Canopy by Hilton opens its first Utah hotel inside Deer Valley's new East Village
Canopy by Hilton has opened its first Utah hotel at the base of Deer Valley Resort's East Village expansion, an early, mid-priced entrant ahead of the Four Seasons and Waldorf Astoria properties developer Extell has planned for the same site.
Canopy by Hilton has opened Canopy Deer Valley in Park City, Utah, according to a Hilton statement issued 10 September — the lifestyle brand's first hotel in Utah and among the first properties to open as part of Deer Valley Resort's East Village expansion. The 180-room hotel was developed by Extell Development Company and sits at the base of the resort with direct access to the Jordanelle Express Gondola, about 40 minutes from Salt Lake City International Airport.
The hotel introduces four dining concepts, all developed in-house rather than licensed from outside operators: Tavolona, an Italian trattoria; Fornetto, a lounge Hilton describes as inspired by the Italian clubhouse; Mountain Provisions, a café serving locally roasted coffee; and Alpine Attic, a rooftop bar with mountain views. The food programme is led by executive chef Scott Rackliff, whose past kitchens include Eleven Madison Park and Daniel Boulud's Dinex Group in New York, according to Hilton. Rooms start at $200 a night, and interiors by DLR Group | BraytonHughes use locally sourced stone and thermally modified wood in what the company calls a contemporary take on the mountain lodge.
"We've created a place that reflects the character and energy of this highly anticipated destination," said Andrew Carey, the hotel's general manager, in the announcement.
The bet here is on place more than product. Deer Valley's East Village is as much a real-estate project as a ski one: Extell, the developer behind Manhattan's Central Park Tower and One57, is also bringing a Four Seasons and a Waldorf Astoria to the same expansion in the coming years, according to Hilton's own description of the project. Slotting a mid-priced lifestyle brand in ahead of those flagships gives Hilton an early foothold, at $200 a night against the far higher rates its future ultra-luxury neighbours will likely command, while the surrounding village — shops, a children's centre, one of the largest advertised "ski beaches" anywhere — is still being built. Whether that pays off depends on East Village filling in on schedule; a lifestyle hotel with direct gondola access is a strong draw in ski season, and a less obvious one if it remains, for now, one of the few finished buildings on the block.