I stayed at 4055 Coyote Fork condo unit and the unit is terrible. carpet and couch is very dirty. coffee maker is broken, bathroom ceiling is pealing, bedroom tv is so little like the size of the laptop. I stayed at Northstar resort in the past but, didn’t experience this horrible experience before. this is the worst unit I stayed at Northstar resort.
Sally via booking.com
Category: Northstar ski resort review
“Northstar Resort is a terrible and unreliable business”
Northstar Resort cancelled our hotel reservation 6 days before ski week due to “overbooking”. They did not offer to compensate us for any future stays. The only thing they offered was to let us have a $1700/night room which was ridiculous and way out of our budget. Due to their ineptitude, we had to cancel our entire trip. They took no responsibility for their mistake and in to make matters worse, they charged us IN FULL the day before they cancelling our room. I had to chase them down for the refund. They are a terrible and unreliable business that has no consideration for its customers. Do not book a room here.
seddiek
The Village At Northstar – Avoid
No early check in and service at front desk sucks. Did nothing to help us get into our room 20 minutes early even though it was obviously already cleaned. Front desk did absolutely nothing, just made my family waste their time sitting in our vehicle until precisely 4pm. After paying a considerable premium, I’m less likely to come back here after such poor service. Thanks for making my 6 month old wait in the car when they could have just been in the condo.
Nicholas Young
“overall the place did not live up to how much it charged”
When we checked in at our room, the smoke detector was beeping loudly due to low battery. You could hear it from outside the door. So we asked the front desk if they could change it. They said the maintenance guy just left and we needed to wait till next morning. We were a bit shocked that 1) there was already no emergency maintenance at 8pm; 2) they would suggest us to just wait a whole night in a room where it was impossible to sleep or even rest. So I told the front desk staff that we couldn’t stay there with this constant sharp beeping. Then she offered us ear plugs… hmm thank you but no. We politely demanded a better solution. Finally they switched us to another room, which was great and appreciated (and that’s why this is not a 1 star review). But why this was not the initial solution?
Siyu H
A few other notes. The balcony door in the new room couldn’t lock. The AC was quite ineffective. The room was 65F when we went in. We set the temperature to 72F. Three hours later it was 67F.
The environment was nice. Room was spacious. Location was convenient. But overall the place did not live up to how much it charged (400+$ per night for us). There are many Airbnb options nearby and quite a few hotels in Truckee less than 10miles away from the ski area. So I don’t recommend this place.
“This is NOT a 4 star property .. What a rip off”
THIS IS NOT A 4 star PROPERTY. You have been warned, do not get scammed. A 4 star property should have bell available (not bell service), room service, laundry service, housekeeping without a fee, decent attitude, responsive reservation staff, etc — this property has NONE of the above. You will receive better service if you stayed at Best Western or better attitude at even a 2-star property! To top that off they scam you into not reading the fine lines and you cannot, for the first time in my life, even upgrade your reservation by paying the difference! They also have very dated appliance and their room DID NOT look like the picture advertised and I suspect the room size is much smaller than the advertised 400sqft, and nor is the bed a real King. Their kitchen in the studio is so small they kept the utensil and the KNIVES in an unlocked, GROUND LEVEL cabinet so BEWARE if you have kids. I will NEVER come back here again and nor will any of my family and friends if I can help it. What a rip off.
Claire L
“So bad…ridiculous delays in getting the room”
We were told at 10am, that they were only promising 4pm. At 3:30, they had no idea. At 4:00pm, they said 20 minutes. At 4:30, we called and got no answer. So, $800 per night gets you nothing…terrible.
Daron E
“buyer beware-not worth the headache!”
Booked a trip for my 35th birthday. Front check-in girl was rude, acted like I was inconvienicing her by being their early. They gave us a key to the gym/pool/garage which didn’t work and had to go back and get reprogrammed, and she seemed more irritated like that was my fault. The room was nice and clean. We made breakfast in the kitchenette and put all the dishes In the dishwasher which immediately leaked all over the place saturating the kitchenette floor, so good thing there were lots of towels.
bigislandracing
We had a decent time skiing, crowded as usual at northstar.
When we went to check out our folio change was $1,760 compared to the $1,160 reservation we had. When I questioned the front desk person ( a different yet still unhelpful person) told me I had to take it up with reservations, and she gave us their number. Called reservations and they tell me to take it up with the front desk. After 4 phone calls to people you can barley understand im still out $600, and this has pretty much ruined all the fun we had for the weekend. Hopefully my credit card company can sort it out.
The property is decently nice but buyer beware-not worth the headache!
Avoid Ski Trail condos – overpriced junk rented from trailer trash owners
First warning is to look at the pictures very carefully. What you will see is a small dark condo that has not been updated since probably the 50’s including the furniture and beds which were very shoddy and uncomfortable. The second warning is some of the furniture you see is simply not there – the futon that is supposed to be in the loft is actually in the living room instead of the comfy couch you see. It does seem that an appliance and electrical upgrade took place in the 90’s, leaving a huge fire hazard where the all the electronics are plugged in and a cable remote that should be in a museum. The condo is very dark drab and stuffy; the only thing that saved us was a huge noisy fan that we had to carry from room to room. As previously mentioned, the bedding and most of the kitchen utensils looked like they were bought at a thrift store about the same time as the 90’s upgrades.
We did get a laugh when we saw a sign to remove our shoes before stepping on some really old and dirty carpet. We did comply but kept our socks on to avoid catching anything. While I’m at it there were multiple lights that didn’t work, trying to turn off the shower is a horrifying experience – we kept expecting the faucet to break each time we yanked it with all our might. Sleeping on the futon in the living room was a nightmare given there wasn’t complete bedding for it and all the light and noise ion that area.
There were a couple of good things I must say. Location was about a 15 minute walk of the village, check-in and check out was quick and efficient and there was lots of parking given it was in the summer. Sadly, that’s all the good I could come up with. In conclusion, we now realize we could have stayed in a much nicer place for a lot less then we ended up paying for this outdated, shoddy dump.
Terese E. via Vacasa
Ski Trails Condominium Association (which is a part of Northstar Property Owners Association) is run by Camco Truckee management company.
I’ve been at Northstar for 28 years ……my mom lives here 3 Months in the summer as well . She has more patience with these people . My realtor and I not so much . Seems like they could be eliminated all together the resort could save some $ and so could the home owners
Megan A. via Yelp
If i could give negative stars I would. I have owned several properties nationwide that have been managed by HOAs. In the pas,t I thought I experienced poor service from some of the HOAs I’ve done business with. Compared to Camco, they were stellar! I have had a simple home repair work order out since June ( it is now October). My first request for repair was not responded to. After several further requests, they finally responded and stated they needed to get Board approval. We are talking about a small piece of broken siding, something any repairman could fix in less than an hour. After a month Camco responded the Board denied the work order. I then sent Camco the HOAs CC&R where it clearly states they are responsible for fixing the damage. After several more emails and threats they finally agreed to fix the damage in August. It is now October and to date, the damage has not been addressed. I have never experienced such horrible service. I caution any board member of a community save their community members the aggravation and avoid this property management firm!
Magda T. via Yelp
No wonder Ski Trail condos look and feel like a trailer park in and out. IMO, the majority of Ski Trail condos owners look like trailer trash themselves. Rude, arrogant trailer trash. Avoid.
Former Northstar employee (Ski Coach): “Run Screaming Into The Night”
The majority of the management, both senior and mid level, had nothing but the companies bottom dollar in interest. From the CEO/COO down to ski team management. I was told by a ski team manager that coaches “should not let their athletes progress too fast because then the parents would realize they needed better coaches and a better mountain”, and that the goal was to keep them long enough to buy a house at northstar and lock them into the vail ecosystem. This same director drove away an alarming number of coaches, predominantly female. There’s no room for misogyny in the ski industry any more. Although apparently Vail/Northstar doesn’t feel the same. The bottom line 100% financially based decision making was an utter disappointment for someone who has put decades into the ski industry. The lack of livable pay or easily accessible and quality benefits for seasonal employees is pathetic. You can’t survive in a ski town with what they pay, and they expect you to dedicate more time than you’re paid for.
Advice to Management: Just give up. Quit. Stop trying.
Former Northstar employee (Ski Coach)
Source: Glassdoor.com
5 things to know before you go to Northstar ski resort
- Low elevation results in warmer and icier conditions, so even though they groom a lot, there are often patches of ice that catch you. It can be really bad, which is why we gave it a relatively low rating of 3 after this happened to us multiple times.
- Limited vertical
- Northstar is the most popular Tahoe resort for hordes of Bay Area weekend skiers, so crowds are always an issue when conditions are good.
- The parking lot situation is bad because the close-in lots fill up fast and then you have to park in the lots out by highway 267 and take a fairly long bus ride into the village.
- Even if you get the closer-in parking, it’s a long walk through the village until you get to the gondola, which you still have to take before getting to the real skiing terrain. It’s a long process.
Source: skinorthamerica100.com
Don’t let the Northstar Resort name lure you
Don’t let the Northstar Resort name lure you. The late check-in was a hassle since there is no one onsite after hours. They did not send check-in instructions because they claim they do not receive email addresses when clients books through Expedia, so we were left trying to figure it out on our own. We had to track down a security for the entry code to the condo. The condo was not clean, the floor in the kitchen was sticky, like someone had spilled soda all over. We had to wear shoes in the condo because the floors were so dirty. The bed is a Murphy bed, which is not disclosed in the property description. It was surprisingly comfortable and the sheets were clean. The shower curtain was stained and the water pressure was barely enough to rinse shampoo from your hair. This condo is hugely overpriced for what you get, I won’t book here again.
Christina via Expedia.com
“was not exactly at the resort as pictured”
It was not clear that our reservation was not exactly at the resort as pictured. We were at Timber creek lodge which is at the back of the resort. It’s very dated and dirty carpet in the hall and the unit. The unit bathroom is tiny.
Sharon
“Very dirty”
Very dirty, no clean towels, most restaurants are closed and the one that we ate at was horrible and very expensive. Will never stay here again. Water in shower was brown, carpet in room was disgusting. Also if you are not an owner you have to pay for all amenities per person. To use the swimming pool area was $8 a person and $2 a towel. Rooms are very small and beds are very uncomfortable. For the price not worth it!
Maria
“not up to even low standards”
I thought the unit we originally stayed in was extremely sub par. Dirty, dated, not clean, not up to even low standards. We were then moved to another unit which was somewhat better, but still maybe 2 stars. I would’ve thought u had higher standards and would require owners to meet those standards.
Michael
“poor”
Check in was about 1 mile away from rooms. Limited underground parking because of ownership parking slots. Very few rental spots. The air conditioning was so loud we only used it when it was too hot not to. Could not use it at night and just opened windows. Had to use a fan in the other room, air conditioning not working well enough. Very small rooms.
Richard
“hotel from hell”
Hotel from hell. The northstar resort totally lied about the unit we booked. i told them steps were an issue and they told me only small number. when we got there , i counted there were 40 steps to the unit , my wife has bad knees and impossible to climb . i checked the unit and it had a murphy bed we were told a queen be. the mattress felt like it came from a homeless shelter . and the unit was no where near the town as the pictures indicated. it was so bad we could not stay and had to leave that night for other accomadations
Gary
Source: Expedia.com
Dirty, Dank and Depressing
“The rooms do not look like the pictures on the website”
We would not recommend this property at all. It is bare-bones and a room on par with a Motel 6. There is no vanity in the bathrooms, the carpet was stained, the bed was old and caved toward the middle (making sleeping virtually impossible). For a resort setting, these rooms are dank, depressing and bland. The rooms do not look like the pictures on the website. The Hampton Inn down the road would provide a much better option for travelers. Avoid at all costs.
Kyle via Expedia.com
“no one answers the phone when you need help”
The bathtub was very dirty. we tried to clean it but still could not get stains out so we could not use it. See photos 2. We left an expensive tupperware in the fridge and forgot it on check out. We called the place 3 times and each time they promised they would get back to us but did not. So we had to pay for a replacement out of pocket 3. It was very hard to find the hot tubs that are in the rec center in the village itself . More signage would be useful. And no one answers the phone when you need help.
Traveler Expedia.com
“..old stained carpet”
However our unit had old stained carpet. The lighting was very dim, with one lamp knob broken so you had to plug/unplug it to turn it on/off. The dryer vent wasn’t attached, and of course cold air would come through to chill the condo.
Kenneth Yuen-Jing Expedia.com
“The bathroom ceiling has mold and mildew”
– Michael via Expedia
Source: Expedia.com
“Extremely dated resort”
The particular unit we rented was extremely dated. Comforters were made into the bed under sheets and mine had oatmeal or something all over it. Furniture in living area was all torn up.(leather)
Susan
Too expensive for being old. We did not stay in the main resort, there were only 2 restaurants open and in one you had to make reservations. The pizza place packed and waiting 1 hr for pizza.
Mariana
The staff were unhelpful. I asked for assistance a few times by Phone email and no response. The tvs in the rooms did not work, there was a long winded explanation of how they worked, which did not actually work. Non of the shops were open and food and drink was expensive but a free bus ride, which no one was told about, on arrival, meant you could go to the supermarket and buy things cheaper
Lain
We had a mix of rooms it took hours to check in. Staff didn’t follow thru on getting keys to us they committed too. Floors were dirty. Beds were not comfortable.
Ellington
This was my third stay and I was really disappointed with the apartment I was assigned. The whole place needed a serious update. I was a little grossed out by the bathtub and the curtain shower to be honest. I understand that each apartment has its own decoration as they are privately owned, but it was a big step down from the apartment I stayed in last time. I also had a family upstairs that was very very loud and constantly running.
Silvia
They need to start remodeling there units. It’s time. Bathrooms, tubs and interiors need a major update
Antranig
Top bunk bed missing sheets and ladder. Smelled very stuffy in the house. Staff very unhelpful when we ran into an issue (at the village)
Alisha
Property is run down. Main element on stove would not light, dining room light not working, bathroom electric outlet not working. Property reviews said it was steps from the ski lifts, but actually you have to take a shuttle bus.
Stephen
Soon as you walk in you’re greeted with bugs crawling all over the floor and furniture.
Shashi
Service to get fans was a hassle, and one condo was about 3 miles away and was not cleaned had webs, lights not working, window screens were missing and no regular coffee. Very hot and no fans worked. Our family was not comfortable.
Reginajo
Not in village like booking showed. Bare minimum with amenities, towels etc. paying to get in pool. Was not that impressed with property
Monica
Dishwasher wasn’t working. We had to evacuate the room in a snow storm for maintenance. Lodging was not prepped before we arrived.
Roger
The 2nd bathroom was tiny and the shower head was not doable for a proper shower. The temp in the bedrooms was not consistent and blowing in one direction only. The TV screen was small. Everything was dated.
Lai
Source: Booking.com
Poor grooming, hard to get to lifts, overall mismanaged
Having been a season pass holder for nearly 20 years I have seen the changes. Great mountain but since Vail took over and the aftermath of the pandemic there are troubles everywhere. Five feet of new snow for December 2022 and they cannot groom the mountain. Did you are an intermediate or beginner you will be on the same runs everyday. If you are here only for a day, well not so bad. Why can’t they groom one new run a day? Pretty easy, but they do the same ones just about everyday. And why does it take days to open the backside. It’s crazy. Either Vail resorts want to save money with limited staffing ie. less operations or they just cannot hire enough people. They should let their customers know what’s going on.
Rick Hirshberg via OnTheSnow.com
“Waiting and waiting and waiting”
Let me start with the parking lot first. Arrived at the parking lot at 9:39 am. Then, wait for the Shuttle bus for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Finally
Ray Fang via OnTheSnow.com
got to the first lift and waited 25 minutes. The second lift waited for 35 minutes. The third lift (Comstock) waited for 1 hour 20 minutes.
Finally got to the top of the Mountain at 1:45 pm. Waiting and waiting and waiting..
“The resort seems to be mismanaged”
The resort seems to be mismanaged. Visited December 17-22. Unbelievable lift lines (20 minutes throughout the day). Plenty of snow, but only a few runs open. Backside closed. New app for shuttle buses doesn’t work, and again, very long (20-30 mins) wait for transportation around the resort. Many stores in the Village are shuttered. This is our long-time home resort and it’s depressing to see what Vail is doing to it!
Kathleen Forni via OnTheSnow.com
Source: OnTheSnow.com
NorthStar California Sucks | VailEpicFail 