Putting the Fun in Funicular
Park City has high-speed quads, gondolas, a cabriolet, a Main Street trolley—and now, another form of unique people-moving apparatus: the funicular slated to be built at the new St. Regis Resort & Residences at Deer Crest in Deer Valley. The building pad that has sat vacant for several years on Deer Valley’s Deer Hollow ski run will finally be occupied by one of the country’s most prestigious hotel chains.
The landmark St. Regis hotel in New York City, built by John Jacob Astor IV (who later perished on the Titanic) celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and was a trend setter in the luxury hotel industry. Today, St. Regis has 10 hotels around the world, with four additional properties, including the Deer Crest location, currently under construction or planning.
The St. Regis, Deer Crest, will include 26 private residences and 67 condominium hotel suites, with 200 rooms available for nightly rental. The St. Regis, Deer Crest will actually be situated on two pieces of land connected by a dual-car funicular rail tram with luxuriously appointed cabs. The lower terminus of the funicular will be built adjacent to Deer Valley’s Snow Park Lodge at the Resort base, and the main portion of the hotel and residences will be directly uphill, in Roosevelt Gap in the gated, slopeside Deer Crest community. The funicular will carry guests the 500-plus feet between the two portions of the hotel in approximately 90 seconds. The St. Regis, Deer Crest will offer a 24,000-square-foot spa with salon and fitness facilities, a lounge with ski valet service, a ski “beach,” two outdoor swimming pools and the personal butler service that St. Regis hotels
are known for. The resort will also feature a gourmet restaurant, martini bar and an après-ski lounge. Owned by Deer Crest Associates and managed by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., the resort is expected to open in Fall, 2007 (the Roosevelt Gap section of the hotel will be completed first; the section adjacent to Snow Park Lodge at a later date). For more information, please view www.stregis.com.
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