We spent the week before Christmas skiing with dear friends at the fabulous Deer Valley resort in Utah. If you’re not famililar, Deer Valley is a stone’s throw from Park City. This was my family’s first time visiting Deer Valley and we will definitely be back. Getting there from the southeast is easy: a quick hop to Atlanta and then direct to Salt Lake City. Once in SLC we had a driver take us and all of our gear to our house in the Empire Club (more on that in a minute), which took just under an hour. All in all, not a bad travel day for a ski trip.
I don’t have a ton of details about this trip because the husbands did most of the planning. I didn’t know what to do with myself! It was so nice just being told when and where to show up for meals. Although I helped make a grocery list, the fellas handled getting it all delivered. The grocery delivery company even put the food in the fridge/pantry for us before we arrived! Here’s what I do know:
If renting a house, definitely look into the Empire Club area. Our house was pristine and the location can’t be beat. The hubbies booked the house through VRBO. The owner’s name is Darryl Garbe and the house is named Larkspur. Darryl definitely knows what he’s doing. We could ski to a lift right from the end of our driveway. The kids couldn’t believe their eyes. Also, Empire Club provides a free shuttle in Deer Valley/Park City. I can’t tell you how wonderful that was! If you want to go out for dinner, call the shuttle. If you decide to ski a different area of the resort, call the shuttle. Need to get the kids to ski school? Call the shuttle. WORTH MENTIONING: Although our house was fabulous, it did not have a hot tub. We knew this going into it, but I just want to make sure you double check the listing before you book. Most ski homes do have a hot tub, but don’t assume it’s a given.
Deer Valley House
The family we traveled with (two adults and four kids) does not have much skiing experience and they needed to rent a bunch of gear for the trip. Rather than deal with going to a rental store, they made arrangements for Ski Butlers in Park City to bring everything to the house. I had no idea such a service existed, but it was genius after a long day of travel and jet lag. Simply provide all of the necessary information beforehand (height, weight, skiing ability) and a member of the Ski Butlers team brings options to the house. BRILLIANT.
The new skiers attended ski school the first day while the veteran skiers enjoyed a full bluebird day on the slopes. We were fortunate to have warm, sunny conditions.
Family Ski Day
Another moment of brilliance by the fellas: they placed an order with Deer Valley Cafe for their world famous turkey chili our first day. The adults picked it up using the free shuttle and we thoroughly enjoyed having that on hand for dinners and lunches during our stay. Do yourself a favor and order the chili if you plan to rent a house. It’s the ultimate comfort food to warm you up after a day on the mountain. I believe other options are available for order at the cafe as well, but they’re known for the chili. I found a few recipes online that I plan to try soon.
We all skied together the next few days and had a blast. I did a horrible job taking pictures! That’s a sign of a good trip, right?
Planning Their Day
Everyone in our group agrees that Deer Valley is a great resort for beginners and experts alike. Plenty of terrain for everyone. Very short lift lines, if any. It’s a pricey trip, but the value is there if you want to maximize your time on the hill. WORTH NOTING: Deer Valley does not allow snowboarders. If you board, you’ll have to visit Park City.
Skiing Fun
We stopped at the St. Regis one afternoon for lunch and hot chocolate. Any St. Regis is great, but the Deer Valley St. Regis is truly special. One of Santa’s reindeer was enjoying a relaxing day at the St. Regis! If I were to ever plan an adult trip to Deer Valley, that’s where I would want to stay. It’s 100% kid friendly, so don’t let my assessment deter you from booking the St. Regis for a family trip. However, going as a big group with two families, we wanted a kitchen and laundry room and room to just chill. The adults popped into the Montage for happy hour one evening and it’s also fabulous. I don’t think you can go wrong with either spot. That being said, you also can’t go wrong with a house in Empire Club.
In addition to the chili night, we also grilled burgers one night (cooking is weird at that altitude…everything takes longer), went to Squatters as a party of ten one night, ordered pizza one night and also enjoyed an adult dinner at 350 Main. Squatters is great for a large party with kids. The food and service at 350 Main were delightful. And of course we had to grab a nightcap at the No Name Saloon. When in Rome….
St. Regis
Deer Valley, you spoiled us! We couldn’t have asked for more fun on the slopes. In fact, we had so much fun that we begged our VRBO host to let us have a late checkout (he graciously agreed) so we could eek out one more day skiing. We drove down to Salt Lake City after an unexpected extra day of skiing and stayed at the super nice Marriott City Center before our morning flight back to Atlanta and Greenville.wouldn’t change a thing. Worth mentioning: we picked a random Thai restaurant that was within walking distance to the hotel and it turned out to be one of the best Thai dinners I’ve ever had. If you find yourself downtown SLC, don’t sleep on J. Wong’s Thai and Chinese Bistro. Delicious!
We got home in time to handle last minute Christmas preparations. I’m so excited to be home this week. Christmas decorations are down, my house is clean, and I’m ready to start 2023 relaxed and recharged. I hope the same for all of you.
