Panorama is our family ski destination. The ski-in/ski-out condos next to the lift have been great for us ans we stay in a two-bedroom condo. After all these years the older accommodation is looking dated but stays comfortable with underground parking.

There is a vast amount of terrain of all types and the whole of Taynton Bowl is black to double black with snow that remains soft for most of the season. We usually go over Xmas/New Year when the snowmaking is good but the off piste coverage is limited.

The mountain hosts are amazing and I often join them when I visit alone.

The ski school is great for all ages.
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We spent a week during Janurary in the Panorama Springs Hotel, and we were lucky to get freshies most day, just 5cm-10cm a day, but plently to cover tracks within an hour. We went with the Mountain Friends Tour from 10am to 12am on the second day, and it was great for getting to know the terrian safely, but if you're looking for any double-blacks on the tour, you're out of luck due to safty risks.
Loads of terrian for everyone, and no two areas are the same with the Sun Bowl being amazing for powder
(the place to be first thing in the morning, after a night of freshies), Extreme Dream for new thrill seekers, Taytons Bowl for extreme thrill seekers (with a death wish), Founders Ridge as a fun way down with groomed and ungroomed, blacks and blues; though be careful for a few rocks at the top.
The Champagne Express is placed on a ridge, so it's wind central, meaning on the windier days, the Summit Quad is a better place to be, in the valley.
All in all, an amazing holiday that I would recommend!!!
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If on-piste is where you like to be, nobody does it better than Panorama. The snow, grooming is perfect velvety corduroy, spectacular runs with perfect pitch, with even better scenery. Great for families. Every ability level Beginner to Advanced- Panorama is On Piste Perfection.
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Panorama was no doubt a great mountain, but it definitely wasn't my favourite. My family went family day weekend 2017, apparently right before we got there it snowed a lot, warmed up then got cold, and those aren't typically good conditions for skiing. The snow when we were there was more or less below average, it was icy, packed snow and lots of ice cookies (big clumps of ice). But in Taynton it was pretty good, nice and powdery. After a long day of skiing you just wanted to relax, shower and then get out for a nice evening. If you are looking for a resort where after the day you can go hang out and have something to do, this would not be for you. The town is absolutely horrid, not horrid in a gross un-kept kind of way, horrid in 'there's nothing to do here' kind of way. There's nothing really to do other than a few bars or restaurants. Overall I think my experience here wasn't the best, the hotels were great but the skiing conditions and the town wasn't all to good. If you're looking for some good skiing come here, but if you got a bunch of relatives or a big group looking for things to do, I would stay away.
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Panorama is a hidden gem. Good snow and varied terrain which has something for everyone.

Only criticism is the food on the mountain which leave a lot to be desired, but hey I was there to ski and I think this is the best place in BC.
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The resort at Panorama would be a good resort if they catered to those individuals who take yearly ski holidays, as the only way to get people to come back is to make sure they have a good time. These are the people who book their ski vacations in October/November and come to spend their hard earned money on good skiing.
 
After booking my vacation I was bombarded with 1-3 emails a week from Panorama advertising their latest sale; including gift vouchers for the resort, discounts on lodging that was equal or greater than the early booking discounts, $55 lift tickets (which is the same price as that offered to those with Louise Cards) and $55/night lodging. This leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

Lets start of with the good aspects of Panorama Resort.
1) It has a huge variation in terrain that will keep skiers of all abilities busy for several days
2) It is in the top five for best ski in/ski out resort in BC
3) Most of the on hill accommodations are new and properly maintained.

However for all of these good aspects of Panorama it lacks two major factors which are needed at a ski resort in the highly competitive kootenay region; SERVICE and SNOW!

The SNOW at Panorama is severely lacking and should be instead defined as ICE. Their method of snow measurement also needs to be adjusted, other ski resorts should adjust their measurement techniques as well (talking to you Lake Louise), to inform skiers that a base of 145 cm means you will be skiing on rocks on any terrain that is not serviced by snow making equipment or groomed regularly. To enjoyably ski a black of double black at Panorama, they need to register 200+ cm. Bring your rock skis or head up to Kicking Horse for better run coverage.

The SERVICE provided by the staff is abysmal; from check-in to cafeteria, lifties to ski patrol.

BOOKING/CHECK-IN
Checking in was a disaster that apparently started before we even arrived, as we found out. When we booked we were told that we should pay extra money to ensure that our party would be placed in the same building, however, upon arriving we found out that same building means same complex in Panorama. In addition, Panorama's definition of "townhome" is not the same as other resorts like Kimberly, Whistler, SunPeaks, instead it would be better defined as a condo with neighbors on both sides as well as either above or below you. On top of that, providing a one parking spot for an 8 person condo is inexcusable, especially since there were parking stalls spare around the complex because of units which were not rented out; be accommodating already!

ON HILL SERVICES are terrible. The cafeteria is incredibly slow, the lifties are more inclined to make pretty patterns in the snow than ensure that there is snow on the pick-up and drop off points of the chair-lift; nothing like standing up and needing the chair to push you past the plastic-fake snow platform. Snow-patrol is very controlling for those advanced skiers booking it down the taynton bowl run-out/lower green runs to get in line for the THREE CHAIRLIFT RIDES to get back to the best terrain on the mountain.
 
I know that all ski resorts have their drawbacks; Kicking horse has only one gondola which creates a crowd on the base of the mountain, Revelstoke is a long drive with expensive on-mountain accommodations, Lake Louise has no on mountain accommodations, Kimberley has old chairlifts, Fernie's chairlift layout is abysmal, but the experience that Panorama provided will having me looking else where to fill my 20+ ski days per year.
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Panorama is a great little resort compared to some of its neighbours and in my opinion can be much better. The leg burning length of the runs will make you wish you did alot more off season training!

The lift champagne express can get quite a line up, but once at the top everyone goes their separate ways and spreads out on the variety of runs to the bottom. If it's busy avoid going all the way back down and ride summit quad, which give access to some of the best advanced terrain at panorama and tree runs.

Pros: Less crowds, good spread of terrain, tree skiing is good!
Cons: big moguls if it hasn't snowed recently, traffic jam at bottom of champagne express on busy days
best for: intermediate to advanced.
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So it's a clear day, and the temperatures are somewhere around -10c in Banff. 6AM our chauffeur picks us up from the hostel with a 2.5 hour destination to Panorama, in BC.

Upon arrival, my first impression was that Panorama had the feel of an eerie ghost town, with a plethora of towering resort amenities, yet nothing but an empty shell occupying the majority. It was 10AM and there was no line up to be seen on this beautiful March day, and even though it hadn't snowed in a little while, we were going to tear it up and find freshies, we we're determined!

After taking 3 different lifts from the base, we reached the summit. With just over 4000' of vertical, we knew it was going to be a long way down. No time for a warm up run, we went straight to the Taynton bowl, equipped with backcountry gear, we were going to make this one memorable. After a half an hour on the ridge, we exited the ski resort boundary and made it for the peak directly ahead. The chutes were steep and narrow, the sun was hot, and the snow was deep. Tested the snow to make sure an avalanche wasn't imminent, then dropped in. Wow. After funnelling back to the Taynton bowl, the snow started being more skied and then moguls began, this ski-out is brutal on the legs, which made our 11:30 pitcher of beer even more rewarding.

After this we spent most of the day skiing "extreme dream", did another inbounds descent on the Taynton bowl, and had some fun in their nice terrain park. Could have used another day or 2 to explore the rest of their terrain, but I was satisfied and hungry for more!

And did I forget to mention the breathtaking scenery of the surrounding peaks and valleys? - Panorama -


Pros:
-LOTS of terrain
-Nice bowls
-No crowds
-Nice staff
-Great terrain park
-Good variety of terrain

Cons:
-Lift system is annoying (3 chairs to reach summit...)
-Icy towards base, lots of flats to base
-Oddly remote location
-Little to do in area

Best geared towards: all types of skiers and families due to variety of terrain and abundant amenities for the 'resort type'
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Panorama is a good ski family place. Not too crowded. Mountain is nice. Resort is quiet, which is nice. But overpriced.

Beware also, service is unprofessional as Panorama is staffed by immature spoiled Aussies - not all of course!, and to a certain extent Brits.

Rooms, restaurants and amenities are pretty low end, compared to other resorts. Shabby and depressing rooms and amenities. Tip: DO NOT BOOK OVER THE PHONE. Book online, as phoning-in will land you on commissioned reps who will quote you the most expensive price possible! Shame on Panorama for not looking out for your customer's interests 'fairly'! I was quoted $900 'over' the Panorama online rate by some girl on the phone.

The mountain is the pro, the con is everything else.
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