Bolton Valley Resort — Attraction in Bolton

Dear Bolton Valley Management,

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment and frustration with the pricing practices I encountered at your resort yesterday, 2/15. I have been a loyal Bolton Valley skier for over a decade. It's always been one of my favorite places to ski, as I've come to know and love the runs and the atmosphere.

Yesterday, my wife and I chose to drive the extra hour to Bolton Valley specifically because of the affordability we expected based on what we saw on your website. We could have chosen several other mountains, but your advertised pricing was a key factor in our decision.

Upon arriving at the ticket window, we were shocked to be told the price for two lift tickets was $296. This was drastically different from the $89 per person we were anticipating, based on the information we had seen online. When I questioned the cashier about this discrepancy, I was told that Bolton Valley uses "interval pricing" that changes every 15 minutes based on the number of people present at the resort.

I have never encountered such a pricing model in my life, and I feel that this constitutes a misrepresentation of your prices. Having a website that does not accurately reflect the current, fluctuating price is incredibly misleading. We made our decision to drive an hour to your resort based on the affordability we believed was offered, and we were significantly misled.

I have taken time-stamped photos of your website pricing from yesterday, which I believe clearly demonstrate the discrepancy between the advertised price and what we were charged. I am confident that any Better Business Bureau review would agree with how upset we were.

In addition to the pricing issue, I also want to mention the insufficient number of bathroom facilities for the crowd that was present yesterday. Perhaps some of the additional revenue generated through your dynamic pricing model could be allocated to improving this situation.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing...

Bolton Valley Ski Resort at 4302 Access Road in Richmond, VT is fantastic! We happened to get there right after a large powder dump and were so fortunate!!!! We had booked ahead for the Inn, right at the base of the mountain, and sprung for a slope side view. We weren’t disappointed! Bolton Valley is and Indy resort with heart. The lifts are old school and slow, but to be honest, we were skiing so long and so hard on that fresh pow pow, that we needed the break!!! haha. Parking is limited, so you have to get there early (on powder days!). The parking attendants said it was the busiest they’d ever seen it that day. It took us over an hour to get up the access road!! The parking lots were full and they were turning people away. There are two side to the mountain. One side being a little lower in elevation. On the second day, when temps were warming a bit, the right, lower side was turning mash potatoes, while the upper left was still fluffy. This mountain has so great varied terrain and we really had fun. I particularly liked the steep drop on Spillway. I wish it was a little longer :). The lodge was pretty old school too, with smaller rooms and bathrooms. We could see to the outside in the gap around our AC unit LOL, but it was all sufficient and the staff was amazing! They went out of their way to help us and to make sure we were comfortable. We appreciated them so much! On the downside, the ski lodge is old, very dirty and the kitchen was ultra slow. We waited a really long time for our food and it was just meh. I hope they change their food vendor because they are losing money with what they had in the 23/24 season. Maybe 🤔 it was because h th year were overwhelmed on this powder day? IDK. One other cool things about this area too, is that it’s located near Waterbury and Stowe areas. There is so much to do after skiing. I hope you get to check out Bolton, if you...

I want to love Bolton, I really do, but I just like it. It's familiar, it's close by and I know the routine. However, I brought some family members there today and it reminded me of how they miss some areas.

Their staff is always where Bolton had shined and today was no different. The rental equipment staff are all friendly, helpful and welcoming. It took a few tries to get everything to fit just right, but we knew we would be there several hours and they made sure everything was right. The lift line staff were friendly and great, the ski patrol also awesome, the wait staff as well. If always makes me want to come back after I interact with the staff.

Now the not too great.

Parking is a bit of a mess. There isn't enough, people park way too far apart in some areas and in others there's barely room enough to get out of the vehicle.

It's really set up for people who have been there before, know where they're going, etc. For people new to the mountain, or winter sports, it's going to be a bit confusing on where to go, how to get there and there will likely be a lot of wasted time.

Walking from the parking area to the lift lines is pretty far, but you're walking on the sides of the poorly plowed roadways. I saw at least six people fall in those areas today alone. When I dropped off my family and found parking (finally) I was walking through slushy snow at least six inches deep in some of the marked 'pathways'.

Also, in the restaurant, the food is limited, which is to be expected, but I was surprised at how slim the beer selection was. With the amazing craft beer available locally, I was surprised. I know things are different right now, but Bud, Bud light, PBR, one craft lager and all the rest IPA's? Even a Switchback ale would be a...