If you desire a family ski vacation whose every aspect, from the lift-line amenities to the reservations system, seems designed to ease anxious parents and coddle their small children, consider Utah's Deer Valley Resort. "There are better spots for atmosphere and sport," says one father who has sampled most of the major resorts in the United States and Europe, "but no place is as single-mindedly geared to convenience and to putting families first."
Frequently ranked among North America's top resorts, Deer Valley, with its elaborate timber-and-stone lodges, is a high-priced place that emphasizes pampering, but one where Patagonia is the label of choice for parents and progeny—and the brand's understated, all-American aesthetic perfectly fits the mood. Ruddy-cheeked valets remove the skis from your roof rack, parking-lot shuttles eliminate the ski-boot death march, every lift line features a tissue box, and your gear rests overnight in complimentary lockers. The sale of lift tickets is limited, and the resort is one of only four in the country to prohibit snowboarding, so the slopes aren't crowded, and you don't have to worry about little ones being run down.
GETTING THERE
Deer Valley's accessibility is a major draw. Thirty-six miles east of Salt Lake City International Airport via a multi-lane highway, the resort is a direct flight and a forty-five-minute drive from most major cities. For East Coast residents, the mere two-hour time difference means it's possible to leave home after breakfast and ski after lunch. One New York mother goes so far as to say that traveling to Deer Valley is "easier than going to Vermont."
Built in 1981, the resort comprises four mountains, three handsome day lodges and a number of independently run hotels and condominiums. From Snow Park Lodge, at the base, a winding road dotted with luxury homes and condos leads you to Silver Lake Village, a midmountain cluster of boutiques, restaurants and upscale accommodations. Just a mile and a half from Deer Valley, the turn-of-the-century mining town of Park City offers Western charm and must-have parent comforts like grocery stores, three emergency clinics, more than 100 restaurants and scads of shops and galleries. Since the hotels and condos discussed below offer free transportation almost anywhere, getting by without a rental car is easy.
WHERE TO STAY
The best choice at the base, a short walk from the ski school and day care, is Trail's End Lodge. It is a ski-in/ski-out condominium hotel with rooms that are attractive but not precious (rustic furniture), thus perfect for families. Bunk and twin beds are available, and units include kitchens, pullout couches, vcrs and hot tubs. There's a heated outdoor pool, a full-time concierge and touches like après-ski snacks. One- to four-bedroom condos from $575 to $2,250. (All rates are for winter season.) 435-647-3527; 800-453-3833; deervalleylodging.com. A similar choice a bit farther away is the Lodges at Deer Valley. Double rooms from $200 to $465, one- to three-bedroom condos from $330 to $1,005. 435-615-2600; 800-453-3833; lodges-deervalley.com.
Midmountain, the old-world elegance of
Stein Eriksen Lodge
(145 fireplaces, hand-carved cabinetry, canopy beds) belies its family-friendly nature. The ski-in/ski-out luxury hotel, named for its Olympic-champion founder (who visits almost daily), pro-vides gifts for children, an outdoor hot tub and heated pool, twenty-four-hour room service and twilight sleigh rides. In the lobby are game tables and a trophy case containing Stein's medals from the 1952 Games.
Double Rooms From $350 to $695, suites from $620 to $2,020. 435-649-3700; 800-453-1302;
BEFORE YOU GO
Deer Valley's Central Reservations (800-424-DEER) offers the widest selection of accommodations within the resort. More important, it's a one-stop shop for reserving Deer Valley's amenities, such as lift tickets, ski rentals, lessons, baby-sitters and meals on the mountain. Skis on the Run ( 435-940-0744; 888-488-0744; skisontherun.com) delivers helmets, skis, boots and poles. Altitude Resort Services ( 866-280-1855 ) will stock your condo with groceries before you arrive.
INFANT INTELLIGENCE
The resort's licensed Children's Center takes loving care of kids as young as two months. Parents are free to check in by cell phone or supplied pager and to visit their children or watch them through the windows as often as they like. A newly expanded playroom has features like mini cots for naps. The center proved itself to real estate agent Heather Sargent when she checked on her toddler and found twenty-three children fast asleep. Staffers often accept evening baby-sitting jobs, or try Guardian Angel Babysitting ( 435-783-2662), which also rents cribs, high chairs and strollers.
BUNNY-SLOPE BASICS
The Deer Valley Ski School hires instructors good with both children and skis, since 70 percent of its lessons are for kids. "It was the first ski school where my kids were known by their names, not numbers," remarks one impressed parent. The reason: the instructor-to-child ratios. Reindeer Club preschool-age classes max out at six students. The Fawn program, for three-year-olds, has a one-to-one ratio. Kids stay outside for only an hour at a time; ample cocoa breaks facilitate parental visits. Two "magic carpets" (conveyor belts) eliminate chairlift fears. Younger students wear identifying green bibs. Parents receive daily detailed report cards, and lessons end at 3:45 p.m. to allow plenty of time for family runs.
MASTERING THE MOUNTAINS
Each of Deer Valley's nineteen chairlifts leads to many beginner and intermediate runs, enabling even the youngest to ski from the top. All eighty-eight runs were designed not to intimidate. Once referred to as Bambi Basin because of its abundance of groomed runs (80 percent are groomed to "corduroy" perfection), the resort upped the ante with the predominantly black-diamond Empire Canyon and Mayflower areas, which provide chutes and cornices aplenty. Four mountains (1,750 acres) with a maximum elevation of 9,570 feet and a vertical drop of 3,000 feet give parents plenty of territory to conquer. Nearby, Park City Mountain Resort and the Canyons Resort offer 246 more trails, and the superchallenging Alta and Snowbird resorts are both within an hour's drive.
BEST-KEPT SECRET
"You can always find lines," says instructor Maca Leontic. Not lift lines—lines of untracked powder, in 800 gladed acres from Triangle Trees in the east to Ontario Bowl.
WHERE TO EAT
The three on-mountain day lodges—Snow Park, Silver Lake and Empire Canyon—are the best places for a quick family lunch. They offer salad buffets, turkey chili and roasted-veggie panini with goat cheese for mature palates, and grilled cheese, French fries and oversized Snickerdoodle cookies for kids. For grown-ups, the Austrian specialties and European ambiance at the Goldener Hirsch Inn, in the Silver Lake area, draw chic skiers like Princess Yas-min Aga Khan. For a sit-down lunch or dinner on the mountain, Silver Lake Lodge's hip Royal Street Cafe has a kids' menu and private booths. Children love the gooey brownies with malted ice cream; parents shouldn't miss the shrimp-and-lobster "margarita." In Park City, enjoy Sage Grill's airy decor and California cuisine. Everything on the menu is made here. Ask to be seated at the exhibition-kitchen counter to keep little ones captivated. If you have an evening sitter, try award-winning Mariposa in Silver Lake Lodge, Park City's Wahso for Asian-fusion or Chimayo for great Southwestern food. Finally, Mountain Express Deliveries ( 435-649-menu ) will bring you beer, wine and items from more than twenty-five restaurants.
BEST FAMILY NIGHT OUT
Take a horse-drawn sleigh (435-647-3310; snowedinnsleigh.com) through the woods to Snowed Inn for a home-style dinner and Western dancing.
OFF-PEAK FUN
Near Park City, the Utah Olympic Park offers bobsled rides and a ski museum, and Gorgoza Park has lift-served tubing and kiddie snowmobiles. In town, the Park City Museum, above the old territorial jail (kids can sit in the cell), details mining and skiing history; and Silver Mountain Sports Club & Spa has a dome-covered pool with a water slide and lifeguards, so you can leave older children to swim while you take a class or get a massage.
HELPING HANDS
Don't feel like leaving your room for a massage? Call Massage Express/Spa Express (800-270-8144).
Best kids' runs: The Meadow, off Hidden Treasure; Enchanted Forest, with animal figures; and Last Chance, where slope-side houses feature whimsical carvings.
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