Willamette Pass Resort — Attraction in Sunriver

It is unfortunate that I had to write such a poor review but I think Google clients should be aware. The owner/management of the Willamette Ski Resort is incredibly rude and their guest customer service is unsatisfactory, to say the least. Several people were in line in front of me. Those who had any "problem" were forced to wait until the entire line diminished before they could receive an audience with the grandmaster (owner - Tim). We were one of those affected. The owner refused to look up my online order. He forced me to go find internet service (which there was none available at the ski resort at the time) to get my online order number. When I returned, he continued to be rude to me telling me he could not honor the terms of our passes without paperwork. They would not tell me where in the mountains I could go to where there was a printer available. They would not print the papers for me. I found internet again and tried to download the "paperwork" to fill out - so I could drive to a place with a printer to print it out. The download had expired. I went to guest services again. There was a woman named Rachel there. I waited until NOONE was in the room to ask questions. She was irritable and easily agitated when I asked for her help. She started raising her voice at me simply because I wanted to know WHEN she could email me the forms. I had already explained to her that I was going to drive to find a printer somewhere so I could fill out the "paperwork" and return today before they closed. This way, we didn't have to wait in line again tomorrow. Tim (later identified as the owner) came in and said that there was no way they would be able to make me happy or satisfy me. I tried rationally to explain that all I wanted was to have someone email me the forms I needed to download and print out. Again- there were no other customers in guest services. He told me I needed to leave. Out of fear that he would make my entire family leave, I walked out. But I felt very angry that neither one of them would tell me when they would have time to email me the documents that they wanted me to fill out for our season passes. I still don't understand why he couldn't print them for me and hand them to me when there was nothing else going on later in the day. The restaurant and lounge were very nice. Food was not bad. Erin and Greg at the lounge gave excellent service. Sarah (ski instructor) did a terrific job with my girls who took a day lesson. And Gene and others in the ski rental area were nice as well. So- bottom line- if I could possibly avoid the absolutely miserable experience when first walking in the door to get our tickets- I would have given the place 5 stars. I can only imagine how nice of a reputation Willamette Pass would have if they had a better owner/management hierarchy. Honestly, if we hadn't traveled 15 hours from the south to come here to meet 16 other family and friends (for a vacation I set up), I would have taken our family elsewhere to a ski resort that cares about their clients.

I updated my review to include an extra star for customer service because of the excellent service we received in rentals from Will and Roger. Will was fantastic and really seemed to care about the clientele. He went over and above to make sure our experience was pleasant and the kids were attended to quickly and proficiently. I don’t want to forget to mention Paul, who generally worked down at Sleepy Hollow or the Magic Carpet. (Fantastic places for new skiers). He was patient, friendly, helpful and always had a new piece of advice that really helped make us better skiers. It seemed everyone in the line knew who Paul was. He is just that special! It’s people like him - and many other employees there- that make me think it’s only the owner that makes the sauce spoil. Otherwise it would be a really neat little gem of...

Willamette pass is one of my favorite resorts and I make a point to go here each year. The mountain is beautiful and the runs are so fun and well done! They are some of the longer runs I’ve seen, which is fantastic, since I hate when I find a good run but it ends too quickly. The only bummer is that there aren’t as many runs here as some other places have to offer, BUT the runs here I would say are superior to those at other resorts. I’m a snowboarder so I hate flats. I have yet to find a movement stopping flat at Willamette Pass, if I’ve found one at all, and I’ve traveled all over the mountain. One of my favorite aspects of this lodge over others is the ability to pre order tickets. They often have very good prices if ordered well in advance also. I recently pre-ordered a lift ticket for $29 and though it’s not my first time getting such a great deal here, I’m still amazed. Unlike Hoodoo where it’s a first come first serve same high price ticket for basically everyone with no real discounts. The staff here are kind and knowledgeable and the lodge is pretty nice. The food options are not as various as I would hope, but it’s still good hot food. I also love the upper bar in the lodge with an amazing view of the mountain and a comfortable environment. The beverage options aren’t high here as they are in some other places, like Hoodoo, but there is enough to get the job done. I haven’t checked out the upper bar much, so you’ll have to check this out on your own for what they have or don’t. They do at least have hot cocoa, but I’m not sure about coffee. The staff are also VERY strict on the no equipment in the lodge, so if you want to simply pass through the lodge to put your board or skis outside instead of going all the way around in the cold, expect to get reminded by at least one staff member that equipment isn’t allowed inside. Just a heads up. Over all, I love and enjoy Willamette Pass and will continue going each year as...

Changing my 4 star review down to a one. I would go lower if I could:

My wife and I showed up to go skiing today (she can't go often so we typically only go up 1-2 times per season). We were turned away at the lift because she uses Ski Skates (Sled Dogs/ODRs), essentially glorified short Skis. This comes after being ALLOWED to use them the last two seasons. I have videos of her going down duck soup, perserverence and the bunny hill as evidence of this, which I will happily share, so you can imagine our surprise when we were turned away at the lift...

No where on the direct Willamette Pass website does it say "NO SKI SKATES", however it does explicitly call out no drones/sleds and that you must have ski/snowboard boots and skiis/snowboard or "authorized equipment". If Ski Skates are not allowed why are they not explicitly outlined in this policy? Especially when your direct compeditors, Hoodoo, Mt Bachelor and DO allow such equipment? We were offered a "credit" for our purchase but what good is a credit when we can't use our equipment on the mountain? That's not an acceptable comprimise at all. They essentially stole $97 from us since we won't even be able to return to use the "credit" with the equipment we have.

It is completely assinine to not allow ski skates but allow equpement that decouples from your body such as short skiis. I have been gonig to WIll Pass for the last 30 seasons and will absolutely be taking our business elsehwere, since we have plenty of options to choose from that DO allow their customers to use the type of equipment that works best for them. I would love a full refund or a change in policy, otherwise we will not be coming back.

Signed a formally...