll book through you guys.
Thanks Crispin (and Katie) Gray
London, UK
2004, 2005, & 2007
My wife and I have skied extensively all over the U.S. and Europe. 7 years ago a friend recommended Whistler and a unique service called VIP Mountain Holidays. We have since fallen in love with the mountain and have developed a personal friendship with Matt, Ben, Julie and Dylan. There is no better ski mountain in N. America than Whistler and the service provided by VIP makes the trip one you will never forget.VIP has always been able to provide the best tables and restaurant reservations, personal attention to accommodations, transfers to and from the airport, lift tickets and good cheer. If you are serious about the whole ski experience including the terrain and the village, this is the mountain for you and there is no one who knows it better than VIP.We normally book our own reservations and accommodations but VIP makes a trip to Whistler so easy and that is one reason we keep coming back year after year. They can't seem to do enough to make your stay a memorable one. They are constantly running errands, offering to drive you around the village, phoning in to see if you need anything and doing it all in good spirit. We personally have recommended VIP to many friends all of whom have nothing but good experiences to report. If you like skiing 5000' of true vertical on two mountains with guides who know every inch, and enjoying the best village we have ever seen then do not hesitate to contact the team at VIP.
Casey Fitzpatrick,
California, USA
2006 & 2007
Hi there,These (pictures) are especially for Dylan and are long overdue - we have been so sad since we got back from our wonderful holiday in Whistler that we haven't been able to get organised!Thanks again for making it such a special holiday for us. We have talked everyone's ear off about what a good time we had. We will definitely be back in 2007 - once we can figure out our dates, we'll be in touch!
All the best, Lisl, Kevin, Poo & Chris.
Barbados
2001 - 2007
I've used VIP for five different trips to Whistler. Every time I come to Whistler, I bring 12-20 people with me. VIP has made every one of those trips as enjoyable as it could be. With VIP, I can travel with big group and not worry about all the details that might otherwise turn the trip into a chore for me. When was the last time a service company asked you: "Are you sure there isn't anything else we can take care of?" - I get that question from VIP every time I use them.
Mark Giese
Massachusetts, USA
Jan 2006
Hi Julie, Matt, Ben, Julian and Dylan -Was fun to meet most of you - you have a GREAT service going there and we had a SUPER ski holiday at Whistler/Blackcomb! What a PERFECT week - skiing was AWESOME! The accommodations were EXCELLENT and the food was DELICIOUS!Thanks for everything- Cheer
Kim, Dave, Jon and Tim Bruss
Minnesota, USA
2001-7
"We have just returned from our fourth enjoyable visit to Whistler arranged by VIP Mountain holidays. Ben, Matt, Julie and the team once again excelled themselves to provide a service second to none.They really do think of and provide everything: comfortable private transfers to and from the airport, groceries in the apartment/house on arrival, comfortable accommodation in perfect locations, lift passes and lessons pre-arranged, accompanying their guests to the ski rental outlet, making dinner reservations, taxiing the family around the resort and then even finding time to ski with us once or twice during our stay. Nothing is too much trouble, even if your needs are unique - on our first visit they arranged a fabulous ‘Bob the Builder' birthday cake for our son - amazing when they had never even heard of Bob the Builder at the time. They truly treat their guests like friends rather than clients.We first found VIP on the internet whilst living in Hong Kong but have sinced moved back to the UK and continue to use them. We can't wait until our next visit and cannot recommend them more highly to anyone.
Sue and John Whittaker
UK
2005-6
I just wanted to send a quick Thank you - we were most impressed with VIP and particularly all the help and advice we received from Julie & Dylan, who could not have been more helpful & made our stay so easy. We did not think the children would ski for so long but they wanted to ski every day and we were literally deciding the night before on passes & lessons - which every morning miraculously appeared ready and waiting for us. Dylan was always so positive , helpful & quick in his responses - when we travel to Whistler again we shall definitely be using VIP and recommending you to our friends.We were quite surprised by such personal and excellent service. Thank you very much!PS. do you just cover Whistler? (VIP:Yes, we only cover Whistler for now!)
Linnet Lees
Seattle, USA
Mar 2003
We could not possibly thank you enough for everything you (Julie) did for Eric and I. Whistler is a beautiful place and we had such a great time, but all would not have been possible without you.We do know now why VIP Mountain Holidays is such a success. With people like you, how could it not be. We both feel that you went above and beyond your "JOB" in everything you did.Thank you so much for making our "SPECIAL DAY" (Married in Whistler March 2003) so wonderful. Please let Dylan, Ben and Matt know also how much we appreciate their help. Thanks again for EVERYTHING!!!"
Eric and Nancy Guy
Louisiana, USA
Mar 2002 & Mar 2006
For 16 years a group of us have been taking a Western ski trip. In that time we have acquired an understanding of what it takes to put together a great trip. Without question, our best trip ever was our trip to Whistler-Blackcomb organized by VIP Mountain Holidays. The personalized service provided by Matt and Ben exceeded anything we could have expected. Having Whistler as a setting didn't hurt one bit. Those of you who have been there know what I mean. If this is your first time prepare to be blown away! Matt and Ben had to come through for 10 very different guys. Some of the group wanted to ski every day, others wanted to try snowmobiling. Nine out of ten wanted to heliski. Some wanted to rent all of their equipment, some wanted to rent some of their equipment. This group wanted their accommodations to be fantastic, convenient and reasonable. We gave these guys an impossible mission to accomplish and they did it! Matt and Ben are the best!!! Do yourself a favor and allow VIP mountain holidays to organize your next ski trip. Thanks guys for helping to provide some of the best memories of our lives - eh…
With gratitude,Andy, Pete, Rubes, Bart, Scotty, Rae, Murph, Kevin, Spence and of course "The Professor" Wally.
Maine, USA
Feb 2001, Jan 2002, Jan 2003, Jan 2004, Jan 2005, Jan 2006 & Jan 2007
"Thanks for organizing the best ski week we ever had. The hotel, instructor, and restaurants where all top notch; however, what I liked even better was the attention to details, the follow up, and the friendly service. We are definitely coming back! I had already forwarded your contact information to few of my friends."
Amnon Landon
San Francisco, USA
