Visiting Whistler this summer? This vacation home in Whistler is located 1 km from Whistler Village, and 350 metres from Blackcomb slopes with the ski-in trail close by, this exclusive 5 bedroom/5 bathroom chalet features vaulted ceilings, log beams, hardwood floors and a huge stone fireplace enhancing the contemporary West Coast theme. It’s a beautiful accommodation for rent.This home in Whistler is 3800 square foot home offers an open style gourmet kitchen; dining room with seating for 14; sunken living room with French doors; a den with a state-of-the-art home theater, VCR, stereo CD, laser disc player and laundry suite with washer/dryer/sink. For your convenience, there is a heated driveway with two car garage. After a day of skiing or golfing, invigorate yourself in the home-spa feature with a Eucalyptus Steam Shower and jacuzzi bathtub in the master ensuite, or have a soak in the private outdoor hot tub located on a large balcony overlooking the valley.

There is a separate rental suite occupied by a long term tenant.

This accommodation in Whistler has a special EVP welcome gift included VIP meet & greet, with full property tour available on arrival Full Concierge Service available, including discounted lift tickets 24 Hour Front Desk Service Catered in-house meals available on request Complimentary Village Shuttle Service to the ski lifts Complimentary parking & local calls; Kids 18 & under stay Free!

WHISTLER, Britsh Columbia - If you stayed in Whistler last week in one of the available summer accommodations in Whistler Blackcomb then you may have taken in the special Mother’s Day fundraising. So leave your homey cottage for the day and purchase a lift ticket to support the cause. All adult lift tickets on Mother’s Day will be priced at C$29, with C$20 from every adult ticket sold donated to the B.C. Cancer Foundation in support of Breast Cancer Research.

“Whistler Blackcomb has always supported and promoted healthy, active living,” says Dave Brownlie, Chief Operating Officer at Whistler Blackcomb. “Recent research indicates that regular physical activity can help protect against certain types of cancer such as colon and breast cancer. We’re hoping that event days like this will help to encourage people to get outside and exercise, taking advantage of the great spring skiing while supporting a great cause.”

With the numerous activity available in Whistler, from glacier skiing, mountain biking, hiking, swimming, golfing, roller blading and more, Whistlers active lifestyle accommodates any traveller and local stay in Whistler.

Lift tickets for the Mother’s Day Ski Day will be available from the Whistler Blackcomb ticket sales agents located at the base of Whistler Mountain in the village. Donation boxes will also be available at the base of the mountain for season pass holders and members of the general public who would like to make a donation.

“The B.C. Cancer Foundation is extremely appreciative of the support of Whistler Blackcomb and the members of the Whistler community,” says Mary McNeil, President and CEO, B.C. Cancer Foundation. “Funds will go toward the world leading research at the BC Cancer Agency.”

Whistler is currently reporting snow base of over 260 cm (104 inches), with over 80 runs to choose from on Whistler Mountain. And if you’re staying in any hotels or cottages in Whistler during that week, the weather is perfect for a little biking in the trails of Whistler mountain.

Whistler Accommodations - The Alpenglow Lodge Indulge, unwind and enjoy the convenience of being in the midst of Whistler Resort’s bustling Village North. Located in the Village North area of Whistler Village, BC, Canada, the Alpenglow Lodge is an all-suite vacation rental accommodation overlooking the village and along the free local shuttle route to the Blackcomb and Whistler Mountain lifts in Skier’s Plaza. After a hard day of adventure skiing, snowboarding, playing golf or just soaking up the sun by one of the sparkling lakes, relax in the health club offering fitness facilities, sauna, steam room, heated outdoor lap pool and outdoor hot tub. The Whistler rental accommodations are complete with all the comforts of home including a full kitchen, balcony, cable TV with VCR, and fireplace. The convenient location of this hotel puts you steps from shops, restaurants, bars and the gondolas accessing both Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains.

It’s that time of year again where both skiing and biking seasons in Whistler overlap. This is the season where we’ll see adjustments in some accommodations in Whistler to adjust for the high winter rates to the spring / summer. Though, as each each goes by, the tourists keep coming so eventually we won’t see much changes in vacation rental rates. So where is a good place to stay for biking and ski season? Well - almost anywhere - with the number of trails for biking, and the open glaciers for skiing and snowboarding, almost any accommodation in Whistler is a great place to stay.

With the overlapping ski and mountain bike seasons at Whistler Blackcomb, it’s possible to do both activities on the same day. The mountain bike park at Whistler Blackcomb begins daily operations today, with most trails in the lower park open to riders.

Meanwhile, the mountain remains open for skiing and snowboarding until June 4.

The park has added new trails for intermediate riders this year, as well as a “triple play card” offering three days in the park for $99. Possibly some accommodations in Whistler will offer special rates with this package built in. Let us know if you hear of any!

Also, a covered mountain bike facility called Air Dome will open this summer with, among other things, a foam pit and trampoline - swweeeett!

Six-day mountain bike camps are available for people aged 11 to adult.

Check out some of the Whistler accommodations for rent in and around the resort. Speaking from experience, almost any place in Whistler is a great place to stay for both the spring, summer and winter seasons (just depends how far you want to crawl home after a late night at the bars ).

Joe Houssian knows all too well that pirates have been circling his company.
Houssian, the chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Intrawest Corp., North America’s largest ski-resort operator (including Whistler accommmodations) with a market capitalization of $1.8 billion (U.S.), is under pressure from major shareholders to sell. The question many are asking is, will he buckle?

Pirate Capital LLP, based in Norwalk, Conn., continues to aggressively buy pieces of the company. Securities disclosures show it holds 14.7 per cent, up from 12 per cent a month earlier. The hedge fund has made no secret it wants Intrawest sold. And recently, Starwood Capital Group LLC’s CEO Barry Sternlicht said his company was thinking of adding Intrawest to its holdings, but only if the price is right.

So there will be more than a few interested listeners today when Houssian hosts a conference call to announce Intrawest’s third-quarter results.

The company has 10 resorts in North America, with its top destination being Whistler Blackcomb, the host site for the 2010 Winter Olympics. It also owns golf courses, beach resorts, an adventure travel firm, even a heli-skiing operation. For competitive reasons, the company doesn’t disclose how well individual resorts are doing, making it difficult to figure out which operations make money.

Note: With Whistler Blackcomb as such a lucrative market, why else would people be investing into vacation rental homes and accommodations in the area. Home-owner accommodation rentals is a lucrative market for those lucky individuals who can afford to buy - and makes for a great homey alternative to staying in the big hotel chains while visiting Whistler, BC, Canada.

Intrawest has significant holdings in real estate, including golf courses, and is working on housing development deals.

“When you acquire land you put it down in your balance sheet at book value—what you paid for it—but they are arguing that the value of the land is worth more than book value,” said Broughton.

Land that was purchased when it was zoned agricultural could be worth significantly more if it was later zoned for development. But that value may not be realized in the stock price, Broughton said.

Intrawest is developing resort-style condos, townhomes and detached units in such places as Squaw Valley, Calif., Solitude, Utah, Lake Las Vegas, and Les Arcs, France.

In an effort to find new markets, the company is also planning an aggressive move into China and has said it could add up to five Chinese ski resorts to its portfolio before the end of the year.

If Intrawest is sold, the timing is right, argues Pirate. The market is crowded with big international pension and real estate funds that are looking for somewhere relatively safe to park their money.

The big Canadian pension funds may be among the few with pockets deep enough to purchase Intrawest outright.

“We would have to see at the end of the day whether there is value for us in that investment,” said Ontario Teachers’ Pension Fund spokesperson Deborah Allen.