Welch Village Ski & Snowboard Area — Attraction in Vasa Township

Alright, first of all, I don't leave many reviews for much of anything. But after the response I just received from the owner of Welch Village I feel the need to share/vent what just transpired. I'm not out seeking vengeance or trying to ruin their business by bringing their ratings down, or beat my chest and threaten to "never go there again"! But I feel people deserve more respect than I received today, especially when I am "the hand that feeds". I have been a "family" season pass holder for the last couple of years. Since last year we only used the pass a couple of times, purchasing another one for the following year was under serious debate. I should say we always take advantage of the reduced price sale that happens at the end of the prior season. The deadline for the sale was fast approaching and at the last minute (half hour prior to deadline), I decided to go ahead and purchase again with the hopes of using it more next time around. Needless to say, a half hour was not enough time to make the purchase. Long story short, the website was very difficult and wanted top level security clearance to get in! I figured......oh well.....guess it wasn't suppose to be! I called Welch about a week later to give them a COURTESY message to advise them of the revenue they missed out on with the difficult website. I've never owned a business but have always maintained that I would always truly want to know from the customer what I could do to make my business run smoother. That wasn't the case here. As mentioned earlier, I happened to get the owner of Welch on the phone and when I advised him of my troubles, he immediately became hostile and virtually calling me an idiot since apparently he claimed nobody else was having problems! Then he reflected how weeks prior to deadline there were emails sent out to advise the numerous phone staff available to help with issues on the website! Hmmm, nobody having problems yet you set up a support team to deal with the problems?! Coupling that with insinuating I should have made my purchase earlier ......so my loss! With that comment, I referred to their last chance to buy email........if the whole mess was my fault for not signing up earlier......why are you fishing for last minute business with these "last chance" emails? Where he then indicated how much last minute business they get! But in my case I get yelled at for waiting till last minute.....WOW! I read through the reviews to see if anyone else had experienced this type of behavior from Welch Village, but only see good comments regarding the resort itself. Which not going to lie......I agree with. I love skiing at this place. It actually saddens me that I will never be there again unless it changes hands. When deciding last minute whether to purchase a pass, supporting this place (since discretionary income is probably factoring into a lot of peoples decisions) was important to me and actually factored into following through with it. I guess the universe intervened and stopped it for me! This guy needs to learn a LOT about customer appreciation! Will be waiting for the day he falls flat on his face, and somebody else takes over the reigns! Until then (even though I will miss the place) I will not support this guy anymore nor recommend anyone to...

Welch Village Wedding Venue Review

Pros: • Extremely Beautiful Views: The venue offers breathtaking and private scenic views, making it a beautiful location. • Excellent Food: The food is delicious, and the chef provides outstanding customer service, ensuring guests have a great dining experience.

Cons: • Lack of communication: The response time from the events department was slow, despite having a conversation to try to fix this. I was waiting anywhere from 2 .5 to 5 weeks for a response to an email. A few examples of poor communication: 1. It took over the month to hear back to get the contract signed. 2. The day of, there were items that were not communicated to other departments, which led to my wedding party and parents needing to ask for help constantly throughout the night. 3. Finally, we did not receive a $1,000 credit on two untapped kegs over a month past the wedding. • Delayed Dinner: Dinner was served 20 minutes late, causing us to miss our sunset during our evening photos. Although the food was excellent, the timing issues were disappointing. • Facility Issues: Our weekend ended up being quite hot and humid. It was so hot and sunny at the rehearsal dinner was the night before, that people left our dinner early because it was so hot. We lucked out with clouds the next day, however; I was up the night before worrying about our elderly guests being stuck in a hot building all day. • Other Issues (small but still mentionable): The chairs in the reception area were still dirty and I needed to have my family clean them the day before. Additionally, the promotional material mentioned glassware and all drinks were served in plastic and aluminum.

We brought these issues to management, and they were not willing to give us any financial compensation for the issues we experienced. I felt that this was in poor taste given that we gave them over twenty thousand dollars.

Since food, beverages, and venue costs typically account for 60-70% of a wedding budget, I would reconsider using...

I ski here regularly. Welch has a good variety of slopes which include a number of genuinely "black" runs, of more sustained pitch than is typical of vertical-limited midwest ski areas. The "back bowls" do a lot to enhance the experience! They have lots of lifts to keep the lines down. I wish they'd run the fast double on Bakkelyka more often, though! Welch takes good care of their hill, with excellent snowmaking and good grooming. They generally groom overnight, and occasionally during the day. I sometimes wish they'd groom a little more often during the day as the snow can get a little scrapey later in the day, but all-in-all, their snow is about as good as you could hope for in the midwest. The attached photo shows good early-season conditions on 11/30/18. They have nice base facilities at two locations. Overall, Welch is as close to a mountain experience as you can get in southern Minnesota, with striking views across the Cannon River valley.

2/18/2023 - Went to Welch today expecting icy crusty conditions. But no! Kudos to the slope maintenance crew and groomers! They had made more snow, even this late in the season, and I thought the conditions were the best I've experienced this year! With the sunshine and warm temperatures (but not too warm, it topped out at ~37°) the snow was soft, not wet, and even in spots where it was wiped off a bit, the warmth made it cuttable. It was reminiscent of similar conditions I have experienced skiing in Colorado. Today was pretty busy but minimal lines at the chairlifts, they had them all running. A real...