Park City was recently named as one of the top 5 Ski Resorts in the US in terms of “Awesomeness”.

Contributing author for Forbes.com Christopher Steiner notes how “ubiquitous rankings have become” and decided to rank ski resorts in his own terms as a measure of Awesomeness “do you need to know anything else?”

Park City was grouped as one resort due to the proximity of its three ski mountains (Canyons, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain Resort)all being within ten minutes of one-another. Similarly Alta and Snowbird were grouped together as were Vail and Beaver Creek (they were ranked #2 and #4 on the Ski Resort Awesomeness rankings). Jackson Hole led the way and Telluride came in at #3.

Of interest in this Ski Resort Awesomeness ranking is the ratings of the skiing; the author rates Canyons as the best of the three resorts in Park City with Deer Valley second and Park City Mountain Resort third. Mr. Steiner definitely knows the resorts as he makes mention of the good and bad at all three. Canyons 9990 lift takes his top spot to ski while there (we’d throw in peak 5 as a great spot to make laps until 9990 opens) and he cautions against spending the day getting to something as the mountain is quite spread out. Deer Valley gets a strong recommendation not only as a fancy resort, but also for its great skiing terrain including trees and chutes. He calls Empire Lodge the greatest ski lodge in the world and calls the Deer Valley Turkey Chili the greatest single dish served mountainside anywhere. Forbes.com calls Jupiter Peak the best of the skiing at Park City Mountain Resort but laments the run-outs and the occasional crowds (for Utah). A thumbs-up was given for the ability to ski into Main St and ride the Town Lift back.

All-in-all it was a great positive article based almost solely on the ski aspects of Park City. When you throw in the other things that make the area great (restaurants, shopping, galleries, Sundance, nightlife, spas and all the non-ski-related amenities) Park City continues to shine as one of the most well-rounded destination vacations or place to call home.

For everyone east of the Rockies it was noted that no resort there made the list due to the snow and terrain not ranking in terms of Awesomeness versus the west.

For a complete version of the story see: Top 10 Ski Resorts in the United States for 2013.

For information about Park City Real Estate contact a realty professional with the YouInParkCity.com Group at (888)968-4672.

Annual Ski Resort area rankings put all three Park City Resorts in the Top Ten.

SKI Magazine is due on the newsstands or in your mailbox the 16th of October. The upcoming issue features the results of the annual readers’ poll. In the magazine they will rank the top 50 Resorts in North America.

Park City, Utah is home to three resorts that cover nearly 10,000 skiable acres located just a few miles apart. This year for the first time Deer Valley, Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons Resort are all ranked in the readers’ poll top 10.

Deer Valley Resort takes the 2nd place ranking; dropping from its unprecedented reign in the number one spot for five years in a row. Deer Valley still saw a number one rating in many individual categories and was likely impacted by the lack of natural snowfall last season.

Park City Mountain Resort moves up a notch this year to number four in the SKI Magazine Readers’ Poll top 50 Resorts. This is the best ranking that the resort has ever earned.

The tens of millions of dollars that have been spent at Canyons Resort in the past few years are paying dividends in the minds of SKI Magazine readers as Canyons receives the number ten spot in this year’s poll. This is an impressive move from rankings in the low 20’s just a few years ago. The number ten ranking for Canyons Resort is also the best that the resort has ever earned.

Park City, Utah is unique in that there are not many cities that are home to multiple ski and snowboard resorts. Deer Valley, Park City Mountain and Canyons Resorts all share in some high ratings related to Park City’s snow, weather, accessibility to an International Airport as well as local restaurants and non-ski related activity options.

The YouInParkCity.com Group congratulates all three of Park City’s World Class Resorts on their rankings in SKI Magazine’s annual reader poll for the 2012/2013 season.

For information about how the resort rankings may affect real estate prices in Park City, Utah contact a Park City Real Estate Professional with YouInParkCity.com at (888)968-4672.

Preseason Season Pass Sales at Park City Ski and Snowboard Resorts

Season passes can now be purchased at Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort, and Deer Valley. Daily ticket prices have not been released at all of the resorts, but if you are going to ski ten days or more it makes good sense to look into making an early purchase of your season pass.

Park City Mountain Resort Season passes offer the broadest range of options as their passes can be customized for the resort’s various offerings. Adult Season passes start at $750 and top out at $1425. The add-ons include underground parking, night skiing/riding, and Fast Tracks express lanes. Youth Passes (7-12 years old) range from $145-$445; Teen Passes (13-17 years old) range from $195-$495; Young Adult/College Passes range from $475-$1050; Senior Passes (65-69 years) are offered from $475 to $1050, and Super Seniors (age 70 and above) start at $270 and max out at $845 with all the options. Pass purchases include summer lift access for the current season. The age of the passholder is determined as their age on opening day November 17, 2012. Daily rates have not been published yet, but were $96 per day for adults last season, so anything more than 8 days for the year could prove to be a worthy investment. Pass prices go up on September 15.

Canyons Resort made a change this year and got rid of the mid-week pass option, but they have also reduced the rate on their full season pass so that it is less than the price of last years’ mid-week pass. If you buy an adult full season pass before Sept 15, 2012, the price is $849 (after Sept 15 the price jumps to $1149, and $1449 after Oct 15). Canyons offers a “platinum upgrade” which includes valet parking and a ski/boot locker with boot dryer. Youth (7-12 years old) Season Passes at Canyons Resort are $409 for non-residents and $249 for Utah students. Young adults (ages 13-17) from out of state can purchase a full season pass for $749 while Utah students pay $279-$319 depending on their school grades. Utah college students can buy a season pass for $599. Canyons Resort also offers pass deals for Teachers, Firefighters, and Police as well as Military personnel. As with Park City, Canyons season passes can become a better value with as little as 8 days of skiing/riding for the season.

Deer Valley which was ranked the #1 Resort in North America for the 5th year in a row last season is the only one of Park City’s three resorts to have posted their daily ticket rate for the 2012-2013 season and for the first time, it has topped $100 with a daily rate of $102 ($106 Holidays). Adult full season ski passes at Deer Valley are $1810 ($1470 for the 2nd when purchasing 2). Youth passes (4-12) are $450. Teen passes are $750 and Young Adult passes (18-23) are $1100 for the season. Seniors in the 65-71 year old bracket can purchase a season pass for $925 while Super Seniors (72 and up) can get a pass for $850. Midweek passes are available at Deer Valley; adult passes are $925 while Senior rates are $850; note that midweek passes are not valid Dec 26-Jan 1. Prices go up on November 1, 2012.

If you think you’ll be in a position to ski more than a week this upcoming season take a hard look at a season pass at your favorite Park City area resort. I guarantee that if you have a pass you will ski/ride more than if you are buying individual tickets. You will be willing to go up for just a couple of hours because you’ve already paid for it. Take full advantage of why you own real estate in Park City and get out on the snow this year.

For more lift ticket specifics visit: www.CanyonsResort.com, www.ParkCityMountain.com , and www.DeerValley.com.

The Hyatt Escala Lodge

About a month ago we toured the changes at The Hyatt Escala Lodge at Canyons Resort and had a fantastic dinner in one of their mountain view 3 bedroom luxury condos. The Lodge, which was rated as one of the top 12 “Hot Hotels” in North America, continues to step it up and is delivering on the news that they announced months ago, the opening of The Escala Provisions Company, “The Restaurant” and bar. Other additions include 5,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a staffed children’s center and 7,000 sq. ft of “flexible indoor /outdoor space”.

This gives Park City Real Estate another amenity rich, high end luxury condo option for clients who are considering a ski in/ski out Park City home. There are currently 21 Hyatt Escala Lodge Condos on the market ranging in price from $365,000 for a 1 bedroom, 1 bath condo to $2,000,000 for a 4 bedroom, 5 bath residence. In the past 12 months there have been 5 sales at the Hyatt Escala Lodge. The sold prices ranged from $299,000 for a 1 bedroom to $1,916,000 for a penthouse 3 bedroom 5 bath.

Another factor to take into account when considering purchasing Canyons Resort real estate in general are the many changes that have taken place in the last year or are on the books. The Winter Zip Line tour is in and is something I have to try. The tour is comprised of two zip lines; one is 800 feet long has an 8% grade the other is 2100 feet with a 10% grade. Just thinking about this makes me grin. Additional snowmaking, new lifts, a remake of the resort center area and the beginning of construction on the new golf course are just a few things that have happened recently. For skiers and boarders (and owners of any Park City real estate) the proposed “Skilink” which will connect Canyons Resort in Park City to Solitude Ski Resort in Little Cottonwood Canyon will have positive impacts too many to list. If and when the Ski Link goes through final approval and is built skiers and riders will be able to access Solitude from Canyons ski resort and avoid the 45 minute drive.

If you have questions about The Hyatt Escala Park City, Canyon Resort Real Estate or Park City Real Estate in general please contact the YouInParkCity.com Group Real Estate Professionals at 888-968-4672

Click for more information including all for sale listings at the Hyatt Escala Park City or contact the YouinParkCity.com group.

Click here to learn more about SkiLink.

Park City Mountain Resort to Improve Base Area

Resort Officials of Park City Mountain Resort announced to the Park City Council and Planning Committee that they are beginning to explore new development around the resort base area.

In recent years the resort has positioned itself as a ski resort operator and not a developer. They now point to new base area development as a way to ensure that they are adequately taking care of their customers as well as increasing capacity for new resort guests.

There have been many rumors in the past about possible resort hotels going in at the base of the resort where the parking lots are currently located. The recent additions of the Hyatt Escala and Waldorf Astoria at Canyons Resort as well as the St Regis and Montage Hotels at Deer Valley leave Park City Mountain Resort without a luxury offering to compete with Deer Valley and Canyons. The lower lots near the base of the First Time Lift and Super-pipe would appear to be the most logical place for a new resort hotel and base area expansion. A Four Seasons Resort Hotel was once rumored for this location; maybe it is a step closer to reality (?).

The plans are still conceptual at this point, but as the supply of new luxury condominiums in Park City dwindles another resort property will make sense. The addition would be great for the Town of Park City as well as the Park City Mountain Resort.

             The Escala Lodges at Canyons Resort in Park City, Utah is set to become the newest Hyatt ski property.

            Hyatt hotels, which manage ski properties in Beaver Creek, Co, Breckinridge, Co and the Lake Tahoe, CA areas will take over management of the Escala Lodges the week of Thanksgiving.

            With Canyons set to open for the 2010-2011 ski and snowboard season on Friday Nov. 26^th, Hyatt joins the Waldorf Astoria, St. Regis, and Montage hotels as big name luxury brands in Park City, UT.

            While the Escala Lodge development is only 2 years old, the Hyatt has plans for renovations to meeting spaces and the completion of the restaurant and bar amenities at the condominium-hotel. Escala is located at Canyons main base area and is considered ski-in/ski-out via the Sunrise lift.

            Since completion, sales of the 85 condominiums which can be configured into 178 rooms have been slow. Only 30 individual units have been sold with most of those going to contract well before the project completion. Current offerings real estate at The Hyatt Escala Lodges range from one bedroom 680 square foot models at $550,000 to 2800 square foot 4 bedroom 5 bath models offered in the $2 million range.

            Sales of condominium-hotel developments in Park City have been tough since the change in the economy and products like these that have not adjusted prices are finding buyers to be increasingly scarce. The change to the Hyatt management may help future rental revenue, in turn making realty purchases at Escala a better investment.

            As with all Park City Real Estate opportunities, the YouInParkCity.com Group of Keller Williams Park City Real Estate encourages you to buy for the lifestyle that Park City has to offer. Consider Escala Lodges in terms of its slope-side location within a destination resort (Canyons, Park City) whose owners (Talisker) are spending over $50 million in upgrades this year coupled with the name recognition and service standards associated with the Hyatt name.

            For more information and assistance in purchasing real estate in Park City, UT contact a realty professional with YouInParkCity.com.

            The weather is changing and on recent mornings a light dusting of snow has been visible on local peaks and ski runs here in Park City, UT. The classified ads in the newspaper are showing more seasonal jobs available with the resorts, hotels, property management, restaurant and service industries gearing up for the winter season. But more than the dark mornings and shorter days, the upcoming ski and snowboard season is marked by movies coming to town.

            In particular, it is ski movies coming to town. They mark the start of winter like spring training baseball games mark the start of summer. We have seen Matchstick Productions’ highly acclaimed The Way I See It already come and go (I couldn’t believe it was “already that time”).

            This weekend will see the screening of the latest Warren Miller film Wintervention. The film is the 61^st Warren Miller ski film. This year’s is narrated by Jonny Moseley and contains all of the music, powder shots and big mountain lines that make up ski dreams. For many it will also manage to make us think that it is time to get in shape for the winter.

            With the snow that is in the forecast for the week, a ski movie sounds like a perfect plan for the weekend. If you aren’t in Park City, take a look on line and find a ski movie playing near you. Winter is fast approaching, it is time to get that ski and snowboard mind-set.

            Our recent post on season ski passes being available for the 2010-2011 skiing and riding season at Park City Mountain Resort, Canyons Resort and Deer Valley may have left out a few things to consider when buying lift tickets.

            For a local resident or property owner that uses their Park City home or condominium often during the winter season, a ski pass is an integral part of life in Park City. For many, a ski pass is the reason we moved here and having one is a reminder of that and a great reason to stay, it is part of the lifestyle that we all enjoy. Which resort you choose to hold your pass is a question of taste, proximity and cost.  Having a pass means you’ll ski or ride more; mostly because you’ll be willing to just take a few runs, an option you wouldn’t necessarily consider if you had to purchase a pass for the day.

            Beyond the personal pass for an individual resort, there are some other pass options available. Ski Utah – the marketing entity for all of Utah’s ski resorts offers two pass options: The Ski Utah Silver Pass allows you to ski at a different resort in Utah everyday with a maximum of 30 days at any one resort for $2400. The Ski Utah Gold Pass allows for the same with a maximum of 50 days at any one resort, and is transferable (lend it to a friend when you aren’t using it) for $3400. Check out http://www.skiutah.com/ for more.

            Similarly, Deer Valley sells its popular ‘bolos’ (hospitality pass) which allow for unlimited skiing at Deer Valley as well as use by anyone for the day are available for $3975. Canyons Resort is also offering a Platinum pass which includes access to the new “Canyons Club” with new luxury dining and concierge services as well as ski/board storage and priority lift access.

            For visitors to Park City, there are a few “tricks” to know and explore when it comes to your daily lift tickets. The first is the Quick START program available through the Park City Chamber of Commerce / Convention & Visitors Bureau. The program allows you to receive a free day pass on for the day you arrive in Park City by registering before you get here and showing your boarding pass and out of state driver’s license at the ticket window of a Park City ski resort. Go to http://www.parkcityinfo.com/ for more. Other considerations should include obtaining discount passes before you get into Park City through Salt Lake City area ski shops, and Costco stores.

             Lift ticket prices and season pass pricing for Park City’s three ski resorts have been announced. Season pass changes have been made at Park City Mountain Resort and Canyons while Deer Valley has stayed relatively the same as last year.

            Canyons has seen the most significant season pass offerings change and now offers 3 adult pass options starting at $999 (prior to Oct. 15). Passes will include on mountain perks for the pass holders including:

• Complimentary day tickets
• The ability to purchase buddy passes for $59
• Complimentary Lodging nights
• Rental and retail discounts
• Complimentary ski lessons
• Complimentary Meals
• Summer Lift Privileges
• And More

            Mid-week passes (good every day but Saturdays) start at $799. Young adult passes (18-25 yrs and Utah college students) start at $449. Utah student passes (7-12 yrs) start at $179 with ages 13-17 able to buy a season pass for $209 (for honor roll students). Coupon books can offer daily tickets at under $45 per day.

            Canyons Resort has many different season pass offerings go to: http://www.thecanyons.com/seasonpass2010.html to view them, and make sure you do so before Oct 15^th.

            Park City Mountain Resort season pass pricing this year starts at $699. Pricing at Park Mountain Resort has stripped the extras like night skiing, free parking and express lift access (Fast Trax) which can be added back to the pass for $200 per benefit. Young adult/college student passes start at $450. Teen season passes start at $175 while youth passes start at $125. Utah resident or property owner coupon books get daily passes down to $54 per day.

            As with Canyons Resort, Park City Mountain offers many pass options, to see which is best for you go to: http://www.parkcitymountain.com/winter/tickets/season_passes . park City Mountain resort season pass prices go up after Oct 31.

            Deer Valley Season passes are $1630 for an adult pass, with a second pass (same family) for $1320. Teen passes are $675 and midweek adult passes (good Mon.-Fri. except Christmas -New Year’s week) are $830. Locals coupon books get daily ticket options down to $51 per day. For more info go to: http://www.deervalley.com/activities_skiing/skiing/lift_tickets.html  make sure to purchase before October 31^st.

 St Regis, Dakota Mtn Lodge, Treasure Hill, Summit Research Park and more

            As the funicular cars fro access to the new St Regis Hotel at Deer Crest in Deer Valley were set to be installed (Friday July 17,2009), local radio station KPCW was airing a story about a Deer Crest residence owner suing the project and its developers.

            The radio report indicates that the owner of a home and lot in the lower portion of Deer Crest near the base of the Jordanelle Gondola at Deer Valley Resort has brought a lawsuit against the developers of the St Regis claiming that the developer has improperly changed the original documents pertaining to the parking and access to the hotel at Roosevelt Gap (above the Lower Deer Valley area of Park City, Utah). The complaint stems from the parking that now exists at the hotel and the employee parking lot and shuttle to the hotel from the base area near the gondola. The Deer Crest home owner claims that traffic impacts on the private road through Deer Crest (Deer hollow Rd.) due to the employee shuttles, taxi and limousine service, and service/delivery trucks is outside the scope of the original guidelines for the area and that changes to the guidelines were made improperly.

            The St Regis at Deer Crest developers have counter-sued claiming that all changes were made legally and stated that the filing was an attempt to gain access to the amenities of the hotel by the property owner.

            In other Park City real estate news, the new Dakota Mountain Lodge at The Canyons Resort in Park City opened its doors for business. The Dakota Mountain Lodge is a part of the internationally renowned Waldorf-Astoria Collection luxury hotels.

            The Snyderville Planning Commission has approved guidelines for the Summit Research Park. The research park is an 89 acre development in the Kimball Junction  area of Park City just off hwy 224 near the I-80 interchange.  The development is scheduled to begin work soon with some road improvements designed to improve traffic flow around the Landmark Dr. Area. The development of the research park with the housing and business construction around it has a possible 20-year build out.

            In other planning commission news, the Park City Planning department is scheduled to hear more on the Old Town area Treasure Hill development. This possible large hotel and residential development on the southern hillside above Old Town appears to be moving forward.

            The fact that there are major projects finishing up, under construction, and being planned for the near future are positive signs for the future value of real estate in Park City and Deer Valley. These developments will have impacts both positive and negative for many other Park City area communities and developments. To discuss possible recent and future development impacts on your property or future property purchases, contact a YouInParkCity.com Group REALTOR® with Keller Williams Park City Real Estate.