Premier Partner

Heavenly Resort Reviews

Heavenly, > california

Reviews for Heavenly

Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Heavenly that rank the ski resort and mountain town on a scale of one to five stars for attributes such as terrain, nightlife and family friendliness. See how Heavenly stacks up in the reviews, on and off the slopes, from skiing and family activities to the après scene. Read up on pros, cons and other comments in reviews left by fellow skiers and riders. Don't forget to submit your own Heavenly review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.

Reviews for Heavenly

Total:

A ski resort's overall star rating displayed here is not calculated based on a simple average but takes several factors, including the age of a review, into account.

Beginner

Intermediate

Expert

All Mountain Terrain

Family Friendly

Apres Ski

Terrain Park

Overall Value

157 Total Reviews:

5 Star Reviews (45)

4 Star Reviews (47)

3 Star Reviews (25)

2 Star Reviews (22)

1 Star Reviews (18)

Rate this Resort

All Reviews

Order by:

Most recent

Jared Holthaus

Almost none of the blacks or double blacks are groomed which leaves only blues and greens for 95% of skiiers. Most times lift lines are over 5 mins... Full Review

Richard Run

The gondola was closed on our day 1 due to a “wind hold”. So even though we stayed downtown for convenience, we loaded back up and drove to the CA base, WITH EVERYONE ELSE!! Crowded is an understatement. 45 minute lift lines all day because so many lifts were closed. But, get this - the Heavenly website showed half of its lifts as closed, but still reported 98% of its runs as open. What?? Unless you helicoptered to the top, you couldn’t get on half the mountain, so how does Heavenly report those runs as “open”? Yet, they did. Day 2. Gotta be better, right? Gondola is OPEN! Yea!! Well, it’s a 2 HOUR wait for the gondola in the morning. Yes, 2 hours!!!!!!! That is not an exaggeration! So we called an Uber, loaded up and headed to NV base. Took only an hour, a lot of hassle, but we’re on the mountain. Long lift lines again all day. Since we are staying downtown, we take a chance on the gondola to end the day. We arrive at the gondola at 4;15 (mountain closes at 4:00), so we figure they have a chance to clear the line by then. Wrong. The line is as far as the eye can see, and there is no other way down. We finally got down on the gondola at 6:30!!!!! Over 2 1/2 hours to clear the gondola line after the resort closed!! Never again!! Why would anyone choose Heavenly over the many other ski options? Weather issues are terrible. The resort can’t handle even a minor amount of wind. I have never had these problems in Utah or Colorado. Never Heavenly. Never Ever. ... Full Review

Marty

One snowy day 2 young boys, six and five, were buttoned, laced, equipped with tickets, a dime each to call the cabin and fearful smiles were cut loose at the bottom of Gunbarrel ski lift. They said the teachers would be gathering the classes together at the top of lift. It was a little scary but not enough to stop us. Instructors had little flocks of people with the same smiles gathering around to learn new skills. Oh, and many had a bruised wet bottom. My little brother Tony and I had 2 classes that day and planned on exploring this place the next day. We finished cold, wet, laughing and talking about how big the ski area looked past the top of 'The Face.' I had no idea my first run in the morning would be down Gunbarrel from 2/3s of the way up. We were dropped off by Dad in the morning with him reminding us, "Don't break anything, especially bones," and we got on the chair heading up. It had been close to whiteout the whole night and we could rest ski tips on the snow. This is a REALLY bad thing to do. One of my tips caught, I spun and cracked my chin on a safety bar while the ski drug me out of our chair. And here comes another chair, "YIKES." I'm looking down the hill wondering if Tony is correct. He is yelling, "My brother is gonna die." I knew 2 things, snowplow turns and wedge stops but not on something as steep and long. It took a while to make it to the bottom and I got there. A roll or 2, some plants and no real damage. That was 60 years ago. Tony is a near perfect technical skier who rarely breaks form regardless of what the ground, and lack of, is doing beneath him. I'm not quite as pretty but still know I can deal with whatever the topography is throwing at me with good form and usually too much speed. We've got 120 years of fun on frozen mountains between us. I'm looking forward to a few days of high speed gliding on some frozen hills driving my old school 223cm Dynastar Super G boards on a fall line. After the strained back quits making it painful to move. My only gripe is the same refrain, "Ten dollars for a draft beer and fifteen for a burger?" Pricey sport but I do love the rush. Peace and "Let it snow, let it snow..."... Full Review

Keri Manasa

Planning and taking a trip at the end of 2020 was not a decision we came to easily. Lake Tahoe and Heavenly is a breath taking experience. The EPIC Pass Coverage being offered sealed the deal for us and we booked. Though this area, Lake Tahoe is an amazing place and I do recommend the trip, under the current COVID conditions, I would in fact heavily warn against it. The EPIC PASS COVERAGE offered is missing leading, unorganized, and not a good representation of what I believe Heavenly can offer. After another tough decision we decided to cancel our trip for 15 people including our Heavenly Cabin Lodging. The lodging was great to deal with, and Heavenly employees were wonderful and understanding. The third party insurance company that the ski passes were to be canceled through was another story. They were unresponsive, calls were dropped, phones were busy, or just no answer at all. Emails took weeks and months to get responses on. And they were canned responses when you did receive them. ON top of our reasoning matching one of the listed requirements for canceling, I provided documentation as well. Our request was denied stating for Closures we can request in MAY at the end of the season and government mandates did not qualify for cancelation coverage. SO the state of CA asked for Stay at home order in late November, counties closed in late November and early December, including Lake Tahoe, January 2021 we get our email of denial, trip was scheduled for December 17th. I do not believe this reflects on the resort, though for the risk of all the time planning a trip and money spent for the trip, this is a very poor reflection of support during these pressing times. ... Full Review

SMILINSTEVE SMITH

RATING IS FOR COVID SHUTDOWN ONLY TAHOE IS MASK CRAZY RIGHT NOW... You Reported, No Mask Required... Wrong Mask Are Required Everywhere on the Resort Grounds and Even Skiing on the Runs... Patrol, Lifties, Staff will Yell Out.... Get Your Mask On !!!... Full Review

Beautiful place and super big ski resort. You switching from California to Nevada states which we think is super cool. The town is lovely and in general good services all around. The big shock was that we took a brake and went to the bar. 2 regular plastic glasses of beer $27.00 That to me is to much, I’m used to go to sport events, stadiums or arenas and $6-8 dollars beer is understandably but not $13.50. That’s just my opinion. Solution we bought our own and problem solved. ... Full Review

David undefined

Skied there last year and this year. Best views I’ve ever encountered, from back East but also skiing in New Mexico and Utah. Great friendly town of South Lake Tahoe. Nevada side is all casinos and nobody walking around. California side is sidewalks full of people and mom and pop motels. ... Full Review

Chris B

Skied the first week of December and last week of December. Great conditions. My only complaint is how bad the gondola lines are at peak times and the operators fail to maximize the capacity by requiring 8 people per car. ... Full Review

Greg Geerts

Wish there was a closer airport ... Full Review

John undefined

I agree, they close too much of the mountain too often for winds (despite the sky being blue and it not being at all windy). I feel like they must not staff properly..? Maybe they have other reasons they keep so many lifts closed and claim wind as an excuse (as many have mentioned). Save your money and go elsewhere.... Full Review