Stunning mountain views and superb skiing surround the lodge. You can swoosh down the slopes directly from the resort, which is midway up the mountain.

Unlike some of the trendier resorts, Old World ambience is the rule at the Stein Eriksen Lodge (above) in Park City, Utah, and that mature setting makes it ideal for families and business clientele.

Business and pleasure intertwine at the lodge, almost as if nature intended us to work in such divine settings. A new 20,000-square-foot conference facility with massive fireplaces, as well as an outdoor plaza terrace, can accommodate up to 425 guests. Three executive boardrooms are available for gatherings of up to 14 people, and the Valhalla room, which seats up to 45, furnishes fully private dining services.
 
Tailor-made Diversions
If you drive to Stein Eriksen, you will enter via the heated underground garage, where a valet relieves you of ski equipment and luggage. You will not see your skis again until the valet hands them to you, freshly waxed, as you prepare to ski out of the lodge. All parts of the lodge are accessible from the garage; if the weather is particularly nasty, valets in golf carts will escort you to the spa and other locations.

Stein Eriksen’s concierges are wonderfully resourceful and imaginative. Contacting you well in advance of your arrival, they work to customize your stay. They will have your kitchen stocked and provide a chef to do the cooking, or book you into the lodge’s sumptuous Sunday Jazz Brunch. During the winter holidays they even will arrange for a live tree to be delivered to your room and decorated.

If your business or family group feels up for an outdoor adventure, summer or winter, the concierges will arrange for a guide or instructor to accompany you. In the summer months, the nearby rivers offer some of the country’s best fly- fishing. They also will arrange spa treatments (the resort is justifiably proud of its new world-class spa), sleigh rides, helicopter transportation to other resorts, and make reservations at the best restaurants in Park City, including Robert Redford’s Zoom. Park City also has an active theater and symphony.

A trip in a hot-air balloon remains one of the resort’s premier summer activities, which it offers alongside more traditional exertions, such as hiking, horseback riding, golfing and tennis.

Going Downhill
The skiing at Deer Valley is first rate. No matter how early in the season the snowfall begins, Deer Valley never opens before December 6, assuring a deep base and excellent conditions. If not everyone in your party is experienced enough for the terrain, personal one-on-one ski instructors (the legendary Eriksen among them) can provide an introductory or refresher course. Because the lodge is located mid-mountain, guests enjoy the convenience of skiing in and out of the lodge. Snowboards are prohibited on the mountain (although other nearby resorts permit them), another example of the more mature ambience you enjoy at Stein Eriksen.

The 2002 Winter Olympic Games brought new vitality to Utah, and to Park City in particular. What the Sundance Film Festival does for the town a week every January, the activities around Utah Olympic Park do for it year round. The lively nightlife on Park City’s Main Street during the Games convinced people that Utah’s alcohol laws will not stand in the way of a good time. (Drinking must be done at private clubs, which are essentially bars that require a $4 to $5 membership fee for two weeks.) Fine restaurants line Main Street, which is dotted with local art galleries and shops.

The 2002 Games left an enduring legacy at Utah Olympic Park, just minutes from Main Street. The facilities have been maintained, and many Olympic competitors and teams still train at the world-class facility. Visitors can watch the athletes exercise, and in the case of bobsledding, they can even join in on some Olympic-style action.

The Luxury Package delivers the lodge’s crème de la crème experience, which whisks guests to Park City by Learjet and ushers them to the lodge by limousine.

Billed as The Comet, you can ride the four-man bobsled (three riders with a professional driver at the helm) down the Olympic course, negotiating all 14 curves (in summer it runs on wheels). No mere athletic roller coaster, the bobsled is a rough ride that reaches speeds exceeding 80 mph. The trip lasts less than a minute, but bragging rights never expire.

If wine connoisseurship is more your speed, you need not concern yourself with Utah’s liquor laws while at the lodge. Stein Eriksen’s newly completed wine cellar boasts a 10,000-bottle capacity, making it the largest in the state. The sommelier will help you match your wine to the Glitretind restaurant’s fine cuisine.

Stein Eriksen’s Mountain Luxury Package delivers the lodge’s crème de la crème experience. Guests are whisked to Park City by Learjet and ushered to the lodge by limousine. Upon arriving, they enjoy the attention of a personal butler for the duration of their five-night, six-day stay in a suite comprised of a master bedroom with a fireplace; a large fully equipped kitchen; a living room with a fireplace; a private hot tub; and beautiful mountain views.

Business and pleasure intertwine at the lodge, almost as if nature  intended us to work in  such divine settings. (Click image for close-up)

The package includes all the lodge’s signature activities and amenities: private ski lessons; helicopter or Cat skiing in the Wasatch Mountains; skiing at any one of the area’s seven resorts with transportation via helicopter or SUV; first tracks on the immaculately groomed Deer Valley slopes with Olympian Stein Eriksen himself; daily spa treatments; breakfast, lunch and dinner; two private, in-room dinners with signature cuisine and a wine tasting personally prepared by Stein’s executive chef and sommelier; a horse-drawn ride around Silver Lake Village; a hot-air balloon flight; a ride down the Olympic bobsled track; and more. The price ($32,000 from New York; transportation from other major cities also can be arranged) is based on double occupancy with additional per-person pricing available.

The lodge’s 58 suites, 112 deluxe rooms and 170 standard rooms all feature spectacular mountain views. Many have private hot tubs and full kitchens. All have fireplaces.

Despite its size and facilities, the Stein Eriksen Lodge has an intimate feel and calm ambience. The staff’s efforts to personalize your experience will make each stay unique, no matter how many times you return.

Stein Eriksen Lodge, 435.649.3700, www.steinlodge.com