Mountain Spirit Resort & Spa

Well, aside from the obvious new addition of the newest and classiest resort, there have been some cool changes and additions to the experience you can have in Kimberley Alpine Resort this winter:

A Good Brush Cut is Great for Skiing!: Over ¼ million spent on run improvements with extensive brushcutting and mowing on core runs this summer will result in making the trails even more skier and rider friendly with smoother terrain and wider trail points and also creating the largest gladed skiing area in Canada!

No Fables of Great Skiing in the Black Forest Glades: The adventures in the Black Forest Glades are never ending. This area is accessible off the Tamarack chair and offers fun and secret powder stashes for all levels of skiers and riders to enjoy! New glade widening makes this area accessible even for the novice. Overall, Kimberley Alpine Resort has the largest gladed terrain that offers continuous adventure for everyone!

Gear Up!: For those who think the gear makes the skier, Kimberley can now make you the best with the option to take our new high performance HEAD ski rentals out for a spin. The resort proudly adds this new equipment to the fleet, helping make a day on the mountain even better!

Season Pass with Extra Benefits: New to the resort facilities is the exclusive season pass lockers conveniently located behind the Stemwinder Bar & Grill. Season Pass holders can now enjoy not only the benefit of skiing every day but also getting out there faster with the quick and easy convenience of their own locker room.

New Exciting Events: A jam packed schedule of events is planned for the season with returning favourites such as the annual Family Festival (Feb 13-14) and Bavarian Iron Legs (Mar 27-28) as well as brand new events including Beer Fest (Mar 13-14) and the Mountain Storm Mountaineering Race (Mar 6).

Follow the Lights of the Night!: If you haven’t had your fill of skiing and riding while the sun is up, Kimberley is home to one of North America’s longest illuminated runs, making it a night-time hot spot. If the skis have been hung for the night, however, enjoy a spin around the skating pond magically illuminated with bright lights or enjoy a delicious s’mores by the bonfire while you watch the skaters waltz to the music.

North Star Racers Settle In: The North Star Racers Society known as the Kimberley North Star Racers have settled into a new home base facility at Kimberley Alpine Resort. The new club house will help the racers continue their efforts “to bring to the community fun, challenge, and opportunities for personal excellence through participation and competition in alpine ski racing” through their fall and winter programs that are offered to developing ski racers from ages 5 to 19 at the resort.

Paralympic Training Centre: In February 2009, Kimberley Alpine Resort proudly hosted the 2009 IPC Alpine Skiing NorAm Cup with 52 paralympic athletes from 9 different countries competing. Starting from a dream to create the best Race Training Centre possible for Paralympic Athletes, Kimberley Alpine Resort has a long history of supporting Race Training that dates back to the 60′s and 70′s. With a dedicated training run, the Dreadnaught, and plans to provide a complete state-of-the-art facility, Kimberley Alpine Resort in proud partnership with the City of Kimberley and Province of British Columbia, holds strong and true to athletic excellence and a dedication to enhance the community of Kimberley while providing athletes the opportunity to train at home.

This information appears on www.skikimberley.com

This article appears on the RealEstateChannel.com

http://www.realestatechannel.com/featured-columnists/real-estate-news-grupo-del-sol-isla-saboga-gva-associates-mountain-spirit-resort-spa-kimberley-alpine-resort-1657.php

New Kimberley Conference Centre Buoys Owners’
Mountain Spirit Resort Condo Investments

(KIMBERLEY, BRITISH
COLUMBIA) — The recent ground-breaking ceremony for the new $6-million
Conference Centre and Paralympic Training Centre being built here at Kimberley
Alpine Resort is proof that thorough market research is critical prior to
investing in resort properties.

At least that’s how owners at Mountain
Spirit Resort and Spa, a resort development located  next to the Conference
Centre site, are feeling right now. Now that the Conference Centre officially
opened Oct. 30, Mountain Spirit condo owners are optimistic that the influx of
sports and corporate travel to the Conference Centre will increase the
popularity of the resort’s optional rental pool.

Mountain Spirit <http://www.realestatechannel.com/news-assets/Mountain-Spirit.jpg>

“The owners who participate in the rental pool are very excited about the
progress being made on the centre,” said Allyson Blake, Mountain Spirit’s
director of real estate marketing. “They did their research before deciding to
buy in a four-season destination that had plans for a centre of this
caliber.”

The year-round, $6-million dollar facility is designed with
both disabled and able-bodied athletes in mind. It will include meeting rooms,
an audio-visual department and a conference space to hold 500
people.

Funding for the centre is coming from the City of Kimberley,
federal and provincial infrastructure grants, a $300,000 grant from the Columbia
Basin Trust and $150,000 from the Southern Interior Development Trust. The
center is being built by New Dawn Developments (same builders of Mountain Spirit
Resort and Spa) and is expected to be completed by October 2010.

The
conference and training center is expected to become a key economic driver for
Kimberley. Leisure travelers and tourists have long contributed to the local
economy, but business travelers have not. Conference delegates often fill hotel
rooms during the shoulder season and mid-week travel when leisure travel is
traditionally low. Conferences are also booked in advance, providing a secure
source of income regardless of economic fluctuations.

Research compiled
by Vann Struth Consulting for the City of Kimberly pegs the daily spending of
conference delegates at approximately $125 per day on top of the accommodation
costs. The same research expects the conference center to boost spending in
Kimberley by more than $5 million per year – more than double the current
level.

“The development of the Paralympic Training and Conference Centre
opens up new options to increase our shoulder season business by targeting a
growing meetings market that that would not otherwise be attracted to
Kimberley,” said Cathy Robinson, operations manager for Bellstar Hotels and
Resorts , the rental manager for Mountain Spirit Resort & Spa. “The
combination of Mountain Spirit’s ski-in, ski-out location, along with the
upcoming 6,000 square foot spa and slope-side restaurant – all right across the
street from the new centre – should ensure we are a top choice for conference
delegates.”

Mountain Spirit Resort and Spa features a true ski-in,
ski-out location in the serene Purcell Mountains at the base of Kimberley Alpine
Resort. In addition to the planned spa, the resort features fine dining,
year-round outdoor heated pool and hot tub and fully furnished suites.
Membership in the exclusive Resort to Resort vacation exchange program is
included with every purchase.

Activity is ramping up at Kimberley Alpine
Resort in preparation for another outstanding ski season. Last season KAR
received the Visitor’s Choice Award being voted the Overall Favorite Resort in
the Pacific North West from onthesnow.com and the 2009 Best of Business Award
for Ski Area in the East Kootenay Region. The mountain is set to open on
December 19 with a preview weekend set for December 12.

Special prices
are available on selected suites until December 19, according to the developer’s
representative. For example, one studio, two 1-bedroom and eight 2-bedroom
suites are included in this offering with pre-season savings of up to $94,000
for whole ownership and up to $16,000 on quarter ownership purchases. Until Dec.
19, 1-bedroom suites start at $398,900, 2-bedroom units at $458,900 and quarter
ownerships on a 1-bedroom suite go for $98,900.

“These incentives are a
great opportunity for those who know what a fantastic ski destination Kimberley
is,” Blake says.  “With our ski-in, ski-out location, ski season is our peak
sales season. But if buyers wait until the lifts start up, they’ll be too late
for these special prices.”

The Smoothest of Highways… The summer long $11m project to resurface the highway 93/95A through Kimberley and replace and beautify sidewalks is completing, much to the pleasure of visitors and locals alike. The project also included replacement of underground drainage pipe networks and should complete this month.

Other local initiatives are progressing nicely including the Peak to Platzl trail project, providing a paved biking and walking trail from just outside Mountain Spirit Resort right down to the city centre.

The Rails to Trails project is also approaching completion, which will mean walkers, bikers and even roller bladers will soon be able to enjoy a paved trail along the previous railway line, all the way from Kimberley to Cranbrook.

It’s been a long time coming… finally the City of Kimberley has announced the go ahead for the construction of the 500 person capacity Conference Centre and Paralympic Training Centre in Kimberley Alpine Resort, just a few hundred metres from Mountain Spirit Resort and Spa.

This is superb news for Kimberley as a whole. Conferences will tend to be held during the quieter parts of the year (the shoulder season) and the associated business travelers typically spend two to three times what an average tourist spends. Owners at Mountain Spirit who opt to join the rental program will also be pleased. Mountain Spirit was designed to include studios and one bedroom suites in addition to two and three bedroom suites, with the future business travelers, who travel alone, in mind.

The construction is anticipating to start soon by New Dawn Developments, the same construction company who constructed Mountain Spirit Resort and Spa, and many other resort properties in Panorama and Fernie Alpine Resort in their porfolio. New Dawn is recognised for the high quality workmanship and in their preference for local trades and staff.

Read the full article in the Kimberley Daily Bulletin online by clicking here.