As a part of a recent spring skiing weekend in Whistler for a couple final runs of the season, I booked a one-night stay at the Delta Whistler Village Suites.
After previous stays at the Westin and Hilton properties in Whistler earlier this winter, the Delta was the last of the Marriott and Hilton hotels in the Whistler Village area that I had yet to review.
Delta Whistler Village Suites – Booking
A stay in Whistler is rarely inexpensive, and the Delta tends to be no exception. The Delta Whistler Village Suites is bookable with Marriott Bonvoy for 40,000–60,000 Bonvoy points per night under the current pricing structure. Indeed, I had the opportunity to book my Friday night stay for 41,000 Bonvoy points.
For this stay in late April, however the best available cash rate was $250 – a better value than redeeming points, given our target valuation of Bonvoy points at 0.9 cents/point.
I went ahead and paid with my Amex US Bonvoy Brilliant Card, which was offering US$50 back after spending US$250, and so took the opportunity to use this stay to make progress towards unlocking the offer.
It’s worth noting that the Delta’s rates do vary throughout the season. During the peak of winter ski season, nightly rates can be exorbitant and upwards of $700–800, in keeping with virtually all other Whistler area hotels.
Thus, if you’re planning a trip around this time, redeeming Bonvoy points or a Free Night Award would be ideal; on the other hand, during the off-season, it can be a better deal to pay cash.
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Delta Whistler Village Suites – Location
The Delta is located in the northern part of Whistler Village, outside the “walls” of the village itself to the south.
The hotel is still situated among many shops, restaurants, and cafes in the same complex; however, it is a further distance from the gondolas and mountains compared to the Hilton or Westin, which are in the heart of Whistler Village.
The Hilton and Westin are steps away from the Whistler Mountain gondolas, allowing skiers and riders to carry their gear very conveniently from the hotel. On the other hand, the Delta is a five-minute walk to the gondola of Whistler Mountain and a 10-minute walk to Blackcomb Mountain.
Now, for this spring ski session, Whistler Mountain was already closed and Blackcomb Mountain didn’t open until 10am, so the prized location of the Hilton and Westin wasn’t necessarily needed.
However, this is certainly something worth noting if you’re considering staying at the Delta during peak ski season. Many visitors will be trying to reach the gondola as early as possible, and this property is among the less convenient locations of the major chain hotels.
Delta Whistler Village Suites – Check-in
We arrived at the property at around 8pm after taking the Epic Rides bus from Vancouver. I was travelling with a friend, and we had booked the base-level room with two queen beds, with a view to upgrade to something with more space.
Indeed, as a Titanium Elite member, I noticed that I had been proactively upgraded to the One-Bedroom Suite with Sofa Bed on the Marriott app prior to my arrival.
Then, upon check-in, the friendly associate from New Zealand asked us if we would like a further upgrade to the Two-Bedroom Suite.
It’s quite rare that I’m simply asked straight-up at the front desk whether I wanted a free further upgrade from an existing upgrade, and I naturally said yes, feeling quite impressed with the hotel’s generosity for elite members.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t all good news. We were also informed there was also no breakfast for elite members, which was a major disappointment.
The hotel styles itself as an “all-suite” hotel, meaning all its rooms and suites have kitchenettes and there’s no on-site dining venue at the hotel as a result, as well as no Executive Lounge or anything like that.
Instead, the Delta Whistler offers 1,000 Bonvoy points as the only possible welcome amenity, plus 750 Bonvoy points as a replacement benefit due to a lounge being unavailable.
This wasn’t a huge deal in practice during our stay, as we were happy to walk to the Starbucks nearby for coffee and some pastries, particularly given that the gondola wasn’t open until 10am. However, I’d still consider the lack of breakfast for elite members to be a major downside to choosing this hotel.
Delta Whistler Village Suites – Two-Bedroom Suite
We were assigned Rooms 1339 and 1341 at the very end of a long and snaking hallway on the third floor.
The Two-Bedroom Suite is essentially two rooms amalgamated together: one larger suite with a kitchenette, a dining area, sitting area, bedroom, bathroom, and then a separate room with a bedroom and bathroom, but no kitchenette.
During peak occupancy, depending on the hotel’s needs, these rooms can either be sold separately as a one-bedroom suite and a separate regular guest room, or as a single two-bedroom suite. I thought it was quite nice of the Delta to offer us this upgrade, as occupancy presumably wasn’t very high this late in the season.
I also thought that these two-bedroom suites would make for a good solution for any families travelling to Whistler, as they’d be able to benefit from two separate bedrooms and more living space if they booked or “suite-talked” their way to this room type.
The main suite with the living area and kitchen, Room 1341, had a fairly standard room design, with carpet, wooden furnishings, and a neutral colour palette.
The kitchenette was well-stocked with a fridge, microwave, and stove. In the cabinets were a coffee maker and kettle, as well as a toaster. The cabinets were also fully stocked with dishware and cutlery.
A small round dining table seating four people was situated on the right-hand side of the kitchen, with the living area beyond it.
The living area consists of a pull-out couch with a side table and lamp next to it, an armchair, and a small ottoman in the centre.
Behind the couch was some artwork of the Whistler Mountains, and on the opposite wall was a desk, with the flat-screen TV mounted just above.
The balcony is accessible from the living area and is furnished with a couple of outdoor chairs, offering views of the mountains in the distance.
The bedroom in this larger room had a queen-sized bed flanked by two bedside tables, with some storage space underneath the luggage rack adjacent to the bed.
Meanwhile, Room 1339 was the smaller room of the two, keeping things simple with a queen-sized bed, two bedside tables, and a little bit of storage space in the drawers opposite the bed.
Both rooms had a standard bathroom with a single sink, mirror, and shower tubs.
I took the smaller room and gave my friend the bigger one, and we had a pretty comfortable night’s rest.
Overall, I thought the rooms certainly weren’t bad by Whistler’s standards, but was otherwise mostly unremarkable. Other similarly priced hotels aren’t much more impressive in terms of the room interiors, and I’d consider the Delta pretty on par with the other Marriott and Hilton properties I’ve tried so far.
Delta Whistler Village Suites – Other Facilities
The hotel states they don’t have an on-site restaurant on property, but the Brickworks Public House gastropub is, in fact, connected to the property.
We went here for dinner and had a really nice Korean BBQ-glazed pork loin, along with a few beers. The restaurant has no affiliation with the hotel, so the meals at Brickworks can’t be billed to the room.
In my view, it surely isn’t beyond the realms of possibility for the Delta and Brickworks to work together and offer a dining and breakfast experience for hotel guests, which would make the hotel quite a bit more compelling of a property to stay at compared to the current status quo.
Furthermore, the Delta Whistler Village Suites has a health club with an indoor and outdoor pool, sauna, and fitness centre.
There were two hot tubs: one inside, and one outside. Both were kept very warm throughout the day, and seemed like a great spot to take a dip after a long ski day – an indulgence I would’ve loved to partake in if I had time on this stay.
The gym, which is located directly next to the pools, had a few treadmills, bikes, and some weights, but was fairly limited in square footage – certainly smaller than the facilities at the Westin and Hilton.
Conclusion
The Delta Whistler Village Suites is a decent property for the most part, especially for our spring skiing session when the proximity to the gondolas were of less importance.
But compared to the Westin and Hilton, which can generally be booked in a similar price range, it’s hard to truly recommend the Delta when it doesn’t offer breakfast for elite members, and the other two have such prime locations.
Choosing the Delta Whistler over other accommodation options will likely come down to price, as the Delta does tend to be priced slightly lower than the Westin on most dates.
Paying cash for some of the Delta’s lower off-peak rates or redeeming points during the height of winter can deliver a solid stay experience, as long as you’re willing to look past some of the hotel’s shortcomings.
