Deer Valley Customer Reviews

There is something for everyone, except snowboarders of course! I have skied here quite a few times over the years and always feel quite reluctant to ski in any of the other resorts. Fantastically groomed corduroy slopes, a healthy dose of off piste and bowl skiing along with a fair portion of moguls, make it a resort which will please most skiers. Being met by ‘Deer Valley’ people who will point you in the right direction from the second you step from your transport, and also help you with your skis, is a fabulous welcome to this service orientated resort. The options for lunch and breaks during the day are plentiful and good quality, but do get busy at peak times! There are also great venues for evening meals at the resort - we always include a visit to the Seafood Buffet at the base lodge on at least one evening of our holiday. People we talked to locally also raved about the Fireside dining, but we will save this dining pleasure for our next visit! We also enjoyed and took advantage of being able to leave skis and boots behind at the mountain – and not trek them back and forth to the hotel. Lockers mean you can safely leave day boots at the lodge. All the staff we came into contact with at Deer Valley offered excellent service and nothing was too much trouble - from the staff in the lodges, ski hosts, lifties, ticket office staff etc etc. The local transportation worked really well for us, and we never felt we were missing out by not having a car – in fact, using the free transportation made things a lot easier – we were able to step outside the hotel and catch buses to any of the main Park City ski resorts, and then be dropped off just outside the ticket offices was a lot easier than parking and then hiking to the mountain! In the evenings we used the same transportation to take us to Main Street where we were faced with a vast array of restaurants and dining establishments to choose from. The only problem we face now is finding a resort which will live up to the experiences we have enjoyed at Deer Valley over the years!

This is an unusual resort. For a start there are no snowboarders allowed, the resort is full of skiers of all abilities - some even go there specifically to avoid snowboarders. The resort is not cheap but it was very well managed, the number of ski passes are limited and the snow grooming capability is impressive. Queuing at ski lifts was minimal and we had no aggravation from anyone on the slopes or in the restaurants, a very civilised place. We went at the end of the season and for several days the use of snow cannons etc kept the resort pretty much fully open until it snowed mid way through our stay. There are ~ 100 runs with a good variety of standard which just about kept us occupied for our 6 days, off-piste opportunities were more limited than other US resorts I have been to. Deer Valley Skiing tuition was excellent, the tuition and guiding really enhanced our stay. There are very good facilities for starters as well as enough advanced runs for more experienced skiers. Entertainment in the evenings was very limited mostly dominated by hotels, up market ski boutiques and real estate agents. Park city is a 5 minute ride away which can provide the more conventional high street attractions that you would expect from a US resort.

What an amazing resort! While we were there we found out that it is rated the best in the US. We know why, perfect service - they carry your skis from the car and free overnight storage by the lifts, amazing food, fantastic staff and the best groomed slopes in the area no mean feat with the lowest snowfall in 20 years. We had a fantastic time and would highly recommend it, we were booked in Park City but with the choice of 3 resorts within 10 minutes of your condo this has to be the best place in the US to ski

Deer Valley has been voted number 1 resort in North America for the last four years by readers of Ski Magazine, and it's no wonder. They really do work hard to give you the very best experience. They start with a natural advantage - perfect snow and more than their fair share of blue skies, but they supplement that with a great determination to be the best. Everything is carefully thought through from the skiers perspective and the staff could not be more friendly or helpful. Pull out a piste map and someone will appear at your elbow to give useful advice. They can point to the best snow, the quietest runs and the best eateries. After thirty years of skiing, we just discovered ski heaven.

Deer Valley is one of the beautiful ski areas in Utah just 45 minutes from Salt Lake City airport. It is a ski-only resort with a good mixture of intermediate, expert runs, groomers and tree runs. For those who don't need lessons, but want to be shown round the mountains without trying to pull a map out of your pocket wearing big ski gloves, then the Mountain Hosting is excellent and free. Twice each day, for two hours each time, there is a free guided tour for intermediate skiers and another for expert skiers. The hosts are friendly and knowledgeable. My daughter joined the expert group nearly every day, to the relief of her parents who could then have a more leisurely time skiing at their own pace. If you want to be pampered after skiing, then the Stein Eriksen Lodge on the side of the piste is excellent. The ski hosts in the boot room will even offer to remove your boots and carry your skis to your locker! The spa is also very relaxing although if you want to relieve those aches and pains, I am told you should use the cold plunge pool rather than the hot tub...

A great mountain with tremendous uplift and well groomed runs - weather was cold when I was there (January 08) so snow was in great condition. I am an intermediate and found lots of good ski-ing. There were no "line -ups" at all - in fact in some instances it was like having your own private ski slope!! Some runs are more interesting than others but I had just come from Brighton and Alta on the other side of the mountain which were both great fun to ski - so maybe set a very high standard!! There is good quality catering all over the hill and the helpful ski hosts are on hand at the big maps to offer advice on how to get about and where best to ski. The "lifties" are also very helpful and polite. I had a hire car and stayed in the village of Midway - about 20 minutes away. The great advantage of that was to be able to enter the ski area by the "back door" as it were - using the gondola at Deer Crest. This is a fairly new development I think and is located just next the highway from Salt Lake City to Heber City. There is a car park on the side of a hill, and a minibus to take you from your car to the gondola station!! Plans are to increase substantially the size of the car park - which will rather spoil the quiet entry!! I also had a day at Park City which is pretty good too - really upmarket catering on the hill!! The Sundance film festival was on at the time so Park City in the evening was different from your usual ski resort!! (They have patio heaters at the free shuttle-bus stops to prevent the film goers from freezing!!) However it kept the people off the slopes which suited me!!!