Whistler, B.C. Supercharger: Paid Parking

[clyde]

Moderator note: Thread title was edited to reduce click-baitiness.

There are supposedly ten Superchargers in the basement of the Fairmont in Whistler.
Only problem: you have to first pay a fee to get into the garage (no work around- I asked).

Though it's "only" $7.50, it annoys me that I have to pay a price for admission in addition to Tesla's usual charges.
I have never experienced anything like it and hope this is not a trend.

 

[LoudMusic]

"Scam" seems like odd word choice, haha.

There are a few other supercharger locations in pay parking areas. It's not ideal and I'm sure Tesla isn't happy about it but it's probably the best they could find at the time. Keep in mind they are not the property owner of these spaces and have to find a business that will provide a long term lease.

 

[RTPEV]

It's not common, but it's not unheard of to have Superchargers behind paid parking. At some sites they will have "first 30 minutes free" or similar policies so you can actually get a free charge, but at others there is no such "out". It's not a scam though, just a particular policy of the site host. The alternative would probably have been no Supercharger at all in the area, as Tesla was probably unsuccessful in finding a host without such a provision.

 

[samn]

There are supposedly ten Superchargers in the basement of the Fairmont in Whistler.
Only problem: you have to first pay a fee to get into the garage (no work around- I asked).

Though it's "only" $7.50, it annoys me that I have to pay a price for admission in addition to Tesla's usual charges.
I have never experienced anything like it and hope this is not a trend.

I agree that would be super annoying. The supercharger in South Lake Tahoe is in a paid lot that allows one hour free, but requires getting through the sometimes malfunctioning computerized ticket scanner at the exit gate. Just that alone is pretty annoying to me.

Once the new location is opened in South Lake I expect I'll never go back to this one at the pay lot. Hopefully a new supercharger will also open in Whistler reasonably soon.

 

[GHammer]

There are a lot of superchargers in pay garages, mostly in urban and resort areas where there is no free parking anywhere. I have a time share in Whistler and there is virtually no free parking anywhere except the outer ski area lots. That being said, in 8 years of driving my Tesla to Whistler I've never used the Supercharger, the ones in Squamish are close enough. Not a scam.