slidergirl

Just so everyone knows, Deer Valley Resort is expected to open for the season on Dec. 3. So, that Saturday 12/10 might go quickly!

adgtravel

We managed to use 3 getaway free nights this weekend after checking availablity often. Beautiful resort, but as a platinum we did not get upgraded to a suite, only a deluxe room with balcony. Supposedly all suites were taken, but when I check online, at least 3 suites (thats all I requested) were available all 3 nights!

OneWorldTraveller

That's pretty bad story! I stayed two nights in Aug, and got upgrade to luxury suite without asking.. They were quite willing to upgrade plat members..

adgtravel

After 1 night of our 3 night stay, the maid came to room before 9am, walked in and said my list shows this room empty! I also received an email with my folio, charged for 2 internet fees (we are platinum) and valet parking, hope to see you again!! I did book all 3 nights on seperate reservations because the free nights only became available 1 at a time, but front desk said they link them together. When I went to talk to front desk, he said his system looked correct, we would not be charged for internet. I told him how disappointed I was not being upgraded to suite, when I could see 5 suites available today! He told me only regular suites were upgradeable, and none were available til Sunday night. I asked to be moved tomorrow to suite, and he said ok. Are platinum members usually charged for valet parking? I went to spa and asked if platinums could use free of charge, told no, charge is 15$ day. Anyone have experience with this? Thanks!

OneWorldTraveller

Spa is not free even for Plats.

Not sure of valet. As I heard, valet is $25 per day, but at least it was not charged to me for 2 nights stay (plat)

adgtravel

We were upgraded our last night to a wonderful suite,#419, but still a little disappointed we were not upgraded per platinum status all 3 nights after finding out the hotel was only 15% occupied the first 2 nights! We were charged for valet parking ($25) each night. Our first night went thru on credit card with the 2 seperate internet charges, I had to call the hotel twice to get it taken care of, along with a minibar charge we did not use! No apologies, just we can take care of it! I hope to see the credit come thru on card without having to call again! We had been traveling for 25 nights, at 12 different hotels, this was the only hotel we had issues with the bill! Very nice resort, but disappointed with how they handle matters!

ski1stoney

We will be staying here for two nights using Free Resort Nights on December 6th and 7th. I will report back in regard to plat upgrade and experience.

ski1stoney

My wife and I used a couple Free Resort Nights to stay at the St. Regis on a Tuesday - Thursday in December. The experience was fantastic...

Please note: The hotel seemed rather empty which allowed for a higher probability of an upgrade, impeccable service (helps when you are the only one around to be assisted), and ease of shuttle service. Furthermore, the hotel was full of new staff that just started working within the last two weeks...all of them were brought in for the busy upcoming ski season. These staff members we think were still being trained and were eager to assist in anyway possible.

Transportation: Park City is about 40 minutes away from the Salt Lake City airport (depending on traffic...might be even 30 minutes). There are several companies that provide round trip transportation to Park City and its resorts. If you are only planning on being in Park City, I would recommend using one of these companies as there is complimentary Cadillac Escalade shuttle service from the St. Regis to anywhere in Park City. My wife and I rented a car and ended up valet parking it and using the complimentary shuttle while we were there...so we didnt have to bother with trying to find parking near Main St., Park City. The one thing to keep in mind with the shuttle is that our experience was wonderful due to the hotel not being full...on a holiday weekend, you might have to wait a while before a shuttle is available.

The Resort: The location of this resort is fantastic as it is connected to Deer Valley (a ski resort that has been ranked #1 in North America for the last 5 years straight). The entrance to the St. Regis is on the same road and about a two minute walk from the Deer Valley main lodge. What is unique about the St. Regis is that you have to take a funicular from the lower entrance building to the main resort. You cannot drive to the main/upper resort, all guests have to start at the lower entrance and then use the funicular. This is due to the private neighborhood that the St. Regis resides in, there are two security gates that people pass through when driving to the main/upper resort. Please note: your car that is in valet will be at the main/upper resort and you will be able to drive it down...just not up. We were charged $25 for valet (this was for the stay...not sure if they forgot to charge us on the other nights).

The Room: The front desk quickly acknowledged Platinum Status, asked if we would like 500 points or truffles (took the points), and told us that we had been upgraded to a Deluxe Suite. The front desk manager said, "this is a fantastic upgrade for you...the St. Regis takes care of their Platinum guests!"

The suite was absolutely gorgeous. You walked into a living area that had a full kitchen with granite counter-tops, rustic dinning table with adjoining nook couch, fire place, flat screen tv. with another sofa to enjoy. The living area also had a deck (we had a view of the landscape on the back of the hotel...opposite ski run). Overall there were two bathrooms, two fire places, and two flatscreen tv. Our bedroom was almost the same size as the living area and the entire suite could have been called a ski condo. The furniture all had a rustic/up-scale ski resort type look.

Skiing: The resort is located on a Deer Valley ski run and is truly ski-in and ski-out. If you brought ski's, they will be checked-in downstairs and ready to be brought out upon request. Due to the lack of snow (all man-made), we rented our ski's so that we didn't ruin our good ski's on subpar conditions. There is a very good ski-shop downstairs that will rent skis and also sell a ski pass to Deer Valley (you can charge all to the room).

The whole process of skiing was made very easy. An attendant brings out your boots and helps you put them on. You are then escorted out to the snow where your ski's are waiting for you. When you are done for the day or need a break...you go through the same process and is extremely easy. We came back in for lunch and went back out in the afternoon.

Resort Amenities: We enjoyed the complimentary hot chocolate bar in the afternoon that allowed guest to add about 12 different toppings to their hot chocolate. If you are so inclined, ingredients for smores were available in the evening outside near one of the fire pits. We also enjoyed the apparent traditional act of opening a champagne bottle with a sabre on top of the fire garden...and then offering champagne to all guests in attendance. We did not use the spa as we did not want to pay the fee associated with their facilities.

Two complaints in regard to ammenities: 1.) Room Service: The food was typically luke-warm...with french-fries and breakfast potatoes suffering the worst. 2.) The pool and hot-tubs were not easily accessible. Specifically, it seemed like the only way to get to these areas was through the main lobby.

Final Words: We had a fantastic stay and this is now our go-to resort for ski vacations. This was a great use of FRN and we will gladly use 20k in points a night in the future to stay here again.

John45NJ

Just returned from a 7 night award stay at the SR Deer Crest. Much that has recently been written is consistent and accurate to my observations. Fantastic Hotel and location, very comfortable rooms and very attentive staff. I would add the ski valet is the best service & location my family has received at a ski-in/ski-out property. As a Platinum was only charged 1 night for parking. Food -- especially breakfast -- was very, very good though twice our food was served luke-warm. The bar with its outside " wall of fire" overlooking the mountain is spectacular. Only complaint for the lounge/kitchen was their fondue was less-than-stellar in both taste and temperature (For $25 they need to use real sternos rather than a tea light). Property is very exclusive situated on the mountain via funicular access but downside is there is are no evening retail or dining options short of taking their complimentary Escalade service to Park City or elsewhere within Deer Valley. I was told spa access without a service was $50 pp/day! Gym was nice but it in an awkward location with limited views to the vistas outside the building. Overall -- a bit stuffy (no surprise --its a St. REgis) and quiet compared to say Hyatt Beaver Creek where the bar, lobby and adjacent village are more vibrant but a great place to stay anytime! PS -- lots of fire pits/fireplaces but all are gas, none are wood-burning for those seeking a more authentic apres ski environment.

kath00

Hello,

We are looking to book this resort using SPs for Jan 2013. I have been checking availability for about a month now and it says to "call for starpoint reservation". When I hover over that little link on spg.com, it says "no blackout dates, if a standard room is available, it's yours."

When I call (3x), they tell me points are not able to be used at this resort.

Is that right??? I am confused and there is no way we are paying $1050 a night for a hotel room.

Thanks for any help. Katherine

TerryK

That's SPG website's way of saying No Standard Rooms Available for using Starpoints. The website would have allowed you to book, without calling, if there were standard rooms available. I wish SPG can modify website wording to avoid more misunderstandings.

To answer your question, I have redeemed Starpoints at St Regis Deer Crest multiple times. I suspect they have not loaded rate plan for using Starpoints for 2013.

bankingguy

I first stayed at this property a month or so after they opened. Unfortunately, I blew my ACL on the trip. In any event, we finally went back this President's day weekend.

The differences between their opening and now was quite dramatic. Check in went smoothly - I didn't get a great room but I was on a points stay when the room rates were pushing $1,500/night with tax.

Every staff member we encountered was fantastic. The biggest improvement is with the shuttle service to Main Street. They now have 10 or 12 passenger shuttle vans augmenting the SUV service. They also will take reservations to Main Street. They still won't take reservations elsewhere which is a little frustrating. But even on President's Day weekend, we didn't have any problem at all.

Hot chocolate after skiing was out of this world. It was the richest hot chocolate I've ever had. Only frustration was a few kids that banged on the piano as it was playing itself. Staff kept coming over to remedy but a new set of kids would take their place. I finally put the cover down over the keys and that did the trick. Really not a problem with the resort but with the parents.

The onsite restaurant was also excellent - big improvement from our last visit. The onsite ski shop was also quite nice.

Overall, this might be our favorite Starwood property. I think we're going to try to go next Christmas and Presidents Day - I hope my SPG Amex can keep up.

My kids want me to find a job there!!!

UA-NYC

My first attempt at using them isn't going so well:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/18318186-post451.html

Will be sure to update if I get more positive results

spgplat21

I've been upgraded to a suite on every one of my stays at this property before the suite night awards, so if it's available I think you'll get it unless there's been a huge change in the hotels treatment of plats. Good luck.

merrickdb

Any thoughts on this property vs. the St. Regis Aspen for an off-season stay?

Thanks!
Merrick