I’m not local but I have been to Whistler several times, including twice for the race. I can give you some thoughts later. Busy right now.

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I'd recommend to stay in the pedestrian village center - though I don't think there are many vbro options there. But it's where all the action is.

+1
Stay in or as close to the village as possible. There have been a good number of condos on vrbo in the past when I did the race. You just have to check what “close to the village” really means in if it’s in the listing.

ETA: Upper Village is not that close to the village (10 minute walk) and Creekside is about 5 miles away. Village North rentals are the closest to the IM festivities.

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Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour

Thanks for all the info. I have been to Whistler a few times for work so I do have a general understanding of distance. I guess its more of a question if its normal for places not to be available to rent because its too far out from the requested dates.

Look up Town Plaza. We wound up doing a time share exchange through them. I think they have three different lodges all right in the heart of the village. I want to say we were at Deer Lodge or Bear Lodge. The units are older but in decent shape. But location can't be beat.

I would check back around February-March. Much of the inventory around the Village is individually owned units in larger complexes where reservations are centrally managed. Those managers often don't know until around February which units they will have for the summer. IM is small on the scale of Whistler events, so I would not worry about the Village selling out.

I'm in Vancouver and did IMC this year. I booked through Airbnb in May (2 months out) and there was still a good selection. When I had looked earlier (around this time last year) there did seem to be less options. Whistler has tons of accommodations between hotels/airbnb/vrbo so it is not imperative to book way in advance like say Lake Placid. IT most likely that some are booked because they opened their listing earlier and people like yourself were looking to lock something in. Lots more will be available later, owners are prob focused on the winter market right now.

Just throwing in my .02, you know Whistler and thus that the village is where the bars are. Not everyone is dong the race and may be out partying Saturday night. Some of those rooms are above the bars.

I've been upper village twice at two separate locations and it's a 10 minute walk. And quiet.

As for timing, we had a change in attendees so switched from a hotel to a condo (highly recommended) in April. Inventory was lower but there was still plenty out there

YMMV

If you AirBnB or VRBO, make sure the unit you are staying in is has air conditioning. This year we found out the hard way that a lot of places don't have AC and it was in the mid-90s the whole week.

I did IM CA this year. Great race with a challenging but beautiful course.

I'd definitely stay in the village. Unless cost is a prohibiting factor, I'd just stay in one of the hotels. Many of them have larger condo-style rooms with kitchens etc. I stayed at the Delta Hotel in a large 2BR suite -- there was a nice size living room and decently well equipped kitchen. There was plenty of room for a family of 4-6, two couples, or 3-4 friends. Much easier if you ask me.

There are a lot of VRBO condos- Northland Street and Main Street are your best options. Blackcomb Peaks Accomodations is a local company with a lot of properties and are reasonably priced. Most of their properties are up the hill from the village, A real pain, especially after the race, so be sure to ask for Northland, Main St, or in the North Village :-)
I have an option on a 2 bedroom suite in the Delta Whistler Village, just a couple hundred yards from IM Village. PM if you want to discuss.