Wellness Travel Guide: Whistler
My scene report + a Four Seasons resort review
Remember when I said I wanted to travel more? Well, I’m nothing if not a woman of my word. Plant Based’s new and improved travel section will now include city guides and resort reviews.
The former are guest edits by residents of specific locales in which they share the culture around wellness in their community as well as their must-hit spots for fitness, food, and other healing modalities. We’ve got quite the collection of city guides to browse from—spanning across 6 continents (if you live in Antarctica, my DMs are open)—including favorites like San Francisco, London, Melbourne, Seoul, Lagos, Paris, São Paolo, and more.
The latter are my firsthand accounts of particularly special hotels and resorts, more often than not with exceptional wellness amenities. That comes with the very tired caveat that wellness is a vague and almost meaningless catchall term—a term that I define as simply taking care to feel good. Our first resort review is already live; you can read my overview of the Family Coppola Hideaways’ Turtle Inn property nestled in this lovely collaboration with travel writer Bella Darden.
This week, my travels are taking me to a very different setting: British Columbia. I stayed at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler, and my take that ski destinations are better in the summer is even stronger than ever.
About Whistler:
Whistler is a mountain resort town in British Columbia, Canada, just a two hour drive north of Vancouver. It’s home to two mountains, Whistler and Blackcomb, which are part of the Coast mountain range and together make up North America’s largest ski resort. Whistler-Blackcomb was where a lot of the 2010 Olympic games took place, which is all to say that the outdoor activities are world class.
In the summer, Whistler is home to a whole host of outdoor activities, the most popular of which being mountain biking. Whistler mountain becomes a bike park, and visitors can take lessons or rent bikes / equipment and explore on their own. Of course, there are plenty of hikes, as well as (regular) bike trails, lakes, golf opportunities, and forest walking paths.
The village itself is car-free, a quaint mountain-side town with hotels, eateries, souvenir stores, clothing (mostly activewear) stores, and ice cream shops. Because of the wide range of activities and ease of exploration, it’s a pretty popular location for family trips, but couples and adventurous groups are also big demographics.
About the Property:
The Four Seasons, as you likely know, is a luxury hotel and resort company, with experiences ranging from short-term stays, long-term residences, private jets, yachts, fine dining, and world-class spas. In total, they have 135 properties around the globe on six continents, and their first was opened in 1961 in Toronto. Being that they’re a Canadian based company, it felt particularly fitting to visit their Whistler location.
Named to Travel + Leisure's 2026 list of the 500 Best Hotels, the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Whistler is both a winter hot spot for skiers, and a summer destination for mountain biking enthusiasts and wellness-oriented outdoorsy folks. It’s a 270+ room resort, located on the base of Blackcomb, one of two mountains in town, and features a wide range of activities including bear safaris (I did this, stay tuned), ATV buggy rides, ice fishing, white water rafting, personal training, golfing, private painting classes, heli-skiing, forest bathing, and treatments in their newly renovated spa, to name a few. Obviously, the season dictates the types of activities you’re likely to do, but as a now retired skier, I’m particularly excited about the summer offerings.
A Diary of my Trip:
Tuesday:
My day started at 5:15 when I woke up and headed straight to Newark for my flight. After a flight to Seattle, a second flight to Vancouver, and a two-hour drive along the Sea-to-Sky highway that takes you up to Whistler (with some incredible views in the background), I finally arrived at the hotel in the late afternoon. Of course, the first thing I did after putting down my bags was to take a quick shower.
After being reunited with Grown Alchemist’s body care line, we took a quick stroll around the property to get our bearings1. Starting off in the spa area, we had a look at the two-room fitness center, one studio room for stretching and daily group fitness classes, another machine room with high-end treadmills, Pelotons, strength machines, and benches with free weights. Across the hall are gendered locker rooms, each with a steam room and multiple showers, meant to be used after your workout, after your spa treatment in the neighboring room, or during your pool time on the other side of the doors.
The pool area was probably my favorite part, complete with a barrel sauna and multiple hot tubs, as well as some games like Foosball and NBA Jam that I regrettably did not touch. We wound our way through the fire pit area which was situated next to the small cabin serving ice cream, s’mores, and slushies, back into the downstairs reception where local British Columbia wines were being sampled next to some very fun bear statues.
Dinner this night was part of their Villa & Residences Rentals program, a section of the resort reserved for longer term stays where guests can welcome in a sushi chef to prepare them a private meal. This has to be some of the best sushi I’ve eaten in recent history; you don’t realize how the freshness of your fish (specifically from British Columbia) makes the world of a difference even in your maki rolls until you taste it. I truly can’t believe how much I was able to fit in my stomach. At this point I was exhausted and stuffed and I had no recollection of falling asleep that night.
Wednesday:
I woke up bright-eyed and bushy tailed at approximately 6am local time, which I was pretty stoked about given that was 9am in New York. With so much time on my hands before my first activity, I decided to put the gym facilities to use for a moment of solitude to start my day. I know some people are anti-exercise on vacation, but I personally think there are few things more exciting than a clean, renovated, almost-empty gym for me to take my time in. I also, for better or worse, need to maintain some semblance of routine to feel normal.
Next came the breakfast buffet which was awesome. Hotel breakfast buffets are one of life’s greatest pleasures, in my opinion. This one had eggs, breads, fruits, congee (!), and pancakes, so needless to say I was once again stuffed.
At 9am on the dot, I embarked on my first ever bear safari. Bears are (mostly) harmless in these parts, often moseying around golf courses and bike paths in search of some berries to snack on. I was quite eager to see some out in the wild, so it’s with great displeasure to report that we did not see a single mammal2 on our 3-hour-long endeavor. I had a premonition that we’d actually see a bear during a more unassuming time—I think they could pick up on our desperation—so when we spotted a mom and her cub hanging out on the mountain while riding the gondola, I felt like a proper psychic.
We had a lengthy lunch at Christine’s at the top of Blackcomb mountain where some people (not me) tried their first Caesar. I can’t get into that here. Afterwards, it was hiking time. Most of the intense trails were still closed for the season—there was still snow on the ground up there—so we took a nice 3km3 walk around the top of Blackcomb. The goal was to take the peak-to-peak gondola across Blackcomb mountain to Whistler mountain (the two peaks in the area), but due to some inclement weather, we were actually ordered to shelter inside the lodge until the thunder and lightning were far enough from our current location. Cut to an hour and a half later, the gondolas were back up and running and we, slightly anxiously, returned home.
I used my hour or so of downtime here to hit the sauna which was most certainly the right call. A solid 15 minute in that 190+ degree heat, followed by a few laps in the pool and some shower + robe time, and I was feeling reborn for our big dinner at the property’s renowned SIDECUT steak house.
Seafood tower. Miso eggplant. Wagyu. Mashed potatoes. Kale. (I’m smirking.) There were also some expertly crafted cocktails (and mocktails) with cute names, but it’s hard to think about what you’re drinking when there’s an enormous steak looming over the table.
Thursday:
This was the more relaxing day, although I still woke up fairly early and did a quick Pyro video in the gym. I rushed back to the room in time to meet a delightful British man wheeling in a—get ready for it—breakfast tower. I chowed through my ornate display of breakfast tapas while gazing out at the mountain view, feeling that ever-so-special sensation of awe. Joie de Vivre Index at an all time high.
Next was time for forest bathing. Otherwise known as Shinrin Yoku, forest bathing is a Japanese practice that involves immersing oneself in nature—ideally without technology—to reconnect with the earth and combat stress and other physical ailments. Our particular forest bathing session was special because we grounded, a personal favorite wellness practice of mine. Sitting on cushions, we were guided in a quick meditation, our feet in the dirt, the soothing sounds of a stream rushing by us. Not to give away a future Will This Chill Me Out?, but I loved it.
After a quick lunch back at the Four Seasons, it was time for my highest anticipated activity yet: my massage. Their spa facility was recently renovated, meaning the treatments, the products from a local indigenous purveyor Sḵwálwen Botanicals, and the meditation room are all fairly new. I’ll preface this massage review by saying that I think we are currently living in a low pressure epidemic here in New York. Any time I get a massage in the city,4 the practitioner does not believe me when I specify that I want my pressure level to be “deep,” and so I’m left with an expensive rub. I finally felt seen and heard by a practitioner, and it took me going all the way to Whistler to find her. She went IN on my back and hamstrings in a way that was borderline masochistic of me, and I loved every second of it. When my massage was over, she handed me my robe, fresh out of the warmer, and I sat on the bed for a moment, stupefied and immensely cozy.
I’m going to admit something upsetting to you all which is that right after this intense relaxation experience I went back to my room and sent some emails. It grounded me in reality which I sort of needed, and I won’t be made to feel guilty about it. I made sure I had an hour or so before our final dinner, which I spent checking out the village of Whistler (a 15 minute walk / 3 minute drive from the hotel). I gave the souvenir shops a quick one-over, admired all of the moose and bear paraphernalia, and appreciated the Olympic Ring statue (?) before strolling back home.
For our last meal, we had a big Latin dinner as part of their Summer Thursday “Pura Vida” dining series. Once again, I stuffed myself to the brim, this time with ceviche and Peruvian chicken. To digest before our evening sound bath, I made my way back to the village to catch the end of the USA vs Turkey World Cup game and e-biked back along the nearby trails.
The sound bath was actually Plan B—we were actually supposed to celestial bathe (a.k.a. stargaze)—but the cloudy skies had other plans for us. I recently wrote that I’m anti-sound bath, but I may have spoken too soon because this one was inoffensive to me. Lovely, even. I think it’s because our guide, Chelsea, refrained from using chimes, which I’m now realizing is my main gripe with this modality, and led us through some gentle breathing exercises. It was the perfect way to wrap this very restorative few days up, energetically speaking.
Friday:
I visited the gym once again, this time for a simple treadmill walk in anticipation for a long day of sitting ahead of me. I took my two-hour drive back to Vancouver and returned to one of the cleanest airports I’ve ever stepped foot in. There are approximately eight Tim Hortons in there. I had a GoMacro Square (somehow more delicious than the original ones) and a coffee from Joe and the Juice and called it a day before boarding my flight. I know you were curious.
Big Takeaways:
As expected, the hospitality was excellent. Everyone I spoke to was incredibly kind and interested in helping me have the smoothest experience possible.
The scenery is unparalleled. I know that sounds like a silly thing to say, but I was truly stunned every time I glanced at the horizon and saw snow-covered mountains and lush green trees looking back at me. Nature is healing, for real. Summer is the best time to go, IMO.
Bears are not scary, just really cute.
I wasn’t expecting Whistler to be such a culinary overachiever (no offense), but the quality of produce—and the seasonal fish—is astounding to my New Yorker palate. Definitely get sushi while you’re there. Also, wine from British Columbia is top tier, so if that’s your thing, you’ll want to do a tasting of sorts.
Even if you don’t stay at the Four Seasons, you need to go to their spa. Everything from the robes to the treatment to the tea to the relaxation rooms are 10/10. I haven’t found a massage like that…anywhere.
Worth Noting if You Plan a Trip:
I would recommend spending a solid amount of time in the actual village of Whistler. It’s a quintessential ski town, but with a few summer adaptations (read: ice cream shops), with a nice array of casual dining options, gear shops, and touristy trinket stores. I found it rather charming and wish I got to explore it a bit more.
There’s also a confusingly inexpensive yet highly rated restaurant called Wild Blue that I would also check out. If you’re there before peak summer season, their tasting menu is less than $50CAD, which again, makes no sense.
A regret of mine, and I realize this sounds like a death wish, is that I didn’t go mountain biking. Whistler is one of, if not the most, elite downhill mountain biking destinations in the world, so I feel like it’s a must-do if you’re the slightest bit adventurous.
If you’re coming from the East Coast, you’re going to want to take an early flight over there. I was dreading my 5am wakeup, but I got to Vancouver by 12:30pm which got me to Whistler at 3pm or so. If you were to go any later, that all gets shifted back and your day is lost.
There you have it, a big synopsis of an incredible trip to Whistler. Currently an underrated—although I bet it will be standardly rated soon—travel destination. I’m curious which places and/or wellness experiences you’ve got your eyes on these days…
This is a pun that takes a few paragraphs to pay off. I hope it was worth it.
There was a grouse and its babies which were cute, I guess.
I’m trying to learn the metric system now
I’m speaking as if I do this weekly. It’s more like quarterly.
The Wild Blue restaurant is great! The interior is very aesthetically stimulating too. Mountain biking there is absolutely incredible but def not for beginners lol
Loved all of this