Tag: Northstar California sucks

“It was extremely icy. Northstar is never my first choice”

I made a visit to Northstar, Jan 3rd, shocked by the parking fee $30, year before $20. I have never paid a parking fee to ski and have been skiing for 20 years, only at Northstar. I have small children and they complain the whole way to the lift and back to the car. Mt. Rose was much cheaper and chose to ski at Northstar due to windy conditions at Mt. Rose. I noticed there was chaos in the lift line on the Vista chair, people continuously cutting, 4 lanes merge to 1…what’s with that. Northstar is never my first choice, it’s the last when there are windy conditions at the other resorts.

Basil Poulopoulos via Onthesnow

Some of the staff were unexpectedly extremely rude. I was quite surprised. Before I went, they said on the phone that the snow level was great. They did not mention that this was only true given that there was of course very little snow. It was extremely icy.

Joey Smith via Onthesnow

“They don’t answer any calls”

We arrived 3 days ago and have not been able to reach front desk. They don’t answer any calls. Bed is lumpy, leak in living room so bad that we had to put a pain down, people above us are extremely loud, tried moving but not response, no one told us when our presentation was, i had to call three different places to even got a partial answer. I emailed reservations,ownership. & confirmations about all out problems sat morning the 27th. I didn’t get a call back till 415 from David, when I tried to call him back he was gone. I tried again this morning the 28th. No response, fitness center closed, I called before we came and was told it was open, and now one seems very happy with their job. We are not happy at all. I’m requesting a full refund.

Rebecca McEahern via Ontrhesnow

“This is the worst ski area I have been to”

This is the worst ski area I have been to. I have skied here off and on over the years and Northstar never fails to disappoint. Let’s begin with a few glaring weaknesses: Mountain Access/Parking: If you can afford an expensive slopeside condo, skip this section. It isn’t for you. Daytrippers park a mile from the mountain village and are shuttled on busses to the mountain village. A hundred yard walk with stairs will get you to the access lift which is an aging gondola. It is not up to the task. My day there the gondola stopped twice while I waited in line, and twice while I was on the lift. Time between parking and my first run, was over 45 minutes(unacceptable). I went straight to the lift and did not stop off for overpriced coffee and scones. I didnt even pee. Northstar has the worst mountain access of any ski resort I have visited. Period. Advanced/Expert Terrain: Most designated black runs at Northstar would be blues at other ski areas.There is no expert terrain at Northstar. Period. Expensive: Lift ticket prices are exorbitant, and in my opinion, unjustified for what you get(terrible mountain access, no Advanced/expert terrain). Food is very high priced. Enjoy washing down/choking on that $20 bowl of chili with that $15 IPA. Northstar is expensive. Period. A note on family friendliness: Northstar has touted itself as family friendly. If you are a family and can afford an expensive slopeside condo, this may not apply to you. My criteria for family friendly(I have two kids that ski): Easy mountain access, Affordability, Kid friendly programs. Northstar fails two out of three here. Dads and moms, have fun lugging your gear, your kid’s gear, associated snacks, lunches(unless you can afford $20 chili), and sundries, on the shuttle, and to the access lift. Northstar is not family friendly. Period. If you want family friendly in North Tahoe, Sugar Bowl, Mount Rose, Diamond Peak, Homewood, Tahoe Donner, and Donner Ski Ranch are better bets than Northstar. Period. Northstar is not a good ski Resort. Period.

David via Onthesnow

“The resort has serious problem with parking system and slope access”

I don’t have any objection about slopes and lifts themselves. But the resort has serious problem with parking system and slope access. Ski house is around 300 yard away from drop off point and free parking is 2 miles away from there. It takes almost 2 hours to hit the slope after entering main gate from the road. I had to carry all my ski gears from parking lot to 1st ski gondola including 2 mile shuttle ride with my ski boots on. So I had to spend half of my day just for entering and exiting the resort.

Jonghoon via Onthesnow

‘It was the dirtiest rental I have ever been in’

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!!!!!

Jen Silva via Google Reviews

“Do NOT go to Northstar on a weekend or holiday”

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.

Thomas P. Moraga, CA via Yelp

“waiting, waiting, waiting..”

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

Dr. N. San Francisco, CA via Yelp

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

Nolan S. Lebanon, TN via Yelp

I hate Northstar I took my first lesson there and I had such a humiliating experience I truly boycott this resort. Not worth even one star

Anna E. B. Linden, CA via Yelp

“Unprofessional staff at resort prices”

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.

Gideon S via Tripadvisor

“Northstar is totally not worth your time. Overrated and overpriced.”

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.

Nick Petersen via Google reviews

Heavenly: “Idiots running the show”

Ok I’ve been here before and it’s exceptional. Today we found that the iconic gondola was shut down. For how long? Nobody knows. It’s there infinite wisdom the Heavenly Valley intellectual juggernaut’s decided to cram everyone onto the California lodge lift. At the same time the two other lodges are closed and leaving the innate idiots that run this place to keep everyone jammed into the California lodge. This created a logjam and over 4 hour wait to get off the mountain by unfortunate patrons. Got a heart attack, broken leg or massive bled well we will get you down after we let our own employees down first. This is a perfect example of people in positions they should not be in. Having an alternative plan, alerting the public or Just using common. Sense. Perhaps these are the same fools discharged from the state department that led our glorious evacuation from Afghanistan? Either way I’m sure the trail lawyers awaited at the bottom with their salivary glands in full effect

Jim M via TripAdvisor

Visited Tahoe for the holidays and unfortunately there wasn’t much snow. You would expect reduced rates under such poor skiing conditions but instead the prices at Heavenly were outrageous. $200 for 1/2 day lift ticket, $800 for a private lesson… Fortunately I found other mountains with similar conditions and great views at much lower prices.

David B via TripAdvisor

Absolutely poor customer service. Ski resort announced opening on 17 Nov, only to delay it opening to after our trip. No refunds, poor communication. We also only found out upon arrival to Tahoe with no email notification.

Stay01608001420 via TripAdvisor

I wanted to like the experience of Heavenly, but the skiing was way too crowded especially during the weekends. It’s never fun to be at risk of bumping to a skier and have to wait until going down an entire run. On the plus side, the snow wasn’t bad and the scenery of seeing Lake Tahoe was beautiful.

Noah W via TripAdvisor

Heavenly is a corporate resort that regards skiers as profit centers while their real customers are Wall Street analysts. For spring skiing they have reduced lifts and grooming to a bare minimum. Sky lift is the one that reaches the highest altitude so it has mid year weekend lines. The trouble is this means 2 non heavy slush runs max vs 6-10 runs in winter. Grooming has been cut to almost nothing. I observed far more corduroy at Diamond Peak and Mt Rose. This made my decision on renewal for me as Northstar parking and crowds make that resort a no go. I would have renewed if spring skiing was even an average experience. By the way thanks for eliminating the ski carts at NS which has one of The most onerous walks in NA. We figure the green eye shades saved 20-25 cents per Skier visit on that one.

Willy K via TripAdvisor

I am a season pass holder with the Tahoe Local Pass. The experience here is truly disappointing. I went on a low traffic day (Monday) and the the experience really sucked. The only thing decent was the grooming. Vail resorts is run strictly by Wall Street guys and pointy pencil bean counters interested only in the bottom line. To this end they sent all of their low paid J1 visa employees packing on 3/31/23 and now they are running with a skeleton crew of locals. At least two key lifts are closed and the lines (Sky and Dipper) on a Monday were crazy at 10-15 minutes per ride. Vail resorts are the kings of no-customer service. As a long time pass holder, Vail resorts may have crossed the line for me NOT to renew my pass for the 23-24 season.

Michael A via TripAdvisor