OVERVIEW
- Season: Late October through to late May
- Province: Alberta
- Accommodation: Very limited housing on mountain that is allocated by department managers. Most staff prefer to source their own accommodation in Banff.
- Min Age: 19
- Jobs: Lift Operations, Food & Beverage, Guest Services, Retail, Hotel Maintenance, Hotel Base Agent, Gondola Operator, Daycare Attendant, Bare Area Attendant, Rentals
- Nations Eligible To Apply: Anyone eligible for a Canadian working holiday visa
- Interview Locations: Held via Zoom
- Salary: Approx $16 per hour
Sunshine Village is in the heart of the Canadian Rockies in Banff National Park. The drive is an hour-and-a-half west of Calgary on the Trans-Canada Highway, just eight kilometres west of the town of Banff. Sunshine Village ski runs and lifts are accessed via an eight-person high-speed gondola. The gondola takes people up to Goat’s Eye Mountain in ten minutes and the upper village area in 18 minutes.
SUNSHINE VILLAGE LIFT OPERATION HOURS (DURING SEASON)
Sunshine Village Gondola Hours
Saturday – Thursday: 8:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Sunshine Village Chair Lift Hours
Winter months: 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Spring months: 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Sunshine Village Base Area Services (during season)
- Base area service facilities are open 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. every day during the season
- This includes the Rental Shop, Customer Service Desk and Tech Shop
Sunshine Village Food & Drink Outlets (during eason)
- Creekside 7:30am – 5:30pm
- Goat’s Eye 8:00am – 4:30pm
- Trapper’s – Weekdays: 11:00am – 5:30pm / 7:00pm – 12:00pm
- Trapper’s – Weekends: 10:30am – 5:30pm / 7:00pm – 12:00pm
- Java Express: 8:30am – 4:30pm
- Alpine Grill: 8:00am – 4:00pm
- Lookout Lounge: 11:00am – 3:30pm
- Sunshine Burger Co: 10:30am – 3:00pm
- Java Lift: 8:00am – 4:30pm on Friday and Saturday
- Chimney Corner: 7:30am – 10:30pm
- Eagle’s Nest: 5:00pm – 10:30pm
JOB VACANCIES
As you can imagine Sunshine is one of the most popular locations to work, due to not only its location close to Banff but its incredible mountain! The competition for jobs here is fierce. Applicants need to be 19 years of age or older. Training is offered for all roles. However, some specific roles may require previous experience. Positive attitude, exceptional customer service skills and a huge amount of teamwork is the backbone of all employees at Sunshine Village.
Job roles – Click on each link to view the job description
- Lift Operator
- Base Area Attendant
- Bus Host
- Front Desk Agent
- Gondola Operator
- Ski School Sales Desk Attendant
- Retail Sales Associate
- Guest Services Agent
- Guest Services Ticket Windows
- Hotel Bellperson
- Hotel Base Agent
- Hotel Maintenance Worker & Bellperson
- Houseperson
- Night Audit
- Room Attendant
- Room Services Attendant
- Housekeeping Room Attendant
- Housekeeping Room Checker
- Staff Lodges Custodian
- Daycare Attendant (This role requires a medical exam as part of your visa to work with children that costs an extra $600 – $700 on top of your visa costs)
STAFF ACCOMMODATION
Staff housing is provided for some, but not all, positions at Sunshine Village. Please speak with the HR manager of Sunshine Village in your interview to confirm if your position will come with on-mountain, Banff or no staff housing. The housing on the mountain is very minimal and is only accessible by gondola. This means once the Gondola closes you cannot get to and from staff housing.
As Banff is where all the nightlife and action is, most staff prefer to source their own accommodation in town in Banff, rather than stay on hill.
If housing is not provided for your specific role The Working Holiday Club™ will provide you with housing assistance in the format of a housing newsletter which will outline the best approaches to sourcing housing in Banff or other local towns.
The housing market can be quite expensive in Banff and all rooms would be shared… at the end of the day you are living inside a postcard (which is also a National Park).
STAFF BENEFITS
At Sunshine, we spend a lot of time and energy planning events and activities that extend beyond the working experience. We believe that a big part of the employee experience is the opportunity to socialise and enjoy some of the incredible advantages that living in the Rocky Mountains and Bow Valley has to offer.
Skiing & Riding Benefits
All full-time staff ski ride free at Sunshine and receive significant discounts at over 13 other amazing Canadian ski & snowboard resorts.
Group Trips
Every year HR plans plenty of day and overnight trips for Sunshine Staff at reasonable prices. Here are some examples of group trips from previous years:
- Lake Louise, Kicking Horse, Panorama, Red Mountain, Marmot Basin, Big White And Fernie Trips
- NHL hockey games In Calgary
- Calgary shopping trip
- West Edmonton Mall trip
- Ice Climbing
- Paintball
- Ice Fishing
- Snowmobiling
- Dog Sledding
- Christmas Staff Party
- Snowboarding movie premieres
- Cleanest Room Contest for those with on-hill accommodation
- End Of Year ‘May Madness’ Party with pig roast and DJ
- Night Skiing for staff in the spring
- Moonlight snowshoe hike
- Avalanche training courses
- Employee Of The Month dinner, part of our staff recognition program
- Australia Day activities
- Spring concert series in The Village, with past bands including III Scarlett, Aaron Pritchett, George Canyon and BC/DC
Our staff receives fantastic discounts at Sunshine Village, too. We offer discounts in our food & beverage outlets, retail store, on retail equipment and ski lessons. There are ten chairlifts and 107 trails within the alpine valley, formed by the three mountains (Mount Standish, Lookout Mountain, and Goat’s Eye Mountain) that constitute Sunshine Village.The resort also boasts Banff’s largest ski rental shop and the only Ski-in, ski-out hotel. The resort has terrain to suit all abilities. For advanced skiers and snowboarders the Delirium Drive, the ultimate front-country adventure with pitches of 40 degrees and vertical footage of 1919 feet.
Activities
Snowshoe Tour Of The Village
Once the lifts close for the evening and the stars are out, grab a pair of snowshoes and take a walk through the village. After your evening stroll, grab a steaming mug of hot chocolate fireside at the Chimney Corner Lounge.
Tobogganing
On select evenings at the Sunshine Mountain Lodge, the ski runs turn into tobogganing hills. Ask for a toboggan from our front desk and have a blast sliding down the mountain trails that surround the village.
Tobogganing available Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings after lifts have closed on traditional Maplewood toboggans.
Banff’s Largest Outdoor Hot Pool
After a vigorous day on the slopes, unwind in one of Banff’s largest outdoor hot pools. Complete the relaxation experience with a visit to our cedar-lined dry sauna.
After-Hours At Mad Trapper’s Saloon
For adults looking for some after-hours fun, the Mad Trapper’s Saloon provides a historic and authentic old-lodge experience. Built in 1928 by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the venue has now been transformed into a rustic mountain pub.
Movie Nights
Sit back and relax after a day on the slopes with family movie nights in the activities room. There are popcorn and treats as we feature an early show for the kids, followed by a late show for adults. Enjoy a different theme each week, from classics to recent releases.
Trip Into Town Of Banff
On Friday nights, you can head into Banff for the evening and catch the last gondola (10 pm) back to the lodge. A shuttle bus is available to take you to and from the town of Banff.
Helpful Statistics on Sunshine Village
Size of resort: Employs over 375 staff during the winter season
Staff Housing: This location does have staff housing but it is very limited. Sunshine Village is only accessible by Gondola. It usually operates from 8am -5pm so that means once this Gondola shuts you can’t get up or down the mountain. There is minimal staff accommodation up on the mountain and this is usually offered to staff who work nights or early mornings. They also have a very small amount of town based housing as well. Each department has an allocation of beds in staff housing….clarify with the recruiter when interviewing what roles have on mountain or in town housing. The accommodation can be across various locations in the township of Banff. The resort offers a staff bus for transport between the village of Banff and Sunshine base area. Most staff here prefer to source their own accommodation in town as this is where all the action and nightlife is!
Nightlife: There is no night life at Sunshine Village on the mountain. All the action is in Banff which is roughly 20-25min drive from the base of the resorts gondola. This town boasts various clubs, bars and plenty of evening activities.
Aussie saturation: Saturation of Aussies is high. The township of Banff is an international magnet for tourism…making it a known hub of activity and action.
Temperature: This place is cold during the winter. Can get down to -30 regularly. Base area elevation is just over 5,400ft and the alpine elevation is close to 9000ft!!! The wind chill can drop the temperature to well below -40!!!
Job Roles on offer: Sunshine Village offers outdoor roles like Lift operations (must be able to ski to an intermediate level) & gondola ops. As far as indoor roles: there is a a range of roles in food & beverage (back and front of house), retail, guest services, hotel front desk, housekeeping, cleaners, rentals. The range and number of roles on offer changes annually based on returning staff – check the website for more info.
Career progression: To progress up the management or responsibility ladder at this resort – means doing back to back seasons.
Ski Pass: This resort offers a ski pass with your employment for Sunshine Village.
Size of Terrain: This resort has 3358 acres of skiable terrain and much of it is above tree line.
Reciprocal pass options: Reciprocal benefits to other local ski areas are available for full time employees. Mt Norquay & Lake Louise are the mountains that are typically where your staff pass will give you access. Clarify with management if there are any ‘blackout’ days for these other resorts before travelling to them.
Lots of staff choose to purchase a Big 3 ski pass for the season which will give them regular access to all 3 mountains in the area.
Location: Sunshine is a 20-25min drive out of Banff township. Its the most popular Ski Resort in the Banff area.
Ongoing employment: The TWHC will assist with your first seasons contract. The ball is in your court – we help you get the job, you need to work hard to keep it. Ongoing extension of contracts are based on seasonal performance and at the determination of management, as is housing. If in doubt – ask your manager. Sunshine Village operates a summer operation and should your performance be amazing during your season, you could expect to be asked about extending your contract.
Why go here? It offers loads of skiing and riding options and is close to a cranking ski town with lots of nightlife. Lots of options in the area – be it road trips to other ski resorts or ice hockey games in Calgary and or events in the area!!! Lots to do!
Why Avoid this place? Everyone wants to goes here. It is beautiful…cant blame them! Place is busy due to people skiing or just tourism in general. It’s a major stop for nearly every know tour operator both summer and winter. Finding places to live in Banff is close to impossible any season and its very cold in the winter!!!