Ski Sapphire Valley — Attraction in Highlands

I planned family trip around skiing on Friday and Saturday. Prior to planning our trip and making the 10 hour drive, I verified on their website that they would be open Friday from 12pm-8pm and Saturday from 9am-8pm. On that Friday morning, I once again verified their hours had not changed. We arrived at the resort on Friday as planned and after speaking to the lady at the ticket stand went ahead and purchased tickets and equipment for both days. I knew that on Saturday my family of 6 would not be getting to the slopes until around 4pm but since that would give us 4 hours of skiing it was worth the 2 day purchase. On Friday at 5:45pm, without any kind of notice they closed the slopes. There were no signs indicating they would be closing 2 hours early at the resort, the hours on the website still said they would be open until 8pm, and the lady that sold me the two day tickets did not mention closing early that day or the next. When I got back to the house we were staying I decided to call and speak with a manager. The lady I spoke to was extremely rude and told me that it was their decision to close early because of staffing issues. I asked her to confirm that they would be open on Saturday until 8 pm like their website indicated and she said that no they will be closing around 6 pm again. I explained to her that no where on their website did it mention closing early either day, that I looked around the entire resort and there was no signs indicated closing at 6pm, and that finally the lady who sold me the tickets never advised of the resort closing early. I also informed her if I would have known that I would not have purchased two day passes for 6 people, as I knew we would not be getting to the slope until later in the day on Saturday and that I would have never bought six passes and equipment rental for 1 hour of skiing. Once again she told me it was their decision to close early. I asked if I would be getting a partial refund since they made the decision to close early without letting the public know of their decision prior to purchasing tickets and equipment. She said absolutely not and once again informed me it was their decision. To say I was shocked by the false advertisement and rude behavior is an...

We probably picked the worst time possible to try this place. - The MLK holiday weekend, in the middle of the global pandemic where outdoor sports are already in high demand.

The place was absolutely PACKED!!! - But if you read below, you’ll see how the team at Sapphire Valley still deserve all 5 stars.

My daughter and I drove up from Atlanta (3 hours each way) and arrived at opening time to find there were already lines for lift tickets and rental equipment. By 10am renters were already being turned away because they had run out of most equipment.

Then I met Gary...

Gary was working the lines and speaking to everyone individually, listening to them and gently explaing the situation. We pitched that had driven up for the day specifically for my daughter to learn to snowboard and it would all be in vain. Fortunately he had an idea. Daughter is pretty small and light so they had some kids boards leftover but nothing for me, except perhaps a short pair of ski’s and the promise of a board later in the day. “Brilliant - I’ll take it!” - After about an hour we were suited and booted!

Theres a gentle bunny slope with a Magic Carpet and a longer run with a couple of rails for experts to slam, fed by a 4 seat Chairlift. Despite the initial crowds, the slopes never felt crowded and we had plenty of space to learn. Also if you look at the ski cam on their website it looks like the lines to go uphill are long but they move fairly quickly.

Then I met Amanda...

Amanda had noted that I wasnt in the equipment I wanted and took the time to follow up with a phone call as soon as a board my size became available. A quick return of my skis and boots and I’m back into ‘Shawn-White-Mode’!

What looked like a total bust for the day, had now turned into probably one of the more memorable days in my daughters life. - Primarily down to the team at Sapphire Valley. Even all the guys who spent the day freezing while working the lifts had some chat and a smile for us all.

This place could rival Chik-Fil-A for top level service! I would also recommend it for a fun day out for the family and a perfect place for the youngsters to learn before heading to more...

Pros: Great slopes for beginners and surprisingly not that crowded once you are out there. Most of the staff is friendly.

Cons: Very poorly managed! Was told it’s first come first serve for tubing and skiing. So arrived at 7:45 Saturday morning and had one of us in tube ticket line and one in ski line and arrived within first 10 ppl in line. Booked tubing time for 10 am at exactly 8:30. Got ski lift tickets at about 9:30 and were told to go get ski equipment immediately or they will sell out and u won’t get a refund if u can’t ski. The equipment line took so long we missed our entire tube time slot and didn’t receive equipment until 12. Went to switch our tube time and the best they could do was the last slot of the day and we were leaving Saturday night to head home. When I asked to allow us to go to tubing at 4 they said they can’t cuz it was sold out, but there were not many ppl tubing then. The lines were just incredibly long!!! Incredibly long and slow moving beyond comprehension. We could not understand why 3 ppl would be sitting there in equipment room watching one person get boots out!

Didn’t end up on slopes until almost 1 from getting there at 7:45 in line and getting equipment after 12. But you cannot leave the equipment line because they will sell out and ur stuck with a few hundred dollars in lift tickets and no way to use them and absolutely no refunds....