Want to take advantage of Hyatt Privé benefits, including a room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more, when booking a cash stay? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked.
We just wrapped up a trip to Deer Valley, Utah. We traveled with our older son, Miles, as it would be his first time “skiing,” so we enrolled him in ski school (which… is an adventure when we’re talking about three year olds, but that’s a different story).
We spent our first three nights at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley (then we spent three nights at Goldener Hirsch, an Auberge Collection property, which I’ll be reviewing separately). The 381-room property opened in late 2024, and it’s really the first phase of the development of Deer Valley East Village. This is a multi-decade expansion project of Deer Valley Resort, described as creating the first new “luxury alpine village in North America in over 40 years.” Eventually the Four Seasons Deer Valley will be located right across the street from the Grand Hyatt, while the Waldorf Astoria Deer Valley will be located nearby.
What was my takeaway, and would I recommend the Grand Hyatt? On the plus side, it’s actually a physically nice property, with big suites, friendly service, good dining, and all-around nice aesthetic. It’s also priced significantly lower than most of the other nice hotels in Deer Valley.
That being said, you are in the middle of a massive construction zone for the foreseeable future, and even if you’re aware of that, it’s less than ideal. The property also isn’t ski-in, ski-out, though there is access to the slopes of nearby Deer Valley East Village. Otherwise you’re stuck trekking to Snow Park Lodge, which can take quite some time with traffic.
Anyway, let’s get into the review…
In this post:
Booking the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is a Category 6 World of Hyatt property, which is Hyatt’s third highest category of hotels. So if redeeming World of Hyatt points, you can expect to pay anywhere from 21,000 to 29,000 points per night, depending on whether pricing is off-peak, standard, or peak. For what it’s worth, I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each, so that’s the equivalent of $315-435 worth of points, by my valuation.
In our case, we booked through the Hyatt Privé program, as there was a special rate that was under $500 per night, and that came with additional perks, including a $100 property credit, restaurant breakfast, and more. Ford and his team can help with these requests, and can be reached at [email protected].
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley has a resort fee of $40 per night, which is waived for World of Hyatt Globalist members on all rate types, and is waived for all World of Hyatt members when redeeming points.
Obviously this hotel is by no means cheap, but it’s a fraction of what other decent hotels in the Deer Valley area charge in peak season. For example, the St. Regis Deer Valley was charging over $2,000 per night for the same nights (it’s certainly more central, and in theory more luxurious, though after my last bad experience I refuse to stay there, as it’s a peak “points farm” property, as I see it).
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley location
One of the big selling points of Deer Valley vs. Aspen (or other ski destinations) is how easy it is to get to, given that you can fly into Salt Lake City (SLC), which is a major airport, with nonstop flights from all over the place. It’s then just a 45-60 minute drive to Deer Valley.
As mentioned above, the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley is located in the new Deer Valley East Village development, which is expected to be massively built up over time. However, the entire project will literally take decades to complete, and the Grand Hyatt is the very first thing to open.
The Grand Hyatt is a huge property that consists of one big building. Unsurprisingly, it’s otherwise completely surrounded by construction sites and cranes.
The Four Seasons Deer Valley is being developed immediately across the street. It’s pretty wild how the Four Seasons will basically be blocking much of the Grand Hyatt’s view of the mountain, as it’s very much being built in front of the Grand Hyatt, rather than next to it.
There’s really not a whole lot else directly in the Deer Valley East Village development as of now, though that will change over time. Getting to Snow Park Lodge (the main skiing point in Deer Valley) or to the charming town of Park City can take anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes.
I know that’s a huge range, but with no traffic it takes 15 minutes, while with traffic it takes 45 minutes. I was shocked how much traffic there was, but at 8AM it was bumper to bumper much of the way.
The Grand Hyatt does offer a complimentary shuttle service to both Snow Park Lodge and Park City, and you can find the schedule below.
If you rent a car (which is probably advisable), the hotel charges $50 per day for valet parking (waived for Globalist members on award stays).
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley lobby & check-in
Upon arrival at the hotel, my first impression of the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley was positive. The lobby is beautiful, I must say — it had a lodge-style vibe, with high ceilings, a brick wall, floor-to-ceiling windows with great views, and cozy fireplaces. It really is a lovely space.
Reception was located just inside the entrance to the hotel, with the front desk agents to the left, and the concierge staff to the right.
The lobby also stretches quite a ways, and connects to the ski store, the gym, the kids club area, and some of the other amenities.
Also outside the lobby is some cozy outdoor seating with fire pits, so they really did a great job making this a nice space to hang out.
Below is a map of the property, to give you a better sense of the overall layout.
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley suite
I had used a World of Hyatt suite upgrade award to confirm an upgrade to a Deer Valley Suite. Somewhere between my lifetime World of Hyatt Globalist status and having a Hyatt Privé booking, we got upgraded an additional category, to a Grand Suite, marketed as being a massive 1,315 square feet.
Specifically, we were assigned room 3002N (the hotel has both a north and south wing, so the “N” indicates it’s in the north wing), located on the third floor (the hotel has eight floors). Minor point, but the hotel’s hallways are super dark, to the point that I at first assumed the lights just hadn’t been turned on correctly, but nope, that was the standard.
Anyway, our suite was fantastic — it was huge and had a ton of natural light. The suite had a long entryway with the bedroom to the left, the kitchen and second bathroom to the right, and the living room straight ahead.
Let’s start in the huge living room, which had a distinct dining and living area.
The living area had a huge L-shaped couch, two chairs, and two stools. There was also a wall-mounted TV, plus a fireplace that could be controlled with a remote.
Then the dining area had a big rectangular table, with six chairs.
Waiting on the dining table was perhaps the most incredible welcome amenity I’ve ever received, and I wrote more about that in a separate post.
The living room also provided access to the balcony, which had a couple of chairs.
I’ve gotta say, it’s a mighty pretty view, facing Deer Mountain and the Jordanelle Reservoir (the opposite direction of all the construction)…
…especially in the mornings and evenings.
Back in the direction of the entrance and to the left was the bedroom, with had a comfortable king size bed, along with a chair in the corner.
There was then a large closet area at the far end of the bedroom, which was useful, to keep the rest of the room less cluttered (when you travel with a three-year-old, rooms very quickly look like they got hit by a hurricane).
Then there was the primary bathroom, which was the least luxurious feeling part of the room. There were double sinks, a bathtub, a walk-in shower, and a toilet with a door. I don’t want to suggest it was anything terrible, but it definitely felt a little more basic than the rest of the room.
Toiletries were from Balmain, and were in wall-mounted containers.
Then there was the kitchen area back toward the entrance and on the right, and it had a large fridge, microwave, and all kinds of plates and silverware.
There was also a Nespresso coffee machine.
All-in-all, I thought the room was awesome, and more than anything, I appreciated the sheer amount of space we had, which is especially valuable when traveling as a family.
While I’m not trying to nitpick, I do think there are some opportunities when it comes to maintenance and housekeeping. These are all minor individually, but they add up. Just to give a few examples:
- The Nespresso machine in our room didn’t work
- I found the shower temperature and pressure handles to be really difficult to turn, and on top of that, the temperature controls were really sensitive, so it went from cold to uncomfortably hot very quickly
- In the primary bathroom, the sink faucets were at a very strange angle when in use
- Housekeepers are some of the hardest working people in hotels, but I just didn’t think they did a very thorough job
To expand on that last point, after we finished our welcome amenity on the first day, they just stacked the plates and glasses on the corner of the table, but didn’t actually remove them. I’m not sure if they just forgot them, or…?
Another morning I got Miles a hot chocolate from the lobby, and before we left the room, I poured out the leftovers in the sink, as we were running out the door. Okay, I should’ve probably been more considerate with making sure everything was clean, but below is what the sink looked like after housekeeping came and cleaned the room…
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley spa, pool, & gym
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley has Agaci Spa + Wellness, which is open daily from 9AM until 6PM. This was a family trip, so I didn’t have a chance to check it out, but you can find the treatment menu below. Spa pricing here is next level, eh? $310-345 for an 80-minute massage, and that’s before tip?! This makes Courchevel look cheap, by comparison!
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley also has a pretty large outdoor lap pool, along with two jacuzzis. Of course the pool is heated, so if you’re willing to brave the cold temperatures in winter to get into the pool, it’s a nice place to hang.
The Grand Hyatt also has a 24/7 gym, located on the lobby level. The entire gym is one large room, and I found the selection of equipment to be quite good. Admittedly it’s not the biggest gym for a hotel with nearly 400 rooms, but gyms at ski resorts tend to stay relatively empty in my experience, since most people get their exercise on the slopes.
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley kids club
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley has what’s in theory called Camp Hyatt, where over select periods there’s a supervised kids club. I think the hotel was just empty during our stay, so there were no supervised activities.
That worked out great, since Miles still loved going here, and he was happy just playing on his own — I’d bring my laptop and sit there, and he’d “cook” me stuff in the kitchen. Ah, kids and their imaginations…
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley skiing
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley isn’t ski-in, ski-out. Instead, there’s a Deer Valley East Village shuttle (it’s basically a pick-up truck with a trailer that has open-air benches), which drives between the hotel and the ski slopes. It’s maybe a two-minute drive away, so it really is very close.
Now, of course let me mention that Deer Valley East Village is not the most popular place to ski in Deer Valley, and the snow situation was particularly bad during our visit, especially in the East Village area.
As mentioned above, the hotel also has a shuttle to Snow Park Lodge, the main skiing point in Deer Valley, and that drive takes anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes. Miles’ ski school was at Snow Park Lodge, and Ford also skied from there, so it was a bit of a commute to get there!
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley restaurants & bars
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley has a solid selection of food & beverage outlets, including the following venues:
- Remington Hall is the hotel’s all-day dining restaurant, and it also has a lounge and bar area; it’s open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving “American” food
- Hidden Ace is the hotel’s 21+ lounge and bar; it’s open in the afternoons and late into the night, and has drinks, food, and live music
- Double Blacks is the hotel’s coffee shop and grab-and-go spot, whether you want a cappuccino, sandwich, or energy drink; it’s open in the early mornings and into the afternoons
Let’s start with Remington Hall, which is located just off the lobby. It’s a pretty nice space, between the main restaurant area, plus the lounge. It serves breakfast from 7AM until 11AM, and dinner from 5PM until 9PM, while the adjacent lounge serves lunch from 11:30AM until 2:30PM.
We had breakfast at Remington Hall each morning, where there was the choice of an a la carte selection or a buffet.
A couple of mornings we had the buffet. I thought the quality was very good, and I appreciated the unique and slightly unconventional selection, ranging from the chicken & waffles, to the pretzel rolls with ham and dijon (I don’t eat ham, but I appreciate the idea, at least), to the high quality cheese and cold cuts. I do wish there were more yogurt options (as there was… basically nothing?), but that’s minor in the scheme of things.
The buffet also had an egg station, so I ordered a veggie omelet on the mornings where I had the buffet.
The other day I ordered the avocado toast, which was pretty good.
Miles had both the waffles and pancakes, which he enjoyed (though the portion of waffles was way too big — oops!).
The coffee and cappuccinos were delicious as well.
We also had lunch at Remington Hall one day, and tried both the seared tuna salad and the grilled salmon, both of which were tasty (though we should’ve probably asked for light dressing on the salad, oy).
As mentioned above, Hidden Ace is the 21+ bar and lounge in the hotel, with live music performances, and it’s open daily from 12PM until 12AM. Since we were with Miles we were pretty limited, but you can find the menu here.
Lastly, Double Blacks is the coffee shop and grab-and-go venue. It’s located next to the gym, and it’s open daily from 6AM until 5PM. This space has barista coffee, pastries, sandwiches, salads, and more, so it’s a great place to grab a quick bite.
There’s a small communal table with high-top seating, and if you go up a level, there’s quite a bit of additional seating.
Speaking of coffee, it’s worth pointing out that the hotel has complimentary coffee and hot chocolate available in the lobby starting at 6AM daily, which is much appreciated.
Side note — as much as there are aspects of Utah that I really like, the alcohol situation is just nuts on so many levels.
For one, as of 2026 the new law is that everyone has to be IDed when being served alcohol, including 90-year-olds. And as always, all drinks need to be measured exactly, you can’t have too many servings of alcohol in one drink, and you can’t even take alcohol to your room (well, unless the bartender walks you to the elevator with the drink).
I’m not some booze hound who demands to always be drunk (quite to the contrary, I rarely drink at home), but they really do take the fun out of it in Utah… which I guess is the point?
Guys, I’d just like a martini that gives me a little bit of a buzz, so I can fall asleep with my son at 7PM. Is that too much to ask for? I’ve gotta say, between that and “herbal” considerations, that’s one big advantage to skiing in Colorado over Utah.
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley Globalist Lounge
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley doesn’t have a Grand Club, but instead, it has what’s called a Globalist Lounge. I wrote about this in detail in a separate post, so see that for all the details, including the food and drink that’s available.
The Globalist Lounge isn’t a fixed space, but instead, it’s basically placed in whatever conference room is empty, so the location is slightly different every day. Think of this as being like a Grand Club in terms of the food & drinks, except you can’t actually purchase access to this.
I also assume this is only open seasonally, based on how full the hotel is. For Globalist members, this is a double edged sword:
- On the plus side, Globalists have a place where they can grab snacks and drinks during the day, and also get access to an evening food selection
- The downside is that Globalist members can only have breakfast here, and not have restaurant breakfast included, since that’s only offered when there’s not a Grand Club; fortunately by booking through Hyatt Privé, we got the best of both worlds, as that program also offers restaurant breakfast
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley service
I generally have pretty low expectations of service at US ski resorts, given the extent to which the US generally lacks a service culture. On top of that, these resorts are largely reliant on seasonal labor, which makes it hard to hire, train, and retain talent. So I have to give the hotel credit, as I found service to generally be very good.
I got the sense that the hotel was really empty during our visit, so I assume that helped. Either way, across the board we found everyone to be extremely friendly and genuinely wanting to help. Interestingly, many of the workers were from Latin America, which made us feel right at home, living in Miami (I’m pretty sure Ford’s Spanish is better than his English at this point, so he was very happy to be able to speak his “normal” language, just as at home).
Bottom line
The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley represents the first phase of the huge new Deer Valley East Village development. This is a nice new addition to the Park City area, and I’m curious to see this area develops. For now, I think this could be an interesting option, with several caveats.
On the plus side, the hotel is nicely designed, and has spacious suites, plenty of amenities, good dining, and friendly service. It’s also priced much lower than many of the other nice properties in the area.
But there’s a catch, of course. The Grand Hyatt is currently in the middle of a construction zone, and it’s pretty isolated. It’s not ski-in, ski-out, so you can either take the very short shuttle ride to the Deer Valley East Village slopes, or you can commute to Snow Park Lodge, where there’s a shuttle that takes anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, depending on traffic.
For our purposes, this hotel was great. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again from a value perspective, given how much cheaper this is than most comparable resorts that are in the more developed part of Deer Valley. I’m curious to see how this evolves over time, especially with the Four Seasons opening across the street.
What do you make of the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley?
There is some inaccuracy and much information missing in this review. First, the bulk of ongoing EV construction will be complete in the next five years and entirely complete in time for the 2034 Winter Olympics. The East Village's beautiful and massive skier services facility will open next season, completion of The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences the following year, and the adjacent Waldorf Astoria shortly thereafter.
Just as important, the East Village project...
There is some inaccuracy and much information missing in this review. First, the bulk of ongoing EV construction will be complete in the next five years and entirely complete in time for the 2034 Winter Olympics. The East Village's beautiful and massive skier services facility will open next season, completion of The Four Seasons Hotel and Residences the following year, and the adjacent Waldorf Astoria shortly thereafter.
Just as important, the East Village project is not limited to lodging but encompasses an enormous expansion of DV's skiable terrain; increasing the resort's acreage by roughly 200%. Multiple new lifts are now open including the East Village Gondola that not only whisks skiers to higher elevations in enclosed comfort but opens large swaths of top of the mountain beginner terrain. The gondola and Keetley Express chair, with its heated seats and enclosing bubbles, both are within a short walk from the Grand Hyatt using the sheltered walkway between the Four Seasons and Waldorf sites. The free skier shuttle is an option only and will become unnecessary once the skier services building is completed. To place the length of the walk in perspective, only The Four Seasons hotel will stand between the Grand Hyatt and the slopes.
The new terrain is also diverse, introducing a significant number of advanced and glade runs not prevalent elsewhere at DV as well as Utah's longest ski run. Free skier valet and lockers are available at the EV base as are ski lessons with three enclosed magic carpet lifts and Hodoo chair for novices.
Despite installing one of the country's most advanced snowmaking systems, this year's unprecedented warmth and lack of precipitation throughout the mid-Rockies has delayed opening much of the new area, but that should have no bearing on a review.
The East Village is not playing second fiddle Deer Valley's other base at Snow Park (which will undergo an equally ambitious, and disruptive, redevelopment beginning this summer), it is positioning itself at DV's new front entry.
The review also fails to mention the Grand Hyatt's on-site ski and bike rentals through Ski Butters, equipment lockers, a sundry store, Deer Valley store, and Helley Hanson store. Then there is the Nexus Lounge, a wonderfully equipped game room for adults and children alike (no quarters required), and the North Star Lounge for military personnel and retirees. Add in that the Hyatt is dog friendly, including the presence of a canine ambassador, offers free movie nights for the kids, and yoga for the adults and you have a hotel that is doing everything possible to provide a full service, luxury family holiday.
Although the review mentioned dining options for Globalists it failed to note the quality and quantity of the offerings. Breakfast, lunch snacks, dinner, and extravagant evening desserts, Hyatt members need never purchase a meal. Add to that a mobile ice cream stand, pop-up mocktails, afternoon gourmet hot chocolate and sweets, intimate apres ski cocktail lounge, a soon to open sushi dining option, and free s'more makings that may be cooked over the hotel's many fire pits.
Because the Grand Hyatt encloses one of Utah's largest conference centers (and Park City's biggest) many guests are conference attendees. The conference center lies beneath the hotel's main floor and has a separate entry. Thus conference guests are largely out of sight, moving about and dining within the confines of their own venue and not overburdening those facilities utilized by vacationers.
Look, I think this place is a great deal and I'd prefer it stays unappreciated, but you're off the mark here about the accessibility to the slopes. The pickup truck pulled shuttle takes you from Double Blacks in front of the hotel to the East Village Gondola in 2 minutes. From there you can get anywhere on the mountain within 10 minutes. There's also the Keetley Lift right next to the Gondola that will take...
Look, I think this place is a great deal and I'd prefer it stays unappreciated, but you're off the mark here about the accessibility to the slopes. The pickup truck pulled shuttle takes you from Double Blacks in front of the hotel to the East Village Gondola in 2 minutes. From there you can get anywhere on the mountain within 10 minutes. There's also the Keetley Lift right next to the Gondola that will take you up the mountain.
The idea that if you stay here you'll be waiting 30 minutes to get to a lift is laughable. All of the idiots commenting on here like they have a clue. I stayed here a week ago and I left my room at 8:45 and was on the Gondola by 9.
By all means, lift your nose at this place. I am happy to reap the benefits. I've stayed at Ski In/Out spots from Alta/Snowbird to Tahoe, breck, vail and Stowe. This place is just fine.
Waiting for the review of Miles ski school! Sounds like a fun read :)
Luxury alpine village?! It looks like a low-cost chinese development in the suburbs of Ulaanbaatar
This is a minor gripe, but you’ve always prided yourself on transparency and “under $500 a night” doesn’t really disclose what you paid. It was (apparently) a Prive rate, but was it $499 or $401? I understand when you don’t want to disclose the price of travel agent rates but if it wasn’t that, please just say what you paid instead of comparing it to all the prices you didn’t pay.
Holy cow!! You f'ed this up on so many levels. Makes me question your other reviews:
1). DV East Village - pass
I’m more or less local to PC and ski at DV a lot. I hadn’t been to East Village yet so decided to ski over to the Hyatt for lunch last weekend. I can definitely echo what Ben is saying in his review about it being a massive construction zone. I was expecting easy access from the base of East Village and was surprised I had to take a shuttle to the hotel. The lunch...
I’m more or less local to PC and ski at DV a lot. I hadn’t been to East Village yet so decided to ski over to the Hyatt for lunch last weekend. I can definitely echo what Ben is saying in his review about it being a massive construction zone. I was expecting easy access from the base of East Village and was surprised I had to take a shuttle to the hotel. The lunch food was fine but definitely not worth the effort it took to get there. This will be a nice area when construction is complete but I think that will be a while.
@Lucky - boy did they miss the mark in the living room... Mount the TV over the fireplace!!!
Perhaps the most ridiculous Utah liquor law is one that prohibits the sale and serving of draught beer that is over 5.0% ABV (4.0% by weight). Even when you visit a brewery or an establishment that has a liquor license, they can't serve a draught beer over 5.0% ABV - they can serve the same beer out of a bottle or can, just not from a keg. The restriction serves no purpose and there is...
Perhaps the most ridiculous Utah liquor law is one that prohibits the sale and serving of draught beer that is over 5.0% ABV (4.0% by weight). Even when you visit a brewery or an establishment that has a liquor license, they can't serve a draught beer over 5.0% ABV - they can serve the same beer out of a bottle or can, just not from a keg. The restriction serves no purpose and there is no possible justification for it.
I know Ben isn't a beer drinker, but sometimes you'd like to have a proper IPA.
Am I the only person who finds new hotels so underwhelming?
The room looks cheap with poor finishes - and having a shower curtain in any 5 star property is indefensible.
totally agree! decor reminds me of an airport chain hotel
And while Minneapolis burns, Ben complains about petty mediocre things. I just hope that the cotton count on bed sheets was high enough.
why get political here? this is a travel review site! Complain about waste and fraud somewhere else!
As someone that actually lives in MPLS, go back to your basement troll.
Yes, Utah liquor laws are absolutely insane. Everyone go to Colorado instead. Please
This doesn’t add up… why not use points????
you can expect to pay anywhere from 21,000 to 29,000 points per night, depending on whether pricing is off-peak, standard, or peak. For what it’s worth, I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each, so that’s the equivalent of $315-435 worth of points, by my valuation.
In our case, we booked through the Hyatt Privé program, as there was a special rate that was under...
This doesn’t add up… why not use points????
you can expect to pay anywhere from 21,000 to 29,000 points per night, depending on whether pricing is off-peak, standard, or peak. For what it’s worth, I value World of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each, so that’s the equivalent of $315-435 worth of points, by my valuation.
In our case, we booked through the Hyatt Privé program, as there was a special rate that was under $500 per night, and that came with additional perks, including a $100 property credit, restaurant breakfast, and more.
@ Stvt -- For our dates it would've been peak pricing, so we would've paid 29K points, which I value at $435. Meanwhile by paying cash, I was earning 10.5x points per dollar spent, which I value at a nearly 16% return, which basically makes cash vs. points breakeven. The benefit of Hyatt Privé was that we'd get a $100 property credit, restaurant breakfast, and a welcome amenity.
There’s a lot of conference space and it works very well for that, but I struggled with what to eat at night. Weekdays between 11pm and morning, there is not one restaurant open in a 40min drive to order doordash from or to go to. Hotel restaurants are closed and so is room service. The only option was grab and go at the gift shop.
Nobody stays up late, they’re exhausted from skiing all day and cocktails at sunset.
Maybe I'm missing something obvious (in which case, please let me know), but I must say that I don't really get this hotel and its review for that matter... Ben, I really do appreciate that you provide a review rating /5 since it generally gives me a good idea of how good/worth a certain property is and usually I see how it's representative thereof after reading the review. However, having read this review as well...
Maybe I'm missing something obvious (in which case, please let me know), but I must say that I don't really get this hotel and its review for that matter... Ben, I really do appreciate that you provide a review rating /5 since it generally gives me a good idea of how good/worth a certain property is and usually I see how it's representative thereof after reading the review. However, having read this review as well as the complementary post from a week or so regarding the room service situation, I just don't get how this hotel presents a hard/soft product or value that warrants such a high rating.
Admittedly, the Hyatt Prive rate you mentioned doesn't seem that bad considering the typical accommodation costs in that region during peak season. But unless you're able to snag a rate like that (or redeem miles at the price of a Cat6 property, which even seems like a very generous categorization to me), you'll find yourself in a hotel that is relatively far away from the ski slopes, next to an ongoing construction sites obstructing the mountain view and with lacking maintenance and housekeeping, all while paying a rate that is more akin to the higher-end boutique hotels (Airelles and the sort) you stayed at in the Alps some past years.
Honestly, after I finished reading the review, the first comparison that came to mind was that Ritz Carlton "factory" (your words not mine) in SoCal(?) that you reviewed a few years back, except this was a watered down and more faulty (albeit staying in a suite) version located further away from its main attraction.
@ Ben Holz -- I hear you, and I think the thing I'd emphasize is that the rate was *way* lower than anything comparable that was closer to Snow Park Lodge. The difference between this and a Ritz-Carlton "resort factory" is that Ritz-Carlton properties charge sky high prices while delivering very little, while this was one of the better value properties in the area.
Also, I try to review points hotels. If I just review...
@ Ben Holz -- I hear you, and I think the thing I'd emphasize is that the rate was *way* lower than anything comparable that was closer to Snow Park Lodge. The difference between this and a Ritz-Carlton "resort factory" is that Ritz-Carlton properties charge sky high prices while delivering very little, while this was one of the better value properties in the area.
Also, I try to review points hotels. If I just review luxury non-points hotels, people yell at me (okay, that happens no matter what :p), so I try to find a balance. If I didn't partly write about loyalty programs for a living, maybe I wouldn't have stayed here in the first place, since admittedly this is a place you stay at because you're on the Hyatt "hamster wheel."
Hah Ben, thanks for your response. I read my original post again and maybe I came across a bit harsh, I'd like to clarify that I didn't mean it as a direct critique to you :) I for one understand, respect and am glad you stayed at and reviewed this hotel, because these reviews (be it points or boutique hotels) provide many of us with valuable info.
I'll take your word regarding this being a...
Hah Ben, thanks for your response. I read my original post again and maybe I came across a bit harsh, I'd like to clarify that I didn't mean it as a direct critique to you :) I for one understand, respect and am glad you stayed at and reviewed this hotel, because these reviews (be it points or boutique hotels) provide many of us with valuable info.
I'll take your word regarding this being a better value than nearby properties... but (and I am aware this is highly subjective) in my eyes this seems more like comparing low to very low value. I say this as someone who isn't much into skiing, but likes the ski town vibe and keenly books a stay or two every season. I don't want to say points hotels are trash or that US ski hotels are worthless because 1) it's not true and 2) different people value different things at different levels. But objectively speaking, it seems like this hotel (and based on what you are saying, those nearby) just don't seem to justify their product/offerings with their price tag. It may be more convenient for someone in Miami or the Northeast to escape on a "long weekend" ski trip to the Rocky Mountains, but that doesn't take away from the fact that people are being charged exorbitant prices for mediocrity, which to me fully aligns with the principle of "resort factories".
Nonetheless, thanks for the review and please keep them coming! They're always appreciated :)
p.s. even though I don't typically book into point hotels since I'm not as engaged with hotel loyalty, the one exception is the eriro in Austria. Hope you can come around to reviewing it :)
"1700 residential units, 800 hotels rooms"
In much of the world I could understand that taking decades, but in the USA??
Our kids learned to ski at DV, and I was very happy with the ski school.
There are *many* places to stay that are walking distance to the lifts at DV. I understand you wanted to review a points hotel, but I’d never choose that hotel if I was skiing at DV.
I am seriously confused by your judgment. I remember you giving another hotel a lower rating simply because you didn't quite like the design and found the service mediocre, yet gave a 4* to a Grand Hyatt where the Housekeeping service left clearance stacked up in the room and wash basin stained with hot chocolate traces? Whaaaat?
If you want to get your kids to learn to ski in a playful way I'd suggest a trip to Europe. All over Austria ski schools have the concept of a 'ski kindergarten', which of course in American terms would be more like a 'ski preschool', where very young kids learn to "ski" while not really being forced too much. One place that excels in that is Serfaus in Tyrol, but there's plenty of others....
If you want to get your kids to learn to ski in a playful way I'd suggest a trip to Europe. All over Austria ski schools have the concept of a 'ski kindergarten', which of course in American terms would be more like a 'ski preschool', where very young kids learn to "ski" while not really being forced too much. One place that excels in that is Serfaus in Tyrol, but there's plenty of others. That would also you do a nice review of the Lounge at Innsbruck, which is phenomenal for an Airport that size :)
Location location location.
Why would anyone pay cash to stay 30-60 min from the heart of park city when you could have ski in/ski out access from the Waldorf, Marriott timeshares (where you don’t need a suite upgrade to get the same space)?
Yes it’s a nice property but time is money when you are skiing and esp with kids. Vail also has many points options that are walk-to-lifts as does Aspen.
@ Boraxo -- I agree about the importance of location, but let me emphasize that we're talking 15-45 minutes, and not 30-60 minutes (at least based on anything I experienced). The reason someone would stay here is because it's significantly lower priced than many properties that are closer.
Meh, it is not like Utah pretends otherwise on the alcohol situation. If drinking is important to you then yeah not the right state to vacation.
As for me, I gave it up and love traveling to Utah for that reason.
I had looked at the location of this property several months ago before they opened. It looks like the physical property itself is very nice but the location has A LOT to be desired. When I go skiing, if I'm booking a "ski resort" hotel, I want to be able to get out and go without having to rely on a shuttle.
That's just a non starter for me.
This might be more of a Ford question, but if conditions were better, how complicated/time consuming is it to ski from nearby drop-off point to the heart of the Deer Valley runs? Compared to, say, the effort required to ski from Hyatt Centric in the Canyons to the heart of Park City (which is not hard).
@ BC -- I asked our local friend who skies there all the time. He said the East Village gondolas make it seamless to get to other Deer Valley runs, even more so than from other villages. So I think it should be pretty straightforward, but you do have to take a shuttle to get to the gondola.
You do not have to take the shuttle (which is a minor and temporary inconvenience at most) but can easily walk through the covered passageway adjacent to the north side of The Four Seasons' site. Also, with the expanded terrain the bulk of Deer Valley's runs will be more easily accessed from the East Village than anywhere else within the resort. Yet those that wish to access legacy terrain can easily do so from the...
You do not have to take the shuttle (which is a minor and temporary inconvenience at most) but can easily walk through the covered passageway adjacent to the north side of The Four Seasons' site. Also, with the expanded terrain the bulk of Deer Valley's runs will be more easily accessed from the East Village than anywhere else within the resort. Yet those that wish to access legacy terrain can easily do so from the 10 passenger East Village Gondola or the adjacent six passenger, heated and enclosed Keetley Express. In fact, relatively to Deer Valley's fully expanded footprint, the East Village is more centrally located than either Snow Park, Silver Lake, or Empire Pass.
Yes that part about the shuttle east is a bit confusing. I’m assuming the route most people would take is to use the quick shuttle to Deer Valley East and then ski to the man lodge, town, etc. is there no path via the slopes to the main village? If so why would anyone drive over 30 mins there?