Our Resort Profile this month takes us to Park City, Utah, the location of The St. Regis Deer Valley, a member of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts family. You could say Park City is underestimated for its year-round appeal. It is certainly known and loved for its winter activities, but in the summer the area offers incredible hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding. The town was formerly a mining town and it maintains that Western charm. And every January the population triples in Park City when the Sundance Film Festival comes to town.

The St. Regis Deer Valley is situated in the breathtaking Wasatch Mountains on the famed ski runs of Deer Valley Resort, and it features Utah’s first Jean-Georges restaurant and Remède Spa, North America’s only hotel funicular, a European-style Ski Beach, a state-of-the-art fitness center and more than 14,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space. Spanning 12 acres, The St. Regis Deer Valley features 26 exclusive St. Regis Residences and 181 guest rooms, including 67 one-bedroom suites and 114 guest rooms that can be combined with the suites to form two-, three-, and four-bedroom accommodations. The resort is owned by Deer Valley Janna LLC.

We interviewed Alexander Mattinson, the head butler for butler service training in North America for the St. Regis Hotel Group. To say that Alexander has an impressive background would be an understatement. He previously worked at Buckingham Palace.

“Buckingham Palace was very much like a hotel environment, with front of house being very luxurious and exclusive, where back of the house was very operational and functional,” said Alexander. “I enjoyed that the staff was tenured – many of them had 20-plus years of experience. One of the staff members I worked with was a fourth generation employee. It was a great insight into an aristocratic or ‘famous’ family and seeing them on an informal basis. They live their lives very much like each of us on a daily basis, walking the dogs, riding their horses, going to see family and friends, etc.”

Before joining The St. Regis Deer Valley, Alexander was an orderly/valet for the Crown Equerry, and he was in charge of all the uniforms at The Royal Mews stables. He started at The St Regis Deer Valley in November 2009 as a butler for the resort.

“I work directly with Ty Hoath, director of cultural services for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, standardizing the butler services in our St. Regis properties. Not only do we evaluate the level of services at each property, we also conduct tailored training for the butlers based on our findings. We conduct and implement three tiers of butler services training. Tier one is for guest knowledge, tier two is insight for hotel staff into butler services and how they are a part of the overall process, and tier three is purely butler training, reviewing signature services and overall butler knowledge,” Alexander told us.

The St. Regis Deer Valley offers a contemporary sophistication inspired by majestic natural surroundings and reflected through rich finishes and rugged undertones created by the use of natural stone, wood and metal. “The interiors were designed by Linda Snyder Associates, and each guest room and suite features hand-crafted furniture and luxurious Egyptian cotton linens within a stunning, yet soothing palette of creams, rich reds, browns, and earth-tone hues to create the ideal environment to rejuvenate after an exhilarating day of skiing. Guest rooms include a 37” high definition LCD flat screen TV with DVD player, a state-of-the-art sound system, an MP3 docking station and an innovative 17-inch LCD television embedded in the bathroom mirror. Suites at The St. Regis Deer Crest Resort include fireplaces, a 42” LCD high definition TV, kitchens equipped with state-of-the-art appliances and living areas that include custom-designed furniture, flooring and finishes. Situated on the top four floors of the 11-story resort, the 26 luxuriously appointed two- to five-bedroom private residences feature expansive balconies and unobstructed views of the resort’s breathtaking alpine surroundings.”

The resort has a funicular railway that transports guests from the base of the mountain to the lobby in 90 seconds. The cabs run on steel rails and are self-leveling, despite the 20- to 80-degree difference in the slope angle of the ride, and they feature tinted and UVA- and UVB-protected panoramic windows enabling passengers to fully appreciate the spectacular views of Deer Valley. The heated and air-conditioned cabs boast leather seats for up to 15 passengers and a separate area for luggage.

What about the resort’s dining options? “We are fortunate to have Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s culinary genius behind the resort. He has J&G Grill, as well as the Mountain Terrace. He also created the room service menus. We have a wine vault boasting a collection of more than 8,000 bottles, led by Mark Eberwein, who was named a Food & Wine Magazine Sommelier of 2011 – a top honor,” said Alexander.

Signature butler services at The St. Regis Deer Valley include packing and unpacking of guest luggage, pressing of guests garments, two items per person per stay, beverage service consisting of tea and coffee upon arrival as well as wake up, and e-butler, which allows guests to email their requests to our butlers while the guests are out enjoying themselves.

“The Remède Spa at The St. Regis Deer Valley is a pristine haven devoted to the benefits of relaxation and rejuvenation. Exclusive to St. Regis, and one of the most exceptional resort amenities, it presents a lavish treatment menu that promises to refresh both body and mind. Totaling 14,000 square feet in size, its design was inspired by the spectacular views of the Wasatch Mountains. Fresh water from an outdoor waterfall streams inside, forming a river that runs through the center of the spa and cascades into a waterfall pool.

“Treatments are provided in eleven treatment rooms including intimate individual rooms and romantic companion suites with fireplaces, soaking tubs, and alfresco relaxation patios. Spa therapists help to discern guests’ individual desires and then assist in custom-crafting an experience that can encompass beauty treatments, skin care, and body work. The spa also now has intraceutical infusion facials, which are oxygen-infused facials that are very popular in Hollywood.

“I hope that our guests leave the resort feeling relaxed and pampered. When they come back, they will feel secure in knowing that all of their needs will be anticipated and exceeded which will allow them a carefree vacation,” Alexander concluded.

www.stregisdeervalley.com