We rented a private home at Northstar this past weekend. We paid over $700 a night for this house and it was the dirtiest rental I have ever been in. No one had been in this house for a long time there were huge spider webs in every corner of the home. When we walked though any room we were walking though huge spider webs. It took us 45 mins to try to knock them all down before anyone from Northstar even came to see. There were dead and living spiders everywhere. It was like camping outside you had to check your bed and clothes each day before getting in/ putting on. The rental was advertised with a BBQ on the deck and we rented over Father’s Day to have a Father’s Day BBQ but there was no BBQ. The front desk answer was we can go and rent BBQ space at the rec center. Still as of today the home is advertised with a BBQ. Also the front deck is falling apart with holes in the deck the front railing is about to fall. Most of the windows did not open and the ones that did had no screens on them or they were ripped. One of the sliding doors did not even lock. To say we were disappointed is an under statement. The lack of caring about these issue by the Northstar staff amazed me. We will never stay here again!!!! So not worth the money to stay in a spider infested home that was covered in dust!!!!!
Another year – another moronic error produced by Vail’s Epic payment system. Perfectly valid card which I am using nationwide and worldwide. And yet another stupid payment error by Vail. This company simple cannot help itself. Vail sucks even in small details.
Do NOT go to Northstar on a weekend or holiday. It is absurd, ridiculous, and the ownership could not care less. Waited 45 minutes in line for bus to the village. Then greeted by an insanely long line to the gondola – at least an hour. That of course leads to long lift lines and overcrowded slopes. If this is the new normal, I find it unacceptable. And certainly NOT fun. While I drove up from the Bay Area early on Saturday, I chose to take a bus back to my car and simply drove home. Again, based upon my conversation with a manager, this is simply how it is. Pathetic in my opinion. Particularly given the price of a lift ticket.
Pretty much a wrecked ski/snowboard experience by Vail Resorts as they have done with other properties.
Oversold cheap season passes mean the lift lines are jam packed, low staffing with poor service, and no real snow making or grooming mean only 20-30% of the hill is open.
You’ll be in line 30-40min for each lift, and that’s MID-WEEK. Weekends are a disaster and you’ll see consistent 45-60min lift lines.
Look at other independent ski resorts if you want to actually enjoy your day. The mass-market approach that has been implemented at Northstar isn’t worth the time or money unless you like standing around in lines all day.
“Weekday zoo at Northstar”
“Basically a mosh pit to get on the lifts. Mid-week photo…weekends are worse.”
This place is a great place to ski if you like waiting in line….. waiting for parking (can take forever from 267 in the morning) waiting for shuttle from parking lot to the village waiting in line for tickets (except if you have season pass) waiting in line for gondola to get up to the base (crazy packed in the morning) waiting in line for lifts (No fast passes here) waiting in line at the top of the lifts just to get going and once you are starting down the runs you have to deal with a lot of people on the runs, I mean it’s always crowded I used to have season passes every year for a long time but now it’s just crazy crowded and with their new increased prices $240 per lift ticket and new pay to park reservation system I would rather go elsewhere like Kirkwood where my time is spent on the mountain instead of waiting in line after line after line. NorthStar is all about the money now judging from all the other reviewers who also say the same thing
A Racket to put simply. Bought two days, our passes did not work both days. Waited in line several hours. Employees were extremely rude and none of them even tried to speak English. Insane for the price! This place has went downhill so fast
The response initially from the staff was helpful. However the check in process was painful. After reading the check instructions one section instructed to get a paper parking pass. Then I was instructed to register online with a link I never received in my inbox or spam. The front desk staff told me they were having trouble with the system. Due to them having trouble I requested a paper parking pass. They refused. My spouse was sitting in the car with in pain from a ski accident. 15 minutes later they sent me a link to register for parking. I completed it and saved a screenshot that I successfully completed the process. In the morning I received a parking citation warning of potential ticket and towing. I returned to the Northstar front desk to request help. I was told not to worry about it and there was nothing they could do. I requested to speak with manager and they refused saying the manager was available but couldn’t do anything. I reiterated my spouse was injured I needed my car more then usual. They again stated nothing they could do with this known ongoing issue. I demanded a paper parking permit. They said ok and issued it reluctantly. This was very unprofessional, lack of empathy. Stay at a motel 6 or super 8. You will get better and more professional service at 1/4 the price.
This review is targeted at skiers/snowboarders. While the location of the resort is very picturesque and the main village itself is cozy and nice to relax at, overall Northstar is totally not worth your time. Here’s why. For starters, the runs are not overwhelmingly great. Blacks feel like blues, blues feel like greens, and greens are cakewalks. The runs do not offer much of a challenge for the experienced skier/snowboarder. The only thing the mountain does particularly well is provide good trees to ride through. However, many people don’t stick to doing that the whole time and spend a large portion of their time on main runs—which to say are busy…is an extreme understatement. Every run seems to be filled with everyone from experienced riders to people who take up the entire run performing an s-turn. Secondly, the resort gets more and more crowded each year. Don’t get me wrong, when I first came here I was looking forward to going on many runs and having a great time with the people I was with. Suffice to say, the majority of the memories I have from that trip were sitting in line waiting for lifts. Do NOT expect to come here and not deal with huge lines. It’s simply unavoidable. The resort just doesn’t have the capacity to deal with the crowds it attracts. Third, the customer service of the workers at the resort is awful. I try to have sympathy for them, maybe it’s just the fact that they are being overworked because of the sheer number of people at Northstar each day. But at the end of the day, their service still isn’t good and they consistently seem to have negative attitudes. Finally, and arguably most importantly, everything is so so overpriced. And I mean EVERYTHING. From food to apparel to lift tickets. On top of having to deal with crowds both on lifts and on the runs, poor customer support, and generally underwhelming runs, you’re having to pay up to twice as much for a lift ticket or pass as you would at another resort. Overall, if you can go to another resort, just go. Northstar is overrated and overpriced.
This was the end of day download line at Heavenly’s California Lodge yesterday (1/4) at 4pm. Gondola & Stagecoach lifts are closed, Gunbarrel & Roundabout trails are closed, so Gunbarrel chair & Tram lift are the ONLY way off the mountain…took nearly 2 hours of standing to get through this line, no employees in sight to assist. Bring your hand warmers, you’ll need them, and leave the powder board/skis at home…rocks are EVERYWHERE.
200 bucks a day to stand around. If you’re lucky…Heavenly said they’ll arbitrarily STOP UPLOADING at any point today to control capacity. $200 Tix + $20 Parking just to be told you CAN’T go up the lift
Yesterday, while skiing Heavenlys’ Ridge Run (a beginners run), I was suddenly hit violently from behind in the middle of my back by the forearm of a speeding out of control snowboarder, slamming me to the ground, popping me out of both skis, and scattering my equipment. From the force of the impact, and the distance he slid downhill before coming to a stop…about 25 yards… I would guess he was doing at least 20+ miles an hour when he hit me. On a beginners run! Full of people because it was one of the few runs open for lack of snow. A quick “Sorry!” and off he went.
Two following skiers, who helped me gather my equipment, told me he had almost taken them out a bit further up the hill.
No Safety Officer or Ski Patrol in sight.
Heavenly needs to get a better handle on its’ snowboarders. Many are dangerously aggressive. Riding way above their limited ability, frequently in groups of 3 or 4, catching air off every little bump, spraying snow on skiers for fun, then bragging about it. (I have personally witnessed and been a victim of this). Using skiers as slalom gates. (From the trailing skiers description, that’s probably what this guy was doing and just wasn’t good enough to pull it off). I see these behaviors all the time. These jerks are dangerous…my case a good example. I survived with only a sore back, but these reckless boarders need to have their passes revoked permanently.
This crash ended my day. And my desire to ever ski “Heavenly” again. It’s the third time I have been hit by a snowboarder at this resort.
And yes, I reported the incident to the Ski Patrol Office at the bottom of the hill. On my way…out of “Heavenly”.
NorthStar California Sucks | VailEpicFail 