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By Mimi Kmet

When Stein Eriksen died last December, he left behind a legacy of excellence, having won numerous awards, including gold and silver medals at the 1952 Winter Olympics, not to mention top medals at several World Championships. His namesake luxury hotel — the Stein Eriksen Lodge — at Deer Valley Resort in Utah carries on that legacy with myriad honors of its own.

Among the most prestigious of its awards are its status as the only Forbes Five-Star, AAA Five-Diamond hotel in the state and spots on Travel + Leisure’s list of 100 World’s Best Hotels and Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List.

Accommodations

The Stein Eriksen Lodge opened in December 1981 with 69 guest accommodations. Since then, it has grown to 178 guestrooms and suites when all bedrooms are locked off. Each suite has a living room, dining area, gourmet kitchen, and foyer with separate access to the bedrooms, which number one to five.

While there is a variety of floorplans (including two-story configurations), and each unit has a different design according to its owner’s tastes, all of them are adorned with rich colors and fabrics and natural textures. And each echoes a Norwegian architectural style mixed with contemporary American aesthetics. For example, lots of wood and stone are used — including stone fireplaces in many of the units — and some have wood-beamed ceilings. Yet many also have floor-to-ceiling windows and granite countertops.

In fact, the entire hotel is built like a traditional Norwegian ski lodge, with outside access to units that surround either a courtyard or the arrival lobby. All suites and many rooms have outdoor decks with mountain views and hot tubs. Bedrooms have mini-refrigerators and coffee makers, as well as well as flat-screen televisions, HDTV cable, DVD entertainment centers, and oversized, jetted tubs and showers, among other amenities.

Public Areas

With plenty of picture windows, the intimate arrival lobby is flooded with light during the day. At one end is one of the more than 145 stone fireplaces throughout the property. This one has a soaring chimney that climbs past the mezzanine level. Although this is the main check-in area, the concierge is located in the lobby of the original lodge, a more expansive area with its own soaring, stone fireplace and a high ceiling with a series of rafter and lower beams.

Unlike the more contemporary arrival lobby, this space more closely emulates a traditional Norwegian mountain lodge, with ornate carpeting and dark wood furniture. This is also where many of Eriksen’s medals and awards are displayed.

The lodge’s two restaurants are located in the original building: Troll Hallen Lounge is a casual dining spot, serving light lunch, après ski bites, and seasonal spirits. Live music, such as a jazz trio or a guitarist, serenades guests most evenings. Troll Hallen also offers outdoor seating on a wrap-around deck.

For fine dining, the Forbes Four-Star, AAA Four-Diamond Glitretind restaurant serves regional American cuisine with seasonal menus. Glitretind also serves breakfast and lunch and is a popular spot for Sunday buffet brunch. The restaurant has an extensive wine selection and offers private, certified sommelier-led wine tastings in its wine cellar.

For group events, the Stein Ballroom features a cathedral ceiling and 6,000 square feet of space; and its foyer has panoramic windows with mountain views. The smaller Flagstaff Room also has floor-to-ceiling windows and opens to the expansive Flagstaff Deck, which has fire pits and wraps around the building, merging with Troll Hallen’s deck space.

There’s also an outdoor, heated pool and hot tub.

Spa and Fitness Center

The lodge boasts the only Forbes Five-Star spa in Utah. The two-story, 23,000-square-foot spa offers 16 treatment rooms, including two couples rooms. Its men’s and women’s relaxation rooms have enclosed decks that can open up during summer via stacking French doors. The spa also offers men’s and women’s saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs, and cold plunges.

With a focus on wellness, the spa offers treatments like The Great Salt Stone Therapy, Après Ski Soak & Muscle Therapy, and Stein Gold Oxygen Facial. Vichy showers, body wraps, make-up consultations, and salon services also are available. In addition, there is a fitness center and an array of wellness classes, including Vinyasa yoga, Zumba, and mat Pilates.

Services

Among the skier services the lodge offers are a ski valet, equipment rental, lift ticket sales, shuttle service to nearby Park City Mountain Resort for snowboarders (Deer Valley Resort is ski-only) and private mountain hosts. Additional services include 24-hour room service, and free, property-wide WiFi.

Location

The luxury, ski-in/ski-out lodge is situated mid-mountain at Deer Valley Resort’s Silver Lake Village, 38 miles from Salt Lake City International Airport. A complimentary shuttle takes hotel guests to and from Park City’s Historic Main Street — a five-minute drive — for shopping, dining, galleries, and entertainment.

For more information, call 800-453-1302 or visit www.steinlodge.com.

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Hidden Hotel: Rustic Italian Inspiration at The Chateaux

The Stein Eriksen Lodge has a little sister — The Chateaux Deer Valley — a Forbes Four-Star hotel and also a AAA Four-Diamond property, located a short walk away. With architectural elements like rough-hewn beams and knotted wood plank doors, The Chateaux has a rustic Italian-inspired design.

The hotel’s studio to four-bedroom suites can be locked off, providing a maximum of 141 accommodations. Among the guestroom amenities are fireplaces, microwave ovens, mini-refrigerators, coffee makers, and oversized, jetted tubs or walk-in showers in bathrooms. Suites feature living and dining areas and full kitchens.

The Chateaux’s Cena Ristorante offers an Italian-inspired menu, while the adjacent bar and lounge has panoramic mountain views through floor-to-ceiling windows.

Guests can choose from a variety of treatments at Le Spa and work out in the hotel’s fitness center. The Chateaux also has an outdoor, heated pool and hot tubs in its 12,000-square-foot courtyard. The courtyard also is a popular spot for private events during summer. And for indoor events, The Chateaux’s 34,000 square feet of space includes a 6,600 square foot ballroom, the largest in Park City.

Skiers can buy lift tickets and clothing and rent equipment on property. And, like the Stein Eriksen Lodge, a free shuttle takes guests to and from Historic Main Street.

For more information, call 877-288-2978 or visit www.the-chateaux.com.