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Ski Australia - New South Wales

Charlotte Pass Resort Reviews

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Visitor reviews for Charlotte Pass Ski Resort

Charlotte Pass Ratings

Overall: 2.5. Based on 3 votes and 12 reviews. Vote

Snowsure: 3.0

(1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Charlotte Pass is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.

Variety of pistes: 2.7

(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Charlotte Pass has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.

Off-piste: 2.7

(1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.

Scenery: 4.7

(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.

Access: 2.3

(1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Charlotte Pass.

Public Transport: 1.3

(1) There are no buses or taxis to Charlotte Pass, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.

Accommodation: 3.0

(1) No places to stay in/near Charlotte Pass, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.

Cheap Rooms: 1.0

(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.

Luxury Hotels: 3.0

(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Charlotte Pass.

Ski in/Ski out: 4.7

(1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.

Childcare: 2.7

(1) There are no child care facilities at Charlotte Pass, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.

Snowmaking: 1.7

(1) Charlotte Pass relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.

Snow Grooming: 2.3

(1) There are no snow groomers at Charlotte Pass, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Charlotte Pass are groomed daily.

Shelter: 2.0

(1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Charlotte Pass is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.

Nearby options: 1.7

(1) If snow conditions are poor at Charlotte Pass, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.

Regional rating: 3.3

(1) Charlotte Pass usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.

Lift Staff: 3.0

(1) The staff at Charlotte Pass are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Charlotte Pass are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.

Crowds/Queues: 3.3

(1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.

Ski Schools: 3.0

(1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.

Hire and Repairs: 2.3

(1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.

Beginners: 3.7

(1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.

Intermediates: 3.7

(1) No intermediate terrain at Charlotte Pass, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.

Advanced: 2.0

(1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.

Snow Park: 1.0

(1) Not even a kicker at Charlotte Pass, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.

Cross-country: 4.3

(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Charlotte Pass, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.

Luge/Toboggan: 1.0

(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Charlotte Pass has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.

Mountain Dining: 1.7

(1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.

Eating: 2.3

(1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.

Apres-Ski: 2.7

(1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.

Other Sports: 1.0

(1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.

Entertainment: 1.3

(1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.

Winter Walks: 2.3

(1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.

Ski Pass Value: 2.3

(1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.

Value (National): 3.0

(1) Overall, Charlotte Pass is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.

Value (Global): 1.3

(1) Overall, Charlotte Pass is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

Show all 35 ratings

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July 14, 2020
Dave&family from Ski Australia Australia
Well, I’ve been coming to Charlotte Pass since 2013 with my family (wife and 2 daughters). It’s a great place, people here are awesome, we stay in a chalet for 7 days each time. Over the last few trips, the skiing is becoming worse and worse. Super expensive, they charge full rates for lift tickets and the facility is unable to function even at a basic level. Snow patrol / lift management is under supported. Lifts are from the 1960’s and constantly fail. Not opening on time or remaining functioning with reliability. There’s only 4 lifts to maintain and upkeep. It is a pathetic failure of upper management to continue to ignore its ski guests. I don’t write a review like this lightly. This is 5 years of hoping it will improve but no.. As a family we won’t be returning and strongly advise any potential visitor. If you want to ski then look for other options. If you want a holiday in a beautiful family friendly location then Charlotte Pass is fantastic. But a warning if you want to ski, it’s become very disappointing. For this trip, there’s plenty of snow but lifts aren’t running (there’s 1 lift called a Poma that is running about 150m with a deep lift line, and I can walk to the top of it faster than you can get the lift there?) I’m 3 days in and haven’t caught a lift yet.. I think the owner of the Charlotte Pass resort lease is squeezing chalet (owners? ed) so they leave and they just buy them up 'til he owns them all, then the lift situation will likely improve. I’m just gutted.
July 15, 2019
Scott from Ski Australia Australia
This is cottage industry at its worst. They take your money no matter what the weather is doing. Got there to find out it's pouring down with rain all day and too wet to ski. They then tell you there is going to be trouble getting back out. Sorry but Kosciusko NP should not have given this place a licence to operate. Been to a few mountains world-wide but this takes the cake Thor the cake for the worst! Embarrassing is a word that comes to mind.
July 17, 2014
Aaron from Ski Australia Australia
My wife and I booked a 2 nights accommodation and 2 day beginner lessons with Charlotte Pass Ski Resort last week (July 2014). Bookings were made online and via telephone. We arrived at about 4pm on day 1; checked in. We asked about our ski lessons the next day and were told it was at 9.30am. The next day we went over to the ski school at 8.30am to allow ourselves sometime to trial fit the ski boots. We were told we needed to book our lesson time with the school, and the first available lesson was 12.30pm. We were so disappointed as we were real beginners and could not do much without the lesson. So wasted the whole morning of day 2. As the weather was not terrific, we decided to cut short our holiday in Charlotte Pass and changed our over-snow transport to 8.45am on day 3. We were at the hotel reception at 8.30am and told the staff and porters we are on the 8.45am transport to ski-tube terminal. Knowing the lack of communication / logistics in the resort, we reminded them numerous times. Each time we were told to wait right there. Time passed and two over-snow carriages came and went. At 9am we made the staff call up the transport side and were told the transport had gone and we would have to wait for the next one i.e 9.30am. I was totally dissatisfied and complained to the hotel manager. We insisted that we wanted to go down immediately and the manager radioed one of the over-snow to turn back. The manager apologised as she walked past us, but not a bit of sincerity. To cut a long story short, real bad communication and logistics.
July 12, 2011
dan from Ski Australia Australia
Very disappointed, Kosi chalet management didn't care about problems we had. TV was not working; we just wanted the news. Half the mountain was not open, not much snow making goes on. Mountain ops were poor, no snowboard equip so old 1 snowboard instructor. I feel ripped off when I go to NSW snow fields but this was extra harsh. The food was outstanding but it out classed the chalet. Stick to Perisher or Thredbo.
May 17, 2010
Elizabeth from Ski Singapore Singapore
Went to Charlottes Pass a few years ago and loved it so much we are returning again. With few day trippers the slopes are not crowded which makes for enjoyable skiing for beginners through to intermediate skiers. We had great snow the year we were there and the lodge we stayed at had great food and a welcoming atmosphere.
June 01, 2009
Cumeil from Ski Australia Australia
Charlotte Pass is the best ski resort in NSW, hands down. Went there last year because Perisher was just slops and I found perfect ski conditions and fresh cover and nobody out. I couldn't believe how great it was. After going to Charlotte Pass I will never go back to ski at Perisher.
March 24, 2009
kim from Ski Australia Australia
Charlotte Pass is a fantastic ski resort. Very private and quiet. I usually ski in Europe and could'nt believe that Australia could have so much snow. There may not be many slopes to go on, but for the beautiful village ambience it's worth it. We stayed at Aliji Lodge and would highly recommend it. Food at Charlotte Pass was outstanding.
August 11, 2008
Michelle from Ski Australia Australia
For a family ski resort you can't go past Charlottes Pass. Short lift queues and very friendly people. Even on years when snow conditions have been poor we have always found plenty to do. Can easily go off-piste with the kids and explore new areas without putting anyone at risk. For what it lacks in runs it makes up for in wide open spaces and runs with barely anyone on them. For a small resort its got it all.
August 09, 2008
Ian from Ski Australia Australia
The perfect spot to ski with the family, snow is as good as Perisher and Thredbo, little to no queue, losts of space, have been skiing there for years. Whilst there are only a few lifts you can find lots of of piste challenges, it is up to you.
July 02, 2006
Schlongy from Ski United Kingdom United Kingdom
A great resort when the weather turns out good. Can get icy but you cant expect much out of Australia, If you want great skiing, big ski fields and world class skiing, go to New Zealand. What can I say about this place excep;t absolutley awesome. Went for 2 weeks in July and had champagne powder. Best ski experience ever!