We loved the spot, the stairs were a bit trying at time but our condo was so well kept we believe it was owned by a family suite 22. The area has so much to do and our young bunch as well as our older bunch were never without a place to go. costs were within reason when using a stay and ski resort.
I would recommend it, I know we would like to pull it off again next year.
Stayed at Crystal Forest for a month. The three storied, slightly out dated lodge held 3 Bedrooms, and two bathrooms. 5 people were staying there, three children and two adults, so it was quite a nice fit.
It was a nice stay, very warm (air heaters in every room), and floor heaters in the laundry on the first floor. The living room/ kitchen was comfy, and homey, great for Christmas celebrations.
Location wise, It is a bit far from the ski fields (about a 5-10 minute walk), especially if you're walking in ski or snowboarding boots and carrying your equipment. On the bright side, there is a bus that goes around every 30 minutes, which is a great help, AND you can also take a ski route to the fields directly and back, but if you're a beginner, I would advise not to.
There is tonnes of WiFi, a nice hot tub, and all around, a good stay.
Would go back to Sun peaks for sure, but maybe would choose a closer location.
I stayed here in Feb of 2013 for a ski vacation with some friends. The condo is a little bit dated but that shouldn't deter you from staying here. We rented a very reasonable sized two bedroom, two bath condo, complete with outdoor hot tub and full amenity kitchen. The condo was clean and bright. A gas fire place and plenty of in-floor heating kept everything cozy. The kitchen was stocked with dishes, pots and pans for all your cooking needs. The hot tub is private to each ground floor unit which is a nice touch. There is also an in-suite washer/dryer.
The ski in/ski out claim is sort of close. We spent a bit of time trying to discover how close we can get while staying in our ski/snowboards. It's not door-to-lift, that's for sure. With a bit of brave spirit, you can actually ski to the door but you are walking if you are on a board. Going the other way,to get to a lift, well, I guess depends on which one. The mountain is laid out a little weird with critical access lifts in completely different areas from each other. Not centralized at all. So you are walking whether you like it or not.
Having said that, it's only a five to ten minute walk to the village for dinner. It's not that bad.
Why only the three stars? The walk brought it down a star for me (if they haven't made the claim if ski-in/ski-out, then I would have went with a four star). The pull out couch bedding was stained, as was the extra comforter that I found in the closet to use. There was not an extra pillow(s) provided for the pull out couch.
If I were to go back to Sun Peaks again, I would probably try to stay right inside the village itself. It's much more convenient access to the lifts. Either that or just stay much further away (better price?) and just drive to the day parking which is right next to the lifts.
Side note, as this might be important to some of you. Bedding and towels were not changed during the time that we were there and we rented the room for a week. I am not sure if we were expected to wash our own sheets etc during that time. This might be of importance to you but I didn't really care that much.
Stayed via Bear Country Lodging, and everything about the place was perfect. The accommodations were well above our expectations, and the Bear Country office could not be more friendly and helpful.
Couldn't recommend it more highly!
We were up for my brothers wedding in July and of course were not sure what to expect. The pictures did not do our place justice. It feels like home the minute you walk in. The condo's are well maintained and well stocked. There is not one thing that was missing from this accommodation. We have 2 children 4 and 7 and they also felt at home. It gave us all a very relaxed feeling. We were able to bbq outside with our extended family and go hot tub hopping! If you are up for an event with kids I would def. recommend this. It is about a 10 minute walk to the village and the views are breathtaking! Definitely recommend for families.
We stayed in a nice condo within the Crystal Forest/Bear Country Lodging area. It suited us well as it was affordable in price and relatively close to activities etc (about 10 - 15min walk). As we were a large group (of 7) we certainly made our presence known within the condo. But upon check-out, we cleaned up and left things the way we came upon them. A day after getting home to Vancouver, I received these comments in my email:
1. Excessive use of the Hot Tub requiring a “Dump & Fill” & replacement filters
Charge: CDN$ 150.00 + taxes = CDN$ 168.00 all taxes included
2. Extra Cleaning required upon departure including
Food on the floors in living room in every corner
Feathers everywhere downstairs (living room, bathroom, in basket, kitchen)
Sticky residue on tables, chairs, bar stools
Syrup on floor & counter in kitchen
Oven/Stove full of herbs
Full sink of dirty dishes
Charge: CDN$ 65.00 + taxes = CDN$ 72.80 all taxes included
Total Extra Charges: CDN$ 240.80 all taxes included
*** These charges appeared out of no-where, with little warning that they could even do such a thing. While the extra cleaning charges were acceptable (in price) the description was out of this world, as if completely fabricated.
The one that really got me was the Hot-Tub charge. If anyone is considering staying here, I would avoid ANY use of the hot tub. Apparently, if you sit in it more than 15 minutes as a group, the filters will clog and the thing will have to be redone... certainly not the hot-tubbing experience I have enjopyed in the past. In no way did we damage or abuse the hot-tub and it did not appear dirty or excessively used. Without our agreement, we were charged for this, and the credit card company that we used said that we could not dispute the charge because we proivded the credit card authorization to pay for the accomodations (which apparently includes any extra charges the Lodge feels are necessary).
I will never stay here again nor will I ever recommend this plan to anyone. It is a lesson for me when booking similar spots in future as well; I will speak with someone at the front desk about all possible hidden charges before booking in future. In speaking with other groups that have stayed at the Lodge, it appears that these charges are extremely common and are added as default. What a scam!
