“Integral to the guest experience at Waldorf Astoria Park City is its 16,000-square-foot spa,” explained Kerry Hing, General Manager of Waldorf Astoria Park City. In an interview, we discussed the origins of the property, top-tier suites, amenities, dining options, signature spa treatments and much more. At this property, the service is flawless, personalized and incredibly kindhearted.
Tell me a little bit about the history of Waldorf Astoria Park City, where it’s located, and what makes this property a gem in the luxurious crown of Waldorf Hotels and Resorts.
Waldorf Astoria Park City opened in August 2009 and is located at the base of Park City Resort. The property’s location offers an ideal setting for a luxury mountain vacation. Its guest rooms are appointed with custom furnishings, suites with top-of-the-line kitchens and spectacular views of the ski slopes and picturesque Wasatch Mountains. Waldorf Astoria Park City also features intimate meeting space as well as an expansive outdoor patio with fire pits, a heated pool and Jacuzzis.
Integral to the guest experience at Waldorf Astoria Park City is its 16,000-square-foot spa. The property was recognized in 2015 by Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards as a Top Resort in the West, The World’s Best Hotels by Travel + Leisure in 2015, and Forbes Travel Guide 4-Star Award every year since 2012.
In terms of accommodations, what can guests expect when booking one of your top-tier suites in terms of space, design and amenities?
Waldorf Astoria Park City prides itself on being family-centric. Today’s luxury customer is looking for experience, memories, and connection to family. Waldorf Astoria Park City is unique in that the predominance of our guest rooms is residential in nature.
The property’s 175 guestrooms are appointed with custom designed furniture and carpeting, natural colors and rich interiors to create a casual yet elegant atmosphere. Available in king or queen rooms to four-bedroom, multi-floor suites, rooms are fitted with a fireplace, 42” HDTV, spacious bath and steam shower, and many feature private patios or balconies. Suites offer large gourmet kitchens featuring Viking appliances and granite countertops.
Above and beyond the physical attributes, Waldorf Astoria as a brand is celebrated for an idea known as “True Waldorf Service”. True Waldorf Service is applied at every Waldorf Astoria property through focusing on creating impeccable guest experience, sincere friendliness, anticipatory service and warm hospitality. At Waldorf Astoria Park City, our goal is to apply True Waldorf Service combined with the adventure that Park City has to offer as a destination.
At Powder, what are some of your favorite, signature drinks and dishes?
The wonderful thing about Waldorf Astoria Park City’s restaurant, Powder, is that we unveil a seasonal menu offering modern mountain cuisine led by Chef Ryker Brown. Powder prides itself on providing dishes and ingredients that draw inspiration from the surrounding Wasatch Mountains. This allows Powder to bring elements of nature into the restaurant by sourcing and foraging for local ingredients from the nearby mountain and serving dishes on natural stone and wood.
Currently, my favorite signature drink would be our Basil Pomegranate Martini, but we also have an extensive wine list which I enjoy. This season, we will be featuring champagne based cocktails in our Arctic Lounge that feature Moet’s Ice Imperial. This year, I’m looking forward to the Kentucky Fizz cocktail on our Arctic Lounge menu. The Kentucky Fizz features our Park City neighbors High West Whiskey, along with Bitters sugar and Moet Ice Imperial.
My favorite dishes at Powder would be the Chilled West Coast Oysters with Hogwash as an appetizer followed by the entrée of Pappardelle with Black Truffles added. After my main course, I enjoy one of our fabulous desserts, such as our home-made gelato or our well-known Waldorf Astoria Red Velvet Cake. Either dessert paired with a Winter Warmer cocktail as a nightcap is the perfect end to my dining experience at Powder.
What kinds of unique spa treatments and wellness activities are also offered on-site?
Waldorf Astoria Spa’s 16,000-square-foot facility includes 15 treatment rooms featuring signature Waldorf Astoria offerings as well as a full-service hair and nail salon. Guests can also enjoy spa cuisine, wellness lectures and other special programming in the Gathering Room.
The expansive spa includes specially designed rooms for Thai massage and couples treatments. Guests may also enjoy the state-of-the-art fitness center, kinesis studio, and a private STOTT Pilates studio.
A favorite spa treatment that we offer at Waldorf Astoria Park City Spa is the Hydra Facial. This treatment uses a series of HydroPeel® tips – each one has multiple peeling edges to exfoliate the skin several times each pass, achieving better, more even results. The unique spiral design creates a vortex effect to easily dislodge and remove impurities while simultaneously introducing hydrating skin solutions with potent antioxidants.
If you were to advise potential guests planning a winter escape to the property, what would constitute the perfect stay?
To constitute the perfect stay at Waldorf Astoria Park City, I would recommend to experience as many as the on-mountain activities at Park City Resort as possible. Waldorf Astoria Park City’s front doors are just steps away from a gondola that connects to Canyons Village, which is one of the bases of Park City Resort.
After a day on the mountain, I would advise guests to come back and partake in either Waldorf Astoria Park City’s après hot tub package or relax in our seasonal Arctic Lounge which features ice sculptures and an ice paradise while having a signature drink. Then guests can continue on to our restaurant, Powder, for drinks and dinner.
The great thing about Waldorf Astoria Park City is that we have packages to make your vacation as authentic as you are, from setting up heli-skiing through our concierge or booking our Waldorf Astoria’s Relaxing Spa package.
Rahim Kanani is the author of critically-acclaimed hotel management book and hospitality management book A Wealth of Insight: The World’s Best Luxury Hoteliers on Leadership, Management and the Future of 5-Star Hospitality.
