words by Melissa Fields
You’ve been working via email, instant messenger and Zoom since March. And, this fall, the extent of back to school shopping for your kids was upping your internet bandwidth to accommodate their daily stream of video classes along with your meetings. Now, as the weather starts to cool, you find yourself daydreaming of your annual skiing pilgrimage to the mountains. But this winter, instead of spending just a week at the slopes, why not leverage your online existence and decamp to Park City’s luxurious Stein Eriksen Lodge, Utah’s only Forbes Five-Star resort and spa for a month or longer?
Picture this: you wake just before sunrise to the sonic boom of avalanche control work. You check the Deer Valley Resort snow report and—yes!—it snowed 10 inches overnight. You spend a couple of hours working. (Park City, situated in the mountain time zone, is two hours behind the East Coast and one hour ahead of the West Coast.) And then promptly at 8:55 a.m. you set your email to autoreply, step out the door, click into your skis and slide into the lift queue at 9 a.m. Thanks to Deer Valley’s extensive lift system—spanning 24 in all—you’re able to get in a dozen-plus runs through Utah’s famously dry, fluffy snow within just a few hours. You’re back at your desk, happily spent, by noon. And then, fueled by the fresh air and supreme skiing you took advantage of in the morning, the afternoon of video conference calls and writing emails actually feels productive—and you just can’t seem to wipe that grin off your face.
This winter, Stein Eriksen Lodge and the Stein Eriksen Residences are offering exactly this kind of best-of-both-worlds escape: an opulent, Deer Valley Resort ski-in/ski-out home base renowned for attentive service, thoughtful amenities and posh, luxurious interiors where you can take care of business and your kids’ education while immersing yourself in mountain town living.
The property that established this incomparable luxury lodging brand is, of course, the original Stein Eriksen Lodge. There, the beautifully appointed grand suites and luxury suites make the perfect home away from home during an extended stay in Park City. All, which vary in size from 800- to 3,900-sqaure feet, include fireplaces, a private deck, a full kitchen, a separate dining area, and, key to getting both work and schooling done, high-quality, high-speed Internet access. And, of course, all Stein Eriksen Lodge guests have access to the lodge’s fantastic amenities, including the 5-star Stein Eriksen Spa, two outdoor heated pools and hot tubs, the Glitretind restaurant and Troll Hallen Lounge, the Freestyle Movie Theater (limited to 24 guests to maintain social distancing), the Champions Club Game Room, Stein Eriksen Sport ski shop, complimentary local shuttle service, a 24-hour business service center and babysitting services. The in-house concierge can also arrange grocery delivery, restaurant reservations and book non-ski activities like snowshoeing, sleigh rides and helicopter skiing, to name just a few.
What’s more, this summer Stein Eriksen Lodge raised its high bar of inviting elegance with a total makeover of its grand Mountain Lobby. New wall textures, fresh paint and stain, and new custom-made Axminster carpeting deepen the rich, warm ambience Stein Eriksen Lodge is famous for. In addition, a new Concierge Desk, handcrafted by local artisans, now graces the north entrance of the Mountain Lodge, further enhancing what was already considered one of the world’s most authentic alpine lodge experiences.
Stein Eriksen Residences is the mountain contemporary ying to the Stein Eriksen Lodge’s traditional European yang. Imported marble, indigenous stone, refined woods and sweeping, floor-to-ceiling windows define the Residences’ single-family homes, one- to five-bedroom suites and single hotel rooms. There, guests can dine or have a drink at 7-8-8-0 Club restaurant and lounge. The Residences’ Silver Aspen Spa offers a full menu of spa treatments, a heated indoor/outdoor infinity pool, a sauna and more.
Every day, the staff at Stein Eriksen Lodge and Residences go to great pains to ensure guest health, safety and peace of mind. A few of the Stein Cares initiatives in place at the Stein Eriksen Lodge and Residences include: staff wear masks at all times while on the job, and, as mandated by the Summit County Health Department, guests are required to wear masks in all public areas; increased cleaning and sanitizing frequency in all public and back-of-the-house areas of the hotel, with an emphasis on high-contact areas; kitchens receive deep cleaning daily and all restaurant areas are sanitized in between meal periods; and high-touch areas inside of guests shuttles are disinfected before and after each use.
There’s little doubt that these unprecedented times are difficult. The silver lining, however, is that work and learning can be done from just about anywhere. This winter, instead of taking just a week or two respite from your “new normal” routine, consider relocating to Stein Eriksen Lodge for a safe, extended stay in Utah’s awe-inspiring Wasatch Mountains. There you can trade walks around your neighborhood for ski laps on Deer Valley’s Bald Mountain runs, ditch scanning Netflix for roasting s’mores with your kids around an outdoor firepit, and, instead of trying to forget everything about this challenging year, create joyful memories you’ll cherish for a lifetime. Book your trip in advance this year and save money on your soon to be most-favorite-winter-vacation-ever!
This post is sponsored by Stein Eriksen Lodge.
