The Sebastian, Vail

We recently stayed at this hotel while attending a wedding, choosing to extend our stay to explore Vail. Unfortunately, our experience was consistently disappointing, and I feel compelled to share the full scope of what occurred. However, I will say that the staff definitely made the stay more pleasant and tried to accommodate the best they could hence giving it 4 stars. In addition, there were several members of the staff that agree there are issues at the hotel. 1. Reservation Issues We had a room block for the wedding, but the booking link did not work properly. Around January 2025, I called the hotel directly. A staff member assisted me and provided a confirmation number, but I never received a confirmation email. When I followed up, the second representative couldn’t find any reservation under my name. If I hadn’t double-checked, I would’ve arrived with no room reserved. This was both frustrating and stressful given the nature of our trip. 2. A/C Problems Upon arrival, we discovered the air conditioning wasn’t working—and no one informed us at check-in. Only when we asked at the front desk were we told it would be fixed the next day. It took two full days, and even then, it never cooled below 71 degrees (despite being set to 65). We had to sleep with the windows open, which only opened 4–5 inches and faced a busy road. Traffic noise and warm temperatures made for uncomfortable nights. Others from the wedding party also had to be moved due to extremely hot rooms. 3. Bellman & Room Upgrade Confusion Victor, the bellman, was excellent—friendly, informative, and welcoming. We appreciated his tips. However, we never received the water we requested to be sent to our room. I had upgraded our room but wasn’t informed of what the upgrade entailed. When Victor showed us in, the connecting room was unlocked, so he left it open, assuming it was part of the upgrade because we didn't know what the upgrade included. We didn’t use it, except to take the water that was there since ours never arrived. Kimberly later kindly provided bottled water from the lobby when we walked down to request it. 4. Concierge Unavailable We attempted to reach the concierge, Steve, multiple times, both in person and via phone. He was never at the desk when we asked, and despite leaving messages, he never returned our calls. 5. Room Assignment Mix-Up Robert from the hotel called about the attached room, but I missed his call and returned it shortly after. He was busy, so I hung up and went to the lobby—only to overhear him discussing my situation with the mother of the bride (MOB). He incorrectly assumed we thought the extra room was ours and stated it was meant for her mother, who had to have her room switched three times. He also claimed it was a handicap-accessible room, which I confirmed it was not after personally showing the MOB. Another person attending the wedding heard be at the desk and said I ditto everything she said, she was having the same frustrating experience. 6. Privacy Violation While in our room, which has a hallway leading from the main door, I heard a faint knock. Before I could get to the door, a lead housekeeper entered the room—despite the “Do Not Disturb” sign being displayed. I was shocked. She said she needed to access the adjoining room, but I reminded her she had a master key. She claimed her key didn’t work. I let her in and unlocked our side of the door to find that the other side was also closed. She said thank you and was ready to leave when I informed her that a bathroom lightbulb was out, and the door latch was missing—a true safety concerns. Neither issue was addressed during our stay. 7. Unauthorized Entry (Again) Later, we returned to our room to find a bottle of champagne and macaroons—with no note—despite the DND sign being on the door. While the gesture was appreciated, i had just requested that no one enter our room due to the incident with housekeeping. In addition, no one at the front desk could confirm who sent it. I later learned it came from the event coordinator as an apology—but only found that out after we were already home. 8. Housekeeping Miscommunications When I asked a housekeeper for towels, she brought robes instead. Small, but frustrating, especially when added to the larger issues. 9. Lack of Follow-Up a couple of staff members said they’d call me back and either never did or didn’t follow through as promised. Communication throughout the stay was lacking. 10. Billing Confusion I noticed a charge on my card from a bike shop affiliated with the hotel. No one could identify the charge at first, though they later confirmed it was for a bike rental after i questioned it. In addition, I thought they were affiliated and asked the rental place if we got a discount, they said not. Later I found out we should have received 10% off. This should have been clearer from the start. 11. Wedding Dinner Service At the wedding, seating was mixed up, so we weren’t in our assigned seats. A server tried to place the fish entrée in front of my husband, who had ordered beef. When we explained the seating issue, she became visibly frustrated, placed the plate down abruptly, said “whatever,” and walked away—never returning. Another server apologized and said she would notify the manager. 12. Front Office Manager Interaction When I shared my concerns with Haley, the front office manager, she seemed indifferent and annoyed—not nearly as empathetic as others I spoke with. 13. Room Condition The leather couch in our room was visibly dirty and uncomfortable. 14. Final billing the bill was extremely confusing. The credits were hard to understand and lacked back up information. There were credits under the payment column. The total was the same under payment/credits/billed information. Took us hours to go through ourselves and figure it out. Positives: Kimberly, Mia, and Mary (spa) were all kind, empathetic, and helpful. Victor, the bellman, stood out with his hospitality. Bryanna, the group room coordinator, was professional and understanding. The bed was comfortable, and the rooms themselves were well-designed, although the suite layout was strange, with it being separate rooms plus the adjoining room, all off the same hallway. Mary at the spa gave me 50% off, which was appreciated. The hotel did provide some Compensation: 40% off for three nights - provided to all at the wedding for the AC inconvenience. Most didn't have the other concerns/issues we had, or at least I didn't hear of them other than a few having to move due to the heat. One free night upgrade fees waived Parking fees waived Resort fees waived However, given the sheer number and seriousness of issues we encountered, I truly felt the entire stay should have been comped. I expressed this to both Haley and Bryanna. Bryanna said she would ask. Haley later called back and offered us one free night on a future stay. I explained we don’t plan to return to Colorado anytime soon. She reiterated that was all they were willing to offer. For context, one night at the hotel is about $400, and they had already comped about $1,100. For the remaining $600, they were willing to accept my review instead of fully owning the guest experience failure.

I recently visited this property to celebrate a wedding, but my stay was definitely not without its challenges. The HVAC system was down for about three days, and on top of that, both elevators were out of order for most of my stay. To make matters worse, there was no hot water available for a bit, which, of course, was a bit of a nuisance. So, why do I still give it five stars? It’s simple: the staff. Even in the face of all these issues, the team here went above and beyond to make sure everything was handled as smoothly as possible. They were incredible, offered up alternatives, and did their best to make the situation bearable. Yes, there were hiccups, but the way the staff managed things and kept us updated made all the difference. When you're staying at a property dealing with issues beyond their control, customer service is what ultimately makes or breaks the experience. And in this case, I was truly impressed by how they handled everything. They did compensate us fairly for the issues, and I would definitely consider staying here again, especially if these issues are resolved in the future. Thank you, Richard, for dealing with my crazy family, and making me amongst others feel heard.

Fantastic staff and awesome Ski Valet. The staff were so welcoming and friendly. It was refreshing compared to most resorts today. The ski valet was fantastic. The staff took care of your skis the minute you arrived and even heated up your ski boots for you overnight. It was a top notch program!

This hotel gets a solid 2 out of 10 for me. We booked through AMEX platinum fine hotels which allows for 12pm check in. We've never not received this early check in at any of our stays in the past 3 years. This hotel couldn't accommodate which was fine, but we were told "we should have you in there quickly" and 3 hours went by with them knowing we had to change/shower/freshen up before our 3pm event. No dice. Took the bell men 15 minutes and an additional phone call to get our luggage brought up once we got into room with 3 minutes to possibly change before our event. They left our truck running out front for 15 mins wasting gas/fumes even though I said they could valet it bc we would walk to our event. I had to go out and ask them to turn it off. They have no milk or cream in the mornings at their tea/coffee station. You have to wait until 7am for the restaurant to open, and walk up heaps of stairs to get milk for their complimentary tea station. We went down there at 6am hoping for coffee/tea, and couldn't drink anything for an hour. We paid $1200 for the night, and it def. wasn't remotely worth the price. Their staff was below average with customer service. Their restaurant at night was average. They need to step it up for what they charge. $50 for resort fee, for what? $50 for valet, to leave my truck running for 15 mins and my having to ask them to turn it off. No thanks on this place.

Our whole experience was extremely underwhelming. From the time we arrived, we did not have hot water (it took about 30-45 minutes to warm up and would only stay warm for about 10 min). No apology and no outreach from any of the staff at any point during our, no nothing except the maintence guy telling us we should "plan our showers". The fridge in our room was so incredibly loud we had to unplug it every night, which also meant sacrificing any leftovers we had that day. We were in a room joined to another room and could hear the other peoples TV as we were going to sleep- no sound barrier at all. It felt like we were in a midwest Holiday Inn at best. No one told us when we checked in about how the ski valet worked or the overnight amenities of base camp, despite us having our skis visibly in hand at arrival. When we asked how to get to the gondola, the front desk said they didn't know. Had to find the on site ski valet and ask him. The guys at Base Camp were the best part of the experience. They were so kind and explained everything clearly. Everyone else seemed like it was their first day on the job and had never worked in customer service. The cold plunge had a dead bird in it for over a day and the hot tub jet only worked half the time. When we checked out, the front desk attendant did not even so much as thank us for staying. The only words he said to us were "do you want a receipt"? I have never had such a bad experience at a "luxury" hotel and will be advising anyone I know traveling to Vail to spend their money elsewhere. Every guest we encountered while at the hotel during our stay had something similar to say.