From a location standpoint, the Hilton Whistler is perfect for skiers. I'm pretty sure I could survive here indefinitely, or at least until I maxed out my credit card. Yes, it was pretty expensive, but it was worth stretching the budget.

The hotel is about 2 minutes' walk from the Whistler Village Gondola, and another minute from the Blackcomb Excaliber gondola and the Fitzsimmons Express chair. The Hilton has a deal with Summit, a ski shop right next to the Whistler Village Gondola, so you can even leave your skis there overnight for free to avoid carrying them to and from your room every day. It doesn't get much easier than that.

The Hilton is in the middle of Whistler Village, where there are dozens of ski shops, clothing stores, markets, drugstores, and restaurants along a walking "trail" without vehicle traffic.

The hotel itself is excellent. We had two rooms on the 8th floor with a great view of Blackcomb. The rooms were well-furnished, large enough, clean, and comfortable. Each room had a waterproof floor pad for snowy boots, a safe big enough for a laptop, a well-equipped small kitchen, and comfy beds.

The hotel restaurant was quite good, with a wide variety of breakfast buffet items, friendly wait staff, and large tasty dinners with a good draft beer selection.

Every single Hilton employee that I encountered greeted me. The front desk staff and the concierges were extremely helpful and knowledgeable about the area and about skiing.

I'm sure it was the blue skies and the great snow that made it all come together--we lucked out on the weather--but I'm already planning another Whistler trip for next year, and I'll definitely stay at the Hilton again.

If you fly into Vancouver International Airport as we did, you can take the Pacific Coach YVR SkyLynx bus right to the door of the Hilton. It's reasonably priced and an easy way to get yourself and all your gear from the airport to the mountains. You really will not need a rental car at Whistler.