I am an intermediate to advanced snowboarder (can do all blues, pretty much all black diamonds) and Revelstoke is one of my favourite mountains. It suits my skill level well - we were there in February and I had the opportunity to practice going into the trees on the back side, which was a lot of fun. I had never been able to go into the trees before because most mountains have very steep and tightly packed trees in their glades, but there is something for everyone at Revelstoke and I spent most of the two days playing around in the trees.
When I was there last year it snowed constantly which meant loads and loads of fresh powder. How could I not improve my skills when I have such a fluffy bed of snow to cushion my fall? This time it only snowed once and the ceiling was so low that the visibility at the top of the mountain was quite bad the first morning. It cleared up on the second day though so that was good.
The mountain is relatively quiet and there are rarely any lines. And it's so tall that each run can take up to half an hour, which is really nice (and tiring). Note that the traverse from the back of the mountain back to the front has 2-3 really flat spots to watch out for (which if you can get a skiier to pull you through, you'll be fine), so try to stay fast as a boarder. I wish they had another lift on the right side of the mountain (looking at a map) though - the run is so long that it's almost annoying to have to go all the way to the bottom, especially with the great black diamonds they have at the top.
If you're looking for the typical cafeteria, the Mid-Mountain lodge is where it's at (don't go all the way to the bottom... there are two restaurants and a wine bar). This place has the best ski hill cafeteria food! Pricey (as they typically are) but I feel like it's worth it. They are pretty efficient too - you place an order with the first person before going through the turnstile, and then you can go in and grab snacks, juices, cookies, soups, whatever, while you wait for your order to be called. Make sure you try the thai coconut red curry rice soup... so awesome. They use real cheese curds for their poutine though it's doused with dark beef gravy (I prefer the lighter chicken one).
We stayed at the Sutton Place Hotel/condos this last time which were amazingly luxurious (no-slam drawers, granite countertops, high end appliances, fully stocked kitchenware, free wifi...though with the slowest elevators ever). Check out Backside Tours for a great transportation/ski/stay package. The walls in that place are cement so you can pretty much make as much noise as you want!
One thing that bugged me though is that they don't have any cornerstore or little grocery where you can buy some basics. If you came by car then it's not a problem to go into town, but since we came on a tour bus, it was pretty inconvenient when we ran out things like alcohol! Luckily we found out that there are some liquor stores in town that deliver. The La Baguette eatery also has a small frozen section with homemade ravioli, lasagna, and a few other gourmet items (duck confit anyone?).
Oh you can a pretty good deal on 2 day lift tickets at Costco :) read more