Great Hotel for Groups and Families
Written: Feb 18 '07 (Updated Feb 19 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Large condo like suites. Perfect set-up for groups and families.
Cons: Everything is spread out. Not an "on mountain" location. No daily maid service.
The Bottom Line: The Wyndham Cap Tremblant is an ideal set-up for groups and families. The hotel features apartment sytle suites. You'll need a car though.
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| belynch's Full Review: Wyndham Cap Tremblant Mountain Resort, Quebec |
This review is based on a three night stay during February, 2007. The purpose of the trip was leisure and there were four people total on the trip (two couples). Rate paid was a variable rate that worked out to $670 USD total for the three nights. Reservation was booked online at wyndham.com
Background
Every winter for the past few years I've been saying how much I want to go skiing again and I never get around to doing it. So, leave it to me and my pig-headedness to choose to go skiing during the warmest winter on record with the least amount of precipitation (on the US East coast) in recent memory. The original plan was to go to Vermont to go skiing but that was squashed because the conditions were so bad (no snow), so we chose to go a bit further north up to Quebec and Mont Tremblant.
Myself, my girlfriend, and another couple decided on Thursday to make the trip, and we booked the room at the Wyndham online for that weekend. Other resorts in the area, such as the Fairmont and Westin were already sold out, because waited so long.
Location
From NYC, it was pretty much a straight shot up 87 to the Canadian border, and then that road turns into 15 North. 15 kind of meanders through the city of Montreal and you have to play close attention or you'll get lost (as we did). 15 ends and merges into 117. You keep following 117 into the town of Mont Tremblant and then there's signs to the Wyndham (which is in a residential area and if it weren't for the abundant signs you'd swear you were lost).
The location is just outside (above) the town of Mont Tremblant and is about five minutes from the tourist town of Mont Tremblant (at the bottom of the slope). Between there is a picturesque lake and a few little shops and restaurants.
Although we all agreed we would have preferred to be at the base of the mountain, we were overall very happy with the location of the Wyndham. Even if we hadn't had a car to drive to the slope, there is a free shuttle during the day that goes from the hotel to the tourist town every half hour on the half hour. At night however is a different story, as you'd have to take a taxi or public transport.
Pre-arrival experience and checking-in
About thirty minutes after I made the reservation online I received a confirmation email from Wyndham.com followed shortly by a personal email from one of the front desk staff at the Wyndham, welcoming me to the property and providing me with a menu of activities and offering of their personal email address for any assistance I might need prior to the trip. I figured this was an automated response from the hotel, but thought the gesture was very nice.
Checking-in was down around midnight and the front desk associate cheerfully greeted me by name into the impressive lobby. I guess I was the last person checking-in that night and he figured it was me that was coming in, looking road-weary. The check-in process took no more than two minutes.
Lay of the land & Property
The hotel is set up a (steep) hill and is not set-up like a traditional hotel. There are blocks of units (probably a dozen or so) in a condo building set-up spread throughout the property. There are small parking lots for each building and each "room" has an individual entrance, which you access via a traditional MagStrip Wyndham branded key.
Each building cluster is relatively separate so you really get a feeling that the property is huge, yet quant.
At the very top of the hill is the reception area and restaurants. Scattered throughout the property are pools and hot tubs (x2) which they give you a key to access the locked fence.
There is a sauna and clay tennis courts as well. According to the website there is no gym (which I find kind of surprising) but I had no need for one as I was sore from skiing all day.
Rooms
We reserved a two bedroom suite, which was more apartment than hotel room. Location on the second floor the stairs (inside) led up to the open sitting room (with working fire place). The kitchen and dining room were open to the sitting room and were adjacent. Tucked in an alcove behind the dining room was a small work area with a desk (I did not see a high speed internet connection however).
There was a couch and two easy chairs in the TV room, and a 32" TV with VCR and DVD built-in.
A large veranda complete with picnic table and a bbq was directly off the main room.
One wall was painted in a deep burgundy, and the other were in a beige. The furniture wasn't overly comfortable, but it was fine. The couch was a pull-out, had anyone wanted to sleep on it. Artwork on the wall was mainly landscapes.
The kitchen had stainless steel appliances and an electric range, including a dishwasher. Pots and pans were provided although there were one or two that looked like they had dried food on it. With the exception of that, everything in the room was spotless. We bought food at a grocery story in the town about five minutes down the road and the only meal we cooked in the kitchen was breakfast. Soap and dishwasher detergent was provided.
A washer and dryer unit were in the hallway behind the kitchen (free).
There was one bathroom with two sinks in a separate vanity area and the toilet and shower in a separate room. This greatly expedited getting ready and that little door probably saved us a collective two hours during the course of the long weekend. Water pressure was fine, and there were no problems with temperature control. I was the fourth person to take a shower one morning, while the washing machine was going, and to no one's surprise I had no hot water. Oh well.
There were two bedrooms in our unit, each with a queen bed. Each mattress was very soft and felt more like a waterbed than an actual mattress. There were three pillows (an additional pillow in the closet) each of varying firmness and weren't that comfortable. There was a TV in each bedroom and an iron and ironing board in the closets.
Overall the unit was very nice, comfortably furnished, and very spacious. It certainly met all of our needs and we were very impressed with everything, especially considering the rate paid.
The only complaint that can be had about the room was never once cleaned. I'm not sure how often they're supposed to come in (maybe twice a week or something?), but they didn't come in while we were there. While this in itself wasn't a big problem, we were all figuring that since we were in a "hotel" they would change the towels after the first day, and they didn't.
One of the nicest features of the unit was the view out over the town of Tremblant and the mountain. I'm sure in September when the leaves change its absolutely breathtaking.
It should be noted that our room was not ADA compliant, so if you, or someone you are traveling with has a disability, it should be mentioned at booking to make sure they have a room that will accommodate you.
This property also offers time-shares.
Food and Beverage
There are a few restaurants on-site, but as I mentioned before we ate breakfast in our unit every morning and we had lunch at the base of the slope each day. For dinner we ate in town each night (la Cayanne is worth a stop).
According to the website there are four restaurants on-site. Two, three-meal restaurants and one French and one Italian dinner dining options.
As far as I could tell there was no room service option.
Checking-out
Checking out was fast and efficient. The woman checking me out recognized my name and pondered for a second how she knew me. Then she realized that she was the one that sent me the "greeting" email a few days prior. It was very nice that they actually do personally send these out and it's not an automated system.
It was a nice final touch to the resort.
Bottom-line
For a group of friends or a trip with the family, I would highly recommend the Wyndham Cap Tremblant. Room sizes range from one bedroom to three and even have options for families with bunk-beds (I almost booked one of these rooms not realizing!). Although the resort is mainly geared to cater to skiers, it would certainly be a great destination in any season as there's so much to do in the area.
If I return to Mont Tremblant with a group of people I'll definitely book at the Wyndham. If it's just one or two of us, I might try and get a bit closer to the slopes and stay at the Westin.
Mont Tremblant, for those that are not familiar with it, is mainly a skiing destiantion, about an hour north of Montreal. It has matured over time into a full-service resort destination and is as entertaining as it is beautiful. I highly recommend a trip.
The hotel's website is http://www.wyndham.com/hotels/YULCT/main.wnt
Travel safe.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
belynch
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Location: Nyack, NY
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 17 members
About Me:
A full-time consultant, a part-time writer, and a volunteer EMT.
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