We were getting ready for the skiing trip of a lifetime to Whistler, British Columbia. As the day to leave drew nearer, the conversations among our friends got more animated and anticipatory. Each of us had our specific tasks that we had agreed to handle, and mine were all finished. We just needed one more meeting before we took off to make sure all of the details were in line. That’s when we realized that there was a miscommunication and that no one had reserved a hotel in Whistler for any of us. This realization sent us into a panic, as it was ski season, and we didn’t think there was any way we’d find any vacant Whistler hotel rooms. We scrambled around for a bit before deciding to see what the world of apps had to offer, particularly those apps that provided last-minute hotel reservations.
I banged around on my phone and found an app called HotelTonight. I had never heard of it, but at this point there was no reason to be overly discerning. I clicked through on it and was immediately impressed with the choices provided for Whistler hotels. We picked one that we thought looked good for our group, and then I worked through the interface to see how cumbersome the booking process was. To my pleasant surprise, we had our Whistler hotel rooms booked and confirmed within a couple of minutes. Disaster averted. Relieved, we finished our meeting and went our separate ways to prepare for our trip. I wanted to take a day to get to know the area before spending the rest of the time skiing, so I spent some time learning the area.
Whistler Village is basically the downtown and nerve center of Whistler aside from the ski slopes. It’s a nice, clean and attractive village that looks like a ski town should look. I was stunned when a local told me that this area of town used to be the garbage dump as recently as the 1970’s. You’d never know it now given how quaint it all was. I walked around a bit, window shopped and just enjoyed the overall vibe of the place. I had a feeling I was going to enjoy my time here, as everyone was incredibly friendly and everything seemed easily accessible.
Creekside is near Whistler Village, and it was the original center of town here. You can still see some older buildings that look like they belong in a downtown hub-type setting, but for the most part this is another part of town that’s filled with condos, nice homes and other lodging. I was starting to get a bit tired already from the walking and the adrenaline in anticipation of the trip, so I was happy when I saw a little coffee shop nearby that served incredibly tasty coffee. I enjoyed it while watching the snow fall and the people mill about happily.
My next stop was a relatively large and diverse neighborhood known as Nordic Estates. It seems as though the area is a mix of old and new investment, and you’ll see residences as small as one-bedroom condos just down the road from enormous, multi-million-dollar mansions. It was an interesting sight to say the least. At this point, I was getting quite hungry, and fortunately there was a good restaurant just down the road that served very good sandwiches. That’s all I needed, and it was the perfect quick meal so I could get back into my exploring.
Now that I was full from lunch, I decided to get outside and really see some of the scenery aside from all of the buildings and amenities. I headed over to Alpine Meadows, which itself is a neighborhood that seems to be filled with locals. I had heard about something called the Valley Trail, and I found it. I walked along the lake and just took in the beauty of the falling snow on the lake with the mountains surrounding everything. It was as if I had stumbled into a holiday card, as the beauty was simply stunning.
My last stop of the day was Emerald Estates. This area is near Alpine Meadows, so it was logical that I’d go here next. There were a lot of different types of homes here as well, but once again I found myself just looking at Green Lake and the mountains that were now starting to dominate the skyline as the sun slowly descended. It was getting dark, and I had promised my friends who were skiing that I’d meet them in Whistler Village for dinner.
As I met my friends for dinner, I told them all about my day. It was interesting in that, while they all had a great time on the slopes, I had a lot more information to share as I saw and experienced so many different things. I was glad that I did what I did, as I now had an idea of what the community was all about and could spend the rest of my time skiing with that knowledge. I was also glad that I had somehow found HotelTonight, as without it I’m not sure finding a Whistler hotel would’ve been possible. We all enjoyed ourselves well into the evening, and we all looked forward to a deep sleep as we made our way back to our rooms. It was a great day.
