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Planning a "Round-the-World Trip"?
Happy Travels
Patrick Spinks,
Publisher
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Ski holidays no longer need to break the bank...
Category: Archives - BC Mainland
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The Secret is Out: Ski Hostelling in BC
by Patrick Spinks
Those who seek an affordable winter holiday can get ready to carve some powder. Mountain resorts who formerly catered to high end guests have started to target budget travellers. Appropriately promoted as "ski holidays for people with more brains than money", ski hostelling has taken off with new facilities popping up everywhere, including big resorts like Whistler and Big White. Travellers have realized that not paying for expensive rooms leaves more money for lift tickets and nightlife.
Hostelling International (HI) now has 17 facilities with "Ski and Stay" packages. Banff and Lake Louise started it all off by providing budget accommodation close to ski hills. With the abundance of mountain terrain in B.C., many local hostels now offer ski packages to attract visitors during the winter months. Many offer guests discounted lift tickets as enticement.
John Romanuk operates HI Revelstoke Traveller's Inn and has for four years. Until recently, he considered winter a slow time for guests, despite excellent snow conditions. Then ski hostelling became popular. John collaborated with Powder Springs Resort, a ski mountain within ten minutes drive from the Inn. Winter visitors can get a full day lift pass and accommodation for $19.95. The offer is an attractive one, as his volume of guest traffic shows. His increase of customers has more than doubled in the last two years.
One hour drive outside of Kelowna is B.C.'s second largest ski hill and the sight of the first ski in/out hostel in the province. Big White has plenty of budget beds now, but that wasn't always the case. Tony Cleary of Big White Hostels recalls, "We opened in 1996 with 24 beds in the typical hostel configuration: bunk beds in shared rooms, shared showers and common room for cooking. The need for the hostel was obvious at the onset: we filled up in the first week." While the shared facilities might not be for everyone, Cory French has carved another niche on Big White: budget units with kitchenettes and private bathrooms from $55/night. Located across from Chateau Big White, where the most reasonable rooms are $110, Cory has a lot of demand.
Craig Kelley of Samesun International Travel Hostels is not surprised by the demand for budget ski accommodation. Samesun began with a Kelowna facility that offered ski shuttles, later opening the first hostel at Big White. Encouraged by guest feedback and bookings, Samesun has been devloping new facilities everywhere. "This past year has been a real hurricane for us," says Kelley, "We've more then doubled the number of beds we have from 260 to 600, adding new markets in Silver Star and Fernie." Samesun now has facilities and ski packages for 8 different mountains and has become a leader in the ski hostel industry.
The full pages of the guestbook at Sunpeaks International Hostel is a good indication that the word on ski hostelling has spread. Travellers are venturing from all over the world to ski Canada's mountains. Crystal Flaman, owner of the cozy A-frame lodge, notes "We've had thousands of guests from such countries as Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, The Netherlands, England, Scotland, Korea, China, Japan, India, France, and Denmark. We also get travellers from other parts of Canada wanting to make B.C. their holiday destination." Recognized for their clean hostels and friendly staff, their success is understandable. What is surprising is that ski hostelling has been kept a secret for this long.
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If hostels still conjure up images of crowded European dorms, its time you stayed in one again. You don't need to be from another country to stay in a hostel, just from another town. Most hostels offer private rooms for families and couples, and many dorms have only 4-8 beds. Great locations, a warm social environment and facilities such as hot tubs and saunas from $16/night make the attraction of hostelling obvious.***************
For more information on Ski Hostelling check out www.BudgetBeds.com, or call
Hostelling International
www.hihostels.bc.ca/tv
1-800-663-5777
CanadianSkiHostels.com
www.canadianskihostels.com
1-877-56-CARVE
SunPeaks International Hostel
www.sunpeakshostel.com
1-250-578-0057
Whistler Shoestring Lodge
www.shoestringlodge.com
1-877-551-4954 |
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Photo: Alain Denis
Photo: Alain Denis
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