Dear Vail Resorts,
Let me explain to you why I will not be returning to this resort anytime in the near future and will indicate to other families on online forums that they should decline to come to Vail as well.
As you are aware, marijuana is now legal in Colorado. I have been visiting Vail and Beaver Creek for many years now with my family, and enjoyed all my years here with no real problems. We have a lot of memories here. Within the span of several days, my son and I were exposed to numerous conversations on buses, gondola rides and restaurants related to recreational drug use. The fact that people are restricted to smoking pot in the privacy of their room doesn’t mean that they won’t reek of pot on gondola rides, or that they won’t be talking about getting high with numerous other substances within earshot of numerous families. Within the span of two to three days, I had at least three to four separate occasions in public areas where I had to specifically ask people to not talk about their drug use. People were obviously put off by my asking them to stop, and I was furious to even be put in this situation.
I think the public debate on allowing pot to be sold is completely off. The people who live this type of lifestyle can’t afford to support resorts like Vail that frankly cater to a demographic more like my own, and candidly, you don’t get to be successful by engaging in this type of lifestyle. Why am I going to pay to come to a resort where my son is exposed to these sorts of things? I don’t want him skiing or going anywhere on his own — he is a teenager, and why should he be shaped by these types of conversations?
Not only this, but it’s a safety hazard. Do you think I want people speeding by me on the slopes who were high the evening before?
I really recommend you get this situation under control as quickly as possible because word will get out to families very quickly. At this point, I’m very much inclined to go to Utah for my vacations instead of Colorado. You can’t be a destination resort for high-earners and a pot-town at the same time — you have to choose.
Christine Arakelian
New York
