Pan Pacific Whistler Village Centre

We had a two night family stay in August. So many positives about this place, the location is amazing (very central as the name implies for the main village) and the breakfast (complimentary) is really good. The hot tubs and swimming pool look out to the mountains and are really warm which was great. We had a 2 bedroom suite which was excellent for 5 of us as it had plenty of room and 2 bathrooms. The gym is good but you have to go to the the second floor of the sister hotel which is about 4 mins walk away. Staff are generally good. If I had one issue it is to flag the parking. When we got there we parked in the large car park opposite and we were told we had to go out and turn left and left and find level 4 of that car park. After checking in we went back to the car, exited the car park and drove round for some time before going back to the hotel and asking for further directions. When we followed these it turned out we had parked in the right car park but just needed to be several floors below on level 4. They also charge $35 for parking. Valet parking is $40 and while I generally don’t like to pay someone to park a car I then have to find myself, it would have been quite useful given the confusion on parking instructions from the reception staff. The best thing about this hotel is the bedding which is amazingly soft and fluffy. We have stayed in many 5 star hotels but I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a more comfortable night’s sleep. I would recommend this hotel but it was worth it just for that!

Our family had booked TWO penthouses with directly with management over the phone in May for an August 14th stay. During the booking process it was determined we did not require the second booking. Assuming it was cancelled we went on with life. One day before our trip, I discovered they still had charged the card. Let me be clear...no emails were received from the hotel...ever!! No way for us to know that the hotel manager had NOT cancelled our second room. Front desk advised that management would get back to me but likely not before the stay. The morning of our arrival I received a confirmation that the room would not be refunded despite the mistake. Upon confirming my email, it was confirmed that they had our name and email incorrectly spelled. We received no acknowledgement or attempt at a remedy from the hotel. Disappointing

We stayed with another family in the three bed Tantalus suite. The space was just perfect for two families with plenty of bathrooms and great views. The bedding was very comfortable and I am fussy about pillows! The hotel is super central with a lovely pool area and sauna. It’s a nice size, doesn’t feel too big or corporate. All the staff were helpful and polite. Highly recommend for families.

Let me start with the positives of this hotel. The location for a summer visit is a 9. The quality and ambiance of the one bedroom suites is a 9. The buffet breakfast is a 3 and hardly worth it. The ambience of the resort, its architecturethe gardens and pool get a 8. Charging for parking your car in the hotel carpark is a 0. No one can get to Whistler without driving and the fact that the hotel charges an additional $40.00 per night and doesn’t include it in the room rate is inexcusable. Now for the service. This was the most disappointing hotel stay we experienced during our 42 days in Canada. Even Best Western provided a higher level service. I considered it shameful. When booked our stay we made it clear that we required a check-in between 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm and that we requested a room with views of Whistler mountain. Our request was acknowledged by Pam Pacific in writing. However when we arrived of myself and the other the guests booking in at 2:30 pm everyone was booked in and given their room key. We were told that our room was not ready and that reception would call us later. They never phoned and Pan Pacific management made us wait until 4:30 pm before we were able to have the key to our room. To add insult to injury management gave us a room that looked straight into the fire station. And get this when we arrived at 2:30 they invited us to pre- booking and provide them with our credit card details and car details. However when we returned at 4:30 after not receiving a phone call to say our room was now ready they said all our prebooking information had been deleted from the system and asked if we could provide it again. No apology was given for dishonouring their agreement to ensure a room was available to be checked into by 2:00 pm. No apology was given for switching our room from a mountain view to a fire station view. I was at the point that I wanted my money back and I would have gone over to the Fairmont Chateau or the Four Seasons. Finally I met with the front desk manager, who recorded my experience. He offered to remove the car parking fees. He apologised and advised that Pan Pacific employ high turnover itinerant workers with limited hospitality experience. Too little too late.

The good: beautiful hotel in central location. The bad: 4 times I had to go to management to get a key card that would work. Also ran out of food at breakfast and took 15 minutes for them to replenish and when they did they were banging plates and trays making a terrible racket. suspect something is going with the staff as they don’t seem to be happy to be working here. All in all meh…. Wouldn’t stay here again.