Resorts, what should be a proud company, is just a scam business committing fraud. When I purchased online a 4-pack pass for my 17-year old daughter last year, they claim I clicked on auto-renew for the upcoming year. I did not intend on auto-renew and it is impossible to get out of auto-renew. They automatically charged my credit card and my daughter does not intend on skiing this year so we are paying them without receiving any benefit. I think that is their scam. Bump up their revenue from people that will not be visiting their resorts and adding to their long lines. Resorts refused to refund my money. They directed me to their insurance process for a qualifying loss, which is impossible to meet the document requirements because there are a very narrow set of circumstances in which to get a refund. I filed a complaint with the AG directed me to file a complaint here. I likely will not receive my money returned but I will NEVER visit another resort or shop at EPIC Sports, owned by Resorts. I have likely spent over $2000 there in the last two years. Never again and I will tell everyone I know what a fraudulent operation Resorts has become. Resorts, I hope you are proud. Now, I just want as many people as possible to know the truth. Read the entry below from 9/23 and 10/9. They have no remorse, just their shoddy explanation of claiming “we sent you an email”. The employees should be embarrassed to work for such a fraudulent company. Be aware.
Connie B via BBB.org
Tag: tickets
“We need a skier’s Bill of Rights!”
We went up to Northstar for 4 days and could only ski for 1 day. 2 Of the 4 was simple conditions and being shut down for good reason (rain and unexpected amounts of snow). However, on the 4th day: New Years Day, the day AFTER 36 inches of fresh powder had been dumped on the mountain, we arrived early (lifts were to open at 9:am). We parked, we arrived at the Gondola, only to be informed that the Express Lift is Closed and would likely not open and then we were instructed to get on the gondola line, which was so long that it weaved down and around and back up to where we just were.
Sean B. via Yelp
We have had the same problem with Northstar before: they are under staffed and this morning, the excuse was “our people can’t get here”. We need a skier’s Bill of Rights! They charge big money for blackout day tickets so that you can expect to get on the mountain during peak days. However, and once again, we felt like the customer doesn’t matter and the Vale group doesn’t take their responsibility seriously to get people on the mountain! That’s the business they are in!
I sat out two days waiting for this day and fought off the family who wanted to to go home rather than sit around saying “these will be the best conditions ever”. So why doesn’t the lifts open on the best day of skiing? I talked to a manager and said this: I said “You do realize that thousands of people have spent hundreds of dollars per person per day to enjoy skiing here today. It is Northstar’s business to provide safe and timely access to this beautiful day of perfect ski conditions. Do you realize that that’s the business you are in? The manager said – Do you know why we aren’t open? I said, because of lack of staff which happens here virtually all the time- he replied no, we have plenty of people, they just can’t get here. I said, with the money you are charging and all the costs for people to get here, you should have places for people to STAY HERE AND OPEN UP. He said- wait for it – ” We don’t have the resources to do that.” I said “I am done. We waited, got here, and now we are going to wait for two hours to wait for the gondola line to start which will be 2 hours minimum (that’s what they told us!) We
Are out of here. This resort sucks. Our friends arrived in Palisades and jumped on the slopes. What a waste of time and money.
“EPIC waste of $400”
I ordered a Stevens Select Pass and just learned that every weekend in January and February are blackout date. When I ordered the pass I knew it did not include Holidays but I specifically recall looking on the website to ensure the pass included weekends. Nowhere did it say the weekends were blacked out (or it was buried in the small print) I work during the week so this is an EPIC waste of $400. Vail thanks for screwing me over, again.
Will Bronaugh via Facebook
Do not honour season pass refunds. A consistent issue, well known by the ACCC and fair trading. They’ll take your money in a heart beat, but you’ll never hear from them when lodging a refund request (supported by the correct paperwork as dictated by their own T&Cs). No way to contact them aside from email; and as mentioned, good luck getting a response.
Nicholas C Kaye via Facebook
Another unhappy RIPPED OFF customer. Sold ski passes under the guise that because of the pandemic they could be refunded. Only to be denied over a year later because “we didn’t have refundable passes” someone needs to take accountability for the THEFT that vail resorts is getting away with.
Tyler Burkhart via Facebook.com
“Epic pass is a money-grabbing scam”
Vail resorts is the worst company running multiple ski resorts!! Absolutely horrible! They declined my request to cancel my auto renew and basically live to just steal money from people!!! I’m tempted to file a class action lawsuit but debating if it will be worth my time!! The lines are stupid long constantly… can be our skiing or snowboarding for a full day and only get max 2-3 actual runs in… it’s quicker to hike the mountain than actually ride the lifts!!! DONT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY WITH AN EPIC PASS THIS YEAR!!!!
Daniel Ryan via Facebook.com
I just compared what I used to pay a few years ago for a specific ski resort before Vail took it over in 2020. Wow – didn’t realize what these guys are doing. The group has great resorts that we like a lot but will definitely be more conscious choosing where we travel to next time.
Michael Livi via Facebook.com
I purchased tickets in advance to Paoli Peaks, to find out the day of that 12 of the 15 slopes were closed (only 3 open). I called over 10 times to speak with someone about canceling my tickets, but no human would answer a phone. I had to drive 2 hrs to speak with someone at the ski lodge. When arriving, even though I pre-purchased tickets that all claimed to “save time– don’t wait in line,” there were no signs explaining where to go; I still had to wait in the ticket line to speak with someone, who then sent me to guest services in a completely different part of the building. I used the restroom on the way to find it disgusting and out-of-date with no paper towels or driers working to dry my hands. The guest services manager said that a machine wasn’t working to blow fresh snow, so they had to close 80% of the slopes, while still charging people full price and not answering the phones because they were too busy. I’ll choose Perfect North from here on out.
Eric Bivens via Facebook.com
Tried vailresorts epicpass this year. Their level of transparency was abysmal. Be sure to read the fine print before buying (if you can find it). No transfers, no refunds. You can upgrade, but it will cost you 200% of what you paid originally. 20% off on food/beverages? Only if it is a non-alcoholic beverage. They overpromise and don’t deliver
Russell Huffman via Facebook.com
Nothing surprising from this company and it’s low rating when they hire lying, purple-haired pigs to work in dispatch. The way your employee treats people coupled with your low rating explains it all.
Olena Pearson via Facebook.com
Bought lift tickets through epic pass. Ski school for my daughter and ski rentals. Had to cancel because of winter storm Elliott and the southwest debacle. No flights out of Texas. 25,000 flights cancelled. Couldn’t make the trip. Spent over 1,200 on the trip. Zero refunds. Nada. Because my house wasn’t inhabitable I couldn’t get a refund. Unbelievable. No compassion. Zero common sense.
Donnie Elliott
Let’s get this straight. Vail Resorts does not care about its customers. All they care about is money. The internet is riddles with people talking about the many deceptive business practices Vail Resorts engages in. These policies are absolutely abhorrent and border on theft, if you and I were to do it.
Todd Chamberlin via Facebook
They show absolutely no empathy towards their loyal customers at all and as such do not care about retaining customers. They will simply cycle onto the next sucker and screw them next. That is their bottom line business, please stay clear if you can, there are other friendlier ski resorts to ski or snowboard at that actual care about you as a person.
Worst customer support of all time. If you can actually get someone on the phone, good luck with them being able to resolve any issues or actually help.
Kimberly Paige Buchanan via Facebook.com
Source: Vail Resorts reviews on Facebook
“Vail’s “Auto-Renew” policy is completely designed to entrap you and take your money”. DON’T “Auto-Renew”!
This company needs to be sued for being predatory, DONT click “Auto Renew” thinking your can just cancel it if you don’t want it. Their policies are completely designed to entrap you and take your money. You can’t be forced to buy something and I can’t believe this company wont work with you if you didn’t use your pass and don’t intend to.
I get that companies need to protect themselves from fraud, but if you make the process so specific and restrictive on purpose, then you are obviously trying to steal peoples money with their “terms and conditions” that you “agreed to”.
they need to be sued.
Catherine Cellini via Facebook
I was able to cancel my auto renew but only after it renewed. And of course they won’t issue a refund because I don’t have a “qualifying event”
Vinny Maronna via Facebook
EPIC pass misleading! Checked epic profile and no indication of auto renewal. Then got text today eluding to auto renew (after website indicated not) called to cancel/fix before it got renewed – customer service said they could not help & we had to email, emailed address they provided & immediately got a response saying Must Call. Representative still on phone said no & provided a corporate number “to try” which is CLOSED until after auto renewal date
laketahoetoday via InstagramNotify CC company to not process further charges as they are not authorized
doclocke33 via Instagram
That happened to us too. Vail makes it purposely hard to cancel auto renew. They suck.
tahowaiian via Instagram
“Horrible experience with Epic Pass”
Horrible experience with Epic Pass that ruined our vacation plan and we left Tahoe without any skiing.
Chenyun Wu
The pass office refused to give me the pass we bought online because it was suspended for an accident last year (I was badly hit by someone from behind and I had zero fault in that accident). There was no warning when I payed for the pass or in my account page. They kicked me back and forth around ~5 different offices. From 9am to 1pm I made 20+ phone calls on the mountain and walked to different offices in my ski boots. On my way leaving the resort around 1 pm, they called to tell me the suspension was finally resolved and asked me to wait for another hour and try again at the pass office.
They suspended my pass for no good reason and without any warning. All the offices have no clear idea who is in charge of the suspension, and are very impatient to help on an issue outside their duty, even when they know a customer is desperately waiting to get onto the mountain.
Two days later I received my pass in my mail that’s sent out the day we bought it online, days before the hassle on the mountain. So if it’s OK for them to send me the pass by mail, why on earth can they refuse giving it to me at the resort??
“Wasted 3 hours waiting in line to get our pass”
Wasted 3 hours waiting in line to get our pass that we ordered online ahead of time, closes at 4 so by the time we got to the slops the whole day was gone. DONT go
Carolyn Davidson
“Be willing to wait on just about everything”
Be willing to wait on just about everything from lifts to rentals if needed. If you plan on stopping by the day of without reservations in advance, you can expect 3 plus hour wait for gear rentals. Average wait time for main lifts is around 10-30 min. Also have a photo of or your actual vaccination card on hand to be able to enjoy any food from northstar themselves.
Matthew Jeff
Biggest issue, if you plan on using the free parking lots expect an hour wait at times just to get to and from the ski area. Just didn’t have a good time but maybe you will.
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
“Worst resort I’ve been to”
Worst resort I’ve been to (and I have been to a good number Europe and North America)
Chimpsey Powers via Google reviews
Arrived at 830 to parking lot (furthest one as uppers were already full ) and didn’t actually ski until 1045. Line to park. Line to bus. Bus had line of traffic to reach resort. Long walk to gondola. Long line for gondola. Line for next lift (and lift after) as zephyr was spinning but closed … fortunately being on epic .. meant didn’t need wait lift ticket line also and drop what ever ridiculous sum of money for day pass only to stand around waiting. I don’t believe I’ve ever waited so much except at Disney as young kid. Every ski area I’ve been to: arriving at 830 means downhill action by 915 at latest.
In short: terrible logistics and designed resort. Not going to pay to stand around. And even when skiing : I’ve had more fun at east coast 1000 ft verticals ski areas.
First time and last visit. And after reading lots of other reviews: seems many others feel the same. Assuming the good reviews are from beginning skiers or paid resort fanboys/moms
“I’m confused by this place”
I’m confused by this place. Everything is so nice at surface but the bed literally fell apart at bed time and it was too late to get help. Concierge tried to replace us but not able to. Didn’t wanna bother manager at midnight. Were told we’d be taken care of after the fact. Still waiting. Someone knocked two different times in the morning despite us getting late check out. I also think the pool/hot tub closes too early. They could stay open at least until 10 but it’s 9. Pool table is sadly over worn. Didn’t get a chance to play ping pong before it closed. One of the hot tubs was closed when we got to it but front desk didn’t tell us in advance. Kind of a mixed bag.
Danika Sonsa via Google reviews
“Totally wasted my time for no reason”
My condo didn’t have a working stove, oven, microwave, garbage disposal, or dishwasher. I have been trying to contact the manager for a week and they are avoiding me and offer zero compensation. These condos are a huge rip off and they are totally inflexible about check ins. They make you wait for an email at exactly 4pm and front desk does nothing. I had my 6 month old and 2 year old and just had to sit in the parking lot for an hour while my room was clearly ready. Totally wasted my time for no reason.
Nicholas Young via Google reviews
“It is suppose to be quality and is not”
What to say… it is suppose to be quality and is not. it is very expensive (i’m used to it so that is not the point) . The chalet itself is beautiful and same for the landscape. Service is horrible! The don’t know how to handle it keep forgetting and making mistakes. Food is just average. Wine list is …we are out of this and our of tnat. Don’t try to go in the pool is to small and over crowded…and they really don’t care…the anser is seat there and queue… the lake club is an highlight…besides the absurd daily rate and stupid closing hour at 4 pm…best sunset time. So…sorry man this is a joke place wont see me ever again.
Alvise Fontana Z via Google reviews
“Bait and switch”
This is my first ever review, i believe. I made a reservation with American Express to stay at Northstar California Resort. I needed to make a change / extend my time of our stay to our reservation and so I called the resort directly, they couldn’t make the change, I had to do it with American Express, which is fine. But in this conversation they stated “do you know we do not have air conditioning”? This is something that American Express and Northstar failed to mention in their advertising of the room/property. Seems a bit Bait and switch…so i get to find this out when I arrive with my 85 year old mother and my husband who has major allergies, I contact American Express to cancel, which they stated it was a no cancellation policy for this resort. Which was fine until they omitted very important information about their resort and the room. American Express called the resort on my behalf and spoke to the Manager, which stated to them they should “Open a Window”. And will not refund my money.
Amber D via Google reviews
I will write a review everywhere I can and write a letter to everyone in their management I can, And NO i have never written a negative review. This a true and accurate review .
“Thank you for ruining our trip”
Paid over 2k for a weekend time with 2 kids and got kicked out of every single place to sled. Apparently people with kids are not welcome there. Thank you for ruining our trip and breaking hearts of my 2 kids.
Rumaysa Noman via Google reviews
Source: Google reviews
“Overcrowded and unsafe”
Jan 2022
Used to be a fantastic place to ski (it has a lot of fantastic WIDE cruiser trails) before Vail took over. Now, it is:
Source: tripadvisor.com
– Very Overpriced
– Unbelievably time-consuming just to get to the first ski-lift (unless you are staying at a ski-in/ski-out place, which will cost lots of $$)
– Most importantly, UNSAFE (i got hit HARD by a super reckless snowboarder on a Green run when i was skiing with my 6 year old niece who was learning how to ski, near the bottom of the mountain. I reported it, but Vail & Northstar only care about how many tickets they can sell, it doesn’t matter that the mountain is dangerously overcrowded and that some people only care about going as fast as they can, even on super-crowded beginner runs)
I’m done with Vail.
“Way too crowded. Not safe“
Jan 2022
Way too crowded the past couple weekends to the point of almost being unsafe… not enjoyable.
Source: tripadvisor.com
Experts ruin it for the beginners and zoom around causing accidents. Along with untamed children running around everywhere. Absolute zoo. Poor food to boot.
“Avoid This Disastrous, Overhyped Property”
Small, outdated rooms. It’s like a Motel 6 with fake pine paneling. Dirty, Dingy and Depressing. Avoid
Source: tripadvisor.com
“Prepare to part with your wallet. Ski resorts are greedy”
A lift ticket is already over $130 for a SENIOR or a TEEN, and then they gouge you with $25/day parking unless you want to wait for a shuttle from the hinterlands. A “cup of soup” sized bowl of vegetarian chili is $16!! And a locker is $15 to rent. We are already paying premium to ski, and it feels like consumer rape with the resort charging these exorbitant fees.
Source: tripadvisor.com
“Getting to a ski lift, not to mention the top of the mountain, is really, really, really huge pain”… “..don’t be surprised if it takes 30-45 minutes..”
As others have mentioned, getting to a ski lift, not to mention the top of the mountain, is really, really, *really* huge pain. If you don’t have a plan for how to minimize the amount of time it takes to get up the mountain, don’t be surprised if it takes 30-45 minutes to do this on a *non*-holiday day, and at least twice as long during peak times like President’s Day weekend.
Source: tripadvisor.com
Single-Day Lift Ticket on Vail Mountain Hits $1,566
Skiers arriving at Vail’s namesake Colorado resort over the weekend were shocked to find four-digit prices greeting them at the ticket window. Adult one-day lift tickets were listed at $1,566, a nearly 700 percent increase over the previous peak price of $229. A child’s one-day lift ticket rose to $798.
“This is an outrage,” said Abner Stevens, 92, a retired mining engineer who was walking back to the car with his wife and six grandchildren. “Why I remember when you could barter a little squirrel meat and a shotgun shell for a ride on the chairlift. Now these damn kids will just waste the whole day Faceposting on their Nintendos.”
Full story at: StormSkiing
NorthStar California Sucks | VailEpicFail 