Whistler Blackcomb has two learning areas - Olympic Station and Blackcomb Base (Creekside has a learning area but only for kids lessons). Here is everything you need to know about each base to help you choose the best one at the time of the year you are visiting.
OLYMPIC STATION
This learning area is located at the mid-station of the Whistler Village Gondola and in my opinion is the better out of the two. It has 4 magic carpets and a small chairlift with an amazing progression - from completely flat to green rated runs. It also has a kids learning area but this is only open to kids in lessons.
The downside: There is no place to go inside for water or to warm up here so you either have to go back down the gondola to the base or up to the top of the gondola to the roundhouse.
There is a grilled cheese hut right at Olympic Station where you can get a hot chocolate and a grilled cheese but you have to sit outside. This is perfect if it's a sunny and warm day but on a really cold or rainy day you will have to spend the extra time going up or down the gondola. On the plus side you get to go up and see the amazing views and have a probably well-needed break.
BLACKCOMB BASE
The Blackcomb learning area is at the base of Blackcomb (fancy that), which is great because you don't need to wait in line for the gondola or go anywhere to start skiing. There is one small magic carpet and a small chairlift with access to green rated runs as well as a kids learning area which is only open to Whistler kids lessons.
The bonus here is that you can go into the Wizard Grill to warm up, have a hot chocolate and also lunch right at the bottom of the ski run without wasting time going up or down a gondola. You can go up the gondola which is almost twice the speed as the Whistler Gondola for lunch and views if you want.
The downside: There is only one magic carpet and it is quite steep and very small so the progression is harder than on Whistler and it's not as friendly to learn on (it's still great and very convenient if your hotel is at Blackcomb Base but it's not as good as the Whistler side).
The other downside is that since it's at the base of the mountain it doesn't get snow right away at the start of the season and the snow melts much faster at the end of the season. If you are coming early or late season I recommend booking your hotel and lessons out of Whistler Village.
CREEKSIDE
If you are a beginner it doesn't make sense to stay or book lessons in Creekside. The learning area is only for Whistler Kids ski school so you will need to drive or take the bus to the village to access Olympic Station or Blackcomb Base (on the map it shows a green run from Creekside Gondola to Olympic Station which is true, but it's too hard for a beginner).
