Glacier Getaways — Local services in Whitefish

Summary: I was rented the Whitefish River Retreat as an unfinished property in an active construction area after being told it would be finished and that it would be made right if it wasn’t finished. There ended up being a variety of major inconveniences associated with this for the entire month I was there and all that Glacier Getaways did to address the issues was giving a 8% refund.

Judging by all the positive reviews on here, it seems like I got unlucky and had a poor experience with Glacier Getaways. I’ll share about my experience from start to finish. When I was finalizing the month long rental 5 months ahead of time, I noticed that the property looked like an active construction site on a recent satellite map image. I asked them about this and made it clear that I didn’t want to rent something with construction happening around it. She assured me that the construction would be finished months before I arrived. Because of the reassurance that I was given, I ended up selecting this property instead one of the many other comparable ones I was looking at since it looked great in the photos.

2 weeks before the rental started, Jamie reached out to let me know that the surrounding construction hadn’t been finished and that the landscaping, patio, outdoor stairs and other parts of the property I rented hadn’t been finished either. I expressed concern with this and asked about other options or cancelling. She made it very clear that I was locked into this rental, there were no other options and reassured me that the noise wouldn’t be that bad and she would make it right if there was an inconvenience from the construction.

The surrounding construction and lack of the property being finished caused some form of inconvenience everyday of the entire month I was there. There would be periods of time with 10 contractor trucks surrounding the property at once and crews would run saws and nail guns as early as 7am. There was a dumpster and portapotty right outside of the house. I got a nail in a tire on my car during 2 separate occasions. At times, it was too noisy to take work calls from the house.

This all bothered me but I was trying my best to not let it hinder my vacation. It was the last week of my stay that pushed me to the point of reaching out to Glacier Getaways to complain. The contractors started the “landscaping” project that Jamie had warned me about. The landscaping was actually heavy stone work with an excavator and backhoe moving massive boulders and excavating the hillside immediately outside the house along with a crew clear cutting old growth trees to make a path to the river. This work lasted for the last week of my stay from 7am to 6pm and literally was shaking the house. I could not take any work calls from the house during the week and it was hard to relax.

Towards the last few days of the month, I reached out to Glacier Getaways to share about my experience and hoped they would follow up on their promise to make things right if I was inconvenienced by the construction. Initially they offered me a 5% refund and a small discount if I wanted to rent the same house again in the future. I made it clear that this wouldn’t make things right. They countered by saying I was already getting it at a large discount because of the construction. Why would that be the case when I was rented it under the presumption that all the property and the surrounding construction would be 100% finished? Additionally, $18k / month was also very comparable to many of the other similar properties I looked at in the area. They ended up giving me an 8% refund. I know they didn’t have to do this and the interior of the house is nice which is why they’re getting two stars instead of one. With that said, it still feels extremely marginal for the level of inconvenience we dealt with. I have attached some photos and videos of what the property and construction looked like while we were there. Their photos on the listing did a great job of hiding...

We stayed in Unit # 5. This unit is very nice and accommodated our family’s needs with the g-kids taking the bunk room that had a twin over full and their own bathroom just off the garage entrance. The main level had a nice bedroom where their parents slept and where the living room, dining and kitchen area were located. There is also a small balcony with gas grill which came in handy. Up another level is where Grandma and Papa stayed, which had a huge bathroom that included a huge walk-in shower, vanity with 2 sinks, closet with a stacked washer/dryer. This level also included a living area with couch that can be turned into another bed, chairs, a table and a game table for playing games like pac-man. There is also a patio door with very small balcony. Off of this room is the bedroom with king sized bed. The beds were very comfortable and we slept well. This unit was just like 50 feet to the “Away Home” run that takes skiers to Chair 1 or Base Camp and where they can took it back to the unit at the end of the day. The Village is literally just a 5 minute walk up where there is a 24/7 Village Market for groceries and where you can catch the Village Shuttle and the S.N.O.W Bus that take you into the town of Whitefish. The Village also has several restaurants.

The owners were easy to contact with any questions and concerns and response was very quick. I would definitely recommend the Powderhound Condo’s as a place to stay.

We enjoyed playing games around the table after a fun day of skiing or shopping. We also watched a few movies. There is a TV in each bedroom, living room and sitting room on the upper level. We watched Netflix movies.

The one suggestion or extra benefit would be if this condo unit had a big hot tub to relax in at the...

The neighborhood is charming, very modern and clean. Close enough to downtown Whitefish to walk and enjoy all this quaint (expensive) town has to offer. Walking distance to the public beach and right across the street from awesome pizza and a monster beer selection at the Montana Taphouse. About a 30 minute drive to the West Glacier entrance; so a perfect jumping off point for a park vacation. Expect to see deer roaming the property in the evenings minding their own business.

The unit itself is excellent, has a fully stocked kitchen with every pot, pan, utensil and appliance you will need to cook, bake and grill anything you could think of. CLEAN, well decorated with laundry, a cooler and a very large walk out 2nd floor deck with a pizza oven, fire-table, 2 seating areas and a new large umbrella. Beds are very comfortable, with high quality linens and towels. Zero complaints about the condo, it was everything advertised.

We had 4 adults (dad/mom, 2 boys 19&17), this would be the maximum capacity in my opinion, there is only space in the living room for 4 adults, however the deck can accommodate a large group if necessary.

The common facilities are top notch, the hot tub is huge with an ample pool deck surrounding with plenty of chairs, umbrellas and tables. The work out room is fully equipped, and the pool is clean (cool 77 degrees) and has a couple of seating areas built in to chill and have a couple of beers.

The hosts were great, answered every and all questions I had in a extremely timely manner.

5-Stars, I would personally recommend the property and hosts to anyone looking to visit...