Welcome to Cvent's Meeting and Event Planning Guide for Whistler, a resort guide for meeting professionals. A world-renowned, year-round destination for leisure and business travel, Whistler is consistently ranked as the number-one mountain resort area in North America. From its reliable snow conditions to its youthful vibe set to the tone of adventure sports, fine dining, luxury spas and designer golf courses, meeting planners can rely on Whistler for an excellent meeting experience. Set amid mountain vistas, ancient forests and mirror-like lakes and rivers, Whistler served as the location for the 2010 Olympic Games, an achievement still celebrated at the Whistler Sliding Centre, Whistler Olympic Park and Whistler Olympic Plaza, three sporting areas that today serve as venues perfect for group events. These Olympic venues are just a few of the Whistler event venue offerings, which include award-winning hotels, mountaintop restaurants, adventure courses and more. The epicenter of Whistler, Whistler Village, is a pedestrian-only area lined with shops, restaurants and entertainment spots, all perfect for apres-ski or a night on the town.
Whistler is accessible through Vancouver International Airport, which sits 85 miles from the resort area. As Canada's second-busiest airport, Vancouver International served more than 17 million passengers in 2011 and offers direct bus service to Whistler via Pacific Coach Lines' YVR Whistler Skylynx service. Offering several daily departures, YVR Whistler Skylynx takes passengers to a number of Whistler Village accommodations and lodges, while Pacific Coach Lines' Whistler Express service provide service between select Vancouver hotels and Whistler Village hotels. If arriving by train, delegates can board the Amtrak Cascades service, which runs one daily round trip between Seattle and Vancouver and one daily round trip between Portland and Vancouver, with the final leg to Whistler aboard a bus. During the summer months, Rocky Mountaineer train service runs between Whistler and Vancouver and includes beverage and meal service. Once in Whistler, delegates can hop aboard Whistler Transit System's free Whistler Village shuttle service, which provides service to hotels, condos and ski lifts.
Set within a two-minute walk of Whistler Village shops, restaurants and lodging, Whistler Conference Centre is a stunning mountain lodge, complete with exposed stone and timbers and walls of windows. Groups can gather in the center's 40,000 square feet of versatile meeting space, which includes 22 meeting rooms, a 5,486-square-foot Grand Foyer, the 300-person Rainbow Theatre and 16,500-square-foot Sea to Sky Ballroom. Whistler Conference Centre served as the Accredited Media Centre for the 2010 Olympic Games, so its technology is nothing short of state-of-the-art and its setting nothing less than spectacular.
Aside from its Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler is home to a number of special venues perfect for private events, team building and off-hours fun. More than one of the most popular mountain resorts in the world, recognized for its more than 8,100 acres of slopes, 16 alpine bowls, more than 200 marked trails, terrain parks and half pipes, Whistler Blackcomb is also a fantastic unique venue for group events and activities. Whistler Blackcomb also features the PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola, the longest and highest unsupported lift span in the world. Spanning 1.88 miles and situated 1,427 feet high, the gondola links Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains and provides awe-inspiring views year-round. For a more “grounded” event, Whistler Olympic Plaza – one of Whistler's three Olympic venues – features a lawn, playground and outdoor performance space perfect for group events. Once the site for Olympic victory ceremonies, Whistler Olympic Plaza accommodates up to 8,000 people, including up to 1,000 people on its stage alone.
Perched on the southeast slope of Blackcomb Mountain, Whistler Sliding Centre is one of one 15 international competition sliding tracks in the world, as well as the fastest. The site of the 2010 Olympics bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events, Whistler Sliding Centre welcomes guests to hop in a bobsleigh or skeleton. Guests can also gather in the center's indoor and outdoor event spaces, ranging from its 110-person Track Lodge to the 550-person outdoor Thunderbird Corner space. The site of the 2010 Olympics cross-country skiing, ski jumping and biathlon events, Whistler Olympic Park today welcomes athletes of all ages to use its facilities, take lessons and cozy up in its cafe and fireside lounge. Whistler Olympic Park event venues include the 1,851-square-foot Day Lodge complete with two fireplaces and a 1,615-square-foot deck, as well as three 10,000-person outdoor stadiums. Finally, groups frequent Whistler's Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, a unique aboriginal cultural venue that offers dramatic evening events, complete with traditional Salish welcome songs. Groups can mingle in the 300-person Great Hall, gather around a firepit on the 7,000-square-foot Mezzanine Patio and Longhouse or take in views of Lost Lake Woods from the circular Istken Hall.
