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In spite of the struggling but improving economy new developments at the ski resorts here in Park City continue to move forward. This past week Dakota Mountain Lodge at The Canyons opened for business. Dakota Mountain Lodge features a Golden Door Spa and is operated under the Waldorf Astoria flag. As one would expect with these marquis names, the rooms are spectacular. The spa is both beautiful and comfortable and the dining rooms/lounges boast beautiful views of The Canyons Resort. During the construction period of this property almost all of the units sold and are now closing. Since the grand opening last week the occupancy rate has been extremely high.
At Deer Valley Resort the St Regis hotel is nearing completion and is about 2/3 sold out. St Regis is built directly on a ski run in the Deer Crest area of Deer Valley and boasts stunning views of the Jordanelle Reservoir, Deer Valley Resort, and downtown Main Street in Park City. The St Regis is expected to open for business this December and early walk-through’s indicate that this hotel will easily live up to the St Regis standard. St Regis has raised the bar for prices with units selling for around $2000 per square foot.
In the Empire Pass area of Deer Valley there are two new projects under construction. Right in the heart of the village at Empire Pass is a project known as Flagstaff located directly on a ski run and across from the members Tower Club Lounge. The Flagstaff building should be completed and ready for occupancy sometime this ski season. Flagstaff is part of the Talisker Club offering both golf course amenities at Tuhaye and private restaurants on Deer Valley for the owner/members. Flagstaff had the unfortunate timing of coming on the market right as the resort market started slowing down followed by the economic meltdown last September. In spite of this, 7 out of the 24 units have sold and I expect that with the building completion scheduled this winter we will see more activity.
Also under construction and scheduled for completion for the 2010/11 ski season is the Montage condo hotel located at the base of the empire lift in Deer Valley. Montage is a boutique hotel/spa and is only the 3rd hotel built in this new emerging chain. Montage will feature about 30,000 square feet of spa and restaurant area with magnificent views of the empire pass ski runs. The condominium units at Montage have yet to be offered for sale and we eagerly await details on pricing, floor plans and finishes. Montage should easily rival the St Regis for quality and will have a superior location. Stay tuned for further updates on Montage.
It seems that this may be an early fall or a very short summer. This past weekend an unseasonably strong cold front came through Utah dropping daytime high temperatures into the mid 50’s. While it has warmed up very nicely this week, another cold front is expected to arrive tonight once again dropping temperatures into the 50’s or low 60’s tomorrow. After having lost summer weather in June which was the rainiest June on record, to now start loosing summer weather in August just does not seem right. Summers in the mountains are short enough to begin with! While summer may be quickly coming to an end we still have a couple of large events remaining. Next Thursday is the start of the Park City Jazz Festival under the stars at Deer Valley, and then we close out summer with Park City’s Miners Day celebrations (Labor Day for the rest of the country) in early September. The cooler but still warm days of September are a magical time of the year and would be a terrific time to visit us.
