I just returned from a short trip out to Utah. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City (which I will review in another post) and The Grand Hyatt Deer Valley.
Grand Hyatt Deer Valley was the reason for our trip to Utah!
I learned in late 2024 that this resort is a joint venture with the military and has 100 rooms reserved for steep military discounts and has mulitple other perks at the resort for military. I’m always a fan of a good deal, and knowing that this was a fantastic deal at one of my favorite hotel chains made this trip a total no-brainer!
To book using a military rate, the rules are the same as other MWR hotels. You have to be active duty, retiree, active DoD employee, 100% service connected disability, or a Gold Star family member.
You can book using this link. Rate is dependent on rank of the military member.
Booking and Value: 10/10 (Military Rate)
I’ve had my eye on it since it opened and I found out it was also a military MWR (Morale, Welfare, & Recreation) hotel with amazing military rates for active duty and retirees. The military rates range from $109 – $209 per night depending on the military member’s rank. My husband is a retired CW3 so we paid $171 per night. The rate includes the resort fee. There are multiple room options to choose from at the asociated rate – Two Queen Rooms and King Rooms with a twin sofa bed are available. Military members also receive discounts on restaurants (30% off) and parking ($20 instead of $50). Sadly, this rate DOES NOT get you elite qualifying nights, which I was really bummed about, and the reason we only stayed two nights instead of three.
Location: 7/10
The hotel is absolutely gorgeous, the grounds and the actual hotel, but it is also surrounded by construction. It is approximately 15 minutes drive from Park City and about a 45 minute drive from the Salt Lake City airport. It is located on the east side of the Deer Valley mountain which is currently being built out and the Grand Hyatt is the first property to be open on that side of the mountain. The Four Seasons is currently under construction and I’d guess it will be at least another year, if not 2 before it’s open. I was told by the concierge that this winter they are opening 6 more lifts and their own ski school on their side of the mountain which is a huge improvement. I’m sure this hotel will go up in category once more of the construction is completed.
The hotel overlooks the Jordanelle Reservoir which is beautiful and home to plenty water sporting activities. We weren’t able to take part in any of them on this trip, but I would love to check it out on a future stay.
Decor: 10/10
The hotel opened in November 2024 and feels brand new. It feels exactly like you would expect a luxury mountain retreat to feel: spacious but cozy, welcoming but not overbearing.
There were most definitely bronze sculptures of buffalo in the lobby, but they felt subtle and not bothersome at all.
I absolutely loved all of the fire features throughout the hotel and the grounds. There are more than 7 fire pits on the main terrace and several more elsewhere on the grounds. Even though we went in the heat of the summer, the fire pits still seemed cozy and welcoming at night when it gets chilly.
Food: 9/10
Globalist breakfast is served in their main restaurant – Remington Hall – and was very very good. They had a large buffet spread or you could order from the menu. My kids got the buffet and I ordered from the menu each day. The first day I tried the nutella stuffed waffle which was delicious. I also ordered English Breakfast tea to go with my waffle. It is served in a Remington Hall branded tea pot with matching cup and saucer – adorable. The second day I ordered the rolled omlette which comes stuffed with boursin cheese. It was good, but I preferred the waffle from the day before. The breakfast potatoes were delicious! I ordered a latte on our second morning. It came hot and presumably was not from a machine as my two separate lattes that morning had different designs in the pour.
We also at one dinner at Remington Hall. My youngest daughter ordered the kids rigatoni with red sauce and I split the ribeye steak with my older daughter. Ribeye is not my favorite cut of steak, but we enjoyed it and it was cooked exactly as I ordered – medium. We shared the rolls which were delicious. We also shared the skillet cookie which was 10/10 and my 7yr old ate nearly all of it on her own!
Room: 7/10
After coming from the 2 Queen Room with a pullout sofa at the Hyatt Regency in Salt Lake City, our room felt quite cramped. That being said, it had plenty of room for myself and my daughters to be comfortable.
We booked a 1 King (plus twin pull out sofa) Reservoir View room using the military rate. As a Globalist, I was upgraded to maybe a better view? The app said I was upgraded, but I was in the room type I booked. I’m not sure what was upgraded. With as little as I was paying, I wasn’t expecting a suite upgrade, although that would have been nice. It didn’t seem like the hotel was super busy while we were there, but I didn’t look to see if there were suites available during our stay for an upgrade.
The bathroom was very large and the closet was enormous by hotel room standards. I can certainly understand the value of the huge closet when traveling with a lot of winter gear and not wanting to have it strewn all over the room. I appreciated that our suitcases and bags all fit in the closet with plenty of room to spare.
The king bed was comfortable, but if I’m being extremely picky – the sheets could have been softer.
The pullout twin bed was incredibly easy to open and was quite comfortable for sleeping, according to my oldest daughter.
The room also had a sizable dresser which we did unpack into. The television atop the dresser is attached to the wall and swivels so that you can see it from any of the seating in the room.
The room did include a mini fridge, a Nespresso machine, and it had an electric tea kettle with delicious tea offerings. I far prefer a Nespresso machine to a Keurig, so I was pleased to see this in our room.
One thing that I was pleased to NOT see in the room was plastic water bottles. There are water filling stations on each floor and within the gym and the Northstar military lounge so we never had a problem having free water to drink.
Hospitality: 10/10
From the moment we drove up to the hotel, everyone was kind and welcoming. Any parent knows that arriving with kids at a hotel after a long drive is frazzling. The valet drivers were so helpful and patient as we packed up our things from the car and put the the top back on our rented Jeep.
The staff at the front desk were also welcoming and friendly. They patiently explained the Globalist benefits and the military benefits. I appreciated the handout with a map and a list of the military benefits because it was hard to keep track of everything right in the moment.
The hospitality for military guests was unmatched. There is a separate military lounge – The Northstar Lounge. It has a few snacks, soda, and a big sitting area to relax. It also has its own concierge, Hallie. She was super nice and friendly and gave me some very helpful information for military discounts at the hotel and in the Park City area.
The Nexus Lounge (game room) was a big hit with my kids. It has Play stations, X box, air hockey, ping pong, a few board games, and multiple arcade games. Everything is free/included. We never saw anyone else in there during our multiple visits!
Family Friendliness: 8/10
This hotel is incredibly family friendly. The moment we walked in the lobby, there was a super kind woman who was making “dirty sodas” for guests and offered to make them for my girls while I checked-in. Just giving me 4 minutes to breath and check in without answering 47 questions from my kids while trying to check in was such a luxury!
The Nexus Lounge was a huge hit with my kids. We played in there for over an hour on a few separate occasions and my kids kept asking to go back for more!
The Northstar lounge also had a kids scavenger hunt around the hotel. We had a blast running around the hotel and finding the answers. We were able to turn in the answers the next morning and the girls got to claim their prizes in the gift shop – a candy of their choice.
The pool and 3 hot tubs were fantastic. The pool is heated and the hot tubs seemed to be of varying temperatures. We visited the pool daily and there was never trouble finding a seat no matter what time we went which is a huge positive in my opinion. I hate fighting for a seat at a hotel pool.
I am taking two points off because of some lewd behavior by two guests at the pool that went on for several hours and was never addressed by any staff members.
Gym: 9/10
I love to work out at the hotel gym, especially if there is a Peloton x Hyatt bonus going on like there was when I visited. The gym was spacious and has a lot of equipment to choose from including dumbbells, yoga mats, weight machines, treadmills, elliptical machines, and two Peloton bikes. The sunrise over the mountains and the reservoir seen from the gym windows was absolutely beautiful. It was quite crowded in the early morning hours, but I never had trouble getting a spot on the Peloton bikes.
They have water and towels as well as extra headphones available for free.
Final Thoughts
We had a great stay at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley. I’d love to go back in the winter to take advantage of it’s slope-side location. My kids have never skied and I’ve skied only very few times, but the massive military discounts on rooms and lift tickets ($89 per day lift tickets) is certainly appealing. I would absolutely not hesitate to revisit this stunning resort during the summer months.
For more insights and visuals from our trip, visit my Instagram page: @doctorpointsandpassports.