Although I was hesitant about Bear Mountain, as I found the reviews a bit mixed. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We upgraded to a King suite, with a nice balcony - delicious accommodations. Cooking your own breakfast after two weeks on the road was a treat. I was able to enjoy a cigar on the balcony while watching a volleyball match. The only problem I had with Bear Mountain, was too much building going on.... geez, they are creating their own resort community and totally loosing any sense of "getting away from it all." We ate at the sushi restaurant and found it lacking.

Stayed 1 night for with the Mrs.

Pros -
1. big rooms (most have 2 beds)
2. nice view of golf course (patio joins with others - no barricade)
3. comfortable beds and showers.

Cons -
1. do not get a room with a shared door with another room. Like someone said here you can hear everything from the adjoining room.
2. if you are an early riser, not much to do here before 7am. the restaurant opens at 6:30am and the gym at 7:00am. i think the golf course doesn't even open up until about 7:30am?
3. a little bit pricey at the restaurants, but to be expected.

I have a personal bias towards American hospitality. I don't think anyone in the world does service like Americans. So although Canadians might be polite, they most often will not go totally out of their way. That said, I would probably try this place again. I was there on cash and points from my Starwood Credit Card. I only paid $60 for the room. I didn't play golf this time, but expect a 5 1/2 hour round. This place appeals to wealthy Albertan red necks on a stag weekend for some reason.

I live in Vancouver, but work each week in Victoria and it made my day when I found this hotel. The resort is made up of two hotel buildings set on a mountain, with a fantastic village being built around it. It works for me in so many ways. First it is close enough to Victoria that you can be there in 20 mins, yet you feel you are miles away in the mountains. Each room I have stayed in is like a condo, with a kitchen, living room, separate bedroom complete with fireplace (electric). There is a fabulous gym on the grounds as well as several great restaurants. The rooms on the valley side have an awesome view of the golf course, the surrounding forrests and terrain. There is not much lacking in this resort.

My fiance' and I stayed at Westin Bear Mountain for a leisurely, romantic getaway... Upon arrival we were informed that the pool was closed for unexpected maintenence issues. I understand unavoidable issues arise, however no compensation or discount was offered... to offset the situation. We are Starwood shareholders and our room was located in a seperate building next to the hotel, this is fairly standard as we have stayed at numerous Westin resorts. However, it seemed as if there was a lack of attention to detail and service because we were paying with points instead of money. There were no menues available for any of the hotel's 4 restaurants, the mini bar was not stocked, and our supposed view of the golf course was mostly just piles of dirt and construction equipment. The golf course, a Nikelaus design, proved impressive with it's beauty and challenge. The pro shop, however, was unfriendly and snobby, not to mention the fact they charge 35$ for a ride along passenger!

There was parking under our buiding which was a plus, the only problem was when the elevators went out and no one bothered to leave a sign notifying guests of the situation...after we walked up to the main level we tried the elevators again, to find out from another guest that the power had gone out. Things happen, i understand, just a simple courtesy sign or having an employee to direct guests would have been nice, or maybe a sign to tell us where the stairs where since we had to hike up 3 floors!

Our overall experience was not that of a typical Westin, I almost wonder if they are privately owned because of all the Westin and Sheratons we've stayed at we've never been so unimpressed or displeased! Save your points, they aren't welcome here!