Utah Skiing Part Two
 

We (group of 7) have decided on the Park City area to base our stay. We plan on going to Alta or Snowbasin at least one day, but wanted the "ambience" of staying at a mountain, and Park City seemed to offer more options. We have narrowed our lodging choices to places near the Park City Golf course such as Three Kings, Crescent, Payday, or places near The Canyons such as Hidden Creek and Timberwolf, which are ?walkable to the Cabriolet to take you to the resort. We need to be on the shuttle route as we have new skiers who will be taking lessons first time and others who will be going to do blues and blacks at other mountains.
Questions:
Any recommendations on one area vs. the other? Opinions seem to be all over the place as far as which mountain has the best ski school for new skiers. The advantages of spots nearer The Canyons seem to be slightly less expensive yet newer lodgings with still some restaurants in the area (Redstone). Disadvantages are they are more suburban/less resort in nature. I had also heard that Timberwolf is not exactly directly on the shuttle route for this winter. The advantages of Three Kings, Payday, et al. seems to be closer to the "action" of Park City, though still not within walking distance, but they are older lodgings with mixed reviews re quality.

I can't recall -- are these all adults, or some kids?

It's all adults, and we aren't looking for a booming nightlife, though I'm sure we will enjoy visiting a few restaurants...

We haven't stayed in Park City since we bought a timeshare at Snowbird. . . but when we did, we preferred to stay within walking distance of the town. I'm afraid I don't know the properties you mentioned, however.

Park City is very centrally located. If you stay in Park City you will have easy access by shuttle bus to Deer Valley as well as the Canyons. The Canyons (formerly Park West) is a resort area that was built around the ski slopes (that is not very many amenities). Park City is a real town that existed before the ski slopes.

When I have gone to Park City to ski I have always stayed in Park City proper. I enjoy being within walking distance of shopping, restaurants, night life, and liquor store. However, I still had to take the shuttle bus to the grocery store. (I believe the grocery store is an Albertson's so bring your Jewel preferred customer card)

I have never stayed at the Canyons so I can't really critique it. It is kind of off the beaten path. I remember a long bus ride to get there. There is one thing that stands out in my memory about skiing at the Canyons. That is the hellacious long walk from the shuttle bus stop to the lift in ski boots! It is a shorter walk if you take the cabriolet. But you still will have to walk. Definitely wear your shoes & change.

I highly recommend Deer Valley for the beginner skiers. It is a beautiful area with extremely well groomed wide open slopes. It is easily accessable from Park City by shuttle bus.

Alta is nice for intermediate skiers and Snowbird is an advanced area. I have never skied at Snowbasin.

I am sorry I am not familiar with the lodging you are considering. But I hope you find some of this info helpful.

Thanks for the info re The Canyons. Though we may still want to try skiing there for a day, it might be better to find something closer in to Park City. It's just the old supply and demand rule....the closer the lodging is to PCMR, the pricier--and older--it is.

Too bad you're all adults. As I told you before, we stayed in a wonderful (almost new) house about 5 minutes walk from the mountain and 10 minutes walk from Main Street, but although there are technically enough beds to accommodate 7, some of those are bunk beds.

I personally highly recommend staying in Park City, especially if not everyone will ski every day. I don't ski, so while my family was off skiing, I was off wandering, eating, shopping, etc.

I love Park City and wish I had been there before the real estate boom. Maybe I would have been smart enough to buy something!

I've stayed at 3 Kings before. It was fine, although I prefer being within walking distance of town. The buses come with some regularity and take you to the bus station in Park City.