We had just come from the Fairmont at Banff Springs and the Fairmont Lake Louise with our two little kids and were so impressed by them we were expecting a big step up to the Four Seasons at Whistler. We have stayed at so many Four Seasons (Boston, New York, Lanai, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Sydney, Bogota, Paris etc) and just always feel like they are the hands down best hotel chain in the world. The Whistler Four Seasons felt like a typical, maybe a bit more upscale, but typical Marriott.

First, when we arrived the valet and bell staff couldn't have been better. Typical Four Seasons. But the check-in desk was busy -- three employees appearing to be working with two distinct guests. Turned out they were all working on the same guest. It was about a 15-20 minute wait before anyone acknowledged us (I am being literal here, no one looked up, no one told greeted us, they were enthralled with helping this guest in front of us who, as we could overhear, was looking for a room upgrade) and we decided to see if anyone at the concierge desk could help -- they told us they could not. Finally the concierge came over and said they could check us in. Unfortunately because we were being checked in by a concierge we were not made aware of all the amenities the hotel apparently offered for kids -- games in the afternoons, painting classes and who knows what else! We found out about them because we chatted with other families.

We reserved a one-bedroom suite, putting the kids on the pullout. We didnt realize until the morning that the blinds were missing -- looks like they had been pulled off the wall by the prior guest and not replaced by the hotel. We assumed the hotel was full but later learned it was only 50% full so we were surprised by being placed in a second floor room (out of nine floors) that had blinds missing.

The following morning the cleaning staff was knocking on our door at 8am -- bright and early, no one was awake yet, but thanks to the cleaners ignoring the Do Not Disturb sign we got an unexpected wake up call.And thanks to no blinds no the kids were up and not going back to sleep.

Overall, aside from the valet and restaurant workers, it seemed the hotel staff had been trained to ignore guests. No one greeted us in hallways or lobbies or at the pool or anywhere, frankly. Just seemed like a routine hotel and nothing special, nothing to pay extra for, and one to definitely avoid if you enjoy luxury experiences. Its location within Whistler is a bit sub-optimal -- if it were a luxury hotel it would be fine, but its not and isn't.

Finally, there were dogs everywhere. I guess they welcome pets which is fine, but the dog/guest ratio seemed askew.