Feeling the Amex Effect in Vancouver + Whistler

A sponsored hip + urban girl post.

It's been a whirlwind trip with American Express Canada to Vancouver + Whistler! I met up with fellow Amex Ambassador, Jen McNeely of She Does the City and took off on a major west-coast adventure to experience the AmexEffect. First up?

A 1930s Speakeasy-Themed Secret Supper Soiree!

Our invitation stated a meeting point, and how we would be whisked off to two secret locations for a pop-up dinner party somewhere in Vancouver via a private double-decker bus. 

We arrived at an old historical mansion-turned-museum for cocktails and canapés. Servers dressed in flapper costumes served us a Pimm’s Cup, devilled eggs and cauliflower soup while we toured the home and mingled with the other guests.

Our next stop had us heading into the dark of Stanley Park in the thick of the night. As we weaved our way through the trees along the bayshore, our bus finally landed at the Brockton Pavilion – a private cricket and rugby club. We enjoyed a three-course dinner of winter greens, duck leg with brussel sprouts and polenta and an orange panna cotta for dessert while sipping on wine pairings all night. The evening ended with a swing dancing performance and then a swing dancing class in true 1930s fashion. 

Room service breakfast the next day!

The Secret Supper Soiree is a special culinary experience that is part of the 11th Dine Out Vancouver, presented by American Express Canada – who is sponsoring the festival for the first time this year. Dine Out Vancouver runs from January 18th to February 3, 2013 and features a wide variety of prix-fixe menus at top restaurants across the city.

The next morning, we checked out of our luxurious suite at our downtown Vancouver hotel and we were off to…

My view from The Fairmont Chateau Whistler

A Ski Getaway at Whistler Blackcomb!

The AmexEffect was at full-speed as we checked into slope side accommodations at The Fairmont Chateau Whistler at the base of Blackcomb. Our friends at Amex were generous enough to offer us a complimentary lift ticket and I signed up for a full-day ski lesson and graduated from Level 3 Beginner Ski School! This was a serious accomplishment for me – I couldn’t even ski a month ago and now I’m thisclose to actually being able to parallel ski.

One of the most exciting parts of my trip was riding the Peak 2 Peak Gondola, which stretches for 4.4 KMs from the top of Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. The entire trip takes around 11 minutes while you hang from a gondola in the sky. Sort of scary, but all sorts of awesome.

American Express is the official card of Whistler Blackcomb and offers unique discounts and purchase offers to its Cardmembers at this massive ski resort. Jen and I had an amazing time on this trip and definitely felt the #AmexEffect of being a Cardmember. We were treated like VIPs and truly enjoyed our time as Amex Ambassadors.

In my Max 4 Adult Group Lesson at Ski School

Win Something! – Going to Dine Out Vancouver? American Express Canada is giving you a chance to win 1 of 10 $100 Amex Gift Cards. Take a photo of your meal, upload it to Instagram and add the hashtag #DineWithAmex. You can also visit www.DineWithAmex.ca and share your URL for your photo from Instagram. Enter up to three times until the contest closes on February 3rd.

Toronto Foodies attending to Winterlicious can also enter to win 1 of 10 $100 Amex Gift Cards by submitting their #DineWithAmex Instagram photos by February 7th.

Follow the Conversation! Head on over to twitter and follow along @DineOutVan, #DOVF, @AmexCanada and at #DineWithAmex.