Jean-George comes to the St. Regis Deer Crest slopeside at Deer Valley

Where Can You Find Chef Jean-George After the New Year?
Posted By Christina Bohnstengel on December 8th, 2009

ShareHaute Living cover profile and beloved chef of haute cuisine Jean-Georges Vongerichten has had quite the busy year, but that certainly doesn’t mean that he is sitting back resting on his tasty treats of success. In his latest venture, the divine chef of fine dining is bringing his culinary skills to the Wild West, just in time to please the palates of Utah’s ski enthusiasts.

Lucky residents and visitors descending upon Deer Valley are in for some of the finest culinary delights in the region with the debut of J&G Grill, located slope-side at the new St. Regis Deer Crest Resort. While Jean-Georges admitted his passion for skiing in a press release, only Haute Living readers will know what the famous chef of fine dining craves from fast food joints, both in New York and on the road. Don’t believe it might be Wendy’s or the Shake Shack? Check out his Haute Living cover article, where he sat down with Daniel Boulud and Masaharu Morimoto to find out for sure.

But back to the valley. “Deer Valley is a beautiful place that has some of the best skiing in the world,” said Jean-Georges Vongerichten. “With the opening of my first J&G Grill at The St. Regis Deer Crest Resort, I’m excited to merge two of my greatest passions: cooking and skiing. The menu will have beautifully grilled items and a selection of my favorite recipes from my restaurants around the world, made with the best and freshest ingredients from the region.” Try it out in January and let your tastebuds be the judge.

A Touch of Excellence

St. Regis Deer Crest Resort is open

By Mike Gorrell
The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 12/04/2009 11:31:09 PM MST

Park City » Befitting the luxury evident around every corner of the St. Regis Deer Crest Resort hotel, even the ribbon-cutting ceremony culminating Friday's grand opening had an upper-crust flair to it.

Two white-gloved butlers politely took their place in front of a dozen scissors-wielding dignitaries. Walking backward in opposite directions, they unrolled the ribbon from a scroll, revealing the hotel's coat-of-arms insignia imprinted on the material. Then, with a dozen quick snips almost drowned out in the applause of 150 invited guests, the $320 million hotel officially opened on the eve of Deer Valley's 2009-10 ski season opener.

Just for good measure, hotel General Manager Michael Hatzfeld capped the ceremony by stepping out onto a slope-side balcony and lopping the top off a champagne bottle with a sabar. He then began filling glasses for bubbly toasts to the second top-echelon, brand-name hotel to open in the Park City area this year. The Dakota Mountain Lodge, a Waldorf Astoria hotel in the Hilton chain, entered the market in July.
"Park City deserves something like this," said Kirsten Whetstone, a senior planner for the city who has monitored the project since its inception. "It's just beautiful."
Walk into the lobby and a large, square piece of glass art work magnifies and distorts the flames burning in a fireplace behind it. Head into the main ballroom and the eye turns quickly to elaborate chandeliers dangling from the high ceiling. Original artwork of all styles and persuasions adorns the walls.
The art alone "cost a small fortune," said Michael Zaccaro, of Falcon Investors LLC, the ownership group's representative overseeing the hotel built by Okland Construction and operated by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
Zaccaro was chosen for that role for one good reason -- he doesn't ski. That means he won't be distracted by a bluebird day to skip out on work for a few runs. The reward for that kind of nose-to-the-grindstone type of dedication, he said, is that the people who signed up to own the hotel's 27 private residences and 64 hotel-condominium suites "are pleased with how the hotel came out. We over-delivered on our promise."
As a result, "we will have a much larger percentage of our buyers closing on units over the next 45 days than projects of a similar nature," Zaccaro added. "That's quite reassuring, their level of confidence in this project."
Heaven knows, he acknowledged, the financial difficulties of the past couple of years provided ample reason for prospective buyers to reconsider. But supported by bankers who have been "better than great and honored all of their commitments in a very difficult time," Zaccaro added, the ownership group "has a strong financial base that will allow this hotel to weather the storm and to be successful long-term."
Those lucrative possibilities appealed to Utah government officials at the ceremony.
Lt. Gov. Greg Bell said he felt a sense of "awe and respect [in this] flawless, iconic mountain resort."
And Sen. John Valentine, R-Orem, said the hotel is as fine as he has seen in extensive travels in Europe and Asia.
"Deer Valley already has a reputation of excellence," he said. "What St. Regis does is raises that level of excellence."
To Valentine, the opening of this world-class hotel brand also reinforces the state's message that "Utah is an island of economic activity that is still growing. This facility just adds to that reputation and brings money into the state."
mikeg@sltrib.com

St. Regis Deer Crest cuts ribbon

Management calls it one of the most 'grand' of the luxury brand
by Andrew Kirk, OF THE RECORD STAFF
Posted: 12/04/2009 04:16:10 PM MST

One of the most anticipated moments of the winter occurred Friday morning when the ribbon was cut on the St. Regis Deer Crest hotel ushering in a new era in which Park City is expected to have a higher profile and greater exposure among the most wealthy vacationers from the Northeast.
Michael Zaccaro, managing partner of the ownership group Deer Crest Janna, said the vision for an internationally-recognized, five-star-brand hotel was inspired by the site itself.
Perched above and to the east of the base of Deer Valley Resort, the site is adjacent to one of the ski runs in the private community of Deer Crest. From below the site can only be seen from a particular angle near the south tip of Jordanelle Reservoir.
With ski-in, ski-out access, incredible views of the Wasatch Back, situated in one of Park City's most upscale communities adjacent to a resort repeatedly voted No. 1 in America by affluent skiers, something like a St. Regis was the only thing deserving of the site, Zaccaro explained Thursday.
The ownership group in conjunction with the developers, Stan Castleton and DDRM, chose Starwood Hotels' St. Regis brand because of the large and loyal following it has among elite travelers especially those in the Northeast.
General Manager Michael Hatzfeld said St. Regis is excited to be in Park City because being at the best addresses in the best destinations is core to its values. Deer Crest and Deer Valley is one of those addresses and Park City is one of those destinations.
The St. Regis in Aspen, Colo. has been "an iconic ski destination" for the company, but it isn't ski-in, ski-out.
Furthermore, the summer activities in Park City are superior to those in Aspen, he said.
"It's not just a focus on the three or four months of ski season, but the summer months can bring Fortune 500 companies to these destinations," he said.
So as not to overload Deer Crest with traffic, most guests and visitors are brought to the hotel by a funicular starting near the Deer Valley parking lot.
A gondola just wouldn't have done, Zaccaro said. The smooth, roomy and unique experience the funicular ride provides is the perfect introduction to the hotel. It was a focal point in the planning process, he said.
"It's not that much different than an elevator but far more spectacular," he said.
It is the first commercial funicular in the United States, holds 15 people plus luggage and is a 90 second ride that is touted as energy efficient. The views are expansive as well.
"Nothing else has the same impact," he said.
Zaccaro said the condominium-hotel industry was "given a black eye" by the start of the recession, but said the financial structure of the hotel is incredibly sound. The committed buyers are closing at a rate that has soothed fears, he explained.
At the ribbon cutting, Hatzfeld and Starwood senior vice president of operations Carla Murray both said they had been general managers at the Aspen location and both agreed St. Regis Deer Crest was "a little grander."
"This is by far the most spectacular and interesting (St. Regis) I've had the privilege to run in my career," Hatzfeld said.
"Count on us," Murray said during her remarks. "We plan to be an active member of this community."
Lt. Gov. Greg Bell addressed the crowd at Friday's ceremony and said he considered the hotel to be one of the country's most amazing structures. Conceptually, legally, financially and structurally it is a "remarkable" feat, he said, and called its completion despite the recession "miraculous."
As the hotel and its three competitors (Dakota Mountain Lodge, Stein Eriksen Lodge and The Montage) create more world-class amenities it will garner greater world-wide recognition, Zaccaro said adding, all four hotels are "looking forward to working with each other."