Overall:
3.4.
Based on
59
votes
and
101
reviews.
Vote
Access: 3.8
(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 Sunshine Village.
Public Transport: 3.6
(1) There are no buses or taxis to Sunshine Village, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
Scenery: 4.6
(1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.
Accommodation: 3.5
(1) No places to stay in/near Sunshine Village, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
Cheap Rooms: 2.8
(1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.
Luxury Hotels: 3.9
(1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Sunshine Village.
Ski in/Ski out: 3.5
(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: 3.6
(1) There are no child care facilities at Sunshine Village, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
Snowsure: 4.5
(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) Sunshine Village is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.
Snowmaking: 1.7
(1) Sunshine Village relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
Snow Grooming: 3.9
(1) There are no snow groomers at Sunshine Village, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Sunshine Village are groomed daily.
Shelter: 3.3
(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) Sunshine Village is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
Nearby options: 3.1
(1) If snow conditions are poor at Sunshine Village, 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: 4.5
(1) Sunshine Village 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: 4.0
(1) The staff at Sunshine Village are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Sunshine Village are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.
Crowds/Queues: 3.7
(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: 4.0
(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: 4.1
(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.
Variety of pistes: 4.2
(1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Sunshine Village has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.
Beginners: 4.0
(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: 4.3
(1) No intermediate terrain at Sunshine Village, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.
Advanced: 4.0
(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: 3.7
(1) Not even a kicker at Sunshine Village, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.
Off-piste: 4.0
(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.
Cross-country: 2.2
(1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Sunshine Village, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.
Luge/Toboggan: 1.3
(1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Sunshine Village has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
Mountain Dining: 2.9
(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: 3.2
(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: 3.1
(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: 2.0
(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: 2.5
(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: 2.7
(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: 3.3
(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): 3.5
(1) Overall, Sunshine Village 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): 3.5
(1) Overall, Sunshine Village 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.
Been skiing there for 35 years. Girlfriends, wives, friends, children have come and gone. Snow shoed it, walked it, tobogganed it, bob marleyed it, telemarked it , cross country skied it (seems they have eliminated this option), 2 planked it many times. Lots of memories.
Who teaches these kids to continually spray water on the burgers as they cook. Morons. Definitely the worst burger anywhere. Steamed not grilled so tastes like it's been boiled.
Hill seems to be on its last stand (crowds have dwindled) much like Norquay, partly due to parks canada and partly due to poor management; overpriced bad food and slowly eroding accommodations.
Went for first chair once (never again) this year. Something that could have been checked and repaired the night before caused me to wait 2 hours. Can you say labour problems?
I can live with crap food but not ownership. Looking for new hill and memories.
Sunshine is great in that it has natural snow and usually lots of it. You can ski here 7 months of the year! First ski day this season was Nov 12, and they already had nearly 1m base. I have never had a problem with ice here (vs Lake Louise). I am a skier and it pleases me that there are fewer boarders here than at other places (due to the flats I think).
There is a fair amount of terrain for the intermediate skier- Goat's Eye, Lookout and Standish Mtn all offer a bunch of runs. However, the runs are pretty short, often interrupted by flattish areas. I like to cruise and carve; best areas for me are coming down the South Divide/world cup downhill off of Lookout. This is the longest uninterrupted cruising run, then there is a little flat and little more steep and then more flat. Goat's Eye: nice cruising blue on top, then a traverse flat, then nice cruising, then more flat. Standish runs: shortish but still enjoyable. In total, there is a lot of variable terrain to ski, it is usually not super full (vs Lake Louise) and there is usually good snow.
Cons:
-not all blue runs are groomed/ not very many black runs are groomed, meaning it is hard to move up the difficulty without facing both increasing steepness and more difficult snow.
-very expensive lift ticket, somewhat mitigated by Sunshine, Marmot card.
-if there is bad visibility (happens often here), Lookout and Goat's Eye become impossible and one is left only with Wawa/Standish (maybe) and Wolverine Express runs, which are all pretty short and therefore the lift ticket becomes extremely expensive!
-food on hill is overpriced and bad (bring a lunch).
Sunshine Village is a good resort but there are some obvious problems with it as well.
Pros:
-Good snow
-Awesome slackcountry
-Great FreeRide Zones (Delirium Dive and Wild West)
-Goat's Eye Mountain has long runs
-Good Ski-Out
Cons:
-Usually very poor visibility (not sure why they named it Sunshine Village)
-Lots of flat spots to avoid
-Mostly short runs
-Not much vertical
[note from editor : last sentence removed as it was not compete]
After spending a fair bit of time up there enjoying the mountain i found the hills way too small and easy with a lack of diversity throughout the mountain. Runs marking is made to boost the number of runs available to riders (in order to compete with other growing resort) giving the riders a fake feeling of not being able to ride everything so they come back to only get dissapointed once they venture off the beaten cat tracks. Try other resorts that actually have what they are claimaing their resort can offer like Kicking Horse or Revelstoke, even Castle or Fernie down south. First class resort should always thrive to improve and give more to their customer, not taking them for granted because competition is fierce and only a handful will eventually survive. Up to you which one you will keep alive with those green bills in your wallet.
One of the world's great ski resorts. Sunshine is unique, with it's vast alpine landscape. When the weather and snow are just right, which is frequent, Sunshine is other-worldly. And it is possible to manage your budget and take advantage of Sunshine. Most importantly, pack a lunch and buy the Sunshine Marmot Card for $85 which gives you discounts and day 1, 4 and 7 free. Sunshine is for everyone, all levels, all ages and it's much safer than some of the new areas in B.C. It's managed well, that's the main reason. Trails are marked properly and grooming is superb.
Sunshine have, this year, decided to eliminate group lessons for anybody skiing above their "Blue Runner". So, if you want to get good at skiing... go somewhere else! It's a ridiculous policy.. the instructors hate it and both guests and instructors try to get around this new policy.
I lived in Banff for about 10 years and now living in Golden B.C. I used to ski and ride a minimum of 150 days/years up there. Unfortunatly, the resort changed a lot over that period, sometimes not for the best. The resort became known woldwide for it's high prices, attracting the elite (not talking about elite skier here!) from around the world so they can spend their money. The resort claim that ski resort operations in a national park are in a serious disadvantage compare to resort outside a national park. Using this reason to raise prices on virtually everything.. Food has become really bad and seriously overpriced for junk food. The Chimney's Corner and Eagle's Nest fine dining use pre-made and store bought products and pretend making everything from scratch. I had a pizza there once and honestly the dough was tasting like cardboard. I didn't pay for the pizza but stayed hungry since I couldn't find items that suited my food preferences. Bring food, it will save you money and at least you know that you get what you pay for.
As many people noticed, the ski industry is shifting to B.C. With amazing new resort like Revelstoke and Kicking Horse. The best Canada has to offer: dry, deep snow and steep terrain with friendly locals showing you the way instead of showing you their tricks like Whistler's wannabes. So before booking at Sunshine Village consider other options. Expand your ski experience to other resort that will probably treat you better as a customer therefore sending a message to Sunshine Village resort to start caring again for the people that kept this place alive for soooooo long..loyalty should not be a one way road...
Banff's Sunshine Village-Love this Mountain. I mean 3 Mountains. Skied there May and powder snow. Not corn snow, real powder. stayed on the slopes at Sunshine Mountain lodge and got first tracks before other skiers arrived. Love Sunshine!
Visited this season and found the resort is way overpriced for what it has to offer. The terrain is mostly for beginners, with lots of flat areas you need to keep your speed for, or you're walking. The steep terrain is seldom opened even though they advertise the heck out of it and the food is of very low quality while the price for the food is out of this world. I don't recommend this resort!
