Snowsure: 4.4
- Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
- Is often closed due to a lack of snow
- Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
- Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
- Sunshine Village is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Visitor reviews for Sunshine Village Ski Resort
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(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
(NOTE: Reviews may be edited by our content team for the purposes of ensuring accurate and relevant information)
Latest
March 03, 2011
charles parr
charles parr
Sunshine has been my hill since I was a little kid, but now at the age of 45, I will not be renewing our seasons passes. While the snow is excellent, and the terrain is entertaining, the hill experience has grown steadily worse for several years.
The staff, frankly, are treated like crap, and it shows in their demeanour and their attitudes. The owners treat the hill as a private fiefdom, and recently when a member of the owners family was caught skiing in out-of-bounds severe avalanche terrain, the ski patrollers who kicked him and his friends off the hill were fired.
I strongly suggest to anyone considering a trip to sunshine that you boycott, and send the hill an email telling them of your decision.
I will most likely be buying a pass at Kickinghorse resort instead. It's another 90 minutes down the road, but I simply will not support a hill that allows the owners family to endanger lives and flout rules that would have any of the rest of us banned from the slopes.
March 02, 2011
gasmask
gasmask
March 02, 2011
mj
mj
February 24, 2011
HF Owens
HF Owens
Stayed at the Sunshine Inn (Sunshine Village) at end of Jan. Nice building in a fantastic setting but food not great and overall, not value for money considering all that is available in Banff. Patrol issues seem to have prevented getting stuff open after a good snowfall. Overall, place seems to suffer from a so-so staff engagement and does not really have a culture of excellence when it comes to customer experience. Back-country access good from ski area but too bad you have to pay so much just to get up there and do some trekking around.
February 15, 2011
Mediator
Mediator
Just a note to all those people complaining about lack or parking and modernisation of lifts etc.; please keep in mind that Sunshine Village is within a National Park (and subject to Parks Canada Rules and Regulations) and one of their main concerns is not infringing on nature any more than absolutely necessary. To expand on the car park would be to knock down more trees and take away more land from the park, is that really worth it just for a little bit more convenience on your part?
And Maybe you should all read into how much work it was to put in the new Strawberry Lift before you start complaining there.
Personally, I think Sunshine is doing a great job with what they have got, even though there have been some setbacks, it is a great hill and everyone should try it at least once.
February 15, 2011
Richie
Richie
Sunshine continues to disappoint. We've been taking trips to the Rockies every couple of years for the past 30. Sunshine has been a stop simply for the Dive and a few other steeper slopes. That's fine, we have fun in the okanagan resorts too, despite a lack of challenging terrain. What's not fine is demoralized staff, bad food and this recent spat with patrol. We've had several interactions with the snow safety and patrol members and have always found the experience to be informative, friendly and completely justified (this last was in regards to a slight speeding altercation, our bad :) ).
Doing some digging on our trip last week we asked around. Officially everything is fine as staff are freaked out to talk for being "laid off", as the mountain PR guy below has plugged, is a very real threat. Unofficially, everyone supports those staff who got canned because they enforced completely appropriate safety measures.
Well, we as a group of families made a decision- out with Sunshine and in with Louise and Norquay. Sorry Sunshine but you've lost the vibe. Too bad.
Snow-forecast, please publish this. It's true.
February 13, 2011
Brad L
Brad L
My wife and I will finish out this year skiing at Sunshine Village only because we have season passes. I will be avoiding Sunshine village in the future due to the extreme arrogance of the owners (Scurfields). I am disgusted at the lack of class shown by the management of Sunshine Village in the way they treat their staff, Yes they have good snow but it is very hard to understand and get over the arrogance, the customers come first not the owners.
The trails at Lake Louise are better, the snow at Sunshine is better most of the time.
The wife and I were thinking about changing locations to Lake Louise or buying a place in Panorama. We will not be returning to Sunshine Village.
January 28, 2011
BC13 from
USA - California
BC13 from
USA - California
News of the recent firings of many experienced operations managers (Director of lift operations, Dir of mountain operations, Dir of ski patrol) along with the termination of some of the most senior and experienced ski patrollers has caused me to cancel my scheduled family vacation to Sunshine Village. I will instead be skiing at Lake Louise, where management has taken steps to retain its highly skilled workers who provide the public and enjoyable and safe skiing experience. I can not trust my family's safety to a CEO who terminates skilled and experienced employees for voicing unpopular positions that need to be heard by the CEO. Those responsible for a safe skiing experience should not be "Yes" men or women. I am just thankful the wonderful town of Banff has Norquay and nearby Lake Louse to offer it's guests.
[Editor's note: comments from a member of the resort staff have been added to create a balanced perspective on this review.]
"The employees were terminated for just cause, not for voicing 'unpopular positions'".
"These notes also suggest all experience has been stripped out of safety patrol and senior management in operations. This is also completely untrue".
"There is no evidence presented that Lake Louise has taken steps to retain its highly skilled workers."
January 28, 2011
Christine Scarlett
Christine Scarlett
Nice enough resort, but there are serious safety concerns and a lack of expert terrain open this season.
Sunshine (Sunshine Village) management fired their mountain manager, avalanche forecaster, senior ski patroller and lift operations supervisor over reprimanding the owner's son for breaking ski hill rules, and the law.
Since then, they have fired the junior patroller on scene (for refusing to write a letter of apology to the owners) the assistant avalanche forecaster and the paramedic.
The ski bus service no longer picks up at most hotels.
Definitely come to Banff, ski at Lake Louise (full ski bus service) and enjoy the best that the area has to offer.
Sunshine will have a good product again in a few seasons, when they have the experienced staff to open the steep terrain.
[Editor's note: comments from a member of the resort staff have been added to create a balanced perspective on this review.]
"South Side Chutes opened this week, and the Shoulder is open as well, so the only expert terrain NOT open is Delirium Dive and Wild West. In any year, those sections are subject to intermittent closures, based on conditions. In one recent year, the Dive didn’t open until March".
"This item provides false information on the cause for the dismissals, merely repeating unsubstantiated rumour".
"The junior patroller was not 'fired' - he was laid off, and could be rehired at some point. And the cause for his lay off is incorrect i.e. it was not for refusing to write an apology".
Nearest