When John Jacob Astor IV opened the first St. Regis in 1904, his vision was nothing less than the “finest hotel in America.” More than a century later, we found ourselves at the St. Regis Deer Valley, curious to see how this storied New York icon would mesh with the rugged elegance of one of America’s premier ski resorts.
At times, the pairing felt delightfully unexpected—like gazing out over alpine slopes while a crooner’s smooth notes drifted through the air. We imagine even Jerry Garcia might have paused mid-guitar lick to raise an eyebrow. But any fleeting moments of contrast quickly melted away in a stay so thoughtfully orchestrated that every service point wasn’t just met, but exceeded.
Join us as we relive our four-day, three-night summer escape and share a detailed review of the St. Regis Deer Valley—where high style meets high country.
Arrival at Salt Lake City
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Park City / Deer Valley might have the best airport access of any major ski resort. SLC Airport services more than 26 million passengers a year, with more than 340 scheduled nonstop airline departures per day to over 90 cities in North America, Asia, and Europe. Not only is it easy to reach but you’re likely to arrive on-time as Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) as it was the only North American airport to make Cirium’s top five global airports on their 2024 On-Time Performance Review. Perhaps this shouldn’t be surprising, since Salt Lake is a Delta hub and Delta was also named the best-performing airline in North America for flight delays.
Once you get your boots on the ground, it’s only a 40 minute drive from the airport to Deer Valley, with many transportation options. We went with limo service from Snow Country Limousine to start the pampering early since we knew that St. Regis offers a complimentary car service for guests. This choice is a bonus for summer travel, but their capable drivers and vehicles can make it up the mountain on even the snowiest winter days.
Impeccable Arrivals
We recognized another advantage of using a car service to reach the St. Regis, our driver was able to access the upper lobby of the hotel through the private gated community. They greeted us by name at the outside bell station with a smile and offered us a bottle of water. We never touched our baggage as it was taken directly to our room.
The front desk checked us in with more smiles and more water before arranging a time for our butler to meet us, which is an amenity reserved for guests of luxury suites or residences. We had already crafted a custom itinerary as professional travel writers so we didn’t ask our butler to offer personalized suggestions for activities and dining, but we enjoyed the daily pot of french pressed coffee brought to our room every morning with a touch of house made vanilla and cream, just the way we like it.
Our Luxury Suite
Our expectations for a luxury suite was that it be more than simply spacious. To meet our expectations for the St. Regis name, we demanded that it be functionally elegant. We found too many little touches to mention, like plentiful hooks for your winter clothes and an Italian expresso machine to a full size refrigerator and streaming entertainment, but they didn’t lose track of the fundamentals – a good night’s sleep. Our St. Regis signature bed featured 1,000+ individually-wrapped coils and a gel-infused memory foam comfort layer. Paired with high quality linens, perfect pillows, and a whisper quiet room, we were ready to wake up in the morning and enjoy the magnificent view from our private balcony.
Ceremonial Saberage
Each evening at St. Regis Hotels and Resorts around the globe, guests gather to welcome nightfall with a ritual Champagne sabering. The tradition dates back to Napoleonic generals who would open bottles in this fashion from horseback.
It’s always a beautiful ceremony on the Mountain Terrace with the sun glistening off the grass covered slopes of Deer Valley. However, we took it one step further further with a private saberage. Our host was even willing to teach me the art, once she had properly chilled the bottle and prepared the cork. Napoleon once said, “In victory, you deserve champagne; in defeat, you need it.” I’m not sure if I deserved or needed champagne after my first failed attempt at sabering, but I certainly drank it after my successful second try.
Dinner at La Stellina
After our champagne, we took the funicular down to the lower level for dinner at La Stellina and were greeted by Chef Josephine Hansen. We loved that she was a Park City native with a deep understanding of what makes this area special.
We started with local burrata and peaches panzanella with fresh mint and aged balsamic and soft gnocchi with summer squash, wild mushrooms, and parmesan. The flavors were fresh and light, like a summer breeze on a plate which prepared our palette for the entrée of cavatelli straight from New York with a crushed tomato sauce and braised pork cheeks.
More than simply combining flavors, Chef Hansen created culinary magic with a symphony of textures like perfectly al dente pasta, firm but soft crushed tomatoes, and remarkably crispy squash and mushroom slivers.
Hiking Deer Valley
Our first full day was dedicated to exploring the Deer Valley resort’s summer operations. It was a short walk from the base of the funicular to the Snow Park Lodge, where we picked up our lift tickets and met Don, our private guide. We rode up the Silver Lake Express up to the mid-mountain. Signs everywhere proclaimed the big news that Deer Valley’s expansion is adding 10 new lifts and 100 new runs for the 2025-26 season.
Don was a fabulous guide, and often leads group historical tours. He dated himself when he said he could remember the lake and beach at Silver Lake, but he still could out hike both of us. We continued to the top of Bald Mountain to see the new terrain and sweeping views of the Jordanelle Reservoir. After exploring up top, we rode the lifts to Little Baldy Mountain to explore statues at the million dollar homes before stopping for lunch at Easy Street Cafe, mid-mountain.
Don also offered a tip for our readers to check out the calendar of the Park City Mountain Club to see if there are any group hikes they’d be interested in. He leads many trips through the club and would love to have out-of-town guests in to join the activities.
Biking Deer Valley
Deer Valley was immaculate in their summer operations as they are for skiing. The hiking and biking trails were clearly delineated and separated, with plenty of paper maps available across the resort. There were also plenty of high quality bikes to rent at the base.
Don was an enthusiastic biker and said it would take a full day at the resort just to ride his favorite trails. He loved the variety of trails, from flow trails designed by Gravity Logic to old school single tracks. If I had one more thing to do at the St Regis, it would have been mountain biking. At least we had a virtual mountain bike ride at Deer Valley in the Mountain Sport Simulator at the Alf Engen Ski Museum later in the trip.
St. Regis Bar Cocktail Tasting
I believe it was Napoleon, or perhaps Winston Churchill who said, if you plan on hiking, you deserve a cocktail, but if you go hiking, you need one, lol! Nevertheless, we spent our afternoon in the St. Regis Bar tasting the summer cocktail menu with Brian Fogarty, the Director of Beverage at St. Regis, Deer Valley.
Fogarty said the summer menu came from a friendly competition from the food and beverage staff to create cocktails that capture the essence of the place and season. For example, the colorful Indian Paintbrush and High Desert Flower were drinks inspired by local wildflowers and the Patio Spritz is a light and refreshing drink that he said was like summer in a glass.
We started on the sweet side of our tasting, and didn’t venture into the dry or savory palette. However, Fogarty described some of the specialties that we missed. St. Regis created the Bloody Mary and every location has their special variation. Deer Valley’s is the 7452, named after the elevation of the resort and mixed with Alpine Distilling vodka. They also have a 10,000+ bottle wine collection in the Wine Vault. He also explained how efficient the St Regis Bar is from an operational point of view. Since it connects to RIME and Brasserie, it allows all three restaurants to have a full-service bar, even in Utah.
RIME Time
We had our eyes set on RIME since they earned the elusive Forbes four-star rating. We didn’t stray far from the steak and seafood specialties on the menu, but our food was exquisite with immaculate service and beautiful presentation.
After dinner, we had an opportunity to speak with Executive Chef Matthew Fradera to unlock some of the secrets behind their recent success. He said he grew up cooking in his grandmother’s kitchen, which not only sparked his interest in cooking, but his philosophy on how he runs his kitchen. He wants his kitchen to be a true collaboration, not only between the chefs but also between the front and back of the house. The back of the house creates flavorful dishes that are locally sourced and precisely plated. The front of the house knows how to describe these to the guests so they can share and savor the passion. Fradera says this teamwork is what earned them their elusive fourth star.
We had to ask Fradera what dish he thought encapsulated the essence of RIME. His answer was the seafood tower. Not only because rime is a salty ice that builds up on ships in the early mornings, but it draws back to St Regis’ East Coast roots. St Regis has their own lobster boats, and sources mussels from Prince Edward Island and oysters from Cape Cod that are flown in fresh daily.
Room Service Challenge
We challenged in-room dining on our second full day at the St. Regis, and they delivered, no pun intended. So far, our service staff was amazing. They remembered our coffee order perfectly, and knew our schedule well enough that we never encountered them during our nightly turndown service. We just saw the chocolate on our pillows. We had an early morning appointment with some trout, so we asked to have a fresh, hot breakfast delivered at 6:45. This required the night attendant to take detailed notes and the morning staff to act on them promptly when they arrived.
Not only was our food amazing, but it arrived right on time. Kudos for the staff for accommodating our special needs, but also for the trainers organization who put them in a position to meet their guests’ needs.
Fly Fishing with Rocky Mountain Outfitters
We met Brian Smith from Rocky Mountain Outfitters at the upper lobby right after breakfast for a little fly fishing. The Provo River is close to Park City, especially when you can cut through the gated communities from the upper lobby.Public access is usually limited to the Middle Provo, between Jordanelle and Deer Creek state parks. Smith explained his outfitters were one of two companies that had access to the Lower Provo and he unlocked the gates to, what I would call fishing paradise.
We were the only anglers fishing the riffles that morning, with plenty of room to move up and down the shore to try our luck. Smith set a wet fly rig that was easy to cast with minimal instructions. He did the hard part of selecting flies and weights. All I had to do was repeat the casts and follow the bobber with my pole tip to give the flies a natural presentation. Pretty soon, it was time for the next lesson on how to land a fish as, one after another, large rainbow and brown trout hit the flies. Even though I only got about one in three fish in the net, it was still my most productive morning ever fly fishing.
Trout fishing is not the only fun to be had in Provo Valley. We passed balloons launching in Herber, and saw groups setting up for tubing and kayaking from Lower Provo Park. It’s nice that the river is a couple thousand feet below the ski resort so the days are warmed. That said, the water was plenty cool coming out of the bottom of Deer Creek Dam.
Lunch at Brasserie 7452
We returned to the St Regis for lunch on the patio at Brasserie 7452. Of course, we had to try their signature 7452 burger with smoked smoked tomato aioli. We also indulged in sushi, since we knew how fresh the seafood was. Once again, the service was on point, and it’s hard to beat the ambiance of a sunny summer afternoon overlooking Deer Valley.
Summer at Utah Olympic Park
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Summer at Utah Olympic Park is a true “only in Park City” activity. It was built for the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games and part of the reason Utah is hosting the 2034 Winter Olympics. The nearly 400 acre venue houses one of only four sliding tracks in North America, six Nordic ski jumps, a 2002 Winter Games museum, and a multitude of adventure activities including alpine slides and ropes courses.
We started by touring the Alf Engen Ski Museum, which tells the story of how skiing started in Utah and how the region was significant for American skiing. Then we headed up the mountain for a thrilling bobsled ride, which is arguably better in the summer because you go down the entire olympic run, reaching speeds of 70 miles per hour and pulling 4G turns. We finished by watching local kids practice their aerial tricks by ski jumping into the Spence Eccles Olympic Freestyle Pool.
An Evening in Park City
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
Main Street Park City is a juxtaposition of a quaint mining town and 5th Avenue shopping. Summer brings a vibrant mix of festivals, live music, artesian markets, and gallery walks. Even without special events, the numerous galleries, boutique shops, and local restaurants create a destination for window shoppers and curio buyers alike. Best of all, with the St. Regis car service, we didn’t have to worry about parking.
We started on the patio at Courchevel Bistro, named for Park City’s sister city in the French Alps. The cuisine and people watching transported us to Europe, with course after course of delicacies like baked brie and chicken breast stuffed with forest mushrooms. However, we were brought back to Utah with their signature peach-stuffed beignets.
We worked off our dietary sins with a stroll down Main Street, popping our heads into several galleries as we made our way to our appointed pick-up spot by Town Lift. If we had time, we would have stopped into the infamous No Name Saloon, but tomorrow was a self-care day, which doesn’t pair well with a saloon by any name.
Breakfast at RIME
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
We started our day with a sit down breakfast at RIME. The eggs Benedict was fabulous, and there wasn’t a bad seat in the house. The wrap-around porch and windows let in plenty of light to kick-start our circadian rhythms, but I’m not sure we would have felt the same way if we had visited No Name. I think somebody once said, if you pass on the saloon, you deserve coffee. If you go, you need it.
Morning Yoga And Private Sound Bath at the St. Regis Athletic Club
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
The St. Regis Athletic Club has state of the art fitness equipment in a 3,300 square foot facility with stunning views of Deer Valley Resort. The instructor for the complimentary morning yoga class did an excellent job of queuing and offering adjustments to make the class accessible to old, stiff people like us while still challenging the yoginis who can’t miss a day of their practice, even on vacation.
After yoga, we flowed into a private sound bath and meditation which we found deeply calming and restorative. As the first tones began, the sound swept over us and completely enveloped the space. We could feel the vibrations resonating throughout our bodies, releasing tension and quieting our minds. It was a simple yet powerful experience that left us relaxed, grounded, and carrying a sense of calm long after the final note faded.
St Regis Spa
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
The St. Regis Spa in Deer Valley delivers everything we’d expect from a luxury mountain resort—serene spaces, attentive service, and treatments designed to help you fully unwind—but what truly sets it apart is its deep focus on wellness, connection, and a sense of place. Under the leadership of Shawnda Brooks, the team works together like a family. “We want our guests to feel like they’ve experienced something special and unique,” Shawnda told us. That care and camaraderie comes through in every interaction. The spa incorporates locally sourced products, including CBD from Edgar League Farms, and tailors treatments to the high-altitude environment so guests can feel their best during their stay.
From the moment you slip into a plush robe, you’re invited to slow down and fully relax. You might recover from a day on the slopes in the oxygen lounge with LED body boots, soak in the hot tubs while taking in the serene atmosphere, or sip tea in the quiet comfort of the relaxation lounge. The space is accented by the calming scent of lemon petitgrain and the St. Regis’ signature Caroline 400 fragrance, adding to the feeling of peace. As Shawnda explained, “It’s about creating a memorable, restorative escape—not just another day at the spa.” Every detail—from the thoughtful service to the locally inspired touches—works together to create an experience that feels both indulgent and deeply tied to the beauty and spirit of Deer Valley.
Lunch at St. Regis Bar
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
The front desk had graciously arranged a late checkout for us to have leisure time to enjoy the spa facilities. We popped back into the room to freshen up and pack our bags before going to the St. Regis Bar for lunch. We remembered Chef Fradera telling us about their locally sourced cheese and meats and the St. Regis fleet of lobster boats, so we ordered the charcuterie and a lobster roll. Once our food arrived there was no question that we chose well.
Our departure from the St. Regis was as seamless as our arrival. We met our limo driver at the upper lobby, with our bags already transported from our room to the limo. All we had to do was drop our keys at the lobby and say goodbye to the staff who had taken such great care of us.
Closing Notes: When Worlds Collide in Perfect Harmony
Photo Credit: Jenn Coleman.
We came to Deer Valley curious about how the timeless elegance of a New York–born luxury brand would play against the rugged authenticity of mountain culture. On paper, crooners and ski slopes didn’t seem like a natural duet, but at the St. Regis Deer Valley, they not only coexisted—they complemented each other. The refined service, sophisticated dining, and curated experiences never felt out of place among the alpine trails, fly-fishing streams, and sun-drenched patios. Instead, the mix created a rhythm all its own—a melody of indulgence and adventure that lingered long after our stay.
Later that week, we found ourselves driving back up from Salt Lake City for another kind of performance—Lindsey Stirling with the Utah Symphony. The night unfolded in a swirl of soaring violin solos and driving rock beats, a juxtaposition as unexpected and yet as seamless as our St. Regis experience. Just like crooners in the mountains, it worked—beautifully. The music rose into the star-filled night sky, and we couldn’t help but think that some places and moments are made to challenge expectations and expand what you thought was possible.
Whether you come for the champagne saberage, the mountain trails, the culinary artistry, or the sheer joy of discovering that refinement and ruggedness can share the same stage, the St. Regis Deer Valley offers a performance worth experiencing for yourself. It’s not just a stay—it’s an encore you’ll want to return for.
Hi! We are Jenn and Ed Coleman aka Coleman Concierge. In a nutshell, we are a Huntsville-based Gen X couple sharing our stories of amazing adventures through activity-driven transformational and experiential travel.
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