Louis B.
Yelp
Awesome resort and hands down, the Queen of ski resorts of Eastern North America. And this is not just a whim, this is factual information of countless surveys. In all, amenities, service, resort size and facilities, Mont Tremblant is unbeatable for an Eastern resort when you consider the ski conditions in the East.
I've seen some trashing of the resort on Yelp, some may be factual but much other is in my opinion, unjustified. Here's my take:
The resort is owned by Intrawest. Same as Copper CO, Snowshoe, WV, Whistler/Blackcomb BC, and Stratton VT. Intrawest's business model, by-and-large, caters to an upscale clientele. It's not going to be cheap. It's made that way. If you want a Walmart equivalent of ski resort, you may wish to go somewhere else because the corporate culture of Intrawest may not be what you want. And they make enough money on the crowd that is used to Fairmont Hotels, Hiltons, Marriotts and the very exclusive Club Intrawest, where yearly fees range in the five-digits. Add to that the fact that skiing is an expensive sport and you get the intuitively obvious answer...
It's Canada. Taxes are high. You have Federal Tax, Provincial Tax and Local Tax. And VAT, where each step in the process of a good or service is taxed. On the other hand, Canadian's have an awesome quality of life.
It's Quebec. And with it, is a very typical Franco-Canadian attitude about being attentive to the obvious. Whiney Americans are exhasperating to them. Read the ski report in the morning. If it says in the report that a ski lift is closed, and you go there, expect to be treated as if you didn't know the obvious.
The official language in Quebec is French. Yes, French. Not English. And the struggle for their cultural integrity has been a hundreds-of-years-old historical issue between Quebec and the rest of Canada. Like it or not, it is. For many if not most locals, English is a second language that may even denote historical oppression. Learn at least a few words to show the locals that you care. They'll go to the end of the world for you. A good "Bon Jour", ça vas, Merci Beacoups, De rien, etc, will work wonders in this province. I came over to the customer service center the first day I got here right when they were closing, and as I saw other Americans being turned away, I spoke to them in French. I got my tickets and rental skis on the spot - and a complimentary upgrade for both my family and I for first tracks so we could ski a full hour before the rest of the customers. Respect for their culture works plenty and gets results.
On the resort side. An entire town with hundreds of shops, from the budget-geared Columbia outlets to the uber glitzy Prada and Bogner boutiques. Dozens of restaurants. A Microbrew serving their own Belgian-style "Devil's Brew". Its own airport with international connections. Two gondolas, 20-something lifts, four mountains. Not bad. As a matter of fact, damn good.
The skiing: Intrawest's business model is to provide for the best groomers possible. Their members want that. So most of the runs will be groomed to perfection. Still, the resort is also geared to provide some amazing mogul runs and steeps. As well as an unequaled ski school. The "bunny slopes" are conspicuously segregated in one side of the mountain, allowing for intermediate and expert skiers to be able to ski at speed. Quality of snow is usually awesome. Much of the resort gets enough snow that snowmaking is reserved for the lower elevations. Four mountain faces with enough Black Diamonds to suit any expert skier.
Weather: Dress warmly. Winter-time temperatures in the -20F are the rule rather than the exception. And remember you're over 100 nautical miles to the North of the point halfway between the Equator and the North Pole, so in the dead of Winter, dawn will be around 7 AM and sunset will be before 4 PM. And should there be sunspots happening, the events of Aurora Borealis are an incredible sight.
Overall, a world-class resort with something for everyone. A place to come over again and again.