The Pointiff: Review: Hyatt Escala Lodge Park City

Hotel: Hyatt Escala Lodge Park City
Room: Premium One Bedroom King Suite
Price: $127.20 (+ Diamond Suite Upgrade; $15.00 resort fee; $16.85 taxes)
Category: 4

The last time I was in Park City was over New Year's Eve almost six years ago. It was like a fantasyland - the people are rich and beautiful; the food is delicious; and the town looked like a beautiful Swiss alpine village.

Park City in the off-season is weird, though - the ski slopes, usually beautiful and white, are ugly and bare like a hairless cat. But the off-season also means hotel rates are much more reasonable. And the hotel is picturesque even without the snow.

The front desk told me that the property was about 30% occupied for the weekend; during the off-season, they said the occupancy rates is as low as 10 rooms.

I used one of my four Diamond Suite Upgrade certificates (which I got just for signing up for the Hyatt Diamond Challenge) and got a ridiculously nice and spacious suite. The living room has two large leather sofabeds, a gas fireplace, and a wet bar with a wine fridge:

A half-bathroom and washer/dryer combination are adjacent to the living room. The full kitchen is impressive. It's fully stocked with dishes / silverware / cooking utensils and has an oven, microwave, coffeemaker, range, dishwasher, and large refrigerator. The dining table is large and seats eight.

The dining room opens out to a balcony with views of the ski slopes.

The bedroom has a spacious walk-in closet, fireplace, and a second balcony.

The pictures don't do the master bathroom justice - it was giant and elegant.

Diamond members get breakfast at the coffee shop / convenience store adjacent to the main lobby. There's a $22 cap per guest, so you can get almost anything you want (plus a coffee and a bottled water for the road).

I can't say enough good things about this property. The staff were extremely attentive (admittedly, this is easy when there are so few guests) and the suite was impressive and enormous. This was a much, much better use of a Diamond Suite Upgrade certificate than my previous stay at the Grand Hyatt Denver or my stay the next night at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe (foreshadowing!)

I wish the hotel waived or reduced the resort fee during the off season. The resort fee gives guests free parking, wi-fi, and ski equipment storage - only parking was useful to me. They automatically reduce the resort fee to $15 for Diamond members, but that still seems a bit steep for self-parking. But that was the only blemish in an otherwise flawless stay.

My Hyatt Diamond Challenge

1. Hyatt Chicago Magnificent Mile

2. Hyatt Regency Schaumburg

3. Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch

4. Hyatt Place Oklahoma City-Northwest

5. Hyatt Place Oklahoma City Airport

6. Hyatt Regency Tulsa

7. Hyatt Regency Wichita

8. Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center

9. Grand Hyatt Denver

10. Hyatt Escala Lodge at Park City

11. Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino