The St. Regis Deer Valley

About This Project

The luxury real estate market in Park City, UT had been under the national radar prior to 2002 when the town hosted several major events during the Winter Olympic games at Park City Mountain and Deer Valley Resort. This international spotlight showcased the charms of the small mountain resort town. Several groups attempted to develop a 5-star hotel project on a choice parcel on the slopes of #1-rated Deer Valley Resort but were unable to get the project off the ground. Blakeslee was brought in by the fourth developer to help determine which brand could be most successfully launched as Park City’s first nationally branded luxury hotel. Based on our research and analysis Blakeslee made a compelling pitch for St. Regis, a storied NYC-based brand that had little exposure west of the Rockies at that time.

To help St. Regis build name recognition and establish a presence in and beyond the Park City psyche, we implemented an aggressive PR initiative simultaneously targeting buyers and brokers. The plan included introducing the brand with pre-launch events for influential personnel in the real estate market, subtly educating them about the St. Regis Deer Valley offering. We ran a concurrent campaign targeting buyers nationwide, creating anticipation and demand. The Phase I offering was sold out immediately and set a record sales price per square foot in Park City, and the Phase II offering exceeded that record by over 40%.

During the long construction period, Blakeslee created an ongoing series of 5-star owner events to bring the contracted buyers into Park City to create engagement among the owners. Their enthusiasm and commitment to the project was such that between 2008 when the country was plunged into the Great Recession and The St. Regis Deer Valley’s grand debut in January 2010, only one buyer dropped out of their purchase contract.

The St. Regis Deer Valley was named “Project of the Year” for both 2009 and 2010 by Starwood, owner of over 6,000 hotel properties worldwide, including St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, W Hotels, Sheraton, Westin, Le Meridien, The Luxury Collection, Aloft, and more. Our PR campaign extended into the first several years of operations and led to numerous national and international accolades for The St. Regis Deer Valley including Travel + Leisure – “T+L 500: World’s Best Hotels”, Conde Nast Traveler – “Best Places to Ski & Stay in North America”, Robb Report – “Best of the Best”, and Gayot – “Top 10 Ski Resorts in the World”.