Read skier and snowboarder-submitted reviews on Belleayre 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 Belleayre 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 Belleayre review! Scroll to the bottom of this page to let other travelers know about your skiing and resort experience.
Reviews for Belleayre
Total (3.3)
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.
Overall a great local mountain to go with your family. Impeccably Run. Phenomenal snowmaking capabilities, I think the best in New York. And great staff. Also, for families it’s affordable, especially with the frequent skier card.
Rick Eleck
For years, I had the false impression that Belleayre was the ugly step sister to Hunter and Windham. On a whim, I chose to drive over from Ithaca to check out the area in the spring of 2022. I was so impressed with the deep base, snow conditions and staff that I came back two more times before they finally caved in to spring in April. I did ski those last two days for free as I took advantage of their ridiculously inexpensive season pass which granted me unlimited spring skiing for the remainder of the season. The 2022-23 season was challenging for all ski areas in the east, but Belleayre handled the weather better than I could have ever expected. I ski 4-5 days a week if I'm not in Florida (retirement rocks) and split my days last year pretty evenly between Belleayre and Greek Peak. As a long time Greek Peak (aka THE Slab) passholder (1985), I can say with certainty that there hasn't been a ski day at GP (which was not directly controlled by Mother Nature) better than any day I have experienced at the Belle. In short, they rock! Tons of infrastructure improvements, world-class snowmaking, friendly lift attendants, what else can I say? They also showed the love to passholders on opening day this year. Thank you! I do not normally avail myself of dining and drinking opportunities so I cannot comment on them. Yes, it is a lengthy drive (3 hours) from Ithaca, but when I have the time, I will make it because I know that I will have an ear to ear smile the entire time I am skiing down Belleayre's meticulously prepared trails.
Ted Smith
This is NOT the Belleayre you skied at 10Y ago. Belleayre now features the only Gondola, tons of snowmaking, and renovated lodges with outdoor fire pits. IMHO, it is a better experience than nearby Hunter or Wyndham which can get crowded and filled with out of control skiers.
Aiko Makino
Wish there ate more place to eat or rest.
Bellayre is a really nice ski area close by
We skied there last week for a day and other than spring conditions ( slush after 11 Am) No real complaints. The food is pretty good and we thought well priced compared to say Hunter.
Skiing during the week cannot be beat if you can do it!
Grooming was excellent
Thomas Rice
Average
Konstantine Raydo
I was going to Belleayre for years. This year due to covid you have to buy tickets in advance online which isn't a big deal if everything goes to plan and you make to the mountain. First trip went fine BUT on my second trip i couldn't make it there (got into accident). Called Belleayre next day and explain the situation on which i received short and cold reply "There is no refunds or credit. You should've called yesterday."... I wasn't asking for refund just a credit for my next trip. But i guess customer satisfaction isn't on their mind, just $$$. You know what, Hunter mountain isn't far from you AND they give you full refund in case you can't make it there.
Shame on you Belleayre. This is my last experience with you which left no other choice BUT not to come back, ever.
Zackary Newkirk
Just a heads up, this is going to be a long one. So this review is coming a little late, I was really hoping that someone might have called me back by now as I really just wanted the situation resolved in some way. My situation starts back at the end of February. Seeing as how the winter was as rough as it was, I couldn’t take my kids skiing over Christmas vacation because there was no snow, when winter break rolled around, I had some free tickets, there was snow on the ground, I thought why not? I’ve never been to Belleayre, seemed like a nice place. So I called up a buddy who was free, we packed up and headed south. Why head south to ski when the winter was as bad as it was, again we had 2 free tickets. So initial impressions are that the lodge is really nice, I understand that it is fairly new. The snow was okay, but agin we are further south, and it was a warm winter. It’s not a huge mountain, but the terrain is decent. Skiing was going well most of the day. I started to notice my RFID ski pass would occasionally not be recognized trying to go through the gates to the lift, no big deal, I would just back up and try again and it would let me through. Until I get the the Big Chief lift around 3pm, at this point we have been skiing all day. I try to go through the gate and get denied, try to go through again and get denied. At this point my kids and friend I was with are already on the other side waiting for me to get through. A lift operator, if you can even call him that, sees what is going on and comes over. I assume he’s going to offer some assistance, like any ski area staff member would. He says to me “It says your pass isn’t valid” and I reply “Yea it’s been doing this to me today, but I know it’s good” still trying to get through. Then he says “ sir! It says your pass isn’t valid”, I thought he was just joking around, so again I replied jokingly “no I know it’s good!” Still trying to get through. He then squared up on me and yells “sir! You need to leave! It says you are not valid!” I was very surprised to say the least so I say “ wait are you serious?” His reply was “you need to get walking!”. So let me paint this picture for you, this whole exchange took about 30 seconds, my kids, age 8 and 11, and my friend, who is a police officer. And the crowd of people behind me watching this all unfold. Now mind you, I was in the army for seven years, and served a combat tour in Afghanistan. I’m used to being yelled at to say the least. What I’m not used to is a lift operator with a complete lack of professionalism, coming at me like a bouncer as if I was being unreasonable at a bar. Especially in front of my kids when this was going to be a good ski trip memory during a less than desirable winter. I’ve been skiing for a long time, I’ve been skiing in other countries, I’ve been all over the northeast, and spots out west. I’ve never come across a situation like this at a ski area. So finally I take my lift pass out of my pocket, run it through the gate, and it lets me through, to that lift operators amazement. The only thing he said to me was “did you have something else in your pocket?” There wasn’t anything in my pocket, but after that, I didn’t think I was obligated to reply to anything he said. That whole situation could have been different had he just pulled me off to the side and helped me figure it out. So as we are on the lift, my friend the police officer, who deals with bogus complaints from less than desirable people often, says I should go talk to someone about it. We go to the help desk at the lodge, explain the situation. They were very helpful, and seemed to know exactly who I was talking about. They scan my pass to make sure there is nothing wrong with it, and everything is fine. They even comment on how I was there on a Warren Miller pass. As this review will also be going to them, I’m sure they would like to know more about the ski are they partner with. The lady’s behind the help desk make a phone call and get no answer. So they write down a phone number for me, it’s a work number for Zach Weigh, he is the lift operations manager. So I give him a call the next day, no answer so I leave a message and a brief description of what happened. He called me back the next day, and the conversation was going well until he says “ well I see what you are saying about the not being professional thing, and I will speak with him about that, but I think we will agree that both parties are at fault here” and I just sat there dumbfounded. Did he not hear the situation I just explained? Are we living in the twilight zone? So ask him to explain. He says “well it seems like you were being persistent” I wouldn’t call trying a lift pass a couple of times when my kids are on the other side “being persistent”. So after some back and forth I can tell this conversation is going no where. At this point I tell him I will make sure my review reflects this conversation, and he literally laughed it off. I don’t know about you, but read reviews for everything, a bad review is something I wouldn’t be laughing off. So we end the conversation, and I am very doubtful by the way the conversation went that he is going to do anything. So I have tried, a few times, to get in contact with the mountain manager. I’ve left messages, I’ve spoke to the help desk there, and have never gotten a call back. So moral to the story is, save your money and go somewhere else, literally anywhere else. For the price you pay, you could go to a bigger mountain with more snow, and significantly better staff.
Linda
Went on Jan 28. Looking around Catskills what has rain done to mountains I have to say I was nicely surprised with snow conditions in the ski resort. Very consistent snow coverage. No feeling like I was going to hit rock or so. Plenty of black diamonds open . Great day and fast skiing midweek day. Kudos to snowmakers...
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